Collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece

1500-1600

Founded in Bruges in January 1430 by Philip the Good, the Order of the Golden Fleece gathered around the Duke of Burgundy a group of loyal knights entirely obedient to his will and committed by its statutes to mutual love, aid and fraternity. As a pledge of obedience and loyalty, they wore the insignia they received on their investiture, the collar of the Golden Fleece, every day. The order’s name refers either to the golden fleece sought by Jason, as recounted by Apollonius of Rhodes, or the fleece laid out on the ground by Gideon in the Bible. This collar belonged to Adrien de Croÿ (c. 1500–53), one of the faithful counsellors of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Duke of Burgundy, who bestowed it on him in 1519.

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