The Order of the Dove (, meaning Order of the Pigeon, as the Spanish word ''paloma is'' used to refer both doves and pigeons), was a short lived military order which lasted only for a year. It was created by King

Juan I of Castile John I ( es, Juan I; 24 August 1358 – 9 October 1390) was King of Castile and León from 1379 until 1390. He was the son of Henry II and of his wife Juana Manuel of Castile. Biography His first marriage, to Eleanor of Aragon on 18 June 137 ...

in 1379 to defend the Catholic faith and the

Kingdom of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; es, Reino de Castilla, la, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th cent ...

History

It had been doubted in the past which king of the Kingdom of Castile had created the order (another option being

Henry III of Castile Henry III of Castile (4 October 1379 – 25 December 1406), called the Suffering due to his ill health (, ), was the son of John I and Eleanor of Aragon. He succeeded his father as King of Castile in 1390. Birth and education Henry was bor ...

in 1399). The order was dissolved next year of its creation, but regardless of its short life, it became known due to its large feasts which mostly included eating

pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

(the order's namesake). In fact, those large feasts consisting on eating pigeon meat and the name of the order itself were actually the cause for its downfall. Only ''honorable men'' could become knights of a military order, but the fact is that pigeon, even though popularly eaten, did not have a distinctive reputation, as the pigeon was attached to promiscuity. The insignia of the order was a chain necklace with an open wing pigeon.

References

Military orders (monastic society) 1379 establishments in Europe 14th-century establishments in Castile Catholic orders of chivalry {{crusades-stub