The Ordre du Croissant (''Order of the Crescent''; it, Ordine della Luna Crescente) was a

chivalric order An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is an order of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and paired with medieval concep ...

founded by

Charles I of Naples Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) i ...

and Sicily in 1268. It was revived in 1448 or 1464 by René I, king of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

(including parts of

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

), to provide him with a rival to the English

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...

. René was one of the champions of the medieval system of chivalry and knighthood, and this new order was (like its English rival) neo-

Arthurian King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a Legend, legendary king of Great Britain, Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest tradition ...

in character. Its insignia consisted of a golden crescent moon engraved in grey with the word LOZ, with a chain of 3 gold loops above the crescent. On René's death, the Order lapsed.

Provence

The Order of the Crescent, also known as "Order of the Crescent in the Provence", a French

was founded on 11 August 1448 in Angers by King Rene of Provence as a court order. The order, which united itself, features from knighthood and spiritual orders, and counted up to 50 knights, of which can be dukes, princes, marquises, viscounts and knights with four quarters of nobility. The Knights committed themselves to mutual assistance and loyalty to the order which, after the

became part of France in 1486, was soon forgotten. Ackermann mentions this knighthood as a historical order of France.

In later culture

* René and his Order of the Crescent were adopted as "historical founders" by the

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

fraternity in 1912, as exemplars of chivalry and Christian charity. Ceremonies of the Order of the Crescent were referenced in formulating ceremonies for the fraternity. *The Order was neo-Arthurian in character, and so has been used to link René with the

Holy Grail The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...

and the fictitious

Priory of Sion The ''Prieuré de Sion'' (), translated as Priory of Sion, was a fraternal organization founded in France in 1956 by Pierre Plantard in his failed attempt to create a prestigious neo-chivalric order. In the 1960s, Plantard began claiming that ...

.https://books.google.com/books?id=htS0qhsgI00C&pg=PA134

Sources

{{reflist *

Gustav Adolph Ackermann Gustav Adolph Ackermann (16 January 1791 – 19 February 1872) was a German lawyer and author of a notable book on European knightly orders. Ackermann was born in Auerbach in Vogtland, Saxony. He was ''Königlich Sachsischer Appelationsrat'' oyal ...

, " ''Ordensbuch, Sämtlicher in Europa blühender und erloschener Orden und Ehrenzeichen'' ". Annaberg, 1855, p 208
Google Books
(Former orders of France : p. 205-214)

External links

Statutes of the Order of the Crescent in the Manuscripts of the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, Paris.

Croissant A croissant is a buttery, flaky, Austrian viennoiserie pastry inspired by the shape of the Austrian kipferl but using the French yeast-leavened laminated dough. Croissants are named for their historical crescent shape, the dough is layered wi ...

1448 establishments in Europe 1440s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire