page_title: Order of Saint Hubert
section_title: Foundation
hierarchical_section_title: Order of Saint Hubert / History / Foundation
caption_attribution_description: Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria (1724-1799)
context_page_description: The Royal Order of Saint Hubert is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood founded in 1444 or 1445 by Gerhard VII, Duke of Jülich-Berg. He sought to commemorate his victory over the House of Egmond at the Battle of Linnich on 3 November, which is Saint Hubert's day.
  The establishment of the Order occurred during a long-term, intermittent territorial dispute, initially between the Dukes of Jülich and the Dukes of Guelders, who were descended from a female line of the House of Jülich. The dispute began in the 1430s, when Arnold, Duke of Gelderland claimed the duchy of Jülich and the county of Ravensberg, and was resolved in the 1614 Treaty of Xanten, which established the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg of the counties of Ravensberg and Mark with the duchies of Cleves, Jülich and Berg. In 1778, Charles Theodore, Duke of Jülich and Berg and the Count-Elector Palatine, succeeded his childless cousin, Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria and brought the Order to Bavaria.
  Initially, the order was open to men and women, although limiting the number of male companions to sixty.
context_section_description: Sources agree that the Order of Saint Hubert honors a military victory of the Duke of Jülich, on Saint Hubert's day, 3 November 1444. Sources differ on the specific date of establishment of the Order, whether it celebrated the victory at the Battle of Linnich between Gebhard V of Jülich and Arnold of Egmont (or Egmond), or commemorated the battle at a future date. Consequently, the date of the founding depends on the source. Still other sources date the founding of the Order as late as 1473 or 1475.
  Twentieth century investigation has helped to clear up some of the confusion. The original Latin statutes of the foundation use Good Friday, in this case 26 March 1445. Furthermore, there is clear written evidence that the Order existed prior to March 1445: The original German statutes were dated immediately after the battle. It is also possible that Gerhard proclaimed the establishment of the Order immediately after the victory of his knights at Linnich, but the documents were not drawn up until later, leading to  discrepancy in the dates of 1444 or 1445. To further obfuscate the date of founding, Gerhard's son, William III, renewed the Order upon his own succession to the ducal dignities in 1475, in the so-called New Statutes, which were prepared in Latin and German. These remained the governing documents of the Order until 1708. In this confirmation  probably lies the root of confusion over the date of the Order's foundation.
  Initially the Order was a knightly brotherhood (Rittersbruderschaft), reflecting the overlapping religious and military aspects of medieval court life. Saint Hubert was the patron saint of hunters and knights. The founding of the Order of the Golden Fleece in the early 15th century started a trend in confraternal princely orders. The purpose of these, whether established by monarchs or princes, was to foster loyalty to a sovereign, replacing to the old Chivalric orders developed in the Crusades. Although some historians classify the Order of the Saint Hubert as a confraternal order, during its 600-year-life, its purpose changed as the fortunes and needs of the Dukes of Jülich and Berg and their successors changed.
caption: Charles IV Theodore, Elector of Bavaria, wearing the collar and medallion of the guardian of the order
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