Which medieval chivalric order was founded by Emperor Sigismund in 1408?

The medieval chivalric order founded by Emperor Sigismund in 1408 was the Order of the Dragon.

Sigismund, king of Hungary and Croatia and later Holy Roman Emperor, established the order on 12 December 1408 with his queen, Barbara of Cilli. It was a dynastic and military order whose members were expected to defend Christianity and support the ruler. Its foundation followed political and military struggles in central Europe, including conflicts involving the Ottoman Empire.

Members used the image of a dragon as the order’s principal emblem. The symbol was connected with the defeat of evil and with Saint George, whose association with dragon-slaying gave the order a powerful chivalric identity. Vlad II Dracul, father of Vlad the Impaler, was later associated with the order.

The Order of the Dragon should not be confused with the Order of the Golden Fleece, founded in 1430 in Burgundy. Both were prestigious late medieval orders, but they had different founders, dates, and political settings.