In medieval times the ermine was believed to risk capture or death rather than sully the purity of its white fur and thus a symbol of concern for the uncompromising integrity of one's personal honor.
The Order admitted men and women of any social rank who had wrought exceptional service to the sovereign Duchy of Brittany.
And that is because, notionally, it could have been said to have been in the gift of Duchess Anne de Bretagne as Queen of France [to Charles VIII from 1492–98], while Brittany had been annexed to allegiance to the Valois Monarchy.
After the death of Anne's daughter Claude of France in 1524, the order was allowed to fall into disuse, since her son, Francis III, Duke of Brittany, had been brought up at the French court, and did not consider himself a Breton.
The collar of a member of the order was composed of plaited ears of wheat, with a running ermine hanging from a small chain, all in gold.