Order of Saint Michael

History

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. Originally, the number of members (called companions) was limited to thirty-five. In 1565, during the Wars of Religion, when loyalties were strained and essential, Charles IX increased the membership to fifty, but there may have been as many as seven hundred knights under Henry III in 1574.

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 the elaborate Collar of the Order of Saint Michael made of scallop shells (the badge of pilgrims, 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.

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 on 29 September at Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy. Such an isolated location was impractical causing Charles VIII to transfer this meeting place to the chapel of Saint-Michel-du-Palais, part of Paris' medieval royal residence the Palais de la Cité which the kings no longer used, to the control of the order in 1496. By letters patent dated 15 August 1555, the seat of the Order was transferred to the royal Château de Vincennes outside Paris.

The Order of St. Michael was abolished by Louis XVI, under pressures from the revolutionaries, on 20 June 1790.

The French government considers the Order to be the origin of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres:

Saint-Michel Order (1460–1830) can be considered as the precursor of the Order of the Arts and Letters. Originally destined to the aristocracy, from 17th to 18th centuries it became an order of civil merit, which distinguished many artists, architects, collectors, and people of letters

Notable recipients

No formal list of members of the order exists. The names of members can be gleaned from reference to their receipt of the order, from secondary sources, or from periodic lists compiled showing companions from particular families or regions.

Initial cohort

The first fifteen knights, men of "good sense, valiance, wisdom and other great and laudable virtues" (bon sens, vaillance, prud'hommie et autres grandes et louables vertus) were appointed by Louis XI and tasked to select, jointly with the king himself, the next ones to complete the first group of thirty-six:

• Charles, Duke of Guyenne
• John II, Duke of Bourbon
• Louis of Luxembourg, Constable of France
• André de Laval, Marshal of France
• Jean V de Bueil, Count of Sancerre
• Louis de Beaumont, lord of La Forêt and Le Plessis
• Jean d'Estouteville, lord of Torcy
• Louis de Laval, lord of Châtillon
• , Count of Roussillon, Admiral of France
• Antoine de Chabannes, Count of Dammartin, Grand Master of the Hotel of France
• Jean d'Armagnac, Count of Comminges, Marshal of France
• , lord of Craon
• Gilbert de Chabannes, lord of Curton, Seneschal of Guyenne
• , Seneschal of Poitou
• Tanneguy du Châtel, Governor of Roussillon and Cerdagne

Later appointees

• Samson de Saint-Germain, Baron of Asnebec, Baron of Ranes, Lord of Rouvrou, la Fresnaye and Saint-Georges, in 1469 by Louis XI
• Cesare Borgia, in 1499 by Louis XII
• Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua in 1507 by Louis XII
• Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, in 1532 by Francis I
• James V of Scotland, in 1534 by Francis I
• Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus in 1545 by Francis I
• James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault in 1548 by Henry II
• George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly in 1548 by Henry II
• Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll in 1548 by Henry II
• Paul de Thermes in 1549 (for the capture of Haddington and Broughty Castle)
• André de Montalembert in 1549 (for the capture of Inchkeith)
• Edward VI of England, 1551 by Henry II
• Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley under the name King Henry of Scotland, 1565 by Charles IX
• Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, 1566 by Charles IX
• Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, 1566 by Charles IX
• Michiel de Ruyter, in 1666 by Louis XIV
• François Caron, in 1672 by Louis XIV
• Constance Phaulkon, in 1687 by Louis XIV

Gallery

File:Portrait of King Charles VIII of France (1470–1498), by anonymous artist, 16th century (cropped) 2.jpg|Charles VIII, son of Louis XI, wearing the collar of the Order of Saint Michael File:Ludwig XII. von Frankreich.jpg|Louis XII wearing the collar of the Order File:Statuts de l'ordre de Saint-Michel - Meermanno Museum 10C8 f8r (Assemblée des chevaliers).jpg|King Francis I presiding the Order's knights. Painting from a copy of the statutes from about 1530. File:Order of Saint Michael (heraldry).svg|Collar of the Order as used on the Royal Arms of France

Notes

References

1. Boulton, D'Arcy Jonathan Dacre. (1986). "The knights of the crown : the monarchical orders of knighthood in later medieval Europe, 1325–1520". Boydell Press.
2. Pinoteau, Benoit de Fauconpret; préface d'Hervé. (2007). "Les chevaliers de Saint-Michel, 1665–1790 : le premier ordre de mérite civil". P. du Puy.
3. Duckers, Peter. (2008). "European orders and decorations to 1945". Shire Publications.
4. Meader, John R. (1904). "Orders (Royal) and Decorations of Honor". The Americana company.
5. Vachaudez, Christophe. (2008). "Royal jewels : from Charlemagne to the Romanovs". Vendôme Press.
6. Gout, Paul. (1910). "Le Mont-Saint Michel". A. Colin.
7. [http://www.icocregister.org/2016.ICOCRegister.pdf Icoregister]
8. (1992). "European monarchy : its evolution and practice from Roman antiquity to modern times". Steiner.
9. Contamine, Philippe. (1978). "L'ordre de Saint-Michel au temps de Louis XI et Charles VIII". La Société nationale des antiquaires de France.
10. Martens, Karl von and Ferdinand de Wegman. (October 2024}}. The Order was again abolished by the French authorities in 1830, following the July Revolution.{{cite book). "Le guide diplomatique: Précis des droits et des fonctions des agents diplomatiques et consulaires; suivi d'un traité des actes et offices divers qui sont du ressort de la diplomatie, accompagné de pièce et documents proposés comme exemples, Volume 1". F.A. Brockhaus.
11. [http://www.culturecommunication.gouv.fr/Ministere/Les-services-rattaches-a-la-Ministre/Section-des-distinctions-honorifiques/L-ordre-ministeriel-des-arts-et-des-lettres Culture-Acte2] {{webarchive. link. (28 May 2012)
12. [http://www.archivesdefrance.culture.gouv.fr/action-culturelle/celebrations-nationales/2007/arts/creation-de-l-ordre-des-arts-et-des-lettres Archives de France],
13. "Mémodoc".
14. Comte Henri de Chabannes. (1894). "Histoire de la Maison de Chabannes".
15. Bradford, Sarah. (1976). "Cesare Borgia: His Life and Times". Phoenix Press.
16. Cartwright, Julia. (1905). "Isabella d'Este: Marchioness of Mantua 1474–1539 a Study of the Renaissance – Vol. 1". E.P. Dutton.
17. Graves, Michael A.R.. (2008). "Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk (1473–1554)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
18. Cameron, Jamie. (1998). "James V: The Personal Rule, 1528–1542". Tuckwell Press.
19. Beer, B.L. (1973): ''Northumberland: The Political Career of John Dudley, Earl of Warwick and Duke of Northumberland'' The Kent State University Press p. 114 {{ISBN. 0-87338-140-8
20. (1849). "History of the Abbey and Palace of Holyrood". Keeper of the Chapel Royal.
21. Hearn, Karen. (1995). "Dynasties: Painting in Tudor and Jacobean England 1530–1630". Rizzoli.
22. (2007). "Geschiedenis van Nederland: De Canon van ons Vaderlands Verleden". Walburg Pers.
23. Frazer, Robert Watson (1896). [https://archive.org/details/britishindia00frazgoog/page/n69 ''British India,'' p. 42.]
24. Van der Cruysse, Dirk: ''Louis XIV et le Siam'', Fayard, Paris 1991, p. 405. [http://www.cangelaris.com/bigok.html Cangelaris, P.D.: ''History and Genealogy of the Cangelari Family of Cephalonia (16th–20th Centuries)''], Corfu 2011, p. 91. {{in lang. el {{ISBN. 978-960-85532-2-4 [http://www.cangelaris.com/phaulkon.html Cangelaris, Panayotis D.: ''The French coat of arms of prime counsellor Costantin Gerachi (Constance Phaulkon)''], Athens 2013, pp. 36–38. (reprint in Greek)