The Order of the Dragon was a monarchial order for selected nobility, created in Hungary in the late Middle Ages. The Order required its initiates to defend the Cross and fight the enemies of Christianity.
Vlad Dracula took up a military profession in the Order of the Dragon, defeating the Turks by impaling them and winning the name "Dracula" meaning "son of the dragon" or "son of the Devil". However, he left behind the order after he gave up Christianity when his wife commited suicide.