Order of the Ermine (Naples) explained

The Order of the Ermine (L’Ordre de l’Hermine) was a chivalric order created in 1464 by king Ferdinand I of Naples. The motto was "Malo mori quam foedari" ("I would rather die than be dishonored").

Recipients

• Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino
• Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy
• Giulio Antonio Acquaviva, 1478
• Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, since 1488^[1]

Sources

• Gustav Adolph Ackermann, Ordensbuch, Sämtlicher in Europa blühender und erloschener Orden und Ehrenzeichen. Annaberg, 1855, p 254 n° 149. "Orden vom Hermelin" http://www.mdz-nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn=urn:nbn:de:bvb:12-bsb10455010-3

Notes and References

1. The ermine in Leonardo's portrait Lady with an Ermine may be a reference to it.