Knights of the Golden Spur (; , or Eques aureatus) were persons knighted during the ceremony of Hungarian kings' coronations. It was not a regular knightly order, its membership did not result in any special privileges or duties. The knightly title was not hereditary, it was given only for a personal use. However, the knights were authorized, to wear real golden spurs, attached to their boots at the ceremony, and they also wore a small golden spur on their hats.
Insignia
They did not have any regular insignia, though it had been claimed several times. On 21 April 1918 Charles IV of Hungary created a decorative medal for them as a memorial insignia to his 30 December 1916 coronation in Budapest.Georg Ludwigsdorff in das unter Verantwortung von Johann Stolzer en Christian Steeb erschienene: Österreichs Orden vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart Blz. 197 – 202, Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt Graz,
The preparations for the design begun in 1917, by Joseph Hoffmann, a professor from Vienna. The first proposal was submitted to Baron Rhemen, who was responsible for the issue in June 1917, and a compromise agreement was reached in December.Günther Kronenbitter: Krieg im Frieden. Die Führung der kuk Armee und die Großmachtpolitik Österreich-Ungarns 1906–1914 . Verlag Oldenbourg, Munich 2003, , p. 150 Rhemen ordered to supplement the badge with olive branches, but they were omitted in the final version. The minutes of the 35th session of the Council of Ministers of 26 October 1917 inform us, that badges have already been completed.Pál Gergely Sallay – János Szentváry-Lukács p. 49. The statute of Charles IV about the decorative medal of knights of the golden spur was finally issued on 21 April 1918. Accordingly, the decorative medal had to be worn in the neck, on the ribbon of the Order of Saint Stephen. The hand written royal decree of 10 April 1918 allows that the decorative medal may be retained, and passed over to the heirs of the bearer as a gift. Later on, the Hungarian Prime Minister Sándor Wekerle was authorized to handled the affairs of the knights.
From the 12–13 December 1917 correspondence of Count Otokar Czernin, Minister in the personal service of the ruler, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Count Aladár Zichy, the Minister in the personal service of the King, we know the decision, how the bearers of the decorative medal have to wear the badge: "... it seems reasonable to determine precisely, that this emblem can only be worn in its original size, in the neck, and any other ways, like wearing it on the bosom or in the form of a knob made of ribbons, should be avoided under all circumstances." The ministerial summary also emphasizes that, despite its ornate design, the badge hasn't been regarded as a badge of an order, but rather as a wearable memorial item.Gergely Pál Sallay – János Szentváry-Lukács 50.
The medal from the front side shows a white enameled double cross, with the letter K (Károly) in the middle. Above the cross was placed the Holy Crown of Hungary, and the cross is surrounded by a green enameled dragon, symbolizing the Order of the Dragon. The dragon and the cross are by three quarters surrounded by an ornate golden spur. The height of the memorial sign is 67 mm, the width is 44 mm. It was worn on the red ribbon (wide 40–50 mm or more), lined by green (the ribbon of Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary). On the back side of the medal, only the dragon was worked up in detail.Die Orden des Königsreichs Ungarn, ein Fachreferat von Dr. Ottfried Neubecker, abgedruckt in der Zeitschrift Uniform Makt, Jahrgang 1943, Heft 3 At that time, gold and silver honors began to be replaced by bronze and zinc, and only the highest orders were made from precious metals.
The Bachruch company in Budapest has been entrusted with the production of the decorative medals. Despite the approval of April 1918 and the finished production of the badges by the end of 1917, the distribution still has not been made. According to a letter of 23 October 1918, the Bachruch company indicated that because of the blockade on silkware they can not deliver the badges. On 13 November 1918 they sent another negative answer regarding the acquisition of ribbons, although the badge was the same as the neck-ribbon of the middle cross of the long existing Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen. All this perfectly reflects the extent of the lack of raw materials (and the negative effects of accumulation of goods) at the end of the World War. Finally, the knights got their badges only since February 1920.Gergely Pál Sallay – János Szentváry-Lukács pp. 51–52. (Meantime the main events were the end of the world war, the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the rise and end of the Hungarian Soviet Republic, the Treaty of Trianon, and the beginning of the new Kingdom of Hungary.)
The history of the order The sources mention the first Hungarian knights of golden spur during the coronation of Hungarian Angevin rulers, but they also indicated that this was part of the ceremony already at the time of the Arpadian kings. In 1790, the Hungarian jurist Adalbert Barics believed that they were perhaps servants of king St. Stephen, and were obliged to fight with him in the battles; or the first knights might be ordered by king St. Ladislaus to assist at the reburial of St. Stephen in 1083. According to Barics, the knights were entitled to wear golden spurs, and perhaps golden armour. They also were the only persons to enter the royal court with golden horse trappings, and for some patriotic services they had to be rewarded with two times of the value of nobles' reward. If the nobles, for example, received a gold chain worth of two hundred florins, the knights of golden spur had to be donated with a gold chain worth of four hundred florins.Barics 1790. pp. 44–46., 56–60.; Hende p. 98. (It is possible that the privileges of Charles I of Hungary from 1327 to magister Doncs also belong to the tradition of the Knights of the Golden Spur. He was entitled to change the Argent parts of his coat of arms, crest and banner to Or, but only in case, if he takes part in the war by the King's side. When Charles I of Hungary died (16 July 1342), three mounted knights were set guard in front of the gates of the Buda church, to personalize the king. According to the Chronicon Pictum of Márk Kálti: "One of the gallants was adorned with a tournament dress suitable for the royal dignity, the next with a dress suitable for the spear-struggle, and the third wore the royal majesty's battle-armory... The gallants ... wore golden helmets and their crest was an ostrich [head with horseshoe in the beak]: as like as the gallant king used to wear and use them in his life. ...all these were the king's belongings during his life."Kálti Márk Krónikája, chapt. 212. Translated by László Geréb. According to the description, the king had a special armory for the "tornamentum"s and the "hastiludium"s, suitable for two different types of tournaments.)
The spurs were always seen as symbols of the knighthood, and some of them wore nicely ornate pieces. Representative spurs could also be made of gold.Gyula Kristó: Az Anjou-kor háborúi. Budapest, 198. p. 250. The knightly rank was mostly expressed by a golden spur. The saying "earning the spurs" also suggests that the right to wear a spur was identical with the acquisition of a knightly rank. During the 1343 Rome pilgrimage of Queen Elizabeth, the mother of king Louis the Great, her cortege was made of fifty knights of golden spur.Antal Pór: Nagy Lajos 1326–1382. Magyar Történeti Életrajzok. Budapest, 1892. In 1396, King Sigismund created Resti, the admiral of the Hungarian navy knight of the golden spur, in the city of Ragusa. He was given gold spurs, and gold chain.Kassics 1840. p. 300. It happened at Christmas Day, when King Sigismund was presented with a piece from the Savior's sponge by the Ragusan city council. As the sign of his gratitude, the king created the town's rector (and the admiral of the Hungarian navy), Marino Resti knight of the golden spur, and ordered that this piece should always be passed over to Resti's office successors.Remellay 1857/22. p. 200.
On 26 September 1412 Bertholo de Orsini has been taken into the Order of the Dragon, when at his request he was also allowed to see the order's original founding charter in Buda. At the same time, King Sigismund made him his counsellor (consiliariorum et athletarum nostrorum), created him knight of the golden spur (cingulo militis seu militaris preheminentie decore presentialiter adornamus, facientes tibi insignia militie et presertim calcar deauratum ad calcem sinistri pedis tui per nobilem Stephanum de Rozgon aule nostre regalis militem et de dicta societate socialem more et observantia debita in talibus et consueta coram cunctis astantibus apponi et aligari, preserving him the possibility, that – when he'll put on aureas imperatorias infulas in urbe Romana – he can put a spur on his another leg as well), furthermore, he was also belted with a sword (gladio ancipiti seu ense, cum nos bellum insigne committemus, te nobis astante statuentes expresse et hoc regio decernentes edicto).Elemér Mályusz, ed.: Zsigmondkori oklevéltár III. (1411–1412). Budapest, 1993. 632–634. 2728. szám
On 31 May 1433 Emperor Sigismund created after his coronation in Rome, at Bridge of Hadrian a great number of new knights. Some sources indicate that they were more than 200.Koller, H.: Der St. GeorgsRitterorden Kaiser Friedrichs III. In: Fleckenstein, Josef – Hellman, Manfred (ed.): Die geistlichen Ritterorden Europas. Vorträge und Forschungen. Herausgegeben vom Konstanzer Arbeitskreis für mittelalterliche Geschichte Band XXVI. Sigmarinen: Jan Thorbecke Verlag, 1980. p. 417. (If we take into consideration the symbolic year 256, their number might be exactly the same, as like as at the 1452 coronation of Frederick III.) Numerous new knights were also granted Order of the Dragon.
Some coat of arms miniatures of Giovanni Francesco Capodilista also show crest and horse cloth semy of golden spurs (along with other insignia on his clothing, and his neck: Order of the Dragon, Order of the Jar, the devise of House of Lancaster the so-called SS-chain). The Capodilista arms was granted in 1434 by emperor Sigismund in Basel, and at the same time he was raised for the knight of golden spur (maybe also granted with the Order of Dragon), appointed as a royal counselor, and granted the title of Pfalzgraf.Martin Roland – Andreas Zajic: Illuminierte Urkunde des Mittelalters in Mitteleuropa. In: Archiv für Diplomatik Schriftgeschichte Siegel- und Wapepnkunde. 59. Band, 2013. p. 373. footnote 290