Order of the Star (France)

The Order was initially conceived of in 1344 by John of Valois, Duke of Normandy and future king of France. This project, like the one to refound the Round Table which seems to have inspired it, had to be postponed for a number of years, and was only brought to fruition in January 1352 - nearly two years after the first feast of the Order of the Garter, and more than sixteen months after John succeeded his father on the French throne as king John II of France. Established under sanction of Pope Clement VI, the Order of the Star's inaugural ceremony on January 6, 1352, had a lower turnout than anticipated and embarrassingly, a small English force took the castle of Guînes while its captain, the Sire of Bavilenghem, attended the meeting. The Order was designed to accommodate up to 500 members, a notably larger figure compared to the 24 members of the English Order of the Garter. The significant losses of 80–90 knights at the Battle of Mauron suggest that the Order had a robust membership, with knights likely inducted beyond the initial meeting. The Order's chapter house was to be funded by lands and wealth seized in prosecution of crimes of lèse-majesté. However, in the end, the king granted little of the wealth promised, finding it more profitable to use confiscated or forfeited lands to buy off noblemen's loyalties. The Order was inspired by Geoffroy de Charny, theoretician of chivalry and elite knight who ultimately earned the apex privilege of Oriflamme bearer. In part it was intended to prevent the disaster of Crécy and to this end only success on the battlefield counted towards a member's merit, not success in tournaments. By its statutes, members also received a small payment and the Order provided housing in retirement. They were sworn not to retreat or move more than four arpents (about six acre's breadths) from a battle. This last provision cost the lives of ninety members of the Order at the Battle of Mauron in 1352, and at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 cost the king his freedom when many, if not most, of his fellow knights of the Star lost their lives. The Order fell rapidly into disuse during John's captivity in London, but afterwards the nominal ranks swelled so enormously that by the time of Charles V its bestowal was meaningless. ==Dress==

The badge of the Order was described by its founder as "a white star, in the middle of the star a roundel of azure, in the middle of this roundel of azure a little gold sun". The motto Monstrant regibus astra viam ("the star[s] show the way to kings") refers to the Three Kings led by the Star of Bethlehem, however some scholars have suggested that the star symbol on the Order's badge represented the Virgin Mary and the sun represented Christ, with the motto being a later attribution. If an existing manuscript illumination (illustration) depicting the founding meeting of the Order is accurate, the Order's garb consisted in red robes lined with vair bearing eight-pointed black stars set with various gemstones worn on the upper left side of the mantle. The exact size of this star and the number and value of the gemstones with which it was set varied according to the knight's own choice since the star was made at the knight's own expense. The insignia also included a gold ring of which the enamelled red bezel was circular; within it an eight-pointed star in white enamel extending past the diameter of the bezel, and within the star a roundel of azure containing a small yellow sun. The name of the knight to whom the ring belonged was inscribed on the outside of the ring around this bezel, presumably so it could be sent back to the king to identify the particular knight who had died in battle. The Order also had a red banner sprinkled with white eight-pointed stars and bearing an image of the Virgin at its center. == Influence and Legacy ==

Influence on Later Chivalric Orders While the Order itself was relatively short-lived, the use of an eight-pointed star worn on the left breast became very influential in the design of the insignia of many later orders of chivalry and still later orders of merit. The Order of the Star's insignia featured an eight-pointed star, often adorned with gemstones and worn on the left breast, accompanied by a gold ring with an eight-pointed star in white enamel, in the current French commune of Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, which also has its coat of arms inspired by the Order. ==See also==