on his sons Alfonso, John, Henry, Sancho and Peter. The device of the order was a chain bearing a jar of lilies, symbolizing the purity of the Virgin, which was already a common symbol of the Annunciation; an effigy of Virgin and Christ child; and a griffin, which should probably be read as symbol of war against the infidel. Members also wore a white stole. The statutes of the order appear to have been given on the occasion of its founding. They survive in a manuscript in the Escorial and have been published as Reglas y Divisa de la Orden Militar de la Jarra. Their explanation of the symbolism of the device is: Royal order After Ferdinand took over the Crown of Aragon, the Order of the Jar became in effect the royal order of his kingdoms, including Aragon, Sicily and after 1443 Naples. It is unclear if the order was ever formally attached to these realms in law. It probably remained the personal property of the royal house. It remained vestigial in comparison to other royal orders, but played a prominent role in court ceremony. The eyewitness Álvar García de Santa María records its central place at the coronation of Ferdinand in Zaragoza in 1414. After the siege of Balaguer (1413), Ferdinand I of Aragon honoured about eighty of the knights who had shown greater courage in battle with the shield of the order. In 1413, Ferdinand empowered King Sigismund of Germany to confer membership in the order on Basilio Colalba, marquis of Ancona, who also entered into Sigismund's Society of the Dragon. In 1415, Ferdinand conferred membership on Sigismund himself during the latter's visit to Perpignan. He also conferred membership on the ambassadors of King Ladislaus of Naples and on Godofredo, illegitimate son of King Charles III of Navarre. Ferdinand's son, Alfonso V of Aragon, introduced the order to the Kingdom of Naples after he conquered it in 1443. There it replaced the defunct Order of the Knot and Order of the Ship, but Alfonso's successor in Naples, Ferdinand I, founded his own order after 1458. Alfonso V conferred the order on Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy after the latter arranged for his election to the Order of the Golden Fleece. The order was introduced to Navarre by Alfonso's son John II after 1458. References External links Santa María la Real de Nájera by Pedro de Madrazo,