the covering of wool shorn from a sheep. See WOOL.

ORDER OF THE GOLDEN, one of the most eminent orders of knighthood in Europe, was founded in 1430 by Philip III, duke of Burgundy. By its foundation his successors were declared hereditary grand-masters; and thus the title passed to the imperial house of Austria with the Burgundian inheritance, and thence to the Spanish line of the same house after the death of the emperor Charles V. When the Spanish Netherlands, however, became Austrian, and the Bourbons became monarchs of Spain, the grandmastership was claimed by the archdukes of Austria. Hence at present the Spanish and the Austrian sovereigns alike confer the order, and at both courts it gives the highest rank.