In 1369, Louis II "the Good", duke of Bourbon founded the Knights of the Golden Shield to commemorate the release from English captivity of noble hostages held along with the king John II of France. This release came in 1369, three years after the death of the captive king.
The knighthood order counted, except the Grand Master, twelve knights, and was aimed at defending and protecting women. This courtly ideal, in which knights were protecting vulnerable women, was typical of the culture and chivalrous self-image of the late Middle Ages. The motto of the order was "Allons" (Let's go).
The order is also "Order of the Green Shield" called.
Gustav Adolph Ackermann, " Ordensbuch, Sämtlicher in Europa blühender und erloschener Orden und Ehrenzeichen ". Annaberg, 1855, p 209 - 210 n°87. "Orden vom goldenen (och grünen) Schild" - Google Books (Former orders of France: p.205-214)
William I or Wilhelm I was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united Germany. He was de facto head of state of Prussia from 1858, when he became regent for his brother Frederick William IV, whose death three years later would make him king.
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George I was King of Greece from 30 March 1863 until his assassination in 1913.
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Emperor of the French was the title of the monarch and supreme ruler of the First and the Second French Empires.
Louis III, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine was Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine from 1848 until his death in 1877.
Frederick I was the Grand Duke of Baden from 1858 to 1907.
Dame is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the British honours system and those of several other Commonwealth realms, such as Australia and New Zealand, with the masculine form of address being Sir. It is the female equivalent for knighthood, which is traditionally granted to males. Dame is also style used by baronetesses in their own right.
The Ordre du Croissant was a chivalric order founded by Charles I of Naples and Sicily in 1268. It was revived in 1448 or 1464 by René I, king of Jerusalem, Sicily and Aragon, to provide him with a rival to the English Order of the Garter. René was one of the champions of the medieval system of chivalry and knighthood, and this new order was neo-Arthurian in character. Its insignia consisted of a golden crescent moon engraved in grey with the word LOZ, with a chain of 3 gold loops above the crescent. On René's death, the Order lapsed.
The Order of the Crown is an order founded by the northern French nobleman Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy in 1378 and belongs to the historical orders of France.
The Order of the Belt of Hope was a knighthood order which was founded in 1389 by King Charles VI of France and dedicated it to "Our Lady who bring back home the lost hunters".
The Order of the Passion of Christ was a French knighthood order which was founded in 1380 by King Richard II of England and in 1400 by his father-in-law king Charles VI of France. It was a crusader knighthood.
John I, Duke of Bourbon founded in 1414 the Order of the Golden Chains.
The 'Order of the Greyhound' was founded in 1416 in the Duchy of Bar. One also called this chivalric order, the "Order of the Faithfulness"
The Order of the Yellow Ribbon was founded in 1600 in Nevers by French-Italian nobleman Charles III, Duke of Nevers, nephew of the French king Henry III, and knights would be imposed very peculiar tasks.
The Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was founded in 1608 by Pope Paul V at the request of King Henry IV of France.
The Order of Our Lady of the Thistle was founded in January 1370 in Moulins, by Louis II "the Good", Duke of Bourbon « in the honour of God and the Immaculated Virgin», at the occasion of his marriage with Anne of Auvergne, Heiress Countess of Forez, daughter of Beraud II, Dauphin of Auvergne and Jeanne of Forez; niece of John, Count of Forez.
The Order of the Knights Bannerets was a French knighthood mentioned in a biography of Sir Robert Bruce Cotton, 1st Baronet (1570-1631) by Thomas Smith.
The Order of Christian Charity was, supposedly, founded in 1589 by the French King Henry III and was granted to disabled veterans.
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