Order of Saint Hubert The Bavarian Order of Saint Hubert was founded in 1444 or 1445 by Gerhard V , Duke of Jülich and Count of Ravensberg . 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 Gelder and Egmond , 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 . It commemorated the conversion of Saint Hubert and his standing as the patron saint of hunters and knights . Over time , the award had other uses as a reward for loyalty to the monarch and service to the princely state . History . Foundation . 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 order s 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 . Order under the House of Jülich . When Reinhold IV , Duke of Gelder , died in 1423 , his nephew Arnold inherited the dukedom . Arnold ' s cousin , Adolf of Berg , inherited territories near Liège . Arnold believed that Adolf had inherited the better of the two properties , and coveted it for himself . He tried to take it by force and failed ; a compromise was reached by which the two agreed to a truce . Adolf of Berg died in 1437 and his cousin , Gerhard IV , the Duke of Jülich and Count of Ravensburg ( Westphalia ) , inherited both the Liège properties and the Duchy of Berg . Arnold reasserted his old claim , maintaining that the truce to which he and Adolf agreed was no longer valid , and prepared to take the duchies by force . Confident in his right to the inheritance , Gerhard met Arnold in battle , at the village of Linnich , in the county of Ravensburg ( Westphalia ) . He and his knights defeated Arnold and his knights on Saint Hubert ' s day in 1444 . In celebration , Gerhard declared the founding of the Order , to reward his loyal and victorious knights . The Order remained in collateral branches of the family of the Dukes of Jülich and Berg until 1521 , when the male line holding the two duchies and the county of Ravensberg became extinct . A daughter , Maria von Geldern , remained to inherit the duchies and the county , but , under the Salic law practiced in the northwestern German states , women could only hold property through a husband or guardian . Consequently , the territories passed to her husband — who was also her distant relative — John III , Duke of Cleves and Mark . The couple had three daughters , one of whom , Ann of Cleves , married Henry VIII of England in 1540 , and one son , Wilhelm , who subsequently inherited the duchies and the administration of the Order . The duchies included most of the present - day North Rhine - Westphalia that lay outside the ecclesiastical territories of the Electorate of Cologne and Münster . Wilhelm was known as Wilhelm the Rich . Order under the House of Wittelsbach - Palatine . In March 1609 , Duke John William of Jülich - Cleves - Berg died childless . Both Duke Wolfgang William of Palatinate - Neuberg and Elector John Sigismund of Brandenburg claimed the territories . In the subsequent succession chaos , the Order fell into disuse . By the late 17th century , the Duchy of Jülich passed into the jurisdiction of the Prince - Elector Johann Wilhelm , Duke of Neuberg , who descended from a cadet branch of the Palatine line of the House of Wittelsbach . In May 1708 , he restored the Order of Saint Hubert and assumed the position of grand master for himself . To reward loyalty and service , he conferred the cross of the Order on several of his courtiers . He also gave the recipients generous pensions on the condition that a tenth be set aside for the poor , and a significant sum be distributed on the day of their reception into the order . In 1777 , the death of Maximilian III Joseph of Bavaria without a legitimate male heir ended the main line of Wittelsbach ; after the War of the Bavarian Succession , a brief and relatively bloodless contest , Charles Theodore inherited his cousin ' s dignities . The Order moved with the new Elector to Bavaria , where it eventually was confirmed again on 30 March 1800 by Maximilian IV , Elector of Bavaria . In the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars , the Order functioned primarily as a military order , similar to the Military Order of Maria Theresa or the Order of Leopold . The present head of the House of Wittelsbach , Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria , Duke of Bavaria , is the current Grand Master of the order . Structure and requirements . Initially , hierarchy of membership was relatively flat . The statutes called for a grand master , in this case the Duke of Jülich , four masters , and a provost , or arms master . Of the four masters , two were required to be representative of families of the Duchies of Jülich or Berg ; the origins of the others had no geographic limitations . The masters were the clearing house for membership ; they investigated the admission of new members and any alleged infractions by the existing membership . The Provost , a weapons master , maintained the weapons and arms of the brotherhood , and himself wore a special medallion . The Order was open to men and women , and both genders were entitled " companions " . Until 1476 , there were no limits on the number of companions to be admitted , but that year , with the new edition of the Order ' s statutes , the Duke limited the number of men to 60 ; unlimited women could be admitted . The editions of the Order ' s statutes , two in Latin and two in German , established similar requirements for membership . The Latin editions stipulated that the man be of noble birth — eight generations of noble grandparents — and of unblemished reputation ; the German versions required that only four grandparents of the man be noble . Women were to be spouses of a companion ; in the 1476 versions of the statutes , both Latin and German , female members of the Duchess ' household could be admitted even if their husbands were not members or if the women were single , but were required to resign if they left the service of the Duchess . The exception to this clause provided for their continued membership if their husbands became companions of the order . Restructuring under Maximilian Joseph IV . In confirming the Order , on 18 May 1808 , the King of Bavaria declared the Order to be the first in the kingdom and linked it to the Order of Civic of Merit . He limited membership to twelve knights from the ranks of counts and barons , excluding himself , as grandmaster , and members ( native and foreign ) , who may be nominated by the sovereign . Entrance fees were 200 gold ducats for princes . Those under the rank of prince paid an entrance fee of 100 silver ducats , which amounted to 120 " Reichsthaler " ; the silver Reichsthaler was 29 . 44g of . 989 fineness . He also established a dress costume for festival days , which included not only the insignia of the Order , but a black collar with a sash , narrow , short breeches with poppy - colored garters and bows , a short black cape , a sword , and a plumed hat . Ludwig II was laid in state and was buried in this apparel . Collars , Badges and Stars . The gold - enameled cross lies in a white field , and surmounted by a crown ; on one side is represented the conversion of Saint Hubert , with the Gothic legend " In trau vast " ( firm in fidelity ) . On the reverse , lies the imperial orb and the Latin inscription " In memoriam recuperatæ dignitatis a vitæ 1708 " ( English : " In remembrance of the restoration of the original dignity , 1708 " ) . Originally , it consisted of a collar and a pendant jewel . The Jülich collar consisted of stylized horns ( six for men , four for women ) , intertwined with a cloud - like figure eight . The jewel depicted a relief of the conversion of Saint Hubert . Its overall design alluded to the Saint as the patron of hunters , and thus the patron of knights . The great cross was only worn on special days ; on all other days , a smaller cross must be worn , and the member was fined 20 " thalers " for any and each omission ) . The smaller cross was decorated appropriately for its size . The collar of the Order under the Wittelsbach dynasty consisted of forty - four gold links , twenty - two of which consisted of a rectangular representation of the conversion of Saint Hubert in open relief surrounded by a gold and white enamel frame . These alternated with twenty - two other links consisted of the intertwined initial letters of the motto " In trau vast " , ( firm in fidelity ) , i . e . , I , T and V in Gothic letter s radiating small golden rays , each of these links being alternatively enameled red or green . From the center rectangular link hung a white enameled Maltese cross , each arm strewn with numerous small golden flames and each point of the cross was tipped with a small gold ball . Between each arm of this cross were five straight gold rays and in the center of the cross was a round medallion bearing a golden representation in relief of the conversion of Saint Hubert against a green enamel background . The reverse of this cross bore the same design with this same representation but against a red enamel background . The sash of the Order was poppy red moire with narrow green borders , but under the knot , at the ends of this sash , these green borders as well as the ends of the sash were covered with gold metallic ribbon . Like the sash of the Order of the Garter this sash was worn from the left shoulder to the right hip . The cross worn with this sash was a Maltese cross with narrow arms also enameled white strewn with numerous golden flames , with three straight rays between each arm , each point of the cross being tipped with a small gold ball . Between the two gold balls on the top arm of the cross was a three - dimensional gold representation of the Bavarian crown , by which the cross hung from its sash . In the center of the cross was a large round medallion consisting of a small golden representation of the conversion of Saint Hubert against a green enamel background and surrounded by a wide border in red enamel with the motto the order " In trau vast " in Gothic letters set with small diamonds . On the reverse , in the center of the cross was a golden representation in relief of the imperial orb and cross ( i . e . , the heraldic symbol of the Prince - Elector as the Arch - Steward of the Holy Roman Empire ) against a red enamel background and surrounded with a white enamel scroll - like border with the inscription " In memoriam recuperatae dignitatis aviate . 1708 " ( I . e . , " In remembrance of the restoration of the original dignity , 1708 " ) . The star of the order , worn on the left breast , was a radiant silver star of eight points surrounding a gold , white enameled cross pattée strewn with golden flames and with a round poppy red enameled central medallion bearing the motto " In trau vast " in golden Gothic letters and surrounded by a white enameled and gold border . Partial list of recipients . Recipients in Austrian Service . These recipients of the Order of Saint Hubert attained the rank of General in Austrian military service during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars . Grandmasters of the Order . Compiled from various sources .