Holy Roman Empire Association - HREA

Sigismund faced fierce struggles for power leading up to the foundation of the order in 1418. In 1387, the Bohemian royal son Sigismund of Luxembourg was elected King of Hungary and Croatia, a title which he owed chiefly to his marriage to Queen Mary of Hungary in 1385, without her consent. 

During the next decade, he constantly sought support or employed ruthless methods to strengthen his unsteady hold on the throne. His rule was weakened in 1395 when Mary, who was pregnant, died in a horse riding accident. In 1389, the Ottoman Sultan Murad I fought Lazar, Prince of Serbia at the Battle of Kosovo Polje, in which both leaders died, leading to an uncertain outcome of the battle. Two years later, the Turks had taken the Bulgarian fortress of Nicopolis.

In 1396, Pope Boniface IX proclaimed a crusade against the Ottomans, and a campaign was organised to recapture the fortress and put a halt to the Ottoman expansion. Sigismund was nominally in charge; however, in the 1396 Battle of Nicopolis the French leader, John of Nevers, commanded the French half of the forces and ignored Sigismund's entreaties by charging the Turks. About 15,000 crusaders died with only a few leaders, including Sigismund, escaping. Sigismund returned to Hungary in 1401 and, facing a number of revolts, gradually resumed control and re-asserted himself as the King of Hungary. This was achieved by allying himself with the political party of Stibor of Stiboricz, Nicholas II Garay, and Hermann II of Celje, in return for their military support, which enabled him to fight off domestic rivals. Sigismund campaigned against the Croats and Bosnians, which culminated in 1408 with the Battle of Dobor—fought for the possession of Bosnia—and a massacre of noble families. His pact with Hermann II was secured in 1408, when Sigismund married Herman II's daughter Barbara of Celje (also called Cilli).

The statute of the Order, which was expanded by Bishop Eberhard of Nagyvárad, chancellor of Sigismund's court, survives only in a copy made in 1707. An edition was published in 1841. The prologue to these statutes of 1408 reports that the society was created: in company with the prelates, barons, and magnates of our kingdom, whom we invite to participate with us in this party, by reason of the sign and effigy of our pure inclination and intention to crush the pernicious deeds of the same perfidious Enemy, and of the followers of the ancient Dragon, and (as one would expect) of the pagan knights, schismatics, and other nations of the Orthodox faith, and those envious of the Cross of Christ, and of our kingdoms, and of his holy and saving religion of faith, under the banner of the triumphant Cross of Christ... 

Described in general terms, the "enemy" was any anti-Christian political power or group, including schismatic or actively heretical fellow countrymen or Europeans (such as the putatively "Christian" Bosnian Bogomil force alluded to above, immediately before the Order's foundation); but the primary representatives of "the perfidious Enemy" remained the Ottoman Turks, who continued to be a problem for Sigismund's successors. 

The edict of 1408 describes two insignia to be worn by members of the Order: we and the faithful barons and magnates of our kingdom shall bear and have, and do choose and agree to wear and bear, in the manner of  society, the sign or effigy of the Dragon incurved into the form of a circle, its tail winding around its neck, divided through the middle of its back along its length from the top of its head right to the tip of its tail, with blood [forming] a red cross flowing out into the interior of the cleft by a white crack, untouched by blood, just as and in the same way that those who fight under the banner of the glorious martyr St George are accustomed to bear a red cross on a white field...

The dragon described here, with its tail coiled around its neck, bears comparison to the ouroboros. On the back of the dragon, from the base of the neck to the tail, is the Red Cross of Saint George, with the entire image on an argent field. The Order's dragon emblem has not survived in any original form, but it has been referenced on coins, art, and in writing. 

The original members of the Order of the Dragon in the founding charters of 1408 were:

1. Stephanus  despoth, dominus Rasciae, item — Stefan Lazarevi, known as "the Tall"  (1374–19 July 1427); Serbian Prince (1389–1402) and Despot (1402–1427)
2. Hermannus comes Cily et Zagoriae,
3. comes Fredericus, filius eiusdem,
4. Nicolaus de gara, regni Hungariae palatinus,
5. Stiborius de Stiboricz alias vaiuoda Transyluanus,
6. Joannes filius Henrici de Thamassy et
7. Jacobus Laczk de Zantho, vaiuodae Transyluani,
8. Joannes de Maroth Machouiensis,
9. Pipo de Ozora Zewreniensis, bani;
10. Nicolaus de Zeech magister tauernicorum regalium,
11. comes Karolus de Corbauia, supremus thesaurarius regius,
12. Symon filius condam Konye bani de Zecheen, janitorum,
13. comes Joannes de Corbauia, dapiferorum,
14. Joannes filius Georgii de Alsaan pincernarum,
15. Petrus Cheh de Lewa aganzonum regalium magistri,
16. Nicolaus de Chak, alias vaiuoda Transyluanus,
17. Paulus Byssenus, alter Paulus de Peth, pridem Dalmatiae, Croatiae et totius Sclauoniae regnorum bani,
18. Michael, filius Salamonis de Nadasd comes siculorum regalium,
19. Petrus de Peren, alias siculorum nunc vero maramorossensis comes,
20. Emericus de eadem Pern secretarius cancellarius regius
21. et Joannes filius condam domini Nicolai de Gara palatini.

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Defeated Dragon (KtGC.OD) - individuals who have shown the highest devotion to the principles of the Order: to faith, justice, charity, chivalry and who already hold, bear and enjoy a Title of Nobility, which would include the insignia of the Order in  their coats of arms. Knight Commander of the Order of the Defeated Dragon (KtC.OD) - individuals who have shown an outstanding level of devotion to the principles of the Order. Knight of the Order of the Defeated Dragon (Kt.OD)

Orders Motto: "O Quam Misericors est Deus, Pius et Justus" (O how merciful is God, faithful and just).
 

Mission of the Order: + Defend the Holy Cross of Jesus Christ, Fight the Enemies of Christianity and Protect Christendom from the Anatolian Hordes and their Ungodly Faith.