The Order of the Swan
Preserved but no longer current.
An order of knight- hood instituted by Frederick II of Branden- burg in 1440 (and shortly after in Cleves) in honour of the Lohengrin legend. It died out in the 16th century, but it is still commemorated in our White Swan public-house sign, which was first used in honour of Anne of Cleves, one of the wives of Henry VIII. The badge was a silver swan surmounted by an image of the Virgin.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “The Order of the Swan” mean?
An order of knight- hood instituted by Frederick II of Branden- burg in 1440 (and shortly after in Cleves) in honour of the Lohengrin legend. It died out in the 16th century, but it is still commemorated in our White Swan public-house sign, which was first used in honour of Anne of Cleves, one of the wives of Henry VIII. The badge was a silver swan surmounted by an image of the Virgin.
Is “The Order of the Swan” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.