The Insigned Order of the Golden Fleece

The Insigned Order of the Golden Fleece

To this day, the power and glory of the Dukes of Burgundy and the House of Hapsburg is bound with the Order of the Golden Fleece. Founded at the beginning of the 15th century, all the great names of the time, many kings and even emperors, were counted among the knights and sovereigns of the order. Housed in the Instituto de Valencia de Don Juan in Madrid is a splendid 16th century manuscript with the Statutes of the Order of the Golden Fleece. The codex is exceedingly richly and splendidly illustrated with numerous escutcheons of the knights of the Order and a few full-page portraits of the first five Grandmasters. Simon Bening, the most significant miniaturist of 16th century Flanders, is considered to be the artist responsible for the high-quality miniatures. In this way, the manuscripts offer a glimpse in the fascinating world of the Order of the Golden Fleece during the first two centuries of its existence, the high time of the order!

Dukes, Kings, and Kaisers as Grandmasters

Emperor Charles V (1500–1558) is represented as a powerful monarch in sovereign clothing. He stands self-confidently in the middle of a splendid Renaissance architectural backdrop that offers a view of an idealistic landscape. The crown above his head is carried by two angels. Charles V was the Grandmaster of the Order of the Golden Fleece in the years 1506–1558. His outstanding portrait is queued in the series of five portraits of the first five Grandmasters of the Order with their respective coats of arms. At the beginning there is a portrait of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy and founder of the Order in the year 1430. The sovereigns of the Order that followed him were Charles the Bold and Emperor Maximilian I, then Philip the Fair, Duke of Burgundy and King of Spain as Philip I (1478–1506), and finally the already-mentioned Charles V. All five are immortalized in the manuscript with wonderful full-page portraits.

An Institution of Significance since 1430

The Order of the Golden Fleece was founded in Bruges on January 10, 1430. The occasion was the marriage of Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy with Isabella of Portugal. Serving as the symbol of the order was the mythological ram’s skin, the Golden Fleece. Hanging from a chain, it was the distinctive mark of the Order’s knights and members. The Order consisted of important Burgundian noblemen. The Order went from the Burgundian Dukes over to the Spanish Hapsburgs and was continued there as an important institution.

The Grandiose Furnishings

The Statutes of the Order of the Golden Fleece, which is housed today in the Instituto de Valencia de Don Juan in Madrid, is richly furnished. On 230 pages, the manuscript brings together 62 pages with a total of 207 coats of arms belonging to the knights of the Order, the already-mentioned full-page portraits of the first five sovereigns of the Order, and 152 pages of text with over 300 splendid initials. The exceptionally artistic furnishing of the text is ascribed to Simon Bening. This miniaturist from Bruges (ca. 1483–1561) was already considered to be one of the greatest masters of 16th century Flemish illumination in his lifetime and still is today. He entered into art history with such famous works as the Book of Hours for Cardinal Albrecht von Brandenburg and commissions from Emperor Charles V and other high-ranking clients.

Important Testimony to the History of the Order

The manuscript with the statutes of the Order of the Golden Fleece is also known by the name El Codice de la Emperatriz. Described as the codex of the empress, who was Eugenia de Montijo, the wife of Napoleon III, who repatriated the book in the Royal Spanish Collection after it was pilfered during the French Invasion of 1808. Charles V, the fifth sovereign of the Order of the Fleece, took the precious codex with him to the palace of Yuste after his return in 1555. This displayed his particular esteem for the manuscript of exceedingly high-quality and his pride in his membership in that important Order of the Golden Fleece!