By way of example, we shall mention here some of the more illustrious dynastic orders of knighthood.
The Supreme Order of the Annunciation was set up in 1364 by Amadeus VI, Count of Savoia, during a tournament which was held to celebrate the victory of Savoia over a rival, the Marquis of Salusso. It would seem that similar brotherhoods in arms had existed at the Savoyard court under such romantic titles as the Round Table of the Black Swan, of the Green Knights, and the like, but the new order was to achieve a permanent character. At first, the objective of the newly organized group was only fun and love, as evidenced by the love symbols that decorated the collar of the knights. For that reason the brotherhood was dubbed the Order of the Collar. A year later when Count Amadeus made a trip to Constantinople and came in touch with the then extant religious military orders, he dedicated the fraternity to the Blessed Virgin. The religious element was heightened in the symbolic figure of fifteen knights, representing the fifteen mysteries of Our Lady. When the knights themselves had no time to say many prayers, they were quite satisfied to find a convenient substitute for their religious obligations in the persons of fifteen Carthusian monks at the Chapter House of Pierre Chatal. The latter became the seat of the order. Their first and last duty was to honor and serve faithfully their sovereign, the count, and provide him with material benefits. Such privileges as exemptions from taxes, a seat in the senate, and financial support from the crown in case of necessity were given in return to the knights. In 1518 Duke Charles III attached to the knight’s collar a medal representing the Annunciation of Our Lady, and from that time the fraternity became known as the Order of the Collar and the Annunciation. Moreover, the duke augmented the enrollment with five more knights, in honor of the five wounds of Christ.
In 1869, Victor Emmanuel II, who was soon to become King of a united Italy, changed the character of the order; it was to be simply a means of rewarding a restricted number of persons for outstanding services to the dynasty or the state.
The Order of the Golden Fleece was founded by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1429, on the occasion of his marriage with the Infanta Isabella of Portugal at Bruges in the Netherlands. Pope Eugene IV gave approval in 1433 as did also Leo X in 1516. Of course, the origin and the name enjoy the aura of the usual legends, one of which is that the duke wished to commemorate the golden hair of Mary of Rumbrugge with whom he was supposed to be in love. If such is true, the order was certainly a peculiar wedding gift for his legitimate wife. The knights, who numbered thirty-one, were staunchly organized, and the order soon achieved great fame and was reputed to embody the very spirit of chivalry. The Dukes of Burgundy and their successors acted as grand masters. Eventually, it became an order of merit divided into two branches, one under the jurisdiction of the Austrian Hapsburgs and the other under the jurisdiction of the Spanish Bourbons. With the overthrow of both of these houses the order is in abeyance.
The French King Louis XI founded the Order of Saint Michael in 1469. After having fallen into disrepute, because it took in all kinds of members, its decoration was dubbed “le collier à toutes bêtes—the collar to fit every animal.” The Order of the Holy Ghost replaced it in 1573 under King Henry III. The investiture of the knights was ritualized with pompous religious ceremonies.[3]
The foregoing examples emphasize the fact that these and similar knightly fraternities were not without certain religious features. The brotherhood was placed under the protection of a patron saint; it might receive papal approbation; the meeting place of the knights included a chapel; and the gatherings of the knights as well as the initiation of a new member were graced with religious rites. The rule of these societies imposed upon their members a virtuous life, as was fitting for a true knight, such as the devotion to the Holy Spirit or the Blessed Virgin. Sometimes the statutes exhorted the members to attend daily Mass, and prescribed the reception of the sacraments twice or three times a year as well as the daily recitation of a part of the divine office. However, the dynastic orders of knighthood were different in character from the original military orders, with little of “religio” and still less of “militia.” Despite some religious features, the members did not take the canonical vows, except the oath of fidelity to the crown, neither did they live in common. Their military exploits, too, were quite insignificant in comparison with those of the Templars or the Hospitallers. When these knights fought at all, they did so not in a body, but rather as individuals. The very exclusiveness of the Golden Fleece (thirty-one knights) or the Annunziata Order (fifteen and later twenty knights) excluded all large scale feats. Besides, the objective of their military activities was not the defense of the faith, but the conquest of any enemy with whom their sovereign might become embroiled.
Further development of almost all orders of knighthood is one of monotonous regularity. Those which did not become extinct were completely secularized, some during the course of the Reformation and others during the French Revolution. The latter abolished all orders of knighthood in France, but in 1802 Napoleon re-established an order of knighthood—that of the Legion of Honor. It was merely an order of merit, and served as a model not only for the newer but also reverted upon the older still existing orders.
A few orders of knighthood did not become reduced to mere orders of merit and did retain a link with the Church. These include the Order of Malta, that of the Teutonic Knights, the Holy Sepulchre, and the Iberian military orders, which will be the subject of the subsequent articles.