Back فرسان الصوف الذهبي Arabic Orde del Toisón d'Oru AST Qızıl Yun ordeni Azerbaijani Ордэн Залатога Руна Byelorussian Ордэн Залатога руна BE-X-OLD Орден на Златното руно Bulgarian Urzh ar Maoutken Aour Breton Orde del Toisó d'Or Catalan Řád zlatého rouna Czech Den gyldne Vlies Danish
| Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro Insigne Ordre de la Toison d'Or Orden vom Goldenen Vlies Insignes Ordo Velleris Aurei | |
|---|---|
 Full set of Insignia of a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece of Spain. | |
| Awarded by the King of Spain and the Head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine | |
| Established | 10 January 1430 |
| Motto | Pretium Laborum Non Vile Non Aliud |
| Status | Currently constituted |
| Founder | Philip III, Duke of Burgundy |
| Grand Masters | Felipe VI of Spain Archduke Karl of Austria |
| Grades | Knight |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | None |
| Next (lower) | Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III Imperial and Royal Order of Saint George Military Order of Maria Theresa |
 Ribbon of the order | |
The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (Spanish: Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro,[1] German: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430,[2] to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal. Today, two branches of the order exist, namely the Spanish and the Austrian Fleece; the current grand masters are King Felipe VI of Spain and Karl von Habsburg, head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, respectively. The Grand Chaplain of the Austrian branch is Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna.
The separation of the two existing branches took place as a result of the War of the Spanish Succession. The grand master of the order, Charles II of Spain (a Habsburg), had died childless in 1700, and so the succession to the throne of Spain and the Golden Fleece initiated a global conflict. On one hand, Charles, brother of the Holy Roman Emperor, claimed the crown as an agnatic member of the House of Habsburg, which had held the throne for almost two centuries. However, the late king had named Philip of Bourbon, his sister's grandchild, as his successor in his will. After the conclusion of the war in 1714, Philip was recognized as King of Spain, but the hitherto Spanish Netherlands, the old Burgundian territories, fell to the Austrian Habsburgs. Thus the two dynasties, namely the Bourbons of Spain and the Habsburgs of Austria, have ever since continued granting the separate versions of the Golden Fleece.
The Golden Fleece has been referred to as the most prestigious and historic order of chivalry in the world.[3][4] De Bourgoing wrote in 1789 that "the number of knights of the Golden Fleece is very limited in Spain, and this is the order, which of all those in Europe, has best preserved its ancient splendour".[5] Each collar is solid gold and is estimated to be worth around €50,000 as of 2018, making it the most expensive chivalrous order.[6] Current knights of the Spanish order include Emperor Akihito of Japan, former Tsar Simeon of Bulgaria, and Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, amongst 13 others. Knights of the Austrian branch include 33 noblemen and princes of small territories in Central Europe, most of them of German or Austrian origin.
- ^ Vellus aureum Burgundo-Austriacum sive Augusti et ordinis torquatorum aurei velleris equitum ... relatio historiaca. Ed.I., Antonius Kaschutnig, Paulus-Antonius Gundl
- ^ Weatherly, Cecil (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 851–867.
- ^ D'Arcy Jonathan Dacre Boulton (2000) [February 1987]. The knights of the crown: the monarchical orders of knighthood in later medieval Europe. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press, Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-312-45842-8.
- ^ "Méndez, Daniel". XLSemanal. 18 February 2012.
- ^ Jean-François de Bourgoing, Travels in Spain: Containing a New, Accurate, and Comprehensive View of the Present State of that Country, G.G.J. and J. Robinson (London, 1789), p. 110
- ^ "Bandera, María: ¿Qué es el Toisón de Oro y quiénes lo han merecido?". COPE. 30 January 2018.
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