Knight of the Order of the Elephant, the oldest and most important Danish order. It was founded in 1462 by Christian I. The most probable reason for its exotic emblem is that the elephant was used as a symbol for chastity and purity.. Handcolored copperplate engraving of a knight from a religious military order from Robert von Spalart's "Historical Picture of the Costumes of the Principal People of Antiquity and of the Middle Ages" (1796).