Page 408 - J. C. Turner - History and Science of Knots

402 History and Science of Knots

This usage also explains the gold knots worn by the members of the secular
knighthood Order of Naples, which was founded in 1347 by Queen Johanna
of Naples and only existed for a few years. And in 1352 an Order of the Holy
Ghost in Naples was founded by Ludwig of Tarent, King of Sicily, cousin and
spouse to Johanna of Naples: the members of this order wore a knot on their
chest, which in the description by Ferdinand von Biedenfeld [2] was called
Zweifelknoten. To explain this, we shall quote from the Grimm brothers'
dictionary [18], which is based on Fischer's Schwabischen Worterbuch of 1604:

... People who want to tie and keep their good friend, will send him
it [Zweifelknoten] in gold or silk love band.

These knots are signs of mutual friendship, and as such they are mentioned
in the Order's constitution. They not only characterised the members, and
reminded them symbolically of their Order's constitution, but they were also
the motif which represented a group of 300 knights. Ferdinand von Biedenfeld
and D. Boulton describe one of the knot tying customs of these Orders [2], [4],
thus:

If a knight was wounded in battle, or if he had besieged and wounded
his foe, then he had to, from then on, bear his untied knot until he
had visited the Holy Sepulchre.

Of such an event, the inscription of an epitaph in Naples witnesses [35]:

Member of the order, Colutius Bozzutus, was victorious on the bat-
tlefield and untied his knot before travelling to Jerusalem, for to
retie it and die there in 1370.

During the 14th century the use of a knot as friendship-symbol in Central
Europe was widely practised. Numerous other secular knighthood orders used
it. Knots were used in the chain of the Order of the Garter, which was founded
in 1350 by King Edward of England. The Order of St. Anthony, which was
founded in 1382 at the court of Albrecht von Bayern during a planned crusade
against the Turks, has a knot in its heraldic arms. A knot with the same
meaning adorns the clothes of the members of the Company of the Knot of
St. Esprits, founded by Louis d'Anjou [4]. A Figure of Eight Knot occurs in
the chain of the Dell'Annuiziator order, which was founded by Amadeus VI of
Savoy in 1360. Around the Savoy insignia, which is on display in the church
of Moudon in Switzerland, this Order's chain is wrapped. Amadeus of Savoy
also ordered the clothes of his servants and the covers of their horses to be
decorated with this knot pattern. This tradition caught on, and characteristics
stemming from the Order membership entered family coats of arms. The