The Order of Saint Michael (French: L'Ordre de Saint-Michel) was the first French chivalric order, founded by Louis XI of France in 1469, in competitive response to the Burgundian Order of the Golden Fleece founded by Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, Louis' chief competitor for the allegiance of the great houses of France, the Dukes of Orléans, Berry, and Brittany. As a chivalric order, its goal was to confirm the loyalty of its knights to the king. Originally, there were a limited number of knights, at first thirty-one, then increased to thirty-six including the king. An office of Provost was established in 1476. The Order of St Michael was the highest Order in France until it was superceeded by the Order of the Holy Spirit. A military order is a Christian order of knighthood that is founded for crusading, i. ... Louis XI the Prudent (French: Louis XI le Prudent) (July 3, 1423 – August 30, 1483), also informally nicknamed luniverselle aragne (old French for universal spider), was King of France (1461 - 1483). ... Events July 26 - Battle of Edgecote Moor October 17 - Prince Ferdinand of Aragon wed princess Isabella of Castile. ... Coat of arms of the 2nd duchy of Burgundy and later of the French province of Burgundy Burgundy (French: Bourgogne) is a historic region of France, inhabited in turn by Pre-Indo-European people, Celts (Gauls), Romans (Gallo-Romans), and various Germanic peoples, most importantly the Burgundians and the Franks. ... The Order of the Golden Fleece (Orden del Toisón de Oro in Spanish) is an order of chivalry founded in 1430 by Duke Philip III of Burgundy to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Isabelle of Aviz. ... Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (Philip the Good or Philippe le Bon) (1396–1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. ... Duke of Orléans is one of the most important titles in the French peerage, dating back at least to the 14th century. ... The title of Duc de Berry in the French nobility was frequently created for junior members of the French royal family. ... The Duke of Brittany (French: Duc de Bretagne) governed Brittany, a region with strong traditions of independence, including a language and culture all its own. ... Provost (through O. Fr. ... Events March 2 - Battle of Grandson. ... The Order of the Holy Spirit, also known as the Order of the Knights of the Holy Spirit, (French: LOrdre du Saint Espirt; LOrdre des Chevaliers du Saint Esprit) was an Order of Chivalry under the French Monarchy. ...

As would be expected, the first knights were among the most powerful nobles in France, close relatives of the king and a few from other royal houses in Europe. Its membership was strictly under the king's control, but under Louis' successors the Order was less selective: in 1565, during the Wars of Religion, when loyalties were strained and essential, the formal number was increased to fifty but there may have been as many as seven hundred knights under Henry III in 1574 (Sainty). The silver Anglia knight, commissioned as a trophy in 1850, intended to represent the Black Prince. ... The Lords and Barons prove their Nobility by hanging their Banners and exposing their Coats-of-arms at the Windows of the Lodge of the Heralds. ... Events March 1 - the city of Rio de Janeiro is founded April 27 - Cebu City is established becoming the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines. ... The French Wars of Religion were a series of conflicts fought between the Catholic League and the Huguenots from the middle of the sixteenth century to the Edict of Nantes in 1598. ... Henry III (French: Henri III; Polish: Henryk III Walezy; September 19, 1551 – August 2, 1589) was King of Poland (1573-1574) and subsequently King of France (1574-1589). ... Events April 14 - Battle of Mookerheyde. ...

The Order of St. Michael dedicated to the Archangel Michael conveyed to every member a gold badge of the image of the saint standing on a rock (Mont Saint Michel) in combat with the serpent. It was suspended from an elaborate gold collar made of cockleshells (the badge of pilgrim, especially those to Santiago de Compostela) linked with double knots. The statutes state that the badge could be hung on a simple chain, and later it was suspended from a black ribbon. Guido Renis archangel Michael (in the Capuchin church of Sta. ... Mont-Saint-Michel: sheep graze on the reclaimed pr -sal or salt meadow (2004) Mont Saint Michel is a small rocky islet, roughly one kilometer from the north coast of France at the mouth of the Couesnon River, near Avranches in Normandy, close to the border of Brittany. ... Serpent is a word of Latin origin (serpens, serpentis) that is normally substituted for snake in a specifically mythic or religious context, in order to distinguish such creatures from the field of biology. ... For albums named Pilgrim, see Pilgrim (album). ... The Obradoiro façade of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela: an all-but-Gothic composition generated entirely of classical details Santiago de Compostela (2003 pop. ...

When the Order of St Michael was founded, the famous illuminator Jean Fouquet was commissioned to paint the title miniature of the Statutes, showing the king presiding over the knights (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, fr. 19819). The original plan was for the knights to meet yearly at Mont Saint Michel in Normandy, but such an isolated location was impractical and the Order met in a chapel consecrated to its use in the royal palace, Paris. Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels (c. ... The new buildings of the library. ... Mont Saint Michel is a historic pilgrimage site and a symbol of Normandy Normandy is a geographical region in northern France. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ...

External links

• Statutes and Ordinances of the Order of St Michael - illuminated manuscript, France (probably Paris), c. 1523-1528
• Guy Stair Sainty, "The Order of Saint Michael (France)"

Further reading

• Boulton, D'Arcy Jonathan Dacre, 1987. The Knights of The Crown: The Monarchical Orders of Knighthood in Later Medieval Europe, 1325-1520, Woodbridge, Suffolk (Boydell Press), (revised edition 2000).