TheKnights of the Golden Spur (Latin:equites aurati Sancti Romani Imperii,lit. 'Golden Knights of the Holy Roman Empire'; shortequites aurati ormilites aurati, "golden [decorated] knights/soldiers") were a public official elite of theHoly Roman Empire which consisted mainly of members of thegentry, but also from members of thebourgeoisie and thearistocracy. The term should not be confused with the Englishknight bachelor, who is frequently termedEques Auratus in Latin monumental inscriptions, especially from the 17th century, denoting the privilege held by him of being allowed to gild his armour.[1]
The honorees were awarded the accolade not necessarily for their knighthood, but because of special services. It was a personal honour for services rendered, which was not hereditary. The knight had the right to wear, contrary to existing regulations, golden spurs, or even a gold-plated armor. More practically, he enjoyed the right to wear a goldcollar around the neck.
Besides theHoly Roman Emperor himself, aneques auratus could also be a particularly privilegedCount Palatine (Comes palatinus Caesareus), entitled to carry (other) noble titles and appointequites aurati in turn.
In the free imperial cities, this honor was also increased to the families of the bourgeois patriciate consisting of long-distance trade merchants, bankers and the Council members to access as there was no competition on the part of the nobility to this form of giving.
The Order of the Golden Spur had its origins in the titleCount palatine of the Lateran Palace, which was in the gift of theHoly Roman Emperor in the 14th century:Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor conferred the title on one Fenzio di Albertino di Prato, 15 August 1357, at Prague.[2] The Order began to be associated with the inheritablepatent of nobility in the form ofcount palatinate during the Renaissance;Emperor Frederick III named Baldo Bartolini, professor of civil law at theUniversity of Perugia, a count palatinate in 1469, entitled in turn to confer university degrees. "Bartolini also received the Knighthood of the Golden Spur, a title that sometimes accompanied the office of count palatinate in the Renaissance", according to the historian of universities Paul F. Grendler;[3] the Order of the Golden Spur, linked with the title of count palatinate, was widely conferred after theSack of Rome, 1527, byCharles V, Holy Roman Emperor; the text of surviving diplomas conferred hereditary nobility to the recipients.
Among the recipients wasTitian (1533), who had painted an equestrian portrait of Charles,[4] andNiccolò Paganini byPope Leo XII (1827).[5]
Close on the heels of the Emperor's death in 1558, its refounding in Papal hands is attributed toPope Pius IV in 1559.[6]
After the end of the Holy Roman Empire, the winner of the title in Austria have been recognized as Knights (May 14, 1817), the leadership title "Knight of the Holy Roman Empire" was banned (10 April 1816, October 6, 1847). The award was presented to the end of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy.
In England, particularly in the 16th and 17th centuries, aKnight Bachelor could be entitled "Eques auratus" (eq. aur.), for example,Thomas Bodley,Henry Spelman,Isaac Newton, andChristopher Wren. Originally, this was also associated with the award, the privilege to gild the armor.
In 1748, Sweden established the Order of the Knights of the North Star, described as "De stella Eques auratus" such as Carl von Linné.
The Holy Roman Empire's Order of the Golden Spur is often confused with the second highest order of the Roman Catholic Church, theOrder of the Golden Spur.