The chain of power

Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s fire head wears a chain around his neck, consisting of pairs of connected fire irons with flints as the chain links. A ram’s coat hangs on its chest, the so-called Golden Fleece. Next to it we find the twin-headed eagle, sign of the Hapsburg majesty. The Order of the Golden Fleece is one of the most significant knight’s orders of the time and an important symbol of Hapsburg power.

The Order of the Golden Fleece is instituted by Duke Philip III of Burgundy on the occasion of his marriage to Isabella of Portugal in 1429. It becomes the Order of the House of Hapsburg in 1477 through Mary of Burgundy’s marriage to Emperor Maximilian I. Originally the insignia of the Order is a golden ram beneath a flint on a chain of flints and fire steels. Later a golden ring forms the centrepiece.

The prerequisites for being admitted into the Order are noble birth, Catholic confession and male gender. There is a limit of 50 members and admissions are decided upon by the head of the Hapsburg family. Knights of the Order still have their chapter meeting on the day of the patron saint of the Order, Saint Andrew, on November 30.