Note 433 — Chapter I · General Description of the Picture—The Death’s-Head—The Dagger—The Order of St. Michael—The Celestial Globe—The Terrestrial Globe

In 1560, François II., shortly before his death, bestowed the Order of St. Michael simultaneously on eighteen gentlemen, at the instigation of the House of Guise. Down to the death of Henri II., the royal order had always been held in very great esteem, the statutes limiting the number of knights to thirty-six. Continuing the precedent of François II., Charles IX. admitted so many to the order that it became despised and neglected. (See “Mémoires de Castelnau,” with the additions by Le Laboureur, vol. i., pages 11 and 355.) It was not till 1578 that Henri III. founded the Order of the Holy Ghost in consequence of the deterioration of that of St. Michael. The members nominated to the new order were received knights of St. Michael on the eve of their installation as knights of the Holy Ghost. Hence they were called “Chevaliers des Ordres du Roi.” (Lalanne, “Dict. Hist. de la France.”)