Order of St Patrick The Order of St Patrick, which pertains to Ireland, is the most junior of these three in precedence and age. Its equivalent in England, The Most Noble Order of the Garter, is the oldest order of chivalry in the United Kingdom, dating to the middle fourteenth century. The Scottish equivalent is The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, dating in its modern form to 1687. The order was founded in 1783, a year after the grant of substantial autonomy to Ireland, as a means of rewarding (or obtaining) political support in the Irish Parliament. The Order of
Order of the Ermine (France) had wrought exceptional service to the sovereign Duchy of Brittany. Other than the Order of the Hatchet of Tortosa, which was founded in 1149, this Breton order of chivalry has the only-known medieval instance of a woman, Katherine Potier, serving as an Officer of Arms; she bore the title of "Espy Herault". She was appointed to the office after the death of her husband, Yves, by Duchess Anne of Brittany. Ackermann mentions this chivalric order as historical order of France. And that is because, notionally, it could have been said to have been in the gift of Duchess Anne de