Order of Saint George (Kingdom of Hungary)

The Order of Saint George (Hungarian: Szent György-lovagrend, Latin: Societas militae Sancti Georgii) was the first secular chivalric order in the world established by King Charles I of Hungary in 1326.

The Order was awarded to only 50 knights, and the admission of a new member required the unanimous vote of the former members. New members had to swear fidelity to the monarch. The members wore a hooded black cloak with a Latin inscription In veritatate iustus sum huic fraternali societati. Symbol of the Order was St. George slaying Dragon, as can be seen on seal attached to the Statutes.^[1]

The Order existed only for a short period. The private association of same name is self-styled order, established 2001.

Sources

1. ^ Boulton, D'Arcy Jonathan Dacre: The Knights of the Crown: the monarchical orders of knighthood in later medieval Europe, 1325–1520, Boydell Press 2000 ISBN 0851157955, p. 39

• Fügedi, Erik: Ispánok, bárók, kiskirályok (Counts, Barons and Petty Kings); Magvető Könyvkiadó, 1986, Budapest; ISBN 963 14 0582 6.
• Kristó, Gyula (editor): Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon - 9-14. század (Encyclopedia of Early Hungarian History - 9-14th centuries); Akadémiai Kiadó, 1994, Budapest; ISBN 963 05 6722 9.