View source for Order of the Swan

[[File:Sebald Bopp -- Hemma von Gurk wearing the Order of the Swan.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Hemma of Gurk|Hemma von Gurk]] wearing the Order of the Swan'', {{circa}}1490]]
The '''Order of the Swan''' ({{langx|de|Schwanenorden}}) was a spiritual [[order of chivalry|chivalric order]] of princes and nobles ruled by the [[House of Hohenzollern]]. It was founded on 29 September 1440 by Elector [[Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg|Frederick II of Brandenburg]] with reference to the medieval tale of the [[Knight of the Swan|Swan Knight]].

The association originally comprised, with Elector Frederick at their head, thirty men and seven women united to honor [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Virgin Mary]]. Its headquarters was the [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] St. Mary's pilgrimage church, the centre of a [[Premonstratensians|Premonstratensian]] monastery located on a hill near [[Brandenburg an der Havel]]. In 1459, the Hohenzollern margrave [[Albrecht III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg|Albert Achilles]] established a filial at the [[St. Gumbertus, Ansbach|St. Gumbertus]] church near his [[Ansbach Residence]].

The order spread rapidly, numbering in 1464 about 330 members, as well as further branches established in the Franconian [[Principality of Ansbach]] and in the possessions of the [[Teutonic Order]] in [[East Prussia]]. Along with encouraging more enthusiastic homage to Virgin Mary, the order sought to foster perseverance in works of mercy. It was extinguished during the [[Protestant Reformation]], since that movement discouraged devotions to Mary.

In 1843 the order was revived, perhaps as no more than an idea by King [[Frederick William IV of Prussia]] he never realised. In this incarnation, it was an association, open to men and women of all creeds, for the amelioration of physical and moral ills. Currently, a ''Schwanenritterorden'' charitable association exists in [[Nuremberg]], under the patronage of the Hohenzollern prince [[Philip Kirill of Prussia]].

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200>
File:Orde van de Zwaan Brandenburg 1440 en 1843.jpg|The chain of the Order
File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Markgraf Kasimir von Brandenburg-Kulmbach (Germanisches Nationalmuseum).jpg|Portrait of [[Casimir, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach|Margrave Kasimir of Brandenburg-Kulmbach]], workshop of [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]]
File:Schwanorden door Gritzner.jpg|Jewel depicting the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin]] and [[Christ Child|Child]] with Swan
File:Knights of the Ancient Order of the Swan (1844).jpg|Knights of the Ancient Order of the Swan (1844)
File:Bernhard Strigel - Portrait of Sybilla von Freyberg (born Gossenbrot) - WGA21883.jpg|Portrait of Sybilla von Freyberg by [[Bernhard Strigel]]
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{No footnotes|date=July 2013}}
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{Commons category|Schwanenorden|Order of the Swan}} 
* {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Swan, Order of the|year=1905}}
* {{CathEncy|wstitle=Order of the Swan|first=Charles |last=Moeller}}
* {{Cite Americana|wstitle=Swan, Order of the}} This work in turn cites:
**Hanle, ''Urkunde und Nachweise zur Geschichte des Schwanenordens'' (1874)

==External links==
* [http://www.schwanenritter-orden.de/ Website of the Schwanenritterorden]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swan, Order}}
[[Category:Orders, decorations, and medals of Prussia]]
[[Category:1440s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:1440 establishments in Europe]]
[[Category:Awards established in 1440]]
[[Category:1843 establishments in Prussia]]