GOLDEN FLEECE. In Greek tradition, the fleece of the ram Chrysomallus, the recovery of which was the object of the Argonautic expedi tion. (See ARGONAUTS.) The golden fleece has given its name to a celebrated Order of knight hood in Austria and Spain, founded by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, and sovereign of the Netherlands, at Bruges, on January 10, 1430, on the occasion of his marriage with Isabella, daugh ter of King John I. of Portugal. This Order was instituted for the protection of the Church, and the fleece was probably assumed for its emblem as much from being the material of the staple manu facture of the Low Countries as from its connec tion with heroic times. The founder made himself grand master of the Order, a dignity appointed to descend to his successors, and the number of knights was at first limited to twenty-four, but was subsequently increased. After the death of Charles V. the Burgundo-Spanish line of the House of Hapsburg remained in possession of the Order; but at the close of the War of the Span ish Succession the Emperor Charles VI. laid claim to it in virtue of his possession of the Belgian Netherlands, and, taking with him the archives of the Order, celebrated its inauguration with great magnificence at Vienna in 1713. Philip V. of Spain contested the claim of Charles, and the dispute, several times renewed, was at last tacit ly adjusted by the introduction of the Order in both countries. In Austria the Emperor may
now create any number of knights from the old nobility; if Protestants, the Pope's consent is required. In Spain, princes, grandees, and per sonages of peculiar merit are alone eligible. The insignia are a golden fleece hanging from a gold and blue enameled flintstone emitting flames, and borne in its turn by a steel forming the letter B. On the enameled obverse is the legend Pretium Laborum Non Vile (`No mean recompense for effort'). The decoration was originally sus pended from a chain of alternate firestones and rays, for which Charles V. allowed a red ribbon to be substituted, and the chain is now worn only by the grand master. The Spanish decora tion differs slightly, except when worn on the highest occasions, from the Austrian. The cos tume consists of a robe of deep-red velvet, lined with white taffeta, and a long mantle of purple velvet lined with white satin and richly trimmed with embroidery, containing firestones and steels emitting flames and sparks. On the hem, which is of white satin, is embroidered in gold Je l'ay empris CI have dared it'). There is also a cap of purple velvet embroidered in gold, with a hood; the shoes and stockings are red. See DEES.