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Ordre de la Toison d'Or - Order of the Golden Fleece
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About the Order of the Golden Fleece
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Statutes (statuts, estatutos)
- Statuts de l'Ordre de la Toison d'Or (transcription de 1689, Cologne, Pierre Sweitzer)
Insignia (insigne)
- A golden sheepskin, suspended from a golden, bejeweled collar - which shows firesteels in the shape of the letter B, for Burgundy, linked by flints. On the central link of the collar, it bears the motto "Pretium Laborum Non Vile" ("Not a bad reward for labour"), as well as the motto of Philippe le Bon: "Non Aliud" ("I will have no other").
Number of members (nombre de membres, numéro de miembros)
- In the first years of existence, the number of members was modified two times. Since 1516, the number of members has been stable:
- 1430 : 25 members
- 1433 : 31 members
- 1516 : 51 members
- New members are selected when seats become vacant. Between 1430 and 1581, the Order staged a total of 23 'chapters' - where new knights were elected to fill vacant seats. Since a papal dispensation in 1578 from the Order's statutes, the Grand Master can directly select new knights, without elections.