What is "golden bull"

Golden \Gold"en\ (g[=o]ld"'n), a. [OE. golden; cf. OE. gulden, AS. gylden, from gold. See Gold, and cf. Guilder.]

1. Made of gold; consisting of gold.

2. Having the color of gold; as, the golden grain.

3. Very precious; highly valuable; excellent; eminently auspicious; as, golden opinions. Golden age.

   1. The fabulous age of primeval simplicity and purity of manners in rural employments, followed by the silver age, bronze age, and iron age.
      --Dryden.

   2. (Roman Literature) The best part (B. C. 81 -- A. D. 14) of the classical period of Latinity; the time when Cicero, C[ae]sar, Virgil, etc., wrote. Hence:

   3. That period in the history of a literature, etc., when it flourishes in its greatest purity or attains its greatest glory; as, the Elizabethan age has been considered the golden age of English literature. Golden balls, three gilt balls used as a sign of a pawnbroker's office or shop; -- originally taken from the coat of arms of Lombardy, the first money lenders in London having been Lombards. Golden bull. See under Bull, an edict. Golden chain (Bot.), the shrub Cytisus Laburnum, so named from its long clusters of yellow blossoms. Golden club (Bot.), an aquatic plant ( Orontium aquaticum), bearing a thick spike of minute yellow flowers. Golden cup (Bot.), the buttercup. Golden eagle (Zo["o]l.), a large and powerful eagle ( Aquila Chrysa["e]tos) inhabiting Europe, Asia, and North America. It is so called from the brownish yellow tips of the feathers on the head and neck. A dark variety is called the royal eagle; the young in the second year is the ring-tailed eagle. Golden fleece.

      1. (Mythol.) The fleece of gold fabled to have been taken from the ram that bore Phryxus through the air to Colchis, and in quest of which Jason undertook the Argonautic expedition.

      2. (Her.) An order of knighthood instituted in 1429 by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy; -- called also Toison d'Or. Golden grease, a bribe; a fee. [Slang] Golden hair (Bot.), a South African shrubby composite plant with golden yellow flowers, the Chrysocoma Coma-aurea. Golden Horde (Hist.), a tribe of Mongolian Tartars who overran and settled in Southern Russia early in the 18th century. Golden Legend, a hagiology (the ``Aurea Legenda'') written by James de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, in the 13th century, translated and printed by Caxton in 1483, and partially paraphrased by Longfellow in a poem thus entitled. Golden marcasite tin. [Obs.] Golden mean, the way of wisdom and safety between extremes; sufficiency without excess; moderation. Angels guard him in the golden mean. --Pope. Golden mole (Zo["o]l), one of several South African Insectivora of the family Chrysochlorid[ae], resembling moles in form and habits. The fur is tinted with green, purple, and gold. Golden number (Chronol.), a number showing the year of the lunar or Metonic cycle. It is reckoned from 1 to 19, and is so called from having formerly been written in the calendar in gold. Golden oriole. (Zo["o]l.) See Oriole. Golden pheasant. See under Pheasant. Golden pippin, a kind of apple, of a bright yellow color. Golden plover (Zo["o]l.), one of several species of plovers, of the genus Charadrius, esp. the European ( Charadrius apricarius, syn. Charadrius pluvialis; -- called also yellow plover, black-breasted plover, hill plover, and whistling plover. The common American species ( Charadrius dominicus) is also called frostbird, and bullhead. Golden robin. (Zo["o]l.) See Baltimore oriole, in Vocab. Golden rose (R. C. Ch.), a gold or gilded rose blessed by the pope on the fourth Sunday in Lent, and sent to some church or person in recognition of special services rendered to the Holy See. Golden rule.

         1. The rule of doing as we would have others do to us. Cf.
            --Luke vi. 31.

         2. The rule of proportion, or rule of three.

            Golden samphire (Bot.), a composite plant ( Inula crithmoides), found on the seashore of Europe.

            Golden saxifrage (Bot.), a low herb with yellow flowers ( Chrysosplenium oppositifolium), blossoming in wet places in early spring.

            Golden seal (Bot.), a perennial ranunculaceous herb ( Hydrastis Canadensis), with a thick knotted rootstock and large rounded leaves.

            Golden sulphide of antimony, or Golden sulphuret of antimony (Chem.), the pentasulphide of antimony, a golden or orange yellow powder.

            Golden warbler (Zo["o]l.), a common American wood warbler ( Dendroica [ae]stiva); -- called also blue-eyed yellow warbler, garden warbler, and summer yellow bird.

            Golden wasp (Zo["o]l.), a bright-colored hymenopterous insect, of the family Chrysidid[ae]. The colors are golden, blue, and green.

            Golden wedding. See under Wedding.

The Golden Bull is a Dutch prize in the world of brokers since 2007. The choice for the bull as a symbol is easy, since it also represents a rising exchange, which therefore is also called a bullmarket. Since the adding of a jury, the price has got more esteem with professional traders. The press also noticed and on special broker and trading websites there has been more and more attention towards the issue of the Golden Bull award.

A golden bull or chrysobull was a decree issued by Byzantine Emperors and later by monarchs in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, most notably by the Holy Roman Emperors. The term was originally coined for the golden seal (a bulla aurea), attached to the decree, but came to be applied to the entire decree. Such decrees were known as golden bulls in western Europe and chrysobullos logos, or chrysobulls, in the Byzantine Empire (χρυσός, chrysos, being Greek for gold).

For nearly eight hundred years, they were issued unilaterally, without obligations on the part of the other party or parties. However, this eventually proved disadvantageous as the Byzantines sought to restrain the efforts of foreign powers to undermine the empire. During the 12th century, the Byzantines began to insert into golden bulls sworn statements of the obligations of their negotiating partners.

Notable golden bulls included:

• The Golden Bull of 1082, issued by Alexios I Komnenos to grant Venice merchants with free trading rights, exempt from tax, throughout the Byzantine Empire in return for their defense of the Adriatic Sea against the Normans.
• The Golden Bull of 1136, issued by Pope Innocent II, more commonly known as the Bull of Gniezno.
• The Golden Bull of Sicily, issued in 1212 by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor.
• The Golden Bull of 1213, issued by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor.
• The Golden Bull of 1213, issued by the papacy to recognize its agreement with John Lackland (more commonly known as King John of England).
• The Golden Bull of 1214, issued by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor to cede all German territories north of the rivers Elbe and Elde to King Valdemar the Victorious of Denmark.
• The Golden Bull of Berne, supposedly issued by Frederick II in 1218, but now considered a forgery.
• The Golden Bull of 1222, issued by King Andrew II of Hungary to confirm the rights of nobility and forced on him in much the same way King John of England was made to sign the Magna Carta.
• The Golden Bull of 1224 (the Goldener Freibrief) issued by Andrew to grant certain rights to the Saxon inhabitants of Transylvania.
• The Golden Bull of Rimini (1226), issued by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor.
• The Golden Bull of 1242 issued by King Béla IV to proclaim a free royal Borough (a free and royal city) for the inhabitants of Gradec (today's Zagreb) and Samobor in Croatia, during the Mongol invasion of Europe.
• The Golden Bull of 1267, issued by King Bela IV of Hungary.
• The Golden Bull of 1348, issued by King Karel I of Bohemia, later Holy Roman Emperor as Charles IV, to establish Charles University in Prague, one of the oldest universities in the world.
• The Golden Bull of 1356 (one of the more famous golden bulls), issued by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV for promulgation at the Diet of Nuremberg, to define (and to last more than four hundred years) the constitutional structure of the Holy Roman Empire.
• The Golden Bull of 1702, issued by Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor to establish the Akademia Leopoldina in the Silesian capital of Breslau (present name: Wrocław), the future University of Breslau (Universitas Vratislatensis).