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The 'Order of the Dragon' (German: ''Drachenorden''; Hungarian: ''Sárkány Lovagrend''; Latin: ''Societas Draconistrarum'') was an order of selected nobles modeled on the Order of Saint George of Hungary. The order was founded in 1408 by Sigismund, King of Hungary, and his second wife Barbara Cilli. The defeated dragon is a symbol of the destruction of heresy. The Order flourished in Germany and Italy. Members of the Order were known as ''draconists''.^[1]

Contents

Origins of the Order

Symbol of the Order

Growth of the Order

Other notable members

Modern day

Trivia

Origins of the Order

In the second half of the fourteenth century, many kings founded their own orders of knights to support their thrones. Notable examples are: the Order of the Garter in England, the Order of Jug in Aragon, the Order of Scarf in Bohemia etc. Unlike the famous military orders of the Templars or the Hospitallers these orders were secular in nature.
The Order of the Dragon (Lat: Societatis draconistrarum) was an institution similar to other chivalric orders of the time, created by the Sigismund, then King of Hungary, who in 1408 united his faithful barons in a league, named the Order of the Dragon. The order was modeled on the ''Order of the Dragon of Saint George'', founded by the Serbian knight Miloš Obilić, who went on to kill the Ottoman Sultan Murad I in 1389.
According to its statute, which survives in a copy dated 1707, the Order required its initiates to defend the Cross and fight its enemies, principally the Turks. The original Order had twenty-four members taken from the nobility. The members were important political allies and vassals, the pillars of Sigismund's power. The name of the order refers to St. George, the dragon-slayer. The sigils of the order were an ouroborus and the flaming cross. There is a letters patent of 26 March 1416 showing Order of the Dragon, given by King Sigismund in Paris to Palantine Nicholas Garai.
On December 13, 1418, after the Council of Constance, the charter for the Order was publicly announced, dedicating the Order to the defense of the cross from its enemies, particularly the Ottomans and Hussites. The founding twenty-four members inducted in 1418 included:

★ Sigismund of Luxembourg, King of Hungary

★ Stefan Lazarević of Serbia

★ King Alfonso of Aragon and Naples

★ King Ladislaus II of Poland

★ Grand Prince Vytautas of Lithuania

★ Duke Ernst of Austria

★ Christopher III, Duke of Bavaria and King of Denmark

★ Pipo of Ozora

★ Jacob I Lacković

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 Saint George, with the entire image on an ''argent'' field. The dragon represented The Scarlet Beast of the Book of Revelation while the red cross represented the victory of Christ over the forces of evil. Members were required to wear the symbol (often as a medallion) at all times and were often buried with the symbol.
A University of Bucharest annotation to the original edict which establishes the Order reads ''O Quam Misericors est Deus, Pius et Justus'', which may be part of the emblem.

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 induction into the Order.
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.^[2]
Among those inducted was Vlad II, Voivod of Wallachia, who guarded the passes from Transylvania to Wallachia. This membership resulted in Vlad being called ''Dracul'' (the Dragon) and his son being called ''Draculea'' (son of the Dragon) or Dracula.

Other notable members

★ Christopher III, Duke of Bavaria and King of Denmark

★ Thomas de Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk (after 1439)

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, dating to 1706, of the edict forming the Order is the oldest historical artifact of the Order and is stored at the University of Budapest. The Order was revived along with several other chivalric orders on the 1st of August 2001 by imperial decree of His Imperial and Royal Highness Prince Karl of Germany, just 1 month, 10 days before the annhialation of the World Trade Centers.

Trivia

★ Cradle of Filth has adopted a slighted altered version of the Order's Wax Seal as the band logo. Their official fan club is titled ''The Order of the Dragon''.

★ The Order of the Dragon was used in Elizabeth Kostova's novel ''The Historian''. They were in the book as the underlings of Vlad Ţepeş (whom they considered to be Count Dracula) and were used to further his scholarly interests.

★ In the role-playing game series World of Darkness, there is a covenant known as the ''Ordo Dracul'' that claims to have been founded by Dracula.

★ The novel ''Map of Bones'' by James Rollins included the ancient and modern day Dragon Court Order.