Changed the structure of the project. Can you help collaborating curators? :-)

Btw I think the first 16 Knights can stay on the main projectpage.

George J. Homs I do understand what you wrote in the other discussion about a timeline.. to get a time snapshot, and I toally agree with you that would be great if projects can lead to a timesnapshot.
So if you want to change the structure be my guest. Anything that makes this project better and more meaningful makes me happy :-)

After some discussion with Jennie, we think the approach below might be the best to progress this mega-project. Thanks for input!

It's probably better to structure the project in subprojects that follow a 'manageable' timeline. So, we looked at the defining moments on the history of the order. These moments are actually statutory revisions in the order, but they correspond more or less to significant historical moments.

So here's the line-up:
* Period 1: 1469-1565. From foundation to the first major revision by Charles IX. Fairly manageable, but we haven't found a 'definite' list of all knights yet. The end of this period just preceeds the Eighty Years' War and the major economic shift to the Low Countries, the Huguenot diaspora, etc
* Period 2: 1565-1665: Reflecting the political turmoil and the wars, the number of knights is seriously inflated (estimates are around 1,500). this is a 'grey zone', and probably a period we should not focus on too much given the complexity (for the moment). The end of the period is marked by statutory revisions by Louis XIV. Regel: maximum 50 ridders.
* Period 3 : 1665-1791. There is a book that holds a definite list of 464 knights for this period (we don't have the list, yet. The end of the period is marked by the abolishment of the order by the French Conventional Nationale, July 30 1791.
* Period 4 : 1816-1830. A brief period where the order is revived by Louis XVIII. The order is definitely abolisged in 1830.

So, the suggestion is to assign the knights we can identify to one of these periods - each of them a sub-project (with an intro that explains the facts about the order and the political context.
On each page, we build the list of knights, in two ways:
1. A chronological list. This is the ultimate goal, a chronology of nomination, as this allows timely snapshots of which knights were 'together' at any specific historical moment.
2. Followed by an alphabetical lists (preceded by 0000) for knights for which we can't find a nomination date. Once the date is identified, we move them to the chronological list.

Even if we have no nomination year, we can probably assume pretty accurately to which period a knight belongs, based on his birth-death dates. So, making the split shouldn't be too difficult.

With the Golden Fleece project, we had a definite, chronological list, so that was easy to work with. It s far more challenging with Saint Michael, especially because this order rarely respected its own statutes and the numbers were heavily inflated. For instance, between 1565-1578, it is estimated that 500 knights were nominated, wheres the rules implied that there could only be 50 living knights at any given moment in time. This underscores why the second period is a 'grey zone'; interesting from a political perspective, but a 'nightmare' to ever get these knights identified (leave alone evaluating their personal significance in events).

As said, any feedback more than welcome!

Good work, Jennie & Sjors, and tell how we can help you to do this big efford with pleasure and succes.

By reading more closely I understand that the word 'Regel: ' in rule #17 of your protocol is about the amount of Knights in the Order at that peticular time and not the amount of links in the project. Am I right?

Hoy Jeannette, not sure what line you're referring to. But, let me guess... I think we want to attach profiles to the projects. But, we also want the person and the project list, together with his birth/death year, his most significant title, and that hyperlinked to the profile.
In terms of knowing which knights were alive at any particular time in history, we might get creative in Geni search and filter down on the project lists. But, that's something that could be interesting in particular for historical research, of course.

Regel: maximum 50 ridders.

Ah yes, sorry. Like with the Golden Fleece, the status put a limit on the number of living Knights. In Saint Michael, the idea was to meet every year, see who died, and nominate new ones to fill the vacant seats.
In the example I gave, it is clear that with 500 nominations in 13 years, they just kept adding and expanding.
To give a sense of comparison, in the Golden fleece, there were about 600 in total in timeframes of 300 years (over 1800 in total, ever, spread over the first 300 years, and then the Spanish and Austrian branches apart. An average of two per year.
If we could filter on the living Fleece knights on any given year, you would see there were never more than 50 knights.
I guess this is why the Fleece has retained its stature as the 'order of orders', and why Saint Michael lost its reputation at some point.