The Order of the Dragon (German: Drachenorden; Latin: Societas Draconistrarum) is an order of selected nobles modeled on the Order of St. George of Burgundy . The order was originally commissioned by Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund (while still king of Hungary) and his second wife (Barbara Cilli ) in order to protect the royal family.

Origins of the Order

Miloš Obilić, a Serbian knight, had created the secret order of the Dragon of St George. His shield represented the sun with twelve rays and there were 12 knights, himself included, belonging to this order. As a distinctive sign, they wore a dragon on their helmet. The aim of the order was the death of the Ottoman sultan Murad I.

On June 15th, 1389,at the Battle of Kosovo, Miloš made his way into the Ottoman camp on the pretext of being a deserter, forced his way into the Sultan's tent and stabbed him to death. Miloš Obilic was later executed together with all other Serbian prisoners by Murad's son, Beyazid I.

Only one of the twelve knights of the Dragon survived. He later became a trainer of Serbian prince - Despot Stefan Lazarevic. Despot Stefan Lazarević (1374-1427) was the son and heir to Lazar , the Serbian prince who died at the Battle of Kosovo against the Turks in 1389. He was the first European-style knight in Serbia. Stefan became a vassal of Hungary and a knight of a special order, so when the Hungarian king Sigismund created the Order of the Dragon in 1408 Despot Stefan Lazarević was the first on the list of members.

Order of the Dragon Renewed

On December 13, 1408, the charter for the Order was publicly announced, dedicating the Order to the defense of the cross from its enemies, particularly the Turks. The founding twenty-four members were indoctrinated in 1408, including:

• Sigismund of Luxembourg, King of Hungary
• Stefan Lazarevic of Serbia
• King Alfonso of Aragon and Naples
• King Ladislaus II of Poland
• Grand Prince Vitovd of Lithuania
• Duke Ernst of Austria
• Christopher III, Duke of Bavaria and King of Denmark

Symbol of the Order

For their symbol, the Order designed an insignia of a dragon with its tail coiled around its neck. On the back of the dragon from the base of the neck to the tail is the red cross of St. George, with the entire image on a silver field. The dragon represented the Beast of the Book of Revelation while the red cross represented the victory of Christ over the forces of darkness. Members were required to wear the symbol (often as a medallion) at all times and were often buried with the symbol.

Growth of the Order

In 1431, Sigismund chose to expand the ranks of the Order. To achieve this, he invited a number of politically influential and militarily useful vassals and nobles for indoctrination into the Order. Included in this ceremony was Vlad II Dracul, father of Vlad III Dracula, who was serving as frontier commander guarding the passes from Transylvania to Wallachia.

The addition of new members caused the creation of many classes within the Order. Each class had a slight variation on the symbol of the order, although the dragon motif was dominant in each variation. Common changes included the addition of inscriptions like "O quam misericors est Deus" ("Oh, how merciful God is") and "Justus et paciens" ("Justifiably and peacefully"). The order remained prominent until the death of Sigismund in 1437. Without a strong sponsor, the Order quickly lost influence and prestige.

Modern day

Few historical artifacts of the Order remain today, although the symbol of the Order has been adopted for many family crests throughout Europe. A copy of the edict forming the Order dating to 1707 is the oldest historical artifact of the Order and is stored at the University of Bucharest.

The Order exists today as a closed establishment of selected "invitees" who pursue the "Five Holy Obligations" of chivalry.

External links

• The Dragon Society
• The Royal House of Stewart