The Order of the Golden Fleece
The Order of the Golden Fleece is one of the oldest orders in Europe. It was originally a chivalric order, founded by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate the Duke’s marriage to Isabella of Portugal, his third wife.
The symbol of the Golden Fleece refers to a story in Greek mythology. It is the skin of a golden winged ram, which appears in several stories but most famously in that of Jason and the Argonauts, who set out on a dangerous quest to retrieve the Fleece.
- Philip III (Philip the Good), Duke of Burgundy, founder of the Order of the Golden Fleece
Although the symbol came from mythology, the reasons for founding the Order were more materialistic in nature. Philip the Good was the sovereign ruler of lands stretching from Flanders to Switzerland. Burgundy was a prosperous region, and the Duke a powerful monarch. The Order allowed him to single out a number of knights whom he trusted and who would, in turn, be even more loyal to him than they would have been if they weren’t in his confidence.
The Order received a number of privileges that were rather unusual for chivalric orders. The sovereign undertook to consult the order before going to war, which gave all the Knights a lot of influence. The Order had jurisdiction over all crimes committed by one of its Knights, even treason, heresy or rebellion. A Knight of the Order could only be arrested if at least six other knights had signed the warrant for his arrest, and all disputes between the knights were to be settled by the order. The sovereign himself was expressly included and given the same status as other Knights when it came to punishments for not following the Order’s rules.
The badge of the Order, in the form of a sheepskin, is suspended from a jewelled collar of firesteels in the shape of the letter B, for Burgundy; with the motto “Pretium Laborum Non Vile” (“Not a bad reward for labour”) engraved on the front of the central link, and Philip’s motto “Non Aliud” (“I will have no other”) on the back. This was because non-royal knights of the Golden Fleece were forbidden to belong to any other order of knighthood.
The order was given only to Catholics, which in the height of the Reformation days was a very explicit rejection of the Protestant religions.
- Order of the Golden Fleece
The sovereignity of the order moved along with the different Habsburg empires to which the territories of Burgundy subsequently belonged, until in 1700 the last Habsburg King of Spain, Charles II, died without issue. He was succeeded by the first Bourbon King of Spain, Philip V, but this caused a dispute with the Austrian branch of the Habsburg family, who wanted to see Archduke Charles succeed to the Spanish throne, as they feared that the French and Spanish territories would be united under one Bourbon King. This caused the Spanish War of Succession, which lasted until 1714, when Philip V was confirmed as King of Spain.
This War of Succession, however, also caused the Order of the Golden Fleece to split up into a Bourbon or Spanish order and a Habsburg or Austrian order.
The Head of the Spanish Order of the Golden Fleece is the Spanish Monarch, who is also the Head of the House of Bourbon. He can award the Order to non-Catholics as well. The Duke of Wellington was the first Protestant to receive the Order of the Golden Fleece, in 1812. Under the reign of Isabella II, it was she who headed the Order, despite the fact that headship of the Order was ruled by Salic law.
Current knights and ladies of the Spanish Order of the Golden Fleece include King Juan Carlos of Spain, who is also Sovereign of the Order since his accession to the throne in 1975, the Prince of Asturias, and the current monarchs of Sweden, Luxembourg, Japan, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Norway, Thailand and Saudi Arabia, as well as the former monarchs of Greece and Bulgaria. Other members of the Spanish Order of the Golden Fleece include Javier Solana, former Secretary General of NATO, and Nicolas Sarkozy, French President and co-prince of Andorra.
The head of the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece is also the head of the house of Habsburg, one of the only former ruling families in which the headship isn’t disputed. They have kept the rule that only Catholics can receive the order; moreover, it is only handed out to royals or nobles. When Empress Maria Theresa acceded to the throne in 1740, she did not claim sovereignty of the Order; instead, it was passed on to her husband, the Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, and from there on to their children.
Current members of the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece include Archduke Karl of Austria, sovereign of the Order since 2007 and head of the House of Habsburg; a number of monarchs such as King Albert II of Belgium, Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg and the Prince of Liechtenstein; and a number of people from German high nobility, such as the Duke of Bavaria, the Duke of Württemberg and the Duke of Hohenberg. King Albert II of Belgium is one of the very few who have the privilege to wear both orders.
On 30 November and 1 December 2011, the members of the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece gathered in Bruges for their yearly chapter. The regalia of the Order are normally kept in the “Weltliche Schatzkammer” in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where most chapters of the Austrian Order take place. This year, however, the order gathered in Bruges, the city where it was founded almost 600 years ago.
The Knights gathered for Mass in the Basilica of the Holy Blood in Bruges, followed by dinner at the city hall, where the foundation of the Order is pictured on one of the wall decorations. On Thursday there was a chapter during which two new Knights took the oath and joined the order. These are the Prince de Ligne and prince Charles Louis de Mérode, both descendants from the highest Belgian nobility. There was also a requiem mass at the Church of Our Lady and lunch in the official residence of the Governor of West Flanders.
Picture credits
Portrait of Philip III (the Good), Duke of Burgundy, wearing the Order of the Golden Fleece. Painted by Rogier van der Weyden. Picture in the public domain.
Order of the Golden Fleece as displayed in the Schatzkammer of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (Austria). Picture by Peter Gerstbach and used under Creative Commons license.
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C. Alexander Brown - 3 April 2012
There needs to be a special meeting where the decision Must Be Taken to allow Protestants and eminent people who are not hereditary nobles to become members of the order.
The first person admitted should be Nelson Mandela, the world’s single most respected individual
Aimee - 7 April 2012
The Spanish Order of the Golden Fleece already allows for Protestants and eminent people to receive the Order, the latest to receive this order was Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France. Not sure what his religion is, but he’s certainly not nobility. Queen Beatrix is most definitely Protestant, and Emperor Akihito is not even Christian, and both have also received the Spanish order. Another member is Javier Solana, who is not noble and not a head of state.
I guess the Austrian Order wants to be distinguished from the Spanish one, and that’s why they keep to the original rules. Another difference is that the head of the Spanish order is a reigning monarch, who can modernize if he wants to, it won’t diminish his position or power.
The head of the Austrian order is a member of a non-reigning family, and probably somehow wants to evoke the splendour and power of the past by remaining a selective small group of members of the Austrian Imperial and Royal family and high nobility. It is a remnant of days gone by, and when holding on to the past, people tend to be unwilling to change any rules.