Interesting and rare Order of the Ship

[svapr]

The Order of the Ship (French: Ordre de la Nef) was a knightly order founded by King Charles III of Naples. It had a short existence: from its foundation on 1 December 1381, it lasted only five years, before it was dissolved in 1386 after the death of its founder. However, the rise and fall of this unique order had its own history.
Charles was crowned King of Naples on 25 November at Castel Nuovo. During the celebrations that followed, he inducted seven or eight knights into his new order on 1 December during a ceremonial ceremony in the Great Chapel of Castel Nuovo. In doing so, he probably imitated the foundation of the Order of the Knot (Ordine del Nodo) by King Louis I of Naples (husband of Queen Joanna) some thirty years earlier, on 25 May 1352, the same day as his coronation. Although there may have been knights in Naples who remembered the founding of the Order of the Knot, it is unlikely that Charles would have sought to revive the order, which had been extinct since Louis's death in 1362, as Louis's heirs were Charles' rivals for the throne of Naples.
However, the Order of the Knot was destined to have a short existence, similar to the Order of the Knot and the Order of St. George in Hungary. Nevertheless, it is of great interest to historians, since even after its foundation it aspired to be one of the most ambitious orders of its time. And although its form is almost unknown, its carefully drawn up statutes give us a good idea of the potential of this monarchical order as an instrument of political and military organization. Only two copies of the statutes have survived to this day, both of which are written in medieval French. The original statutes were preserved in the Livre de estatus et chapistrez, but have been lost. These original statutes were probably richly illustrated, including depictions of the Order of the Knot. The surviving copies themselves indicate that they are compiled from individual articles of the statutes of the Order of the Knot and the Hungarian Order of St. George, of which Charles was a member. One manuscript is kept in the Van Pelt Library at the University of Pennsylvania and the other in the Biblioteca nazionale universitaria in Turin. According to the Pennsylvania manuscript, the order had eight original members (Charles and seven other knights), while the Turin manuscript lists eight knights in addition to Charles. The Pennsylvania manuscript lists the following members:
• Charles of Durazzo, i.e. Charles III, "prince and founder of the order"
• Loys de Anguien (titular Duke of Athens, Count of Brienne and Lord of Enghien)
• Charles Rous de Monhaut de Calabre
• Jannot Prothojudice de Salerne
• Gieffroy de Marsan
• Palamides Bochut de Naples
• Franchoys Guidace de Naples
• Bartholomé Tomacelle de Naples
As mentioned above, the exact form of the order's jewel is unknown. This order has appeared in some auction houses, but whether it was an original is doubtful. But I am including some pictures here for illustration.

[Great Dane]

Another interesting article about an order I have never heard of. Thank you!

 

However, is there a couple of places in your description that say Knot but should have said Ship?

 

"However, the Order of the Knot was destined to have a short existence, similar to the Order of the Knot and the Order of St. George in Hungary."

 

"These original statutes were probably richly illustrated, including depictions of the Order of the Knot. The surviving copies themselves indicate that they are compiled from individual articles of the statutes of the Order of the Knot and the Hungarian Order of St. George..."

 

As a sidenote: Maybe this order was short lived, because the insignia kept getting entangled in one's clothes...