[1]THE HISTORY OF THE Moſt Noble ORDER OF THE GARTER.

IT was, undoubtedly, a good Sentiment in the firſt Collector of this Learned Work, to introduce, as well as a Diſcourſe of Knighthood in general, a Treatiſe of all the ſeveral Orders that have prevail'd in other Parts of the World; for theſe in their Riſe and Inſtitutions, having a relative Senſe to the particular Subject he was to illuſtrate, ſeemed to afford him a very good Opportunity of doing it, by building on ſo convenient a Foundation.

I ſhall therefore, (tho' much more confin'd to bre⯑vity) follow the ſame Method, making it ſerve as a proper Introduction; there being many Things in the voluminous Original, which I conceive may with leſs Inconveniency be diſpenc'd with.

IT was a conſtant Maxim in all well-regulated Go⯑vernments, to give a juſt Encouragement to Merit, and this by proportioning Rewards to the Service done; for Merit muſt be ſuppos'd to conſiſt in the Performance [2] of ſome Vertuous or Heroick Action, directed for the publick Good: And as Vertue is either Mili⯑tary or Civil, ſo the Diſtribution of Rewards is diffe⯑rent; either by beſtowing Degrees and Titles of Ho⯑nour, or by Donations of Wealth; ſo that in either Conſtruction, Vertue may have its proper and ſuitable Reward.

BUT the proper Reward of Military Vertue, is Ho⯑nour: (to which diſtinct Head this Work is confin'd.) Honour, which Ariſtotle calls the Greateſt of exteriour Goods: And being an Object of a nobler Ambition than the Accumulation of Wealth, is principally the Aim of that Vertue we underſtand by Valour; which ſprings from more generous Spirits, and hath been the conſtant Foundation of raiſing Men to the higheſt Eminence of Glory, and ſuperiour Dignity.

BUT that Fame might not loſe it ſelf in an unbounded Notion, it was at length thought fit to reduce Honour into Form and Order, by inveſting the Perſon meriting with ſome particular Title or Appellation of Excellence, (the Original of all Nobility;) of which Knighthood, as it hath been accounted the moſt ſuitable Reward to the greateſt Vertue, ſo it hath been eſteemed the chief and primary Honour among many Nations.

THE Romans held Honour and Vertue in that Eſteem, that they deify'd, and dedicated Temples to them: They made them ſo contiguous in their Situation, that there was no other Paſſage to that of Honour, but thro' the Temple of Vertue, myſtically admoniſhing, that Honour was not to be attained by any other Way.

IN ſeveral of the Roman Coins we ſee Honour and Vertue repreſented together in one Reverſe, and in one Medal; the Face of Honour ſo ſhadows that of Vertue, that but a little of it appears, Honour being the more illuſtri⯑ous of the two; and where we behold any Perſon outwardly adorned with it, we are to judge him inwardly endued with Vertue, inaſmuch as Honour is his due, and juſtly beſtowed upon him.

§. 2. IN tracing the Original of Knighthood, we are not ſo vain to ſay, with the French, that S. Michael was the premier Chevalier; yet thus much we may aſſert, that [...]tis near as ancient as Valour and Heroic Vertue, not⯑withſtanding the Ceremonies and Circumſtances of [...] have varied according to ſeveral Ages and Nations: And therefore, with much Probability, we may derive the [3] Original of Military Honour from the Trojans and Greeks; among whom, as Knights of great Renown, were Hector, Troilus, Aene [...]s, Antenor, Agamemnon, Me⯑nelaus, Pel [...]us, Tydeus, &c. And thus Homer uſes the Word [...] in the ſame Senſe as Eques was afterwards among the Latins.

[...]

'Mong whom thus Neſtor ſpake, that honour'd Knight.

§. 3. UPON a more ſubſtantial Baſis we ſhall deſcend to the Romans; among whom, in the very Infancy of their Military Glory, a Society of Knights was inſtituted, immediately after their Union with the Sabines. Romulus inrolled Centuriae tres Equitum, three Centuries of Knights, out of the chiefeſt Families, whom he ap⯑pointed to be his Life-guard, and called them C [...]leres, from their Activity and Diſpatch in Martial Affairs.

Tarquinius Priſcus made an Addition to theſe Centu⯑ries; the like did Servius Tullius, who ordained, that thoſe who ſhould ſucceed in that Body, ſhould be elected ex cenſu, viz. from a conſiderable and certain Valuation of their Eſtates, who had the greateſt Cenſ [...], and were of the moſt Noble Families, ſays Dyonyſ. Ha⯑licarn. And ſoon after, the Equeſtrian Claſs began to be formed and conſtituted one of the three Orders of the Commonwealth, which were thus rank'd, according to Livy: Senatus, Ordo Equeſtris & Plebs; which in the Ro⯑man Literal Notes is ſet down after this Manner: CON. SEN. E. ORD. P. Q. R. And foraſmuch as this Degree is placed between the Patricians, or Senators, and the Plebeians, it anſwers exactly the State of our Knights between the Nobility and Commonalty: And from this Order, to the Height of Nobility which reſided in the Senators, was the Way prepared; Junius Brutus being the firſt who was raiſed to a Senator from the Equeſtrian Order.

IT was a Conſtitution, as old as Tib [...]rius's Reign, that none ſhould be admitted, unleſs Free-born, or a Gentle⯑man for three Generations; and, indeed, for a long Time none were elected Knights but the beſt Sort of Gentlemen, and Perſons of Extraction, as was the il⯑luſtrious Ma [...]cenas.

[4] A [...]avis regibus ortns eques, Mart.

who aſpired no higher, not out of any Incapacity of attaining greater Honours, but that he deſired them not, ſays Paterculus: Yet at length, thro' Corruption of Times, Plebeians and Freedmen being too frequently re⯑ceived into this Degree (too near a Parallel among the Knights of this Age) occaſion'd their Power to grow leſs and leſs, 'till it ſhrunk to nothing; ſo that the Pla⯑ces and Offices of Judges which they before had execu⯑ted, became conferrable upon the Publicans. And when Cicero was Conſul, anno ab urbe conditi 690, the Equeſtrian Order ſtood in need of Re-eſtabliſhment, whereupon they were then incorporated into that Commonwealth in the third Degree, all Acts paſſing in the Name of the Senate, the People of Rome, and the Equeſtrian Order.

They often enjoy'd Abroad the Government of ſeveral Provinces, whereof Egypt had this peculiar to itſelf, that none of the Senators were admitted, but only thoſe of the Equeſtrian Order, whoſe Decrees Auguſtus com⯑manded to be had in like Regard, as if the Magiſtrates of Rome, or Kings, Conſuls, or Praetors, had pronoun⯑ced them.

AS a Mark of Eminence, they had the Titles of Splendidi and Illuſtres beſtowed upon them, and ſome⯑times have been called moſt ſacred Knights.

AND beſides other Privileges, they had Seats with the Senators in the Circus Maximus; and by the Roſcian Law, ſat next them in the Theatres: They had likewiſe a College called Collegium Equitum; and Temples were dedicated to the Goddeſs Fortune, under the Title of Equeſtri Fortunae.

HAVING ſhewn the Dignity and Honours of the E⯑queſtrian Order among the Romans, we ſhall now touch upon the Degrees of Knighthood which have been Perſonal, and may be comprehended under the Modern Title of Equites Aurati, or Milites Simplices, (as diſtin⯑guiſh'd from the ſeveral Orders of Chivalry, inſtituted in Chriſtendom.) In the Circumſtance of whoſe Crea⯑tion we confeſs, nothing in the Roman Ordo Equeſtris hath place, tho' that might be the Ground and Original of the Dignity, and one common End in both, namely, the Purſuit of Military Exploits, and Service in the Wars.

§. 4. OF the Degrees of Knighthood. We ſhall firſt of the Monozons, i. e. Knights begirt with the Military Girdle, a Cuſtom devolved to the Germans and Gauls from ancient Times, and from them to After-Ages.

SIR Henry Spelman notes, That the late Emperors conferred the Dignity af Knighthood with the Military Girdle inſtead of all other Arms, becauſe that Part more eminent amongst them girdeth, ſupporteth, and adorneth the reſt; whence Selden calls this Girding the moſt eſſential part of the Cere⯑mony. Nor do we find among the various Ceremonies of Knighthood any that have continued ſo conſtant in Practice as the endowing with Girdle and Sword, Or⯑naments proper to the Dignity and Marks of Honour and Vertue, with which the Statues and Portraitures of Knights, on their Grave-ſtones have been adorned.

FOR as at this Day Knights are ſtyled Equites Aurati, from the Golden Spurs, heretofore put on at their Creation, ſo were they more anciently Singulo Miletari donati, in reſpect, when any one was Knighted, he was not only ſmitten with the Sword, but inveſted with Sword and Belt, yet retain'd at the creating our Knights of the Bath, as the old Formulary thus hath it; Then ſhall the King of great Favour take the Sword, and gi [...]d the [...]quire therewith.

Secondly, The Baccalaurei or Knights Batchelors, are to be conſider'd, who are indifferently ſtyled Chevaliers, Milites, Equites Aurati, and Knights. This Degree is truly accounted the firſt of all Military Dignity, and the Foundation of all Honours in our Nation, and is deri⯑ved from, if not the ſame with that immediately pre⯑ceding. For as the Ceremony of a gentle Touch on the Shoulder with the flat Side of the Sword hath been ſince uſed, inſtead of girting with the Sword and Belt, (eſpecially in Times of War, or in Haſte) as an Initia⯑tion into the Military Order; ſo on the contrary, it is not unuſual now-adays, for the Prince, at leaſt Gladi [...], if not Cingulo donare; for he oftentimes beſtows the Sword upon the Perſon he Knigh [...]e [...].

Miraeus gives them the Epithet Aurati, from the Pri⯑vilege of wearing Gold upon their Swords and Spurs, omitting Tiraquel's fanciful Diſtinction between Miles and Eques Auratus, who allows the former to ſignify a Knight Noble before, and the other to deno [...]e one whom we call a Knight and no Gentleman, or applicable to the Neapo [...]an Gentlemen, (uſually called Cavali [...]ri) who [6] are all ſtyled Equites, tho' they never have attained the Knightly Dignity.

THE third Sort were Knights Banerets, who ſo well de⯑ſerv'd in the Wars, that they were afterwards permitted to uſe Vexillum quadratum, a ſquare Banner, whence they were called Equites vexillarii, or Chevaliers a Buniere from the Dutch Banerheere, Lord or Maſter of the Banner.

Camden conceives this Title firſt devis'd by K. Edward 3. in Recompence of Martial Proweſs; a Recital of which Dignity is mention'd in a Patenr 20 E. 3. to John Coup⯑land, for his Service, in taking David King of Scots Pri⯑ſoner. But it was much more ancient with us, as well as in France; and they had particular Robes, and other Ornaments given them from the Crown, ad apparatum ſuum pro militia, tanquam pro Baneretto, a Rege ſuſcipienda, &c. viz. ad unum Tunicam, &c. after which is ſet down the particular Robes, and other Ornaments appointed for his Creation.

To ſhew this Dignity yet more ancient, there is the Evidence of a Writ in K. Edw. 3d's Time, for furniſhing Thomas Bardolf with the Robes of a Baneret. It is an Ho⯑nour eſteemed the laſt among the Greateſt, viz. Nobilitum Majorum, or the Firſt of the Second Rank; and is placed in the Middle between the Barons and the other Knights; in which reſpect the Baneret may be called Vexillarius minor, as if he were the leſſer Banner-Bearer; to the End he might be ſo differenced from the Greater, namely the Baron, to whom the Right of bearing a ſquare Banner doth belong.

BUT there are ſome remarkable differences between theſe Knights and Knights-Batchelors; as in the Occa⯑ſions and Circumſtances of their Creations, the Baneret being not Created, unleſs at a Time when the King's Standard is erected, and that he bears his own Banner in the Field; whilſt the Knight-Batchelor follows that which is anothers.

THIS farther difference is obſerved between them, that the Knight-Baneret had ſo many Gentlemen his Ser⯑vants at Command, as that he could raiſe a Banner, and make up a Company of Soldiers to be maintained at his Table, and with his own Pay: But the Knight-Batchelor had not ſufficient for this, and therefore marched under the Banner of another; and the Wages of the Baneret were double.

[7] N [...]XT to theſe, we are to mention Knights of the Bath, which is a Degree that hath the Inveſtiture and Title of Knight, with an additional Denomination, derived from Part of the Ceremony of his Creation. It is the general receiv'd Opinion, that our K. Hen. 4. firſt inſtituted theſe Knights, which is juſtify'd by Sir John Froiſard, who ſays he created 46 of them at his Coronation, chuſing them from ſuch, as were either his Favorites, or had pretenſions to it from their per⯑ſonal Merits, or Services.

BUT if the Ceremonies and Circumſtances of their Creation be well conſider'd, it may be inferr'd, that he rather reſtor'd the ancient way of making Knights, than Inſtituted them; and conſequently that the Knights of the Bath, are really no other than Knights-Batchelors; that is, ſuch as are created with thoſe Ceremonies, wherewith Knights-Batchelors were formerly created by Eccleſiaſticks: But ſome of them having been laid aſide, were then brought again into Uſe, and made peculiar to this Degree, and ſince continued to them upon ſome ſolemn and great Occaſion.

AT the firſt View they look like a diſtinct Order of Knighthood; but cannot be ſo accounted, becauſe they have no Statutes aſſigned them, nor are in Caſe of Va⯑cancy, ſupply'd, (the Eſſentials of diſtinct Orders) nor do they wear their Robes beyond the Time of that Oc⯑caſion upon which they were created; as chiefly, the Coronation of a King or Queen, the Creation of a Prince of Wales, Duke of York, and the like; whereas alſo their Number is uncertain, and always at the Pleaſure of the King.

Favine calls them Knights of the Crown, becauſe, to diſtinguiſh them from Eſquires, they wore upon their Left Shoulder an Eſcutcheon of Black Silk embroider'd with three Crowns of Gold; but therein he miſtakes, for they never uſed only a Silk Lace, and the Jewel they wore was made of Gold, containing three Crowns, with this Motto Tria juncta in una, hanging down under the left Arm at a Carnation Ribbon worn croſs the Body.

THIS leads us to the Degree of Baronets, who ſeem allied to Knighthood, by having granted them the Ad⯑dition of Sir to be ſet before their Names: But this gives them not the Dignity of Knighthood; nor can they properly be flyled Knights, until they be actually Knighted.

[8] IT is a Degree erected Anno 9. Jac. 1. and the Grant made by Letters Patents under the Great Seal of Eng⯑land. It is Hereditary to them, and the Heirs Male of their Bodies lawfully begotten, for ever; and by a ſubſequent Decree of the ſaid King, Precedence is granted to them before all Banerets, except ſuch as ſhould be made by the King under his Standard, diſ⯑play'd in an Army Royal in open War, and the King perſonally preſent, and next to and immediately after the younger Sons of Viſcount and Barons.

THE Ground for erecting this Degree was partly Martial; for tho' themſelves were not enjoined perſonal Service in the Wars, yet each Baronet was to maintain thirty Foot Soldiers for three Years in Ireland, after the rate of Eight Pence per Day, for the Defence of that Kingdom, and chiefly to ſecure the Plantation of Ulſter.

THEY were at leaſt to be deſcended from a Grand⯑father, on the Father's Side, that bore Arms, and had a Revenue of 1000 l. per Ann. or Lands of old Rents of equal Value with 1000 l. per Ann. of improv'd Lands, or at leaſt two Parts of three of ſuch Eſtate in Poſſeſſion; the other third in Reverſion Expectant upon one Life held only in Jointure.

THE Year after, King James I. added ſome new Pri⯑vileges and Ornaments, viz. to Knight thoſe already made that were no Knights; and the Heirs hereafter of every Baronet ſhould, at the Age of One and Twenty Years, receive Knighthood; likewiſe that all Baronets might bear in Canton, or in an Ineſcutcheon, the Arms of Ulſter; and farther, to have place in the Armies of the King in the Groſs, near about the Royal Standard.

SINCE the Inſtitution of Baronets in England, there have been made divers in Ireland after the like Form: And the Knights of Nova Scotia in the Weſt-Indies were ordained in Imitation of Baronets in England by the ſaid King James, A. D. 1622. for the Planting that Coun⯑try by Scotch Colonies, and the Degree made likewiſe Hereditary.

THESE latter wear an Orange Tawny Ribbon as their Badge, to diſtinguiſh them from other Knights; and it appears, there was an Intention, 1627. to move his then Majeſty, that all Baronets and Knights Bachelors might wear Ribbons of ſeveral Colours, ſome Badge or Jewel, in ſuch Sort as did the Knights of the Bath, to diſtinguiſh the one from the other: But that Matter dropt.

§. 5. WE ſhall now obſerve the Etymology of Eques, Miles, Chevalier, Ritter, and Sir. The Grecians had a Title of Honour equivalent to the Signification of Eques in the Latin, from Equ [...]s, an Horſe, becauſe one Part of the Ceremony, whereby this Honour became confer⯑red, was the giving of an Horſe; or becauſe having an Horſe at the Publick Charge, they received the Stipend of an Horſeman to ſerve in the Wars, Horſes being Symbols of War, Bello armantur equi. It is to be noted, That the Degree of Knighthood in the Dia⯑lects of other Nations hath rhe ſame Derivation: For in the French, a Knight is called Chevalier; in the Ger⯑man, Ridder, or Ritter, q. d. Rider; ſo the Gheſlagen Ridder is interpreted, The dubbed Knight; in the Italian, it is Cavagliero; in the old Britiſh, Morchog; concerning which, hear one of Jeffery Chaucer's Scholars.

AND tho' the Word Miles ſignified at firſt any legally inrolled for the War, which Inrolment was twofold, Honoraria and Vulgaris; yet upon the Decay of the Ro⯑man Empire, upon the Irruption of the innumerable Forces of the Alani, Goths, Vandals, &c. which conſiſted in Horſe, their Foot was rendred uſeleſs. Miles was no longer ſaid of him that ſerved on Foot in the Wars, but began to be properly ſpoken of the Horſeman; whence it came into Vogue, That among the Titles of Nobili⯑ty, he who had that of Miles beſtowed on him, was un⯑derſtood to be Horſeman, or Eques, that is, of the E⯑queſtrian Dignity.

Selden obſerves Miles to be equivocal: and that in the old feodal Laws of the Empire it ſignify'd a Gentleman, as the Word Gentleman is ſignify'd in Nobilis; and with us it hath been frequently uſed to denote both Gentle⯑men, and Knights; for Milites denotes Gentlemen, or great Freeholders, and not dubbed Knights, viz. ſuch who hold by Knights Service from a Lord of [10] a Mannour, and ſuch who are choſen from the ſeveral Counties to ſerve in the High Courts of Parliament.

Miles, even in the Saxon Times, denoted ſometimes a Dignity. But about the Year 1046, becoming a Title of Honour, it is ſince moſt generally appropriated to Perſons who have received Knighthood correſpondent to Eques and Chevalier, tho' indeed leſs proper; in regard Knighthood is the Dignity of Horſemanſhip, and the Tenure of Lands by Knights Fees here in England, anciently called Regale Servitium, is in truth Horſe Ser⯑vice; and the Tenants ſuch as ſerved the King on Horſeback in Wars, are Gentlemen at leaſt (if not of Noble Extraction.)

Minſhew ſays, the Equites, which heretofore followed and accompanied the Emperor, are, in the German Tongue, called Knechtes, that is, Servitors, or Miniſters; but Camden ſays, Knecht, in Saxon Cniht, was in far more ancient Times accepted as an honorary Title; and, among the old Germans, ſignify'd a Perſon arm'd with Spear and Lance, (the Enſigns of their Knighthood) as in After-Times ſuch were, among other Nations, adorned with a Girdle and Belt, ſince called Equites aurati, and ſometimes ſimply Milites.

THE Addition Sir to the Names of all Knights Bane⯑rets, Knights of the Bath, and Batchelor Knights, pro⯑nounced at the Time when they are created, with this Compellation: Ariſe, Sir John, or Sir Thomas, &c. is accounted Parcel of their Style, which the Banerets en⯑joy by virtue of a Clauſe in their Patent. It is a Con⯑traction of the Old French Sire, taken for Seigneur, or Lord, from the Greek [...]. But how it came to be firſt given, we cannot find; nevertheleſs, our Engliſh Writers have beſtowed it upon the major Part of the Nobility, after they had been received into the Order of Knighthood; and in the Life of St. Thomas Becker, written about the Time of King Edw. 1. we meet with the Title prefix'd to the Names of the four Knights, who ſlew the ſaid St. Thomas.

§. 6. THE Enſigns of the Equeſtrian Order among the Romans, by which they were made, was a Publick Horſe, or a Gold Ring; yet ſtill, to thoſe who had Equeſtrian Cenſe, the Horſe was the ancienter Badge of the two; but when thro' the Multitude of theſe Knights no Publick Horſes were aſſigned, but to ſuch who were ready to enter upon Military Service, and to [11] fight in the Legions, ſuch were called Legionary Knights, to diſtinguiſh them from the reſt, who had only receiv'd the Honour of a Gold-Ring; for they were not all employ'd in Wars.

THE Cenſor (after the Inſtitution of that Offiee ab urbe condita, 310.) and afterwards the Emperor, were the Perſons who beſtowed this Equus Militaris, or Pub⯑licus, as it was called from the Annual Allowance, to keep him, which they gave unto thoſe of known Ver⯑tue and approv'd Life, compelling him to ſerve in the Wars, tho' againſt his Will; (but in the more ancient Method of Election, Conſtraint was not uſed.) And upon Negligence in the Care of theſe Horſes, or any Blemiſh, Reproach, or Infamy, or Loſs of Patrimony in the Knights, the Horſes were not only taken away, but the Knights wholly disfranchis'd. Roſinus laying down the Manner and Order uſed in ejecting ſuch Knights, adds, A Recital being made of all the Knights that were inrolled, thoſe whoſe Names he omitted, were thereby un⯑derſtood to be depriv'd of that Dignity.

WHEN they had ſerved in the Wars the Time appoint⯑ed by Law, it was the Cuſtom to lead their Horſes by the Bridle into the Forum, before the Duumvirs [Cen⯑ſors,] and giving an Account under whom and what Generals or Captains they had ſerved; they were thereupon diſmiſſed from farther Service in the Wars: An Example whereof Plutarch relates to have been given by Pompey himſelf.

BUT whereas among the Roman Inſcriptions we find Equo publico honoratus donatus, ornatus, and exornatus, ſuch is not to be conſtrued to be of Equeſtrian Dignity, but only to have received the praemia militaria, with which the Emperors uſed to recompenſe ſome particular Ex⯑ploit, by the Honour of ſuch a Gift, according to Sal⯑maſius. Equus Publicus, by a wondrous, nevertheleſs an accuſtom'd Speech, among the Romans, is the Knight, qui equo publico meret. And qui equo publico donatus, the other deſerving Perſon.

AS to the Ring: In Geneſis we read of Pharoah's taking off his Ring, and putting it upon Joſeph's Hand. When they came in Faſhion with the Romans, the Senators at firſt wore Iron ones, which were accounted the Enſign of Military Vertue, received upon a Publick Account. Howbeit, in Proceſs of Time, when Gold Rings were drawn into Uſe, none but Senators and Knights had [12] them. The Difference among the Rings of the three Orders in the State were, as Licetus obſerves, Gold Rings ſet with precious Stones were given to the Senators on⯑ly; Plain Rings without Stones to the Knights, and Iron Rings to the Plebeians, or Free-born-men; inſo⯑much that Equeſtri dignitate donare, and annulo honorare, is a promiſcuous Phraſe in Tacitus, to give the Dignity of Knighthood; and at the Battle of Cannae, by the two Meaſures or Buſhels of Gold Rings ſent to Carthage, the Number of the Roman Knights there ſlain was computed.

§. 7. AT length Freed-Men being created Knights, the Jus annulorum, the Right of wearing Gold Rings, became promiſcuous.

AMONG the Germans, the Shield and Lance were ac⯑counted the grand Badges of Military Honour, or Knighthood. This the Lombards, the Franks, and our Country-men, all deſcending out of Germany, uſed, and was to us (in the Opinion of Sir Hen. Spelman) the Foundation of the Knightly Order. Much like the ancient Germans was the Cuſtom of making Knights among the Iriſh: And Favine notes the Shield and Lance were the proper Arms appertaining to a French Knight, which Eſquires, Armigers, carried always after their Maſters, Shields and Scutes (as they are vulgarly called) i. e. Equeſtrian Targets, inclining to an Oval, not Shields or Bucklers of Foot Soldiers.

ANOTHER Enſign and Ornament of Knightly Honour is, the Cingulum militare. or Balteus, which, Varro ſays, is Tuſcan, ſignifying a military Girdle, which were garniſhed with great Buckles, Studs, and Rings of pure Gold, to ſhew their Dignity and Power in military Com⯑mands; and with ſuch a Belt, ſet with Pearls and precious Stones, young Athelſtan was girded, when he receiv'd Knighthood from his Grandfather King Alfred. Our Knights were no leſs anciently known by theſe Belts, than by their gilt Swords, Spurs, &c. Howbeit the Uſe now only appears in Knights of the Bath.

To this Belt was alſo added a Sword, not of Ordinary Uſe; and therefore termed the Sword of a Knight, which was hallowed with great Ceremony.

ANOTHER eminent Badge is the Golden Spurs, where⯑with, at the Time of their Creation, Knights Spurs were wont to be adorned; and to theſe, a little after the Conqueſt, were added far more and greater Oruaments. They were uſually put on after the Perſon had been [13] preſented to the Prince who gave the Honour, to ſignify, that the new-made Knight ſhould not only declare his Valour by his Sword, but alſo by the Management of his Horſe, which he ſhould encourage and excite with his Spurs, to the carrying on his valiant Deſigns. Theſe Spurs have been of that Eſteem, that Knight Batchelors are latinized Equites aurati; among the Germans, Ritter deſs Gulden Sporns; and with us heretofore, Knights of the Spurs: And ſeveral Families by the Name of Knight, bear for their Arms the Spurs on a Canton.

IT is farther certify'd among the Rights of a Knight Baneret, that upon the Account of his Knighthood he may wear gilt Spurs, as well as a gilt Sword; and that the Spurs are eſſential, may be collected from the De⯑gradation of a Knight, where his gilt Spurs are firſt cut off with an Hatchet, the Caſe of Sir Andra Harcla. In the laſt Place is the Collar, an Enſign of Knightly Dig⯑nity among the Germans, Gauls, Britons, Danes and Goths, among whom it was cuſtomary to wear them, as deno⯑ting ſuch as were remarkable for their Valour. But in lat [...]r Times, it was the peculiar Faſhion of Knights among us to wear Golden Collars compoſed of S S. or other various Devices; ſo that thoſe Monuments are known to be erected for Knights on whoſe Portraitures ſuch Ornaments are found.

§. 8. THE Qualifications for Knighthood are princi⯑pally three. 1. Merit, the bare mentioning whereof ſhall ſuffice here. 2. Birth, viz. that the Parties who enter thereinto ought firſt to make appear they be Gentlemen of three Paternal Deſcents, bearing Coat Armour; and much the ſame was the Law of the Em⯑pire under Frederick 2. A. D. 1212. Some think it alſo inſufficient, unleſs deſcended ſo by the Mother's Side; at leaſt ſhe muſt be a freed Woman. And, 3. Eſtate, which alſo ſerves to ſupport the Dignity.

THUS Wealth was ſo much regarded among the Cha⯑l [...]donians, that thoſe who were rich, bore the Name of Knights. It was Eſtate that entitled a Man to this Honour among the Romans; for the Cenſor might compel any Citizen equal to the Equeſtrian Cenſe, whom he thought fit to take that Order: And this conſiſted of 400000 Seſterces, i. e. 3025 l. of our Money.

AND as in Old Rome, ſo here in England, not long after the Conqueſt, they who held a Knights Fee, viz. 680 Acres of Land might claim it, ſays Camden. But it ap⯑pears from Selden, that no certain Number, or Extent [14] of Acres, made a Knight's Fee [...] and Temp. Hen. 3. and Edw. 1. and 1 Edw. 2. the Cenſus militis was meaſured by 20 l. by the Year, or more; and by the Royal Pre⯑rogative, ſome who held 15, then 20, at other times 30, then 40, and ſometimes 50 l. Lands, were required to accept this Honour by Writs directed to the Sheriffs of the Counties, and were excuſed only by Reaſon of old Age, irrecoverable Weakneſs, Loſs of Limbs, or being in Holy Orders; and upon all other Cauſes (if exempted) they paid a Fine, eſtimated according to the Nature of the Excuſe, or length of Time given.

BUT in the promiſcuous Courſe of Knighthood, where the Men of Wealth and Eſtate (whether otherwiſe worthy or not) became dignify'd; yet the Gate of Honour was not then ſhut againſt thoſe, who wanting Riches, deſerved well of their Country; for when Princes conferr'd ſuch Dignities upon Men of narrow Fortunes, they uſually beſtowed with them annual Pen⯑ſions, or Lands, agreeable to the Judgment of the Au⯑thor of the Diviſion du monde, who ſaith that the Ho⯑nour of Knighthood is not to be given any Perſon who hath not a conſiderable Eſtate, unleſs ſufficient Means to ſupport the Honour of the Order be alſo given with it.

THESE Penſions are frequently mention'd in our Rolls [...] ſometimes during Pleaſure, and ſometimes during the Life of the Knight, or till better Proviſion ſhould be made for their Supports: Examples whereof are, Sir John Atte Lee, Sir Nele Loring, Sir John Walſh, Knights. The like Rewards our Kings gave to ſuch whoſe Merit raiſed them to the Degree of a Ban [...]ret, expreſs'd in their Patents, ad manutenendum ſtatum Baneretti, Pro ſuſtentatione ſua, ut ipſe ſtatum Baneretti melius manutenere poſſit, Pro ſtatu ſuo manutenendo; or Words to the like Effect: Examples where of are, Sir Reginald Cobham, Sir Thomas de Rokeley, Sir John Lyſle, and Sir Roger de Swynerton, Banerets.

IT may be next conſider'd who can make Knights; wherein it is apparent, that they who never were, and others who never could be Knights, have conferr'd this Dignity; yet 'tis to be underſtood, that Neceſſity and Cuſtom hath in this Caſe the Force of a Law: For anci⯑ently, Biſhops and Prieſts made Knights; ſo alſo do the Popes, and ſome Commonwealths; likewiſe our Queens. For the Sovereign, or the Heir apparent, tho' they be no Knights, may nevertheleſs do it, by reaſon they poſſeſs the Kingdom; and are therefore the Head and Chief of Chevalry, and conſequent all the Power thereof is contained [15] in their Command. To conclude this Point [...] Knighthood was always received from the Hands of another Perſon, either by Ceremony, or Diploma, except only the Kings of Spain, who Time out of Mind made them⯑ſelves Knights; and this by Vertue of an old Law written in the Arragonian Tongue, as Ambroſias Morales repotts. And, to ſhew that no Man upon Earth hath any Power over him, he ſhall gird himſelf with the Sword made after the [...]orm of a Croſs; and that Day can no other Man be Knighted.

§. 9. Of the Ceremonies and Formalities uſed at the Conferring of Knighthood, the moſt ancient was per⯑form'd by putting the Belt Iooſe over the Shoulder, or girding it cloſe about the Waſte. The Bend in Armoury repreſents the one, and the Feſs the other. The firſt Chriſtian Kings at giving this Belt kiſſed the new Knight on the Left Cheek, ſaying, In the Honour of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Ghoſt, I make you a Knight. It was called Oſculum pacis, the Kiſs of Favour, or Bro⯑therhood, and is preſumed to be the Accollade, or Cere⯑mony of Imbracing, which Charles the Great uſed when he Knighted his Son Lewis the D [...]bonair. It was in the Time of the ſame Emperor, the Way of Knighting by the Colaphum, or Blow on the Ear, uſed in Sign of ſuſtaining future Hardſhips, which is thought to have been deriv'd from the Manner of Manumiſſion of a Slave among the Romans; a Cuſtom long after retained in Germany and France. Thus William Earl of Holland, who was to be Knighted before he could be Emperor, at his being elected King of the Romans, received Knighthood by the Box of [...]he Ear, &c. from John King of Bohemia, A. D. 1247.

IN the Time of the Saxons here in England, Knights re⯑ceived their Inſtitutions at the Hands of Great Prelates or Abbots; which, according to their Opinion, render'd them more auſpicious. In the accompliſhing of which Solem⯑nity, they added many religious Ceremoni [...]s, as Watch⯑ing, Faſting, Bathing, and Conſecrating the Sword; an Inſtance of which we have in Heward Lord of Brune, in in Lincolnſhire, who received this Honour from Brand, Abbot of St. Edmundsbury. But not long after the Con⯑queſt, this Cuſtom was reſtrained by a Synod a, Weſtmin⯑ſt [...]r, A. D. 1102. 3 H. 1. whic [...] among other Things ordained Ne Abbates [i. e. all Spiritnal Perſons] ſaciunt militas [...] However the religious Ceremonies for the moſt part continued, eſpecially Vigils and Bathings, as ap⯑pears by that grand Solemnity at the Creation of 267 Knights, Son [...] of Earls, Barons, and Knights, upon [16] Whitſontide, anno 34 Edw. 1. cited by Selden and Camden. And theſe Formalities the Saxons and Normans, not only here in England, but the French, Spaniards, and other Nations, obſerv'd, concluding from it, that decency of Habit was as well expected from them, as Integrity of Life, and purity of Manners. And the like religious Ceremony was heretofore obſerv'd in Spain at the Crea⯑tion of Knights, whether Cavelleros de Eſpuela d' Orada, or Amados [our Knights Batchelors,] In this Form, the Perſon to be Knighted was bathed in the Evening, and preſently laid in Bed; then cloathed in rich Robes, and led to the Church to perform his Vigils: That being over, and Maſs heard, his Spurs were put on, and his Sword girt about him, then drawn out, and put into his Right Hand; whereupon the Oath was forthwith adminiſtred to him; which taken, he that beſtowed the Dignity gave him una Peſconade, a Blow, or Stroke on the Neck, ſaying, God aſſiſt you in the Performance of your Promiſe.

THE Oath or Vow the Knights profeſſed, was in ge⯑neral, to relieve and protect Widows, the Fatherleſs, Oppreſſed and Miſerable, and to defend the Church of God; which to keep and perform was eſteem'd as meri⯑torious, as to do all that a Monk, Frier, or Canon Regular ſhould.

THERE is alſo mention (by Mr. Selden) of conſecrating the Sword, offering it at the Altar, and receiving it again from thence, as an implicit Kind of taking an Oath. But as in Peace and great Leiſure theſe tedious Ceremo⯑nies were uſed, yet it was otherwiſe in Times of War, or on a Day of Battle, where Hurry and Throng of Affairs would not permit; and therefore, as well be⯑fore the joining of Battle, as after Victory obtained, it was uſual for the Prince or General in the Field, on Sight of the Army, to give thoſe whom he thought fit to advance to that Honour (they humbly kneeling be⯑fore him) a Stroke with a naked Sword flatwiſe upon their Shoulders, or elſe to touch their Heads or Shoul⯑ders lightly, without any other Ceremony, except pronouncing Sis Eques in nomine Dei; to which he adds, Riſe, Sir—Knight, or in the French, Sus, or Sois, Che⯑valier, au nom de Dieu, which we commonly call Dubbing, the old Engliſh Word uſed for Creating [Conſecrating] a Knight, from doopen to dip, by Bathing.

ANOTHER Manner of creating Knights Abroad was, by Royal Codicils, or Letters Patents (theſe the Spaniards [17] call Privilegios de Cavelleria) whereupon ſuch Knights are intitled Equites Codicellares; and theſe were ſent to ſuch as dwelt in remote Countries, and ſometimes, but rarely, extended ſo as to make the Degree heredi⯑tary. There is one Example, that by the bare ſigni⯑fication of Letter, without any Ceremonies or Patents under Seal; Philip IV. of Spain, Jan. 15. 1633. con⯑ferr'd upon all the Captains that behav'd themſelves valiantly in Defence of Maſtricht (then lately beſieg'd by the Hollanders) to thoſe that were Gentlemen, the Title of Knights; and to others, that of Gentlemen.

HAVING thus briefly ſhew'd the various Forms of Crea⯑tion of Knights Batchelors, I ſhall remark what Seld [...]n has obſerv'd of Knights Bannerets in later Times, wherein he that was advanc'd to that Honour in the Field, was in⯑ducted between two Senior Knights with Trumpets be⯑fore them, and the Heralds carrying a long Banner of his Arms, call'd a Penon; in which Manner being brou [...]ht to the King or Lieutenant, who bidding him good Suc⯑ceſs, the Tip of the Banner is cut off, that of an Obl [...]ng it might become a Square, like the Banner of a Baron: This done, he returns to his Tent, conducted as b [...] ⯑fore. As for the many and various Formularies at the Creation of a Knight of the [...]ath, ſee Sir Edward [...]yſ [...] among his Not [...]s upon Utton and Sir William Dugdale's Warwickſh. The Knights of the Bat [...], at the Coronation of King Charles II. watched and bathed; they took an Oath; they were girded with a Sword and Belt; and laſtly, dubbed by the King with the Sword of State.

§ 10. IN the Dignity, Honour and Renown of Kni [...]ht⯑hood, is included ſomewhat of Magnificence more excel⯑lent than Nobility it ſelf; which mounting the Royal Throne, becomes the Aſſertor of Civil Nobility, and [...]its as Judge at the Tribunal therefore. Knight is noted by Camden as a Name of Dignity, but Baron is not ſo. For if heretofore a Baron had not receiv'd Knighthoo [...], he was written plainly by his Chriſtian Name, and that of his Family, without any Addition but that of Do⯑minus, a Term attributed to a Knight; and in ancient Charters, the Titles and Names of Knights may be ſeen ſet before Barons. It beſtows Gentility not onl [...] upon the meanly Born, but upon h [...]s Deſcendant [...] [...] [18] [...]ncreaſeth the Honour of thoſe well-deſcended. Here⯑unto agrees the Common-Law: If a Villain be made a Knight, he is thereby immediately enfranchiſed, and conſequently accounted a Gentleman; agreeable to the Roman Law, where the Donation of a Gold-Ring ennobled a Slave. Moecen [...]s dy'd a Companion of that Order; even Kings and Princes look upon it as an Acceſſion to their Honour, their other Titles ſhewing Dominion and Power, this their Valour and Courage. Geyſa, King of Hungary, Leopold, Mar⯑quis of Auſtria, Ottacher, Duke of Stiria, and Frederick, Duke of Auſtria and Stiria; Godfry, Duke of Brabant, with Henry his Son, Peter, King of Arragon, the Empe⯑ror Henry III. our William Rufus, King Edward III. Hen⯑ry VI. Henry VII. Edward VI. Lewis XI. Francis I. Kings of France, and others, received this Dignity at the Time they enjoy'd their other Titles. And tho' it is ſaid the Sons of the French King are Knights as ſoon as they re⯑ceive Baptiſm, yet are they not judg'd worthy the Kingdom, unleſs firſt ſolemnly created. And we elſe⯑where find, that the Royal Heirs of Arragon were ſuſ⯑pended from that Crown, until they had received the Honour of Knighthood. And after the Norman Con⯑queſt, our young Princes were ſent over to the neigh⯑bouring Kings to receive this Honour. Thus our King Henry II. was ſent to David, King of Scots, and Knight⯑ed by him in Carliſle; and Edward I. at the Age of Fif⯑teen Years, to Alphonſus XI. King of Caſtile, for the ſame Dignity. In like manner did foreign Princes repair hither, to receiv [...] the Honour from our Kings. As Malcolme, King of Scotland, and Alexander, Son of Wil⯑liam, King of Scotland, Knighted by our King John, Anno 1212. So was Alexander III. by our King Henry III. at York, Anno 1252. and Magnus, King of the [...]ſle of Man, by the ſame King. All which ſufficiently demon⯑ſtrate the great Renown of Knighthood, and the Ho⯑no [...]r and Eſteem which was ever had for that Order.

§ 1. THE Grounds and Cauſes of founding Socie⯑ties or Knightly Orders, were ſeveral and different, tho' all terminated in one End. Among which, principally were theſe, Firſt, A ſincere Love to Honour, and therein chiefly to excite and pro⯑mote Vertue by ſuitable Rewards; ſuch was the Deſign of King Arthur, when he formed himſelf and other Martial Men into a Fellowſhip, which he ſtiled Knights of the Round Table. Secondly, To repreſs the Incurſions and Robberies of the Saracens and Barbarians, to vindicate the Oppreſſed, redeem the Enſlaved, and to entertain and relieve Pilgrims and Strangers, which were Part of the Duties the Knights Hoſpitallers and Templars, &c. ſtood engag'd in. A third Reaſon was, To Fight in Defence of the Chriſtian Faith, againſt Pagans and Infidels; to enlarge the Chriſtian Territories, and promote the Service of the Catholick Church: And indeed their Zeal very much advanced Chriſtianity. Laſtly, When Sovereign Princes perceived themſelves embroiled in Wars or dangerous Factions, the erecting ſuch an Order or Society was, that they might by ſuch a Tye reſtore Peace, quiet all Jealouſies, unite Affecti⯑ons, and ſecure a laſting Friendſhip and powerful Aſſi⯑ſtance, both for their own and their Country's Safety. And to this End were Badges of ſeveral Orders deviſed, as Pledges of Remembrance to quicken and eſtabliſh their Friendſhip.

§ 2. THESE Orders are of Two Kinds, 1. Religious, or Eccleſiaſtical; and, 2. Military, or Secular.

§ 3. THE Inſtitutions of the latter Sort were after a while thought too weak to continue, if not ſuſtained [20] by Religion and Piety; and too defective without ad⯑joyning Eccleſiaſtical Perſons thereunto. Therefore the Founders, conſidering Divine Aſſiſtance ſhould con⯑cur with Military Induſtry, began to dedicate theſe Or⯑ders to the Honour and Worſhip of God, or to our Saviour, or to the bleſſed Virgin, or ſome other of the Saints, to gain the Protection and Favour of Heaven, more eaſily, as they thought, obtainable by the Prayers and Offices of the Clergy. Whereupon ſome in their Inſtitution joyned Sacred Orders to their Military, and made Proviſion for Sacred Perſons to pray for their Pro⯑ſperity at home, while they were engaged abroad. Hence King Ed [...]. III. at the firſt Inſtitution of the Gar⯑ter, appointed Thirteen Secular Canons, and Thirteen Vicars to attend the Celebration of Divine Offices. Up⯑on the ſame Account certain Foundations of Divine Service were erected at Bug [...]y, for the Order of the An⯑nunciads; at Dijon, for the Order of the Golden Fleece; and at Mont St. Michael in Normandy, for the Order of St. Michael.

4. I ſhall now deliver a brief Account of the Reli⯑gious Orders of Knighthood, proceeding according to their Antiquity.

§ 1. HAVING particulariz'd the Religious Orders, I ſhall proceed to thoſe accounted abſolutely Military. Among them,

§ 2. 1. In the Weſt-Indies, Montezuma, King of Mexico, ſet Knighthood in the higheſt Splendor, ordaining cer⯑tain military Orders, with ſeveral Badges and Enſigns. The moſt honourable among the Knights were thoſe that carry'd the Crown of their Hair ty'd with a little Red Ribbon, having a rich Plume of Feathers, from which did hang Branches and Rolls of Feathers upon their Shoulders. They carry'd as many Rolls as they had done gallant Exploits in the Wars; and the King himſelf and his Sons were of this Order; which Pur⯑chas calls Eagle Knights.

2. THERE was another Order, call'd Of the Lyons and Tygers. Theſe Knights being commonly the moſt vali⯑ant in the Wars, always bore with them their Badges and Armories.

3. OTHER Knights there were, as The Grey Knights, not ſo much reſpected as the reſt. They had their Hair cut round about the Ears: They made War upon their Enemies with Enſigns like other Knights, and were only arm'd to the Girdle, while the moſt Ho⯑nourable were Cap-a-Pee'd. All Knights might carry Gold and Silver, be array'd in rich Cotton, have the uſe of painted and gilt Veſſels, and wear Shoes; but the common People only the earthen ſort; neither might they carry Shoes nor Attire themſelves, but in a groſs Stuff. Every Order had their Lodging aſſign'd them in the Palace, diſtinguiſh'd by their proper En⯑ſigns: The firſt was the Lodging of the Prince, the ſecond of Eagles, the third of Lyons and Tygers, and the fourth of Grey Knights.

THE Province of Cinaloa (near New Mexico) created their Knights by giving a Bow, and ſetting them to en⯑counter a Lyon or ſome other wild Beaſt.

THE Inguas, or Lords of Peru, dedicated their Chil⯑dren to Honour, by adorning them with Guarras or [77] Enſigns. They pierced their Ears, whip'd them with Slings [...] ſmeared their Faces with Blood, in order they ſhould be true Knights to the Ingua. Thoſe of Royal Ex⯑traction, before they received the Order of Knighthood abſtained Seven Days from all manner of Nutr [...]ment, except a little raw Grain and Water, and after being heartned and briſked up again, performed ſome Military Exerciſes, alſo Racing, Wreſtling, Leaping, Shooting, Slinging, throwing the Dart and Lance, &c. and en⯑during to be beaten on the Hands and Legs with Wands; theſe being as it were the Teſts whether they could endure the Hardſhips of War or no; for if they did not ſuſtain them manfully, they were denied Knighthood. The Ceremonies being performed by boaring an Hole in the Ears, putting on gallant Shoes, and wearing of the Breeches, which before they were reſtricted, adorning their Heads with Flowers, and ha⯑ving the Privilege of an Herb that none but themſelves cou'd make uſe of, and laſtly giving an Axe into their Hands. Menenius calls theſe Knights Oreiones, from the Spaniſh Orejas, flop or loll-eared, in the Latin Auri⯑culares, from the Leaf which they bore hanging in their Ears, or becauſe they only negotiated Affairs with the Emperor, and had his Ear at all times.

IN Japan there's an Order of Knights called Mengoras, part of whom are called Bonzees, living in Fraternities, as our Religioniſts in Europe. Some of theſe have the Charge of their Idols, and the Service relating to their Temples, others follow the Wars. They profeſs Cha⯑ſtity with ſuch Severity, that no Woman is allow'd to enter their Cities. They govern the Kingdoms they conquer, and are ſo very opulent that ſome of them poſſeſs 60000 Duckets per Annum; and have a publick Armory well ſtored to make uſe of upon any Exigence, which is maintain'd by a daily Contribution. Women have been excluded their Share in this Way of Honour, tho' their Courage and Valour have equalized the Amazons of old; the Example is of the noble Women of Tortoſa in Spain, or the Femme Cavaliers of the Torchi. Micheli barely calls them Chavalleros, or rather Chavalleras, ſeeing the Latins have had the Words, Equitiſſae & Mili⯑tiſſae, to expreſs, Virago's and H [...]roines.

[78] DON Raymond, laſt Earl of Barcelona, having in the Year 1149. reduced the City of Tortoſa from the Moors, on the Thirty Firſt following they laid a freſh Siege to it, in hopes to recover it. The Inhabitants were at length reduced to great Streights; they deſired Relief of the Earl, but he not being in a Condition to anſwer their Requeſt, they had Thoughts of a Surrender; which the Women to prevent put on the Apparel of the Men, and by a reſolute Salley forced the Moors to raiſe the Siege. The Gallantry of the Action the Earl ac⯑knowledged by granting them ſeveral Privileges, and to perpetuate the Memory inſtituted this Order, ſomewhat like a Military one, and none were to be ad⯑mitted, only thoſe brave Women, and the Honour to de⯑rive to their Deſcendants, and aſſigned them for a Badge a Thing like a Fryer's Capouche, ſharp at the Top, after the Form of a Torch, of a Crimſon Colour, to be worn upon their Head-Cloaths; that at all publick Meetings the Women ſhould have Precedence of the Men, and ſhould be exempted from all Taxes, and that all the Apparels and Jewels left by their dead Husbands ſhould be theirs.

A more general Ornament of Honour peculiar to the Fair Sex is the Cordon, which ſome will have to be an Order, or Equivalent thereunto. The Inſtitution is attributed to Anne Britaigne, Wife to Charles VIII. of France, who inſtead of the Military Belt or Collar, be⯑ſtowed a Cordon or Lace on ſeveral Ladies, admoniſhing them to live chaſtly and devoutly, always mindful of the Cords and Bonds of our Saviour, and to engage them to a greater Eſteem of it, ſhe ſurrounded her Eſcutcheon of Arms with the like Cordon; from which Example the Arms of unmarried Ladies and Gentle⯑women are uſually adorn'd with them.

HAving diſpatch'd the ſeveral Orders of Knight⯑hood, and trac'd them from their proper Foun⯑tains, we come now to treat of the moſt Noble Order of the Garter; an Order, that not only grants Merit, and Honourable, and Valiant Exploits at Home, but what Imperial Heads and Perſons, fam'd for the An⯑tiquity of their Race, or Gallantry of Actions, have al⯑ways eſteem'd a further Advancement to their Glory therein to be enroll'd. For the better Explanation, it will be neceſſary to begin with the Deſcription of the Caſtle, Chapel, and College of Windſor. The Place claims no greater Antiquity than of the Saxons, named by them Windleſhore, and, as Cambden conjectures, had the Denomination from the Winding of a Shore thereabouts, as did Wandſworth in Surry, heretofore written Wind⯑leſworth. The firſt authentick Notice is from the Donation which King Edward the Confeſſor made thereof to the Monks of Weſtminſter, (as the Charter ex⯑preſſes it) For the Hope of eternal Reward, the Remiſſion of all his Sins, the Sins of his Father, Mother, and all his An⯑ceſtors, to the Praiſe of Almighty, &c. he grants Wyndle⯑ſhore, with all its Appurtenances, as an Endowment and perpetual Inheritance, to the Uſe of the Monks there, and at Weſtminſter, that ſerved GOD. Thoſe Monks en⯑joy'd it not long, for King William the Conqueror, in the firſt Year of his Reign, being greatly [...]namour'd with the p [...]eaſant Situation and Commodiouſneſs of the Place, ſ [...]tna [...]e ſo near the Thames, and the Wood fit for Game [...] i [...]vited Eadwin, the then Abbor, and the M [...]nks, to ac⯑cept in Exchange f [...]r it, Wokendune in Eſſex, a Manſion called Ferings, with all its Members and Hamlers, to⯑gether with Fourteen Sokemen and their Lands, and o [...]e Fr [...]hol [...]er, and Three Houſes in Colcheſter, all in Eſſex, [...]n e which it has remained in the Crown.

The King being thus poſſeſs'd, forthwi [...]h built a Caſtle upon the Hill, which, in Doomſd [...]y Book, contained [80] half an Hide of Land, and is there noted to be Parcel of the Mannor of [Clivore] Clure. This Caſtle King Henry I. rebuilt, and beautified with great Magni⯑ficence, and, in the Tenth Year of his Reign, held his Whitſontide there with great State and Splendor. Short⯑ly after, in a Charter of Peace between King Stephen and Duke Henry, (King Henry II. afterwards) this Caſtle was called Mola de Windeſor, the Fortreſs of Windeſor. Within this Caſtle was King Edward III. born, (com⯑monly called Edward of Windſor) and was baptized in the old Chapel; and ſo great was his Affection to that Place, that he conſtituted it the Seat of the moſt noble Order of the Garter; and to embelliſh it the more, he founded the College of the Chapel of St. George, and much enlarged, and beautified the Caſtle.

For this Work he appointed ſeveral Surveyors, whom he aſſigned to preſs Hewers of Stone, Carpenters, and ſuch other Artificers as were thought uſeful and neceſ⯑ſary, as alſo to provide Stone, Timber, and all other Materials for them. William de Wyckham (who attained to be Biſhop of Wincheſter) was one of theſe Superviſors, and had that Place conferr'd on him by Letters Patent, October 30. Ed. III. And a Grant of the ſame Fee was likewiſe allowed to Robert de Bernham, viz. One Shilling a Day, while he was at Windſor, Two Shillings when he went elſewhere about that Affair, and Three Shillings per Week to his Clerk; afterwards he was chief Cuſtos and Surveyor of this Caſtle, of the Mannors of Old and New Windſor, and of other Caſtles, Mannors, &c. be⯑longing to the King, to provide Workmen, and lo [...]k after the Repairs, and in thoſe Mannors to hold Leets and other Courts, Pleas of Treſpaſs and Miſdemeanours.

About the 34^th of Ed. III. it is preſumed the moſt con⯑ſiderable Enlargement of the Caſtle was made, ſeeing there was then great Store of the ableſt Diggers and Maſons impreſs'd, by virtue of Writs directed to the [...]e⯑veral Sheriffs, with Command under 100 l. Penalty to ſend them to Windſor the Sunday after the Feaſt of St. George, to work at the King's Charge, from whence they were not to depart without Wyckham's Licenſe, Se⯑curity having been firſt taken by the Sheriffs, and re⯑turned into Chancery. London found Forty; Eſſex, in conjunction with Her [...]ford, Forty; Wilts, Leiceſter, with [81] Worceſter, Cambridge, with Huntington Forty, Kent, Glouceſter, Somerſet, with Devon, and Northampton, one with another, found alſo Forty a-piece. And be⯑cauſe divers of theſe Workmen, for Gain and Advantage, clandeſtinely left Windſor to the Hindrance of the Work, all Perſons were forbid to employ or retain them under Forfeiture of all they had, and likewiſe to arreſt thoſe that withdrew themſelves from the Work, and commit them to Newgate. A. 36. Ed. III. many of them being ſwept away by the Peſtilence, the like Writs were directed to other Sheriffs, under a Hundred Pound Pe⯑nalty, to ſend able Men; whereupon the Counties of York ſent Sixty, Derby Twenty Four, Salop Sixty, Here⯑ford Fifty, Nottingham Twenty Four, Lancaſter Twenty Four, and Devon Sixty. A. 37. Ed. III. The noble Edifice was ready for Glazing, and of Twenty Four of that Occupation impreſs'd for the King's Service, Twelve were to be employed at Windſor. In this Year and the next a great Proficiency was made, and vaſt Quantities of Stone were amaſſed, dug out of the Quarries of Wellesfor, Newel, and Carby, and other Places. From the 37th to the 43d, the Building of the Caſtle was diligently purſued. We find no Addition to this auguſt Pile till his 48th Year, and after that Time nothing more during his Reign, ſo that it is ſuppoſed this Fa⯑mous Piece for Magnificence and Str [...]ngth was then chiefly finiſhed, viz. the Great Hall of St. George, the Lodgings on the Eaſt and South ſide of the Upper Ward, the Keep or Tower in the Middle Ward, the Chapel of St. George, the Houſes for the Cuſtos and the Canons in the Lower Ward, with the whole Circumference of the Walls, their ſeveral Towers and Gates, as in the pre⯑ſent Poſture they remain.

IN ſucceeding Times King Hen. VII. added that ſtate⯑ly Fabrick adjoining to the King's Lodgings, in the Upper Ward. King Hen. VIII. re-edified the great Gate at the Entrance into the Lower Ward. King Edw. VI. began, and Queen Mary perfected the Conveying the Water, from Blackmore-Park in Wingfield Pariſh, into a Fountain of curious Workmanſhip erected in the Mid⯑ [...]e Ward, which ſupplied all the Caſtle. Queen Eliza⯑beth made a Terrace Work on the North ſide of the [82] Caſtle; from whence there is a pleaſant Proſpect down upon Eaton-bridge, the Thames, and the adjacent Coun⯑try. King Charles I. A. D. 1636. built the Gate at the Eaſt end of the Terrace, which leads into the Park. And laſtly, King Charles II. greatly beautified and re⯑pair'd the Fabrick, and furniſh'd it with a curious Ar⯑mory; and, in fine, every Thing is ſo fitly diſpoſed and ordered, that they are worthy of the Notice of every nice and curious Traveller.

CAMDEN elegantly deſcribes its Situation in Proſe in this manner: From an Hill (ſays he) that riſes with a gentle Aſcent, it enjoyeth a moſt delightful Proſpect round about; foreright, in the Front, it ov [...]rlooketh a Vale, lying out far and wide, garniſh [...]d with Corn Fields, flouriſhing with Meadows, deck'd with Groves on either ſide, and watered with the moſt mild and calm River Thames. Behind it ariſe Hills every where, neither rough nor over high, attired, as it were with Woods, and even dedicated, as one would ſay, by Nature, to hunting Game.

And thus Denham's Muſe pourtrays it:

[83] This Caſtle is under the Government of a Conſtable, ſ^o call'd in the Reign of King John, and has bore that Deno⯑mination ever ſince: The Office is of great Antiquity, Honour and Power, but of ſmall Revenue, for it is partly Military and Civil; as Military he commands the Caſtle and any Garriſon placed therein, and is obliged to defend it againſt all Enemies whatſoever; all the Priſoners brought hither are committed to his Charge, and is anſwerable for all that is in the Caſtle to the King, un⯑der whom he is Commander, as a Civil Officer. He is Judge of a Court of Record held there by Preſcription, for determining, by way of Common Law, all Pleas between Party and Party, ariſing within the Precincts of the Foreſt of Windſor, and Liberties thereof, which compriſeth many Towns, and all legal Proceſſes iſſue out in his Name. He is allowed a Deputy learned in the Law, who is called the Steward of the Court of Record, and is Keeper of the Conſtable's Seal of Office. This Officer ſupplies the Conſtable's Place as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, from whoſe Judgment the Appeal is by Writ of Error returnable in the King's-Bench, or Common Pleas at Weſtminſter. The Conſtable is likewiſe Foreſter and Warden of the Foreſt of Wind⯑ſor, which is an 120 Miles in compaſs. He hath under him one or more Lieutenants at his Pleaſure, and may impriſon any Treſpaſſer in Vert and Veniſon Convict, having a Priſon in the Caſtle for that Purpoſe, named the Coalhole. He hath the Freedom of uſing the Sports of the Foreſt, which is granted to no Perſon without his or the King's Licenſe, and ſigns all Warrants to kill Deer, (except what the King ſigns) and is to fell Timber and Wood.

HE that was Chaſtelain (the French Word for Conſta⯑ble) in William the Conqueror's Reign was Walter Fitz Other, from whom the Family of the Barons of Windſor are de⯑ſcended, and the Earls of Plimouth, bearing the Sur⯑name of Windſor. Temp. Car. II. Prince Rupert was Conſtable.

WE come next to the Chapel of St. George, which is ſituate in the Lower Ward or Court of this Caſtle, and ſo named by King Ed [...]. III. ſhortly after he had found⯑ed the College mention'd in the next Section; he having [84] pulled down the old Chapel erected there by King Henry I. and dedicated to King Edward the Confeſſor, to raiſe a more ſtately Structure in its ſtead; to bring which Marter to Perfection, in the 24th Year of his Reign, John de Spoulee had the Office of Maſter of the Stone-Hewers, and had Power to provide Maſons, and other Artificers, to whoſe Care they were entruſted. In Anno 25. Ed. I. John de Dorcheſter, Sub-Conſtable of the Caſtle, was appointed to keep a Controul upon all the Proviſions bought for the Works of the Chapel, as well as on the Payments, and all other Affairs relating thereunto. To this Fabrick he erected ſeveral Houſes adjoining, for the Cuſtos and Canons to reſide in; and afterwards King Hen. IV. gave them the void Place in the Caſtle call'd the Woodhall, nigh the great Hall, for building of Houſes and Apartments for the Vicars, Clerks, and Choriſters, and the other Miniſters, aſſigned for the Service of the Chapel; but King Edw. IV. ob⯑ſerving the Walls and Foundation of the Chapel ſapped and conſumed, and eſteeming the Fabrick not ſtately or ſp [...]cious enough, deſigned another more noble and ex⯑cellent in its Room: In order to it Richard Beauchamp, Biſhop of Salisbury, was conſtituted Maſter and Survey⯑or of the Work, who had Power from the King to re⯑move all Impediments, demoliſhed divers of the Offi⯑ci [...]ry Houſes, and other irregular Piles and decay'd Walls, and dug up their Foundations, particularly thoſe ancient Buildings on the Eaſt ſide of the Chapel, which extended unto the Walls on the North ſide of the Caſtle, where the Towers, viz. C [...]urey's Tower, and Le Amenery's Tower, and B [...]rney's Tower, were ſituated; as alſo on the South ſide of the Chapel, unto the Belfry there, excluſively; the Materials whereof he might beſtow upon any Build⯑ings in th [...] Caſtle, as he thought convenient. How well the B [...]ſhop diſcharged this Office, appears from the Preamble of his Patent, whereby that King conferred o [...] him the Chancellorſhip of the Carter, in which is ſet forth, That out of meer Love towards the Order, he had given himſelf the Leiſure daily to attend the Advancement and Pro⯑greſs of this goodly Fabrick.

FROM this Erection of K. Ed. IV. aroſe the elegant and beauteous Structure now ſtanding, enlarged in Length [85] at leaſt an Hundred Fathom (tho' it did not arrive to it^s Perfection until the Reign of King Henry VIII.) together with the Dean and Canons Houſes on the North ſide of the Chapel, and thoſe of the Petty Canons raiſed at the Weſt End, in form of a Fetter-lock (one of King Edward the IVth's Badges) and ſo vulgarly call'd. Temp. Henry VII. Sir Reginald Bray, Knight of the Garter, be⯑came a liberal Benefactor, finiſhing the Body of the Chapel, and rearing the Middle Chapel on the South thereof, which ſtill retains his Name, and where his Body lies interred, as is manifeſt by his Arms, Badges, &c. cut in Stone, and by his laſt Will. Anno 21. Hen. VII. John Hylmer and William Vertu [...], Free Ma⯑ſons, undertook the Vaulting the Roof of the Choir (a curious Piece of Architecture) for 700 l. and finiſh'd it by Chriſtmas, 1508. Anno 8 Henry VIII. the Rood Loft, and Lanthorn, were erected, with the Contributions raiſed by the Knights Companions. Near to the Eaſt end of this Chapel, was a little Fabrick of Free-Stone, raiſed by Cardinal Wolſey, call'd the Tomb Houſe, in the Middle whereof he deſigned to erect a Monument for King Henry VIII. and had almoſt finiſhed it before he died; but this was demoliſhed, 1646. by command of the Long Parliament; and all the Copper Figures, ex⯑ceedingly enriched by Art, carry'd thence. This Place King Charles I. intended to enlarge, for the Interment of his own Royal Body, and thoſe of his Succeſſors; but thoſe villainous Times drawn on, they with much ado afforded him but a mean obſcure Place near the firſt high Place in the Choir of this Chap [...]l, in the ſame Vault where the Bodies of King Henry VIII. and his laſt Queen yet remain.

IN this Chapel, beſides many of the Knights Com⯑panions, repoſe the Body of King Hen. VI. removed from Cher [...]ſey Abbey in Surrey, depoſited under the Up⯑permoſt Arch at the South ſide of the Altar, without any Monument or Inſcription, and likewiſe that of King Edw. IV. under a large Stone of Tuch, raiſed within the oppoſite Arch, at the North ſide of the Al⯑tar, but without Inſcription, having on the outſide of his Grave a Range of Steel gilt, to incloſe it from the North Iſles, cut excellent well in Church-work.

[86] OVER this Arch hung this King's Coat of Mail, co⯑ver'd over with Crimſon Velvet, and thereon the Arms of England and France quarter'd and richly embroider'd with Pearl and Gold, interwoven with divers Rubies; which Trophy had remain'd over his Monument ever ſince his Interment, till plunder'd by Captain Fogg, 1642. who at the ſame time ſacrilegiouſly robb'd the Chapel of all its Altar-Plate.

WITHIN this Chapel were ſeveral Chantries en⯑dow'd with Lands and other Revenues, for Chaplains and Prieſts to ſing Maſſes for the Souls of their Foun⯑der's Kindred.

William of Wickham, Biſhop of Wincheſter, in 3 Hen. IV. gave Two Hundred Marks to the Dean and Chapter, to buy Twenty Marks per Annum to maintain one Chaplain.

18 Ed. IV. The Feoffees of Richard, Duke of Gloc [...] ⯑ſter, gave the Mannors of Bentfieldbury in Eſſex, Knapton in Norfolk, and Chetleſworth in Suffolk for a daily Maſs.

22 Ed. IV. Sir Thomas St. Leger founded a Chantry of Two Prieſts, who were to officiate in the middle Cha⯑pel on the North Side of the Church; and the ſaid King, by his Will, ordain'd Two Prieſts to ſerve at his Tomb, with an Exhibition of Twenty Marks yearly a-piece.

9 Hen. VII. There was another Chantry Prieſt aſſign'd for Thomas Paſche and William Hermer, &c. who was to perform his Office at the Altar on the North Side the new Church.

13 Hen. VII. Margaret, Counteſs of Richmond, founded a Chantry for Four Chaplains, to celebrate Maſs in the Eaſt Part of the new Work of the Chapel.

18 Hen. VII. William, Lord Haſtings, founded a Chan⯑try for One Prieſt, on the North Side of the Choir, about the middle whereof this Lord lies.

21 Hen. VII. Charles Somerſet, Lord Herbert, (afterwards Earl of Worceſter) left a Secular Prieſt for a daily Maſs, &c. to be ſaid in the South Chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, where he lies inter [...]'d. Both theſe Lords have built Appartments adjoyning for their Chantry Prieſts, now to be ſeen and diſtinguiſh'd by [87] their Arms, garter'd and cut in Stone over their ſeve⯑ral Doors.

To theſe we ſhall add the Foundation of the new Commons, erected over againſt the North Door of the Body of St. George's Chapel, by James Denton one of the Canons, Anno 11 Hen. VIII. for the Lodging and Diet⯑ing ſuch of the Chantry Prieſts, Choriſters and ſtipen⯑diary Prieſts, who had before no certain Place where to hold Commons in, which he furniſh'd with all proper Utenſils, the Charge amounting to 489 l. 7 s. 1 d. in lieu of which the Choriſters were to ſay certain Prayers when they enter'd the Chapel, commemorate his Death, and pray for his and the Souls of all the Faithful de⯑parted.

IN this Chapel of St. George there were heretofore ſeveral Anniverſaries or Obits held and celebrated, which we paſs over. And as it was uſual for ſome of the military Profeſſion to ſpend the Remains of their Lives in pious Speculations, for their King and Coun⯑try, and the Salvation of their own Souls, Permiſſion was allow'd to the well-diſpos'd Knights of the Garter, who retir'd from the Noiſe and Buſtle of the World, to make their Abode there; yet ſo as to maintain them⯑ſelves out of their own Revenues. King Henry VIII. ordain'd that the Sovereign ſhould aſſign them conve⯑nient Appartments within the Caſtle; and the like Fa⯑vour he granted to other Knights, tho' not of the Or⯑der; but the Lodgings to be ſuch as the Sovereign and Knights Companions ſhould decree: However, we do not find the Knights Companions made uſe of the Benefit, but only for their better Accommodation at the grand Feaſt of the Order, &c. A Motion was made, 14 Car. I. that they might have Lodgings aſſign'd them in the great Court, which they offer'd to repair at their own Charge, ſince all the Officers had Conveni⯑encies in the Caſtle, but the Knights Companions none, which the King did not diſſent to, provided it be without Excluſion of the great Officers of State.

§ 3. WITHIN the Chapel of the Caſtle, erected by King Henry I. was founded a College for Eight Canons, to be maintain'd by an annual Penſion out of the Ex⯑chequer. King Edw. II. founded here a Chantry for [88] Four Chaplains and Two Clerks; as likewiſe a Cha⯑pel in the Park of Windſor, under the ſame Regulation, for Four more Chaplains, whom King Edw. III. re⯑mov'd and joyn'd to thoſe before ſettled in the Cha⯑pel of the Caſtle, and built Habitations for their bet⯑ter Accommodation, on the South Side thereof.

THE Foundation we treated of here was confirm'd by Letters Patent, dated at Weſtminſter, Aug. 6. 22 Edw. III. three Quarters of a Year before he erected The Order of the Garter, when he laid the Foundation of the ancient Chapel a-freſh, in honour of God, the Virgin Mary, St. George and St. Edward the Confeſſor; and or⯑dain'd, that to King Henry's Eight Canons there ſhould be annex'd One Cuſtos, Fifteen more Canons, and Twenty Four Alms-Knights, together with other Mi⯑niſters, all under the Power of the Cuſtos, and theſe to be ſupported out of the Revenues wherewith this Chapel ſhould be endow'd: Upon which Pope Cle⯑ment VI. 1351. by his Bull directed to the Arch-biſhop of Canterbury and Biſhop of Wincheſter, approved in part the King's Intention.

THE next Year the Statutes and Ordinances of the College commenc'd, by Virtue of the Pope's Authority [...] the King's Command, and Conſent of the Biſhop of Salisbury, in whoſe Dioceſs the Chapel is ſituate. By which Statutes, Wincheſter (one of the Pope's Delegates) inſtituted a College, within the Precincts of the Cha⯑pel of St. George, conſiſting of one Cuſtos, Twelve Se⯑cular Canons, Thirteen Prieſts or Vicars, Four Clerks, Six Choriſters, and Twenty Six Alms-Knights, beſides other Officers.

DEAN.

§ 4. THE firſt Cuſtos was John de la Chambre, conſti⯑tuted Nov. 14. 22 Edw. III. to whom ſucceeded William Mugg [...] on the 18th of June following: Which Mugg is the firſt, if the Inſtitution of the College bears Date by Papal, and not Kingly Authority. After him were others that were call'd by the ſame Title; till the laſt Year of King Henry IV. when Thomas Kingſton was pre⯑ſented by the Name of Dean; and his Succeſſor, John Arundel, obſerving divers Endowments granted to the [89] College alternately, by the Name of Cuſtos, Dean and Cuſtos, or laſtly of Dean only; and doubting this Variation of Titles in Time might bring Inconvenien⯑ces upon the Foundation, petition'd the Parliament, 8 Hen. VI. whereupon the King, by Letters Patent un⯑der the Great Seal, granted that the ſaid John ſhould be Cuſtos ſive Decanus for Life, and his Succeſſors Cuſiodes ſive Decani, Wardens or Deans of the Free Chapel of St. George, within the Caſtle of Windſor; and that the Cuſtos, or Dean and Canons thereof, and their Succeſ⯑ſors, by that Appellation, ſhould have and hold, to them and their Succeſſors for ever, all Lands, Tene⯑ments, &c. Liberties, &c. devolv'd upon the College at any Time before: So that here was a kind of new Incorporation, by the Title of Cuſtos, or Deans and Canons only; at leaſt this was a great Step to com⯑pleat the Privilege they after enjoy'd, when thro' the Intereſt of Richard Beauchamp, Biſhop of Salisbury, then alſo Dean of Windſor, and Chancellor of the Order, King Edw. IV. by Letters Patent dated Dec. 6. in the 19th Year of his Reign, model'd them by the Name of Dean and Canons of the Free Chapel of St. George within the Caſtle of Windſor, one Body corporate in Thing and Name, with a perpetual Succeſſion, and ca⯑pable in Law to purchaſe, receive and take Lands, &c. in Fee and Perpetuity; to have a common Seal, and might plead and be impleaded by that Name; and for better Security, the Letters Patent of Incorporation were, within Three Years after, paſs'd into an Act of Parliament now in force.

THE Authority of the Cuſtos or Dean conſiſts in being Preſident over the reſt of the College; to go⯑vern, direct and order them their Goods and Eſtates. He has all manner of Eccleſiaſtical Juriſdiction over them, with a Reſervation of Power of Appeal to the Chancellor of England, who is Viſitor of that College.

WHEN any Perſons lead Lives inordinate, he with the Chapter (in Caſes where no particular Penalty is appointed) may reprehend or correct at Diſcretion; and in Matters of Diſcord, ſhall within Eight Days re⯑concile the contending Parties, or do Juſtice. After thrice Admonition, may expel from the College all [90] Sowers of Diſcord, Backbiters and Whiſperers, that are below the Degree of a Canon. And that there be no defect of Government, when the Dean has Occaſion to be abſent above Eight Days, he ſhall appoint One of the Canon Reſidents for his Deputy, in whoſe abſence he has the Title of Lieutenant, and on all Occaſions to exerciſe his Office; for the Statutes allow him Sixty Days in a Year for Non-reſidence; which ſpace the Royal Viſitation, 1552. enlarg'd to One Hundred and Ten Days; and the Lord Chancellor Hyde granted him Liberty of Six Weeks abſence. But in the Vacancy of the Cuſtos, the Chapter has all his Power conferr'd on them; which Chapter ought, within Two Days after the Vacancy made known, elect one of the Reſident Canons, under the Title of Preſident, to govern the College until they be provided of another Cuſtos.

§. 5. The Alms Knights we ſhall treat of in a three⯑fold Eſtate: 1. Under the Foundation; 2. When diſ⯑jointed thence by Act of Parliament; and, 3. As eſta⯑bliſhed anew by Queen Elizabeth.

1. THEN, King Edward III. out of the great Regard he had to military Honour, and thoſe who had bravely behav'd themſelves in his Wars, yet after chanced to fall in decay, made a Proviſion for their Relief and com⯑fortable Subſiſtence in old Age, by providing for them in this his Foundation, and making a Coalition in one joint Body with the Cuſtos and Canons; theſe he call'd Milites Pauperes, and we Poor or Alms-Knights. The ſtated Number at firſt were Twenty Four, equal to the Cuſtos and Canons at the firſt Erection. But ſhortly after, up⯑on his inſtituting the Order of the Garter, Two more were added (as there was to the firſt Canons) to make the compleat Number of the Knights-Companions of that Order, which were Twenty Six, as we find ſtated at the Ordination of the College by the Biſhop of Win⯑cheſter, the Pope's Delegate.

THE Intention of the Founder was for thoſe that were real Objects of Charity, as he deſcribes them, viz. poor Knights, infirm in Body, indigent and decay'd, or as the Statutes of the Garter qualifies them, ſuch as thro' adverſe Turns of Fortune were reduced to that Extremity that they had not wherewithal to ſuſtain themſelves, to live ſo genteelly as was ſuitable for a Military Condition, which for greater Caution was rei⯑terated in the Statutes of King Hen. V. King Hen. VIII. and in the Orders of Queen Elizabeth; for it was ex⯑preſs'd, in caſe any Eſtate of 20 l. per Annum devolved on them, ſuch Knights were to be diſcharged the Col⯑lege, and they were to proceed to a new Election.

AT the firſt each Knight-Companion of the Order preſented his Alms-Knight, but ever after their Election was to be at the Diſpoſal of the Sovereign. Their Habit [96] was a Red Mantle, with the Eſcutcheon of St. George, without any Garter to ſurround it. Their Exhibition, after their firſt Election was 12 d. a-piece every Day they were at Service in the Chapel, or reſident in the College, beſides 40 s. per Annum for other Contin⯑gencies, it being the ſtated Allowance appointed to each of the Canons Reſidents.

ABOUT the Beginning of King Hen. VI's Reign, their quotidian Diſtributions and Annual 40 s. had been un⯑paid upon the Account of ſome Diſſentions riſen between them and the Dean and Canons; but upon Complaint of John Biſhop of York, Lord Chancellor of England, and Viſitor of the College, 10 Hen. VI. they were re⯑dreſſed, and their Arrears of both diſcharged, without any Deduction, and likewiſe obtained this Clauſe, That if the Treaſurer of the College became negligent in future Payments, he ſhould loſe his own Quotidians, from the Time of his voluntary Omiſſion, and the ſame to be divided among the Alms-Knights. Their Duty was to pray for the Sovereign and the Knights Companions, to be every Day preſent at High Maſs, the Maſſes of the Virgin Mary, at Veſpers and Compline, and in default to be mulcted their 12 d. toties quoties, which was to be converted to the Uſe of the other Alms-Knights, then reſiding in the Caſtle of Windſor; notwithſtanding which Decree, the Dean did afterwards break in upon them, and diſpoſed of theſe Forfeitures at his Pleaſure, till 2 Rich. II. Adam, Biſhop of St. David's, then Chancellor of England, and Viſitor of the College, re⯑dreſs'd it, and another Complaint of like Nature being made of the Deans diſpoſing of Donations and other Liberalities of the Knights Companions in wrong of the Alms-Knights, this Chancellor decreed an equal Di⯑ſtribution between the Alms-Knights and Canons, till the King and Council ſhould otherwiſe determine.

Theſe and other Differences between the Dean and Canons and Alms Knights, grew up to that height, that they became irreconcileable, inſomuch as in the Act of Parliament, 22 Edw. IV. for incorporating of the Cu⯑ſtos and Canons, by the Name of Dean and Canons, the Alms-Knights were not only omitted; but this Clauſe inſerted, That the Dean and Canons, and their Succeſſors, [97] ſhould for ever more be utterly quit and diſcharged from all manner of Exhibition or Charge of or for any of the ſaid Knights. And this under the Cover, That the King has greatly augmented the Number of the Miniſters of the Chapel, that the Revenue was inſufficient to main⯑tain both them and the Alms-Knights; but in the Dean and Canons Anſwer to the Knights Petition to repeal this Act, the Cauſe is alledged, For that ſome of theſe Knights uſed their utmoſt Endeavours before this Act, to incorporate themſelves, and to be exempt from the Obedience and Rule of the Dean and Canons.

AFTER this Act, which ſtruck off their Quotidian Portions and Fees aſſigned by King Edward's Foundati⯑on, how the Alms Knights ſubſiſted we find not; but ſo ſoon as King Hen. VII. came to the Crown, they pe⯑titioned the King and Parliament for Repeal of the Act, 22 Edw. IV. and alledged it was obtained without their Knowledge, or being called thereunto, which Plea a⯑vailed not at all; but on the contrary, the Dean and Canons, ſome Years after, got an Exemplification there⯑of under the great Seal, dated Feb. 4. 18 Hen. VII.

AND it is very evident from King Hen. VIII's Letter to the College, that what they did in this Nature after this Act commenced, was merely upon Courteſie; for he returns them Thanks for a Penſion of Twenty Marks conferred upon Peter Narbone, whom he had recom⯑mended to an Alms-Knights Place, and Promiſes to burthen them no more with Requeſts of this ſort, but that he would ſettle Lands for their Maintenance. So great was their Caution, Narbone was by Covenants in⯑dented between him and the Dean and Canons, to re⯑linquiſh his Penſion upon that King's ſettling Lands on the College, for the Proviſion of ſuch Knights. In the Interval between the Diſunion of the College and Alms-Knights, to their Eſtabliſhment by Queen Elizabeth, their Habit and Badge continued the ſame, and was ſo confirmed by Hen. VIII's Statutes. It may be collected by his laſt Will, there was an Intention to draw the [...] about the Eſcutcheon of St. George, which Pro⯑jection came to nothing, and expired. In this Interval it is obſerv'd that ſeveral Perſons of conſiderable Rank and Diſtinction became Alms [...]Knights; ſome of which [98] were rendred great Objects of Charity; among which Number was Sir Robert Champlayne, a valiant Knight, an Honour to our Nation, for his renowned and martial Serv [...]ces abroad. He was of King Henry VI's Party in the Civil Wars againſt King Edw. IV. Immediately after whoſe coming to the Crown he left England, and travel⯑led into Hungary, (with an Equipage of Three Servants and Four Horſes) where in the Aſſiſtance of Mathou [...] Corvinius King of Hungary againſt the Turks, he beha⯑ved himſelf very gallantly; but proſperous Fortune not always attending him with Succeſs, he receiv'd many Wounds; and at length was taken Priſoner, loſt all, and forced to pay 1500 Ducats for his Ranſom; for the Atteſtation of which he had the Great Seals of the King of Hungary, the Archbiſhop of Crete, Legate de Latere in Hungary, the Emperor of Germany, the King of Sicily, the Count Palatine of the Rhin [...], and the Duke of Bur⯑gundy; and laſtly, a Declaration thereof under the Privy Seal of King Edw. IV. And being reduced to ſo low an Ebb of Fortun [...], he was, thro' Hen. VII's Favour, ad⯑mitted an Alms-Knight.

But ſome obtained Admittance, probably out of De⯑votion, rather than Poverty, as Thomas Hulme, Claren⯑ [...]ux King of Arms, Temp. Edw. IV. Lodowick Carly, the King's Phyſician, and John Mewtes, Secretary of the French Ton [...]ue, both Temp. Hen. VII. and Bartholomew Weſthy made ſecond Baron of the Exchequer, 1 Hen. VIII.

IT is evident King Hen. VIII. deſigned a R [...]-eſta⯑bliſhment of half the ancient Number of Alms-Knights, viz. Thirteen; for which purpoſe he appointed by his Will 600 l. per Annum, in Mannors, Lands, and Spiritual Promotions, ſettled upon the Dean and Canons, and their Succeſſors for ever, upon the Proviſo's that they ſhould find Two Prieſts to ſay Maſs at his Tomb, to commemorate yearly Four Obits for him, and at every Obit diſtribute 12 l. in Alms, likewiſe to pay 12 d. a Week to thoſe Thirteen Alms-Knights, who were to have once a Year a long Gown of White Cloth, and a Mantle of Red, b [...]ſides Five Marks annually, to ſuch one among them as ſhould be conſtituted their Go⯑vernor, and ſo much for a Sermon every Sunday throughout [99] the Year. In Performance of which Will, King Edw. VI. in the firſt Year of his Reign, did confer ſe⯑veral Lands upon the College; but 600 l. per Annum of theſe Rents were by the Dean and Canons paid back, to be employed on erecting of Houſes for the Alms-Knights, intended to be ſettled by King Hen. VIII. This Work began not till the 3d and 4th of Philip and Mary, and was finiſhed the 5th and 6th of their Reign, the Charge amounting to 2747 l. 7 s. 6 d. Theſe Houſes are ſituate on the South ſide of the Lower Ward of the Caſtle, and contain Thirteen Rooms, beſides an Hall, a Kitchin, and a Paſtry; the Stone was brought from Reading, the Timber from the Foreſt, and the Lead, and Apparels for the Chimnies, from Suffolk Place in Southwark. At a Chapter of the Garter, held the 1ſt of June, the 4th and 5th of Philip and Mary, the Houſes being then near finiſhed, a Debate aroſe about placing ſome Alms-Knights therein, if poſſible, by M [...]chaelmas following, whereupon the Marquiſs of Winton, Lord-Treaſurer, had Orders to aſſign Lands for their Mainte⯑nance; and towards the compleating of this the Queen had nominated Nine of the Thirteen deſigned; but fal⯑ling ſick in Auguſt, a ſtop was put to the Affair, till Queen Elizabeth coming to the Crown confirmed her Siſter's Grants to the Nine nominated Knights, and made up the Number full Thirteen, ordained by King Henry VIII. under which Eſtabliſhment they ſtill remain; for after⯑wards, viz. Aug. 30. in the firſt Year of her Reign, minding the Continuance of King Edward's Foundation, the Intent of her Progenitors, and Advancement of the Order of the Garter, and King Henry VIII's Will, for the Support of Thirteen poor Men decayed in Wars, to be called Thirteen Knights of Windſor; and having erect⯑ed certain Orders for their better Regulation, and de⯑clar'd how and in what manner the 600 l. given by her Father ſhould be employ'd for the Maintenance of theſe Knights and their Succeſſors, ſhe laſtly decl [...]red, That the Dean and Canons ſhould for ever cauſe theſe Rules and Orders to be obſerved.

Impr. That there be Thirteen Poor Knights, all Gen⯑tlemen, one whereof to be Governour, that have ſpent their Time in the Wars, or other Service of the Realm, [100] having little or nothing to live upon, to be elected by the Sovereign and Succeſſors.

2. It. The Governour and Knights muſt be unmar⯑ried, yet that the Crown may diſpence withal; and upon their marrying are to loſe their Place.

3. It. None deformed, and convicted of Hereſie, Felony, or any notable Crime, is to be admitted of the Thirteen, and after admittance, ſo convicted, to be expelled.

4. It. Each Knight to have yearly, for their Liveries, a Red Gown of Four Yards, and a Mantle of Blue or Purple of Five Yards, at 6 s. and 8 d. per Yard.

5. It. An Eſcutcheon of St. George embroidered with⯑out the Garter, to be upon the Left Shoulder of the Mantle.

6. It. The Charges of the Cloth, Lining, Making, and Embroidering, to be paid by the Dean and Chapter, out of the Revenue of the Foundation.

7. It. That the Knights attend, Morning and After⯑noon, Divine Service, within the College, in their or⯑dinary Apparel, without a reaſonable Let to be allowed by the Governour.

8. It. That they keep their Lodgings appointed, and Table in a common Hall appointed, and to have their Proviſions by a c mmon Purſe, except for a reaſonable Cauſe any be licenſed to the contrary by the Dean, and that Licenſe not to endure above Twenty Days in a Year, excepting only for Sickneſs.

9. It. They are not to haunt the Town, nor Publick Houſes, nor call any Woman into their Lodgings, with⯑out reaſonable Cauſe and Licenſe of the Dean.

10. It. Twelve of them to be obedient to him ap⯑pointed to be Governour, and all Thirteen to the D [...]an and Chapter, in the Obſervation of theſe Statutes.

11. It. The Thirteen Knights to have Places within the Church, where the Dean and Canons ſhall think beſt to hear the Divine Service together.

12. It. To be preſent at the quarterly Service, for the Memory of the Patrons and Founder of the College, and eſpecially of King Hen. VIII. and Queen Elizabeth, and have each of them, at that Time, 20 d. and the Governour 2 s. The ſaid Service to be the Sundays next [101] before the Quarter-days, the Annunciation, St. John Bap⯑tiſt, Michaelmas, and Chriſtmas.

13. It. Any of the Twelve Knights diſobeying the Governour, in any of theſe Statutes, to incur the For⯑feiture the Dean and Chapter ſhall put on him, the Go⯑vernour to report the Offence, which if more heinous, the Dean and Chapter are to give a Warning, and regi⯑ſter the ſame, and after a ſecond Warning Expulſion is to follow; the like Puniſhment to the Governour, diſo⯑beying the Dean and Chapter in the Obſervation of theſe Statutes.

14. It. The Penalties of the Puniſhed to be imployed by the Dean and Chapter at their Diſcretion, upon any of the Miniſters or Choriſters of the Church.

15. It. Upon the King or Queen's coming to or go⯑ing from Windſor, the Thirteen Knights are to ſtand before their Doors in their Apparel, and do Obedi⯑ence.

16. It. At the keeping of the Feaſt of St. George, they are to ſtand likewiſe in their Apparel before their Doors, at the coming and going out of the Lieutenant, and of other the Knights-Companions.

17. It. At every Feaſt of St. George thèy ſhall ſit toge⯑ther in their Apparel at one Table, and have Allow⯑ance of Meat and Drink at the Royal Charges.

18. It. They are daily in their Prayers to pray for the Sovereign and the Knights-Companions.

19. It. They are always to lie in their Lodging, and upon lying out of them and the College, without Li⯑cenſe from the Dean, to forfeit 12 d.

20. It. If Lands or Revenues of 20 l. per Annum fall to any of the poor Knights, he is to be removed, and another put into his Place.

21. It. They are every Day (excepting Cauſe of Sick⯑neſs) to be preſent at Divine Service in the College, as afor [...]ſaid, and receive a daily Diſtribution of 12 d. per Day, to be paid them monthly, if it may be, or at leaſt in ſuch ſort as the other Miniſters of the Chapel be paid; and he that ſhall abſent himſelf one Day, with⯑out leave from the Dean, ſhall loſe his Diſtribution of 12 d.

[102] 22. It. The Governour is to keep a Book, and regiſter, the Abſenters, and other Defaulters of the Statutes, whereof he ſhall deliver one to the Dean, and another to the Steward, or him that payeth the poor Knights, who by Order of the Dean is to make proper Defalca⯑tions at the Time of paying them.

23. It. The Dean once a Year is to appoint a Day and Hour, at which the poor Knights are to be warned to be preſent, to hear theſe Statutes read, and any Knight abſenting after that Warning, and without Licenſe, is to forfeit 6 s. 8 d.

24. It. Any elected poor Knight, before he take any Commodity of his Room, ſhall take a corporal Oath be⯑fore the Dean, to be faithful and true to the Crown, and that for the time of their tarrying there to truly obſerve the Statutes and Ordinances upon the Penalties contain [...]d in the ſaid Statutes.

THE 25th Article is a Diſpenſation for thoſe poor Knights choſen before theſe Statutes, who were not cer⯑tainly known Gentlemen, yet Men well reported for Honeſty, and meet to be relieved; but with an Intent that none hereafter be admitted, unleſs a Gentleman born, agreeable to the firſt Order.

The annual Allowance of each, upon this new Eſta⯑bliſhment, is 18 l. 5 s. to be paid by the Dean of Wind⯑ſor, (but their Governour has 3 l. 6 s. and 8 d. more) beſides their Gown and Mantle men [...]ioned in their Sta⯑tutes. King James I. doubled this Penſion, and made it payable out of the Exchequer quarterly.

TO theſe Thirteen Alms-Knights, temp. Car. I. Five more were added, Two of the Foundation of Sir Peter la Maire, Knight, and Three of Sir Francis Crane, Knight, Chancellor of the Garter; for Sir Peter, by his laſt Will, dated Jan. 8. 1631. bequeath'd 1500 l. to charitable Uſes, to be diſpos'd as Sir Francis (who had marry'd his Siſter) ſhould think [...]it, within Four Years after his Death; whereupon Sir Francis, determining to er [...]ct certain Houſes in Windſor-Caſtle, for the dwelling of Five Alms-Knights, deſign'd the ſaid 1500 l. towards that Uſe, and what was deficient made up at his own Coſt, charging his Brother Executor, Sir Richard Crane, by his Will, dated Aug. 27. 1635. to ſee the Pile which [103] he had began, finiſh'd. Sir Francis alſo bequeath'd 200 l. per Annum to be ſettled in Lands, by his E [...]ecu ors, for the perpetual Maintenance of Five Alms-Knights, after the rate of 40 l. per Ann [...]m to every one of them; but his Executor growing ſlack in the Performance, the Work being rather expos'd to Ruin, than forwarded by him; upon Complaints made to the Sovereign and Knights-Companions in Chapter, Orders were iſlu'd out to quicken him, and a peremptory Letter, dated Mar. 7. 1639. to go on with the Work faithfully; which Commands he evading, and bad Times coming on, the Building was totally negiected. Sir Rich [...]rd Crane afterwards dying, by his Will, dated Sept. 20. 1645. he appointed that his Mannor of Carbrooke in Norfolk, ſhould ſtand bound for ever for Payment of the ſaid 200 l. per Annum; whereupon, by Inquiſition taken at Wi [...]dſor, Mar. 4. 1652. (by Virtue of a Commiſſion upon the Statute Anno 43 Eliz. for charitable Uſes) the Mannors of Woodriſing and Wesfield, &c. in Norfolk, were found liable to ſatisfie for building and finiſhing the ſaid Five Houſes, and payment of the 200 l. yearly; and further, that the Arrears thereof, from Sir Fran [...]s Crane's Death, came at that time to 3200 l. ſome Conteſt enſu'd in Chancery; nevertheleſs the 200 l. per Annum was, Ju [...]y 19. 1655. decreed to be paid out of all the Lands which were Sir Richard's, and the building of the Houſes out of his perſonal Eſtate. At Two Years Ex⯑piration aroſe that fair Pile of Building, between the Chancellor's and Garter's Towers, againſt the Weſt Wall, in the lower Ward of the Caſtle, which was be⯑gun again and finiſh'd the next Year; the Expences amounting to 1700 l. But for a final End of this Suit, it was decreed, Jan. 27. 1659. the Mannor of Carbrooke ſhould ſtand charg'd with 200 l. per Annum, payable half-yearly at Michaelmas and Lady-day, or within Thir⯑ty Days after, for the Maintenance of Five Alms Knights, together with 30 l. yearly for Repairs, payable alſo then; which annual Sum of 230 l. Anno 12 Ca [...]. II. in a Chapter held at Whitehall, Jan. 14. the King decreed the Chancellor of the Order, for the Time being, ſhould receive and diſpoſe thereof thus: 200 l. per Annum among the Five new Alms-Knights quarterly, at [104] the Four uſual Feaſts of the Year, and to employ the reſidue upon Repair of the new Buildings erected for their Lodgings; which Powers were inſerted in the Patent for his Office, bearing date the 20th of the ſame Month. And it was moreover decreed, that theſe Five Knights ſhould be ſubject to the ſame Rules and Go⯑vernment of the Thirteen of Queen Elizabeth's Foun⯑dation, and made equal Partakers of the ſame Privi⯑leges, and wear the like Habits.

KING Charles I. taking into Conſideration the Dona⯑tion of Sir Francis Crane, which made the Alms-Knights Eighteen, (tho' they were not yet ſettled) intended to make up Twenty Six, as they were at the Inſtitution of the Order; to compleat which Deſign, a Chapter was held at Whitehall, Apr. 18. 1637. for the Knights-Com⯑panions to conſider the beſt Way how the ſame might be effected, and report their Opinions; but nothing was done thereupon, and this Affair waits a more pro⯑pitious Opportunity.

§ 6. THE other Miniſters of the College and Chapel of St. George, call'd Miniſters in the Foundation Patent, are the ſuperior Officers, viz. The Chantor, Steward and Treaſurer.

THE Chantor is elected from among the Canons, whoſe Office is chiefly to govern thoſe that ſing in the Choir, and ſuch as are employ'd about Divine Service. Before the Reformation he appointed who ſhould be⯑gin the Antiphones, celebrate Maſſes, and read the Leſ⯑ſons, Epiſtles and Goſpels. To his Care was commit⯑ted all the Books, Croſſes, Chalices, Veſtments, and all the Sacred Ornaments of the Chapel. He receives the Offerings there made, and Accounts for them; for all which Services an annual Penſion of 5 l. is allow'd him.

THE Steward and Treaſurer are annually choſen on the Morrow after Michaelmas-day from out of the Canons Reſident. To the Steward's Office appertains the Go⯑vernment of all the Revenues of the College, the Rents and Profits whereof he is to pay the Treaſurer. In his Cuſtody are repos'd all the O [...]naments, Jewels, and o⯑ther Treaſure of the Chapel, not committed to the [105] Chantor, under the Obligation of rendring an Account; and his yearly Penſion is 5 l.

THE Treaſurer is to diſtribute to the Cuſtos, Ca⯑nons, Vicars, &c. their Penſions and Allowances, which if he fail Eight Days after their prefix'd Times of Payment, he is debar'd of his own quotidians, as Ca⯑non Reſident, until ſuch Arrears be diſcharg'd; as like⯑wiſe the Steward, if he be found delinquent. His Penſion is alſo 5 l. per Annum. There is one Treaſurer to receive the Rents of the old Lands, and another cho⯑ſen from the Canons to receive the new, who have been allow'd the like annual Penſions. The former is term'd Seneſchallus veteris, the latter Seneſchallus novae Do⯑tationis.

MOREOVER, there is a Steward of the Courts, and Clerk of the Lands, which is an Officer under both the before-mention'd Stewards. He keeps the Courts by himſelf or Deputy, and is a Barreſter at Law, and the ſtanding Council for the College. His yearly Pen⯑ſion is 20 Nobles. But the Council in Spiritualibus is uſually a Graduate in the Law.

THE Chapter-Clerk enters and regiſters all Acts of the Chapter-Houſe; he draws and engroſſes all Inden⯑tures, Patents, Grants, Leaſes, &c. which paſs the com⯑mon Seal of the Dean and Canons. His Penſion is 3 l. 6 s. 8 d. per Annum. The Under Stewardſhip and Chapter Clerkſhip heretofore were enjoy'd by one Perſon, but of late they are divided, and now he muſt be a Bar⯑reſter at Law.

OF the Virgers Inſtitution the Statutes of the College make mention, that in Proceſſion and other Solemni⯑ties, they were to go before the Dean and Canons, bearing their Rods, for which Service they were to have annually a Robe, and 6 d. per Diem. And beſides theſe, there are Two Sextons, Two Bell-ringers, a Clock⯑keeper, and a Porter who attends the ſhutting and open⯑ing of the Gates.

§ 7. FOR the Endowment of the College we ſhall only treat upon thoſe Lands given to the Maintenance of this Foundation by the Founder himſelf, or by his [106] [...]ucceſſors, or by Sovereigns of The Order of the Garter, [...]uch as have been Knights-Companions.

KING Edw. III. by his Letters Patent of the Founda⯑tion [22 Edw. III.] aforeſaid, gave them [the Cuſtos, Canons, Alms-Knights and Miniſters] the Advowſons of the Churches of Wyardesbury [Rasbury] in Lincoln, South-Tanton in Exeter, and Uttoxater in Coventry and Litchfield Dioceſs, in Frank Almoigne, free from all Se⯑cular Exactions; which Licenſe, to appropriate the ſame to the College, notwithſtanding the Statute of Mortmain, he appointed as much out of his Treaſure for their Support, as amounted to an immoveable Eſtate of 1000 l. per Annum; and leſt there might be any De⯑fect in the Knights Title to Uttoxater and South-Tanton, Henry Earl of Lancaſter, 23 Edw. III. and Thomas Beau⯑champ Earl of Warwick, that Year had ſpecial Licenſes granted them in Right of Patronage to the ſaid Two Ad⯑vowſons, and they to receive the ſame. Another ſuch Licenſe, 28th of January, 24 Edw. III. was given to William de Bohun Earl of Northampton, for aſſigning to the Cuſtos and Chaplains the Advowſon of Dodyngton in Com. Oxon, which he held of the King in Capite. The 28th of January following, this Royal Founder conferr'd on them (by the Name of Cuſtos and Chaplains of his free Chapel at Windſor) one Meſſuage, Seventeen Acres of Land, one of Paſture, and 3 s. Rent, in Wyrardesbury in Com. Bucks, which had been convey'd to him by Ri⯑chard de Glouceſter, Heir to Iſabel de Ditton; and the 22d of May enſuing granted unto them the Advowſon of Dachet near Windſor.

Anno 25 Edw. III. the King gave them the Advow⯑ſons of the Churches of Eure in Com. Bucks, of Riſton in Com. Norſolk, and of Whaddon and Caxton in Com. Can⯑tab. and in May that Year the Advowſon of Simondeſ⯑bourne (ſurrender'd temp. Edw. IV. to Richard Duke of Glouceſter) and of St. Stephens of Saltaſh. The firſt of theſe Queen Philippa purchas'd of Sir John Darcy, and the other of Edward the Black Prince; and gave them both, firſt to the King, that by his Grant afterwards to the College its Title might be more corroborated. The ſame Year, October 26. the King beſtow'd on them 100 Marks per Annum, out of the Farm of the Town [107] of Northampton, to be paid by the Bailiff of the Town at Eaſter and Michaelmas by equal Allotments: And it was at the Founder's Inſtance (therefore worthy to be inſerted) that the Town of Yarmouth, 26 Edw. III. un⯑der their Common Seal, granted them a Laſt of Red Herrings yearly, well dry'd and cleans'd, to take the Corporation into their Prayers; tho' ſome ſay it was a Penance enjoyn'd them for murdering a Magiſtrate.

IN the 26 Edw. III. the Founder granted them and their Succeſſors the Mannor of Eure near Weybrigg, in Com. Bucks, the Mannor of Craſwell in Bray in Com. Berks, and a Wear call'd Braybrook, ſituated in the Thames, with all the Lands in that Pariſh convey'd unto him by Sir John Philibert, together with the Knights Fees, Advowſons, &c. belonging to thoſe Mannors. He gave to the Cuſtos and College ſoon after the Seiſin thereof, as alſo of a Wood call'd Temple-Wood in Stoke-Pogeys, convey'd to the King by John de Molyns: But deeming all the Lands too ſmall for the End he in⯑tended, 28 Edw. III. the King granted the Cuſtos and College, by Letters Patent, a Penſion of 100 l. per An⯑num out of the Exchequer; and upon the vacating the ſame, 34 Edw. III. he gave them yearly Lands of 101 l. 11 s. 11 d. out of the Poſſeſſions of religious Aliens, which fell into his Hands by Occaſion of the French Wars: But leſt theſe Poſſeſſions ſhould be again re⯑ſtor'd upon a Treaty of Peace, they were to receive the annual Sum of 101 l. 11 s. 11 d. out of the Ex⯑chequer, till they were provided of Lands of the like Value. Upon ſeveral Reſtrictions, he granted them 51 l. 9 s. 9 d. yearly to be receiv'd out of 126 l. which the Prior of Takkele paid him for the Farm of that Pri⯑ory, it being then in the King's Hand by reaſon of the War with France. And by reaſon the Revenues did not amount to 1000 l. per Annum, as he deſign'd at the Foundation, in the 35th Year of his Reign, he granted them ſo much Money yearly out of the Ex⯑chequer, as would make up the Deficiency, till Lands or Rents of that Value ſhould be ſettled on them. Laſtly, 39 Edw. III. the Founder beſtow'd on them a Piece of Ground in New Windſor, (whereon had ſtood an Houſe of John of London) in lieu of the great Garden [108] South of the Caſtle, formerly given them by him; and alſo a Garden oppoſite thereunto on the other ſide of the Way. Beſides theſe Largeſſes of the Founders, there were others made by pious and devout Perſons, ſaid to be incorporated into the firſt Foundation, and made up that Revenue which William Biſhop of Win⯑cheſter adjudg'd ſufficient for the Support of the Col⯑lege, which we ſhall ſilently paſs over with the bare mention only.

THE Mannor of Dodyngton-Caſtle; two Paſtures call'd Frith and Aſhcroft; the Chapel of Langeley; the Parſo⯑nages of Eſtriton, Langeley-Maries, Wantynge, Shaldeborne, Wedonbeek, Glynde and Ryſlepe; the Penſions of the Vi⯑carages of Wantynge, Clyffe, Tylthey and Gottesford; and the Portions of Baſſyngborne and Preſtwyke, in Haſeley magna, Chalgrave, Adewelle, Aſton, Rowhand, Sevyndon, Kyngeſton and Henton, in Stoke-Baſſet, and Clopecote in Gatehampton; Whytechyrche, Maplederham, Retherfeld, E⯑ſthenreth Stretham; of Thornecroft in Letherhed; of To⯑tynbeek in Wodeſdon; Evington, Woodmerſhthorne; of Fordham, Ethrope, Newenham, and in Tolleſworth.

IN ſucceeding Times other conſiderable Donations were made by the Sovereigns and Knights Compa⯑nions (omitting others.) Some of which, as they fall in our way, we ſhall ſpeak of.

13 Rich. II. that King gave them a Croft in North⯑molton, with the Advowſon of that Church.

9 Hen. V. John, Duke of Bedford, third Son to King Hen. IV. conferr'd on them the Priory of Okeborne in Wilts (a Cell to Bec in Normandy) with all its Appurte⯑nances: Which Donation was confirm'd by King Hen. V. and afterwards by King Edw. IV.

7 Edw. IV. that King, who had a ſingular Reſpect for the College, conferr'd on them the Mannor of Atherſton in Com. Warwick, the Mannors and Advowſons of Cheſingbury in Wilts, and of Quarle in Hantſhre; the Church and Priorate of Uphaven, and the Deanry or Chapel of St. Burien in Cornwall, with an Addition of an annual Penſion, which the Abbot of Sautrie diſcharg'd for the Church of Fulburne, to the Abbey de bona Requ [...], and another yearly Income of 20 l. paid by the Abbot of Rousford for the Mediety of the Church of Rotheram.

[109] 13 Edw. IV. he conſign'd to them the Mannor or Priorate of Munclane, in Com. Hereford.

14 Edw. IV. he gave unto them the Cuſtody, Patro⯑nage, and free Diſpoſition of the Hoſpital or Free Cha⯑pel of St. Anthony, London, (a Preceptory to St. Anthony of Vienna, with all the Liberties, Privileges, Lands, &c.) upon the firſt Vacancy. The ſame Year he endow'd them with the Priorate of Brimsfield in Com. Glouceſt. the Mannor of Blakenham in Suffolk; the Priorate of St. Elene in the Iſle of Wight; the Priorate or Mannor of Charle⯑ton in Wilts; and all the Lands, &c. in Northmundon, Compton and Wel [...]igh in Suſſex and Southampton; the Man⯑nor of Ponyngton and W [...]don in Dorſet, together with an annual Penſion of 12 Marks, payable by the Priory of Monte acuto, with all the Lands, Tenements, Rents, Advowſons, &c. annex'd to the ſaid Priorates and Mannors. The ſame Year he beſtow'd on them the Mannor of Membury in Com. Dorſet; the Lordſhips of Preſton and Monkeſilver in Com. Somerſet; the Advowſons of Puryton and Wollavington in that County, together with the Knights Fees, Advowſons, Profits, Righrs, &c.

18 Edw. IV. his Feoffees, the Queen, the Arch-Bi⯑ſhop of York, and others ſeiſed to the Uſe of the King, demis'd to them the Mannor of Wykecombe, call'd Baſ⯑ſetsbury, the Fee-Farm of the Town of Great Wykecombe, the Mannor of Crendon in Com. Bucks, and the Mannors of Haſeley and Pyrton in Com. Oxon: And that Year the King gave unto them the Advowſon of the Church of Cheſhunt, being of his own Patronage, provided the Vica⯑rige was ſufficiently endow'd, and a compleat Sum of Money annually diſtributed among the poor Pariſhi⯑oners, according to the Dioceſan's Ordinance. To theſe he united the Cuſtody or Deanry of the Free Chapel of Wolverhampton in Com. Staff. to the Cuſtos or Dean of this College, and his Succeſſors for ever; which Church, cum membris, is exempt from not only the Ju⯑riſdiction, &c. of the Biſhop of Litchfield and Coventry, but by a Papal Bull from all Legates and Delegates; nor is it ſubject to any terrene Power, but the King of England alone, and under it to the perpetual Viſitation of the Keepers of the Great Seal, pro tempore.

[110] 20 Edw. IV. he reſign'd to them the Advowſon o [...] Patronage of the Prebend of Ewern in Com. Dorſet, wit [...] all its Rights and Privileges: And laſtly, in the 21 [...] Year of his Reign, he granted them Two Parts of th [...] Mannors of Old Swynford and Gannow, in Com. [...]ygorn [...] and the Reverſion of the Third Part of them, with the Advowſon of the Church of Old Swynford; nor was he thus munificent alone, but excited and ſpurr'd on others to the like Example, licenſing, in the firſt Year of his Reign, all his Subjects to confer what they pleas'd to the Dean and Canons, within the Value of 300 Marks per Annum, as well ſuch as held of him i [...] Capite or otherwiſe, notwithſtanding the Statute of Mortmain; and afterwards increas'd this Licenſe to Lands of 500 l. per Annum Value, (which King Hen. VIII [...] extended to 1000 l.) Hereupon, Anno 20 Edw. IV. John, Duke of Suffolk, and Elizabeth his Wife, the King's Siſter, were permitted to aſſign to them the Mannor or Lordſhip of Grovebury, otherwiſe call'd Leighton Buſ [...]rd, in Com. Bedford, the Church of Tintagell in Cornwall, as alſo Nineteen Meſſuages, Seven Tofts, One Hundred and Forty Acres of Land, Fourteen of Meadow, One Hundred and Forty of Paſture, One Hundred of Wood, and Four Shillings Rent in Newford and Blanford, in Com [...] Dorſet, and Seventy Meſſuages, Twelve Tofts, Five Hun⯑dred Acres of Land, One Hundred of Meadow, Two Hundred of Paſture, Forty of Wood, and Twenty Shillings Rent, in Stokeley, Northall, Ed [...]lesburgh and Rodenach, in Com. Bucks, and Twenty Meſſuages, Eight Tofts, Three Hundred Acres of Land, Sixty of Mea⯑dow, Two Hundred of Paſture, Forty of Wood, and Twenty Shillings Rent, in Compton St. John, in Com [...] Suſſex, and Ten Meſſuages, Nine Tofts, Two Hundred Acres of Land, Twenty of Meadow, One Hundred o [...] Paſture, Ten of Wood, and Twenty Shillings Rent, in Portſmouth and Burghegge, in Hampſhir [...], and One Meſ⯑ſuage, Three Tofts, Sixty Acres of Land, Six of Mea⯑dow, Forty of Paſture, and Twenty Shillings Rent, in Stodeham, in Com. Hertford, held of the King in Cap [...] without any Reſtriction whatſoever, for which the Duke and Dutcheſs were to be had in the perpetu [...]l Oriſons of the Dean and Cano [...]s. The ſame Ye [...]r [111] Sir Walter Devoreux de Feners, Knight, together with Sir John Devoreux and others his Feofees, made over to them the Mannor, Church, and perpetual Advowſons of Sutton Courtney in Com. Berks.

All the before-mentioned Endowments are called the Lands of the old Dotation, to diſtinguiſh them from thoſe confirmed on the College by King Edw. VI. which are term'd the Lands of the new Dotation; of which hereafter. But ſeveral of them given by King Edw. IV. the College never poſſeſſed, viz. Atherſton, Quarle, Up⯑haven, St. Burien, Fulburne Penſion, Brimfi [...]ld, St. Elen, Charleton, Blakenham, Ponyngton, Wedon, Old Suynford, and Gannow, and of ſome others they were ſeized but a ſhort time, viz. Cheſingbury, the Lands in Newford, Blandford, and Portſmouth. Beſides theſe, the College was diſpoſſeſs'd of Gottesford, temp. Hen. VI. of Cheſhunt, temp. Hen. VII. temp. Hen. VIII. or a little before of Wodemerſhthorn, Tylthey, Retherfeld, Levyngdon, Stoke-Baſſet, Stretham, Totingbeek, Fordham, Elthorp, New⯑enham, and Tolleſworth; afterwards they ſurrendred in⯑to the Hands of King H [...]n. VIII. Eure, Clyff, Aſhton, Rowhand, Kingſton, Eſthenreth, Northmundon, Compton, Weleg, Compton St. John, and Shobingdon Portion; and up⯑on the Reformation the College loſt at leaſt 1000 Marks per Annum, in the Profit made by St. Anthony's Piggs, which the Appropriation of the Hoſpital of St. Anthony's London brought to it, and no leſs then 500 per Annum, the Offerings of Sir John Shorne's Shrine at Northmarſton in Com. Bucks, a Man of great Piety and Veneration with the People, and ſometime Rector there. The Advowſon of this Church was appropriated to the Dean and Canons, by the Convent of Dunſtaple, temp. Edw. IV. in exchange for Wedenbeck in Com. Bedford.

THE Dean and Canons having convey'd unto K. H. VIII. the Mannor and Rectory of Ivor in Bucks, the Mannor of Dammery-Court in Dorſet, and other Lands, Rents, Portions, and Penſions in the Counties of Somerſet, Hants, Middleſex, Oxford, and Suſſex, to the yearly Value of 160 l. 2 s. 4. d. for which they had no Recompence in his Life, that King, by his laſt Will, ordered them [...]n Equivalent upon the Commutation and Agreement of an Exchange; which Will, King Edw. VI. his Son [112] and Succeſſor performed, as well for the Aſſurance of Lands, to the yearly Value of 600 l. to the Dean and Canons for ever, to the Uſes in the Will, as for the Aſ⯑ſurance of other Lands, of the annual Value of the ſaid 160 l. 2 s. and 4 d. wherefore by Letters Patent, dated the 7th of October, in the Firſt Year of his Reign, he granted them the Rectories of Bradnynche, Northam, Iplepen, Ilſington, and Southmolton in Com. Devon, the Tithe of Corn of Otery, in that County, as alſo Bloſſoms-Inn in St. Laur [...]nce-lane, London, the Tithes of Grain, &c. of the Rectory of Ambrosbury, in Wilts, and all the Tithes of Bedwyn, Stoke, Wilton, Harden, Harden-Tunrige, Knoll, Pathall, Chisbury, Eaſt-Grafton, Weſt-Grafton, Grafton-Martin, and Wexcomb, the Prebend of Alcannyngs and Urchefounte, the Rectories of Urchefounte, Stapleford, Tytcombe, and Froxfeild, all in Com. Wilts, and all the annual Penſion of 8 l. iſſuing out of the Manner of Icombe in Com. Glouceſter, the Rectory and Vicarige of Ikelington in Cambridgeſhire, the Rectory of Eaſt-Beckworth in Surrey, the Reverſion of the Portion of Tithes of Trequite in Cornwall, and the Rent of 13 s. 4 d. reſerved upon the ſame, the Rectory and Church of Plympton, and the Chapels of Plymſtoke, Wembury, Shagh, Sandford-Spone, Plympton, St. Maurice and Brixton, in Com. Devon, the Rectory of Iſleworth and Farickenham in Com. Middle⯑ſex, and Shiplake in Com. Oxon, the Reverſion of the Rectory of Aberguille, and of the Chapels of Llanlawet [Llanbadock] and Llanpenyſaunt, with the Rent of 30 reſerved thereon, the Reverſions of the Rectory of Talgarth, with the reſerved Rent of 11 l. 6 s. 8 d. the Reverſion of the Rectory of Mara in Com. Brecknock, and 6 l. Rent, and that of St. Germains in Cornwall, with 61 l. 13 s. and 4 d. Rent, to have and to hold, &c. for ever, except the Tithes of Woolpat and Fitzwaren in Wilts, the Vicarige-Houſe of Ikelington, Marriage-Money, Dirge-Money, and Maſs-Money, and the whole Profit of the Bedrolls of Ikelington; nevertheleſs to pay the Crown in the Court of Augmentation, for the Rectories of Aber⯑guille, Talgarth and Mara, the Chapels Llanbadock and Llanpenyſaunt 4 l. 2 d. 8 d. in the Name of Tenths, and for all Rents, Services, &c. of the other Rectories, &c. 48 l. 7 s. 4 d. annually at Michaelmas. Moreover, within [113] all theſe Premiſes, the King granted them Court Leets, or Views of Frankpledge, and to levy Fines, Amercia⯑ments, Free Warrens, Waifs, and Felons Goods, and all other Profits, &c. whatſoever, and the ſaid Rectories, Tithes, Penſions, Rents, and all other Gifts and Grants in the Poſſeſſion of the Dean and Chapter, were confirmed to them by Act of Parliament, 2 Jac. I.

THE ancient Rate of theſe New Lands in the King's Books was 661 l. 6 s. and 8 d. per Annum; but accord⯑ing to the improved Rents, as they were then turned over to the College, 812 l. 12. 9 d. out of which 160 l. 2 s. 4 d. was yearly allowed them in Requital of their Lands paſſed to King Hen. VIII. and 600 l. per An⯑num, for accompliſhment of his Will; but the remain⯑ing Sum, viz. 52 l. 10 s. 5 d. was reſerved in lieu of Tenths, to be paid into the Court of Augmentation; ne⯑vertheleſs, this laſt reſerved Sum was not aſſented un⯑to by the Dean and Canons to be ſo paid, becauſe the Charges iſſuing out of the Lands were larger than were expreſſed in the Rental. And we find that, ſhortly af⯑ter, the Rents of St. Germains, Northam, Ilſington, &c. part of the New Lands, were received and accounted for, according to the old Rate in the King's Books, to wit, 162 l. 13 s. 4 d. per Annum, in Recompence for the Lands conveyed to King Hen. VIII. and out of which they paid a yearly Surpluſage of 2 l. 2 s. 1 d. This Sum, together with the Rents of the reſt of the New Lands, being upon the ſaid Improvement accounted to be 597 l. 17 s. 11 d. made in all 600 l. per Annum; and this was laid out by the Dean and Canons for ſome time towards erecting the Alms-Knights Apartments.

THUS ſtood the Lands accounted for till the Settle⯑ment made by Queen Elizabeth, who in the Firſt Year of her Reign appointed the Dean and Canons to con⯑vert the Rents of theſe New Lands to ſuch Uſes and Intents as ſhe had ſet down in a Book ſigned with her Sign manual, and annexed to an Indenture made be⯑tween her and the Dean and Canons; by which Inden⯑ture they were obliged to apply the Rents and Profits of theſe Lands, as was preſcribed in the Book, and to ob⯑ſerve the Ordinances therein, and upon Default, to abide [114] ſuch Orders as the Crown, or any Knight-Com⯑panion, deputed by the Sovereign, ſhall ſet forth.

Which Remainder has been and is aſſigned for Payment of Tenths to the Crown, Vicars, Curates, Annual Sti⯑pends, Officers Fees, Reparation of the Premiſſes, and for the Relief of the Dean and Canons, in Main⯑tenance and Defence of the ſaid Lands.

AND to the End the Queen might know how the Re⯑venue was diſpoſed of, ſhe gave charge that her Lieute⯑nant and the Knights-Companions ſhould annually (at the Feaſt of the Order held at Windſor) ſtate the Ac⯑compt, and ſee how the Income was expended, and that her Lieutenant ſhould yearly be put in mind of it by one of the Officers of the Order. This Ordinance was renewed, 21 Jac. I. and the Chancellor of the Order was appointed to be the Remembrancer, and in Obedi⯑ence thereunto, the Account of theſe new Lands (which begins at Lady-Day, as that of the old Lands doth at Mi [...]haelmas) was afterwards exhibited in Chapter, and in particular that Account, 9 Car I. which was ſubmit⯑ted to the Sovereign and Knights-Companion's Conſi⯑deration, who referred the Inſpection thereof to the Knights-Commiſſaries, who were to conſult over the Affairs of the Order.

§. 8. THE Privileges of the Chapel and College are Eccleſiaſtical and Temporal: As to the firſt, Pope Cle⯑m [...]nt VI. exempted the Chapel, College, Canons, Prieſts, Clerks, Alms-Knights and Officers, from all ordinary Juriſdiction of Archbiſhops, Biſhops, Archdeacons, and all Judges and Officers, and received them within the Protection of the Papal-See; and granted a farther Privilege, That the Cuſtos ſhould have Eccleſiaſtical Juriſdiction over the Canons, Prieſts, &c. as alſo the Cure of their Soul [...], notwithſtanding any Papal Conſtitution [115] Provincial, or Synodical, yet allowing that the Cuſtos ſhould receive that Cure from the Dioceſan of the Place. In Conſideration of this Exemption, the Cuſtos was to pay annually, on St. George's Day, a Mark in Sil⯑ver, to the Pope's Chamber. Two Years preceding, the Chapel was called the King's Free Chapel, which Title it ſtill enjoys; for it owes S [...]bjection to none but the Sovereign of England, the Supream of the Church, as heretofore it ſtood divided between the King and See of Rome. The Privilege of Exemption included in the Confirmation of Liberties, made by the Founder in his Charter, dated Anno Regni ſui 47. and all other E⯑moluments granted by him, are confirmed by Act of Parliament, 8 Hen. VI. As the College has its ſole De⯑pendance on the Crown, it is viſitable only by the Lord-Chancellor, whoſe Viſitations and Power are re⯑ſerved to him by the Statutes of the College, and him⯑ſelf called in the King's Commiſſion for Viſitation, 2 Rich. II. Governor of the ſaid Chapel, as well in Spi⯑rituals as Temporals, and, under the King, immediate Cuſtos. And ſo jealous were the Dean and Canons, left the Power of the ſaid Exemption ſhould be infringed, that when Sixtus IV. had granted the Biſhop of Saliſ⯑bury, and themſelves, to make new and interpret the ancient Statutes, they ſoon obtained [...] Revocation of that Authority, left the ſaid Biſhop (in whoſe Dioceſs the College is ſituate) being ſo unpowered, might by Degrees bring them under his Juriſdicton, in prejudice to their Exemption. And, A. D. 1485. to prevent [...]uch deſign, the Archbiſhop of Canterbury, &c. were commiſſion'd to ſee the Bull revoked, and Salisbury en⯑joyned not to intermeddle further in the College Affairs. Moreover other Biſhops, and the Chancellor of England, were to r [...]new, alter, or new make ſuch Statutes as might accrue to the Advantage of the College.

IF the Archbiſhop of Cant [...]rbury be preſent in the Chapel, he ſits below the Dean, nor can he conſecrate there, without his Licenſe. And this is very remark⯑able, that at the ratifying the Peace between King Charles I. and L [...]wis XIII. A. D. 1629. in the Chapel at W [...]ſor, Dr Wren, then Dean of the College, gave the [116] Oath to the French Ambaſſador, and not the Archbiſhop of Canterbury, tho' he was then preſent.

THE Dean and Chapter are to weigh well and debate at their yearly Chapters all things fit to be diſpatched in reference to the College Affairs, and whatſoever Deter⯑mination they come to, not repugnant to their Statutes, all Perſons are firmly obliged to obſerve.

THE Deans have no Inſtitution from any Biſhop, but his Inſtitution, Inveſtiture, and Inſtallation into the Cuſtos-ſhip, Canonſhip, and Prebendſhip, is conferred from ſuch of the Canons Reſident, to whom the King (who collates) doth recommend him. Other Marks of Exemption appear in the conſtant proving of Wills be⯑fore him, or in his Abſence before his Lieutenant. In uſing the Power of Excommunication within their Ju⯑riſdiction (the Precincts of the College) granting a Diſ⯑penſation for eating Fleſh in Lent, a farther Mark of their Privilege appears, that the Ordination for the Chantry Prieſts were confirmed by the Dean and Chap⯑ter, and not the Biſhop of the Dioceſs, as were the Statutes of the new Commons. The Dean is exemp [...] from paying all Synodals, or Procurations, nor can any of the King's Chaplains preach in the Chapel of St. George, unleſs he be a Canon there, or have Licenſe from the King, or from the Dean and Canons. They ſend no Delegates to the Synod, and when the Point was debated, 1640. it was carried in the Negative, as being againſt their Liberties, and might intitle them to the Paym [...]nt of Subſidies; nor are they intitled to any Share in the Government of the Church, more than the Colleges in the Univerſities, where there are many no⯑minal Deans. In ſhort, when by the Act of Uniformi [...]y, 14 Car. II. every Clergyman was bound to ſubſcribe be⯑fore the Arch biſhop or his Ordinary, the Canons ſub⯑ſcribed before the Dean; and tho' ſome of them ſub⯑ſcribed before the Biſhop, yet was it with a Salvo, ſaving the Ri [...]hts and Privileges of this Free Chapel.

THEIR Temporal Immunities and Privileges are theſ [...], as [...]r [...]nt [...]d th [...]m by Chart [...]r, 6 Mar. 27 Edw. III. and confirmed by ſeveral of his Succeſſors.

T [...]E C [...]ſtos [...]nd Canons were fr [...]e from p [...]vin [...] Aid upon making the King's eldeſt Son a Knight, and marrying [117] his eldeſt Daughter, and exempt of all Aids to the King's Contributions and Tallages.

WHENSOEVER the Clergy ſhould give a Tenth, or o⯑ther Impoſition, out of their Spiritualties, or the Com⯑mons give a Tenth, Fifteenth, or other, out of their Temporalties, Subſidy, or the King tax his own De⯑mean, or the Pope impoſe any Money to be raiſed up⯑on the Clergy, to give it the King, this College and their Poſſeſſions were to ſtand freed thereof.

THEY were diſcharged from any Contributions of arraying Soldiers, and from ſending them to guard the Sea-Coaſts, and from every Fine and Compoſition of the like Nature. Their Houſes within the Caſtle of Windſor, as elſewhere, are quit from any Livery of the King's and Queen's Stewards, Marſhals, Purveyors, Officers, and Servants, and from the like Officers of the Peers or Nobles, and the ſaid Officers were not to inter⯑meddle there, without L [...]ave of the Cuſtos and Canons.

NO Duke, &c. or Nobleman, nor any Stewards, Marſhals, Eſcheators, Sheriffs, Coroners, Bailiffs, or Officers, nor other Perſon of what Condition ſoever, upon any Pretence, were not to lodge or rem [...]in in their Houſes without their Conſent.

THE Cuſtos, Canons, and their Tenants, were not to pay any Toll, Paviage, Piccage, Barbicanage, Terrage, Pontage, Murage, Paſſage, Payage, Leſtage, Stallage, Tal⯑lage, Carriage, Peſage, and from Scot and Geld, Hi⯑dage, Scutage, working about Caſtles, Parks, Bridges, Walls for the King's Houſes; and from Suits to the County, or Hundred Courts, and Wapentakes, or Court Leets, Murder, and common Amerciaments, before ei⯑ther King, Juſtices of the Bench, or Itinerant, and from ever [...] like Cuſtom had an Immunity.

WITHIN their Lands, Fees, and Precincts, the Chattels of all Felons and Fugitives were ſeized to their own Uſe. All Fines for Treſpaſſes, and all other Con⯑tempts and Miſdemeanors, F [...]nes pro [...] concord [...]nd [...], and for all other Cauſes, Amerciaments, Redemptions, Iſſues, and Forfeitures what [...]oever, Annum D [...]em Vaſtum [...] Streppum, and all Things which might belong to the [118] King and his Heirs, and all Wrecks, Waifs, and Strays, were granted them.

NO Purveyance of Corn, Hay, Horſes, Carts, Car⯑riages, Victuals, or any Goods, Chattels, or any thing whatſoever, ſhould be carried off by any of the King's Officers, upon their or their Tenants Land.

THEY were to be free from paying any Penſion, Cor⯑rody, or other Suſtentation to be granted to the Crown.

THEY were to have free Warren in all their Demain Lands whereſoever, and that altho' they lay within the Bounds of the King's Foreſt.

THAT they ſhould enjoy for their Conveniency a weekly Market on W [...]dneſday, at their Mannor of Ever in Bucks, and Two Fairs to laſt Eight Days, one on the Eve and Feaſt of St. Peter and St. Paul, and Two Days after the other, upon the Eve and Feaſt of St. Pet [...]r ad Vincula, and Two Days following.

THAT they ſhould, in all their Lands have Socage and Sackage, Infangthef, Utfangthef, and View of Frankpledge, with Thewe, Pillory, and Tumbrel for puniſhing Malefactors, and Power to erect Gallows up⯑on their own Soil for executing thoſe apprehended in their Juriſdiction.

THEY were to be exempt of all Suits and Pleas of the Foreſt, and of all Charges or Fees which the Officers of the Foreſt might demand, and from the Expeditation of their Dogs and Suits of Court there; as likewiſe all from Gelds, Dane Gelds, Knights Fees, Payments for Murder and Robbery, Building or Repairing of Bridges, Caſtles, Parks, Pools, Walls, Sea Banks, Cauſeways, and Incloſures; and of all Aſſizes, Summonſes, Sheriffs Aids, their Bailiffs, or Officers, bearing of Treaſure, and all other Aids whatever; as alſo from the com⯑mon Aſſeſſmen [...]s and Amerciaments of the County, and Hundred, and all Actions relating to them; they were diſcharged from the Payment of Ward-penny, Aver⯑penny, Tithing-penny, and Hundred-penny, and quit from Grithbreck, Foreſtal, Homeſoken, Blodwite, Wardwite, Hangwite, Fightwite, Leyrwite, Laſtage, Pannage, Aſſurt, and Waſte of the Foreſt; ſo that ſuch Waſte be not committed in the Foreſts, Parks, and [119] Woods belonging to the Crown, and then reaſonable Sa⯑tisfaction, without Impriſonment, ſhould be accepted.

ALL Writs and Attachments were returnable to them, as well relating to the Pleas of the Crown as other, thro' all their Lands and Fees, and no Sheriff, Bai⯑liff, or Officer, ſhould execute any ſuch there, unleſs in Default of the Cuſtos and Canons, and they to have and hold Leets, and Lawdays, and Cognizance of all Pleas betwixt their Tenants, as well of Treſpaſſes and Contracts, as others. And laſtly, They were to have and hold Wards, Reliefs, Eſcheats, Forfeitures, and o⯑ther Profits, Iſſues, and Emoluments whatſoever, within their own Fees, from all their Tenants, which might appertain to the Crown, as if the Tenants did hold of the Crown or others in Capite.

WE come now to treat of the moſt Noble and Il⯑luſtrious Order of the Garter; which, if we conſi⯑der either its Antiquity, or the Nobleneſs of the Perſonages, that have been enroll'd, it excels and outvies all other Inſtitutions of Honour in the whole World. It owes its Original, as is confeſſed on all Hands, to Edward III. King of England and France; yet as to the Occaſion, there are ſeveral Opinions which we ſhall rectifie. The vulgar and more general is, that the Garter of Joan, Counteſs of Salisbury, dropping caſually off as ſhe danced in a ſolemn Ball, King Edward ſtoop⯑ing took it up from the Ground, whereupon ſome of his Nobles ſmiling, as at an amorous Action, and he obſerving their ſportive Humour, turned it off with a Reply in French, Honi ſoit qui mal y penſe; but withal added, in diſdain of their Laughter, That ſhortly th [...]y ſhould ſee that Garter advanced to ſo high an Honour and Re⯑nown as to account themſelves happy to wear it.

BUT upon Examination of this Tradition, let others judge what Credit it bears to eſtabliſh its Belief; for Sir John Froiſſart, the only Writer of the Age that treats [120] of this Inſtitution, aſſigns no ſuch Original, nor for 200 Years after is there any thing to the Purpoſe in our other Hiſtorians, till Polydore Virgil took occaſion to ſay ſomething of it; but had it been Fact, ſome French Hiſtorian or other, would not have neglected to regiſter it at a convenient Time with a Scoff and Ridicule, ſince that Nation was ſo ready to deride King Henry V's Deſign of invading them with a Return of Tennis Balls.

IN the Original Statutes of this Order, there is not the leaſt Conjecture to countenance the Conceit of ſuch a Feminine Inſtitution, no not ſo much as laying an Obligation on the Knights-Companions to defend the Quarrels of Ladies (as ſome Orders then in being en⯑joyned;) nor doth the Author of that Tract entitled In⯑ſtitutio clariſſimi Ordinis Militaris a praenobili ſubligaculo nun⯑cupati, prefaced to the Black Book of the Garter, let fall the manifeſt Paſſage to ground it on.

As to what Polydore ſays, he is not ſo confident to aſcertain the Perſon whoſe Garter it was; but cautiouſly declining that, ſays, it was either the Queen's, or the King's Miſtreſs's; and if it were the latter, yet doth he o⯑mit her Name and Title, both which (on what Authority we find not) are ſupplied by modern Hiſtorians, who call her Joan Counteſs of Salisbury, the ſame elſewhere cele⯑brated by the Name of the Fair Maid of Kent, (whom Edward the Black Prince, afterward married) whereas no Hiſtorian ever gave the leaſt Inuendo that King Edward III. ever courted her as a Miſtreſs. Selden points at her when he calls the Lady, from whom the Garter ſlipp'd, Counteſs of Kent and Salisbury: But about the Time when this Order was founded ſhe in truth was dignified with neither Honour; for altho' ſhe was Daughter to Tho. of Woodſtock, Earl of Kent, and had been ſometime the re⯑puted Wife of William Mountague, ſecond Earl of Salisbury, yet then ſhe cou'd not properly be accounted Counteſs of Salisbury. She was actually Wife to Sir Thomas Hol⯑land, (one of the Firſt Founders of the Order.) Nor was ſhe yet (tho' afterwards) Counteſs of K [...]nt, becauſe her Brother John Earl of Kent, at the Inſtitution of this Order, ſurvived, and died not till 26 Edw. III.

[121] THAT there was a Counteſs of Salisbury with whom King Edward III. became greatly enamour'd, Froiſſart re⯑ports after this manner, That this King having relieved a Caſtle of that Earl's in the North, wherein his Counteſs had been beſieged by the Scots (the Earl himſelf being at that time Priſoner in France;) upon ſight of her extraordinary Beauty he fell in love with her; but ſhe ſo virtuouſly demeaned her ſelf, during his Abode there, that he declined further Solicita⯑tion. However, ſome time after, the King out of De⯑ſire to ſee her, proclaim'd ſolemn Juſts in London, whi⯑ther this Counteſs and other Ladies being invited, came up. This Caſtle it ſeems was Wark upon Tweed in Nor⯑thumberland, which King Edward had formerly beſtowed on her Husband, for his good Service paſt, when he firſt eſpouſed her, being then but a Knight.

ALTHO' it ſhould be admitted that this Counteſs of Salisbury was the King's Miſtreſs, yet muſt it be re⯑mark'd, That ſhe was Wife to William Mountague, Kt. created Earl of Salisbury, Anno 11 Edw. III. Mother to William the before-mention'd ſecond Earl, that her Chriſtian Name was Catherine, not Alice, as Froiſſart, not Joan, as others call her, Daughter to William Lord Granſton, and that ſhe expired 28 Edw. III. But that the whole may appear, what indeed it is, a meer Fable, we ſhall inſert the Judgment of Dr. Heylin, who took great Pains in this Particular. This, ſays he, I take to be a vain and idle Romance, derogatory both to the Founder and the Order firſt publiſhed by Pol. Virgil, a Stranger to the Affairs of England, and by him taken upon no better ground than Fama Vulgi, the Tradition of the common People, too tri⯑fling a Foundation to ſo great a Building.

OF the ſame Contexture with the former is another Tradition in Andrew du Cheſne, That the Queen departing from the King to her own Apartments, and he following ſoon after, chanced to eſpy a Blue Garter lying on the Ground (ſup⯑poſed to have ſlipp'd from her Leg) whilſt ſome of his Atten⯑dants careleſly paſſed by it, as diſdaining to ſtoop at ſuch a Trifle; but he knowing the Owner, commanded it to be gi⯑ven him; at the Receipt of which he ſaid, You make but ſmall account of this Garter; but within few Months, I'll cauſe the b [...]ſt of you all to reverence it alike. Some ſuppoſe that the Motto was the Queen's Anſwer, when the King asked [122] her, What Men would conjecture of her, upon her loſing her Garter in ſuch a manner?

BOTH Relations are far diſtant from Fact; never⯑theleſs it has thus far'd with other Orders of Sove⯑reign Foundation, and an amorous, inſtead of an ho⯑nourable Account, has been falſly render'd of their Inſtitution; as for Inſtance, The Order of the Annun⯑ciade, and that of The Golden Fleece.

THERE is a third Opinion grounded on a Relation made of King Rich. I. who, whilſt his Forces were employ'd againſt Cyprus and Acon, and extremely tir'd and harraſs'd with the Siege, he, by the Aſſiſtance and Mediation of St. George (as imagin'd) was inſpir'd with freſh Courage, and bethought himſelf of a new Device, which was to tie about the Legs of a Number of Knights, a Leathern Thong Garter, for ſuch had he then at hand, whereby they being emulated to future Glory, with Aſſurance of Reward if they prov'd victo⯑rious, they might be excited to behave themſelves in⯑trepidly and well, much after the Examples of the old Romans, among whom were diſtributed various Crowns for ſeveral Cauſes, to adorn the Soldiers: But if King Richard I. did make uſe of this Device in the Holy Land, as a Signal or Mark of Diſtinction of a Party, upon ſome warlike Exploit, yet that he took Occaſion to create a diſtinct Order of Knighthood thereupon, there is not ſufficient warrant to believe; (for it is only put down in the Preface of the Black Book, but not in any Part of the Annals of the Order; nor can it plead higher Antiquity than the Reign of King Hen. VIII. when written.) All the Advantage that can be made of it, is, to heighten the Reputation of that Saint among the Engliſh, by which Means the Garter came to be dedicated to him, and not that it contributed to its Inſtitution.

§ 2. THE true Motive was therefore, neither the Ladies Garter, or King Richard's Leathern Thong, that it owes it Original to: But King Edward, being a Perſon of conſummate Vertue, gave himſelf up to military Affairs; and being engag'd in War for reco⯑vering his Right to France, made uſe of the beſt Martialiſts [123] of the Age, did thereupon firſt deſign (in⯑duc'd by its ancient Fame) the Reſtoration of King Arthur's Round Table, to invite hither the Gallant Spi⯑rits from abroad, and endear them to himſelf; and ad⯑judging no Place more requiſite than Windſor, upon New-Year's-Day, A. D. 1344. he iſſu'd out Letters of Protection for the ſafe going and return of Foreign Knights, to try their Valour at the Solemn Juſts to be held there on Monday after the Feaſt of St. Hilary fol⯑lowing (which happen'd Jan. 19.) And theſe Letters of Safe-Conduct continu'd in force until the Octaves of the Purification of our bleſſed Virgin enſuing, being the 18th Year of his Reign. At the Time appointed, he provided a great Supper to begin the Solemnity, and then ordain'd this Feſtival to be annually at Whit⯑ſontide; and immediately after theſe firſt Exerciſes were over, for a future and better Accommodation, he im⯑preſs'd Workmen and Carriages for erecting a particu⯑lar Building in the Caſtle, and therein plac'd a Table of Two Hundred Foot Diameter, where the Knights ſhould have their Entertainment of Diet, at his Ex⯑pence of 100 l. per Week; to which Building he gave the Name of The Round Table. And as at theſe great Conventions the Days were ſpent in all Kinds of no⯑ble Feats of Arms, Juſts and Turnaments, ſo were a great Part of the Nights conſum'd in publick Balls and dancing with the Ladies that attended the Queen thither; and perhaps it was hence conjectur'd, that at ſome of theſe Balls the Queen's Garter, or the Garter of Catherine, Counteſs of Salisbury, might ſlip off, and the King's taking it up occaſion Smiles in the By⯑ſtanders; and afterwards, when the King had modell'd his intended Order, a Garter offering it ſelf for its chief Enſign, might add to the Conjecture; but that it was the principal Cauſe, is a groundleſs Imagination. And tho' King Edward advanc'd the Honour of the Garter, as to denominate the Order, yet was it not to enhance Reputation to, or perpetuate an effeminate Occaſion, but to adorn Martial Proweſs, with Ho⯑nours, Rewards and Splendor; to increaſe Vertue and Valour in the Hearts of his Nobility, that ſo true Worth, after long and hazardous Exploits, ſhould not [124] enviouſly be depriv'd of that Glory which it hath in⯑trinſically deſerv'd, and that active and hardy Youths might not want a Spur in their Progreſſion in the Paths of Vertue, which is to be eſteem'd glorious and eternal.

IT is further obſervable, that the French King, Phi⯑lip de Valoys, in Emulation of this Seminary at Windſor, ſet up a Round Table at his Court, and invited Knights and valiant Men of Arms out of Italy and Almaine thi⯑ther, left they ſhould repair to our King Edward III. which meeting with Succeſs, prov'd a Countermine to his main Deſign; who perceiving that his Hoſpitality towards ſtrange Knights, upon Account of reviving King Arthur's Round Table was too general, nor did ſuf⯑ficiently ingratiate them to his Perſon, but being un⯑conſtrain'd and at Liberty, did after their Departure take what Side they pleas'd in the enſuing Wars, he at length reſolv'd upon a Projection more particu [...]ar and ſelect, and ſuch as might oblige thoſe whom he thought fit to make his Aſſociates, in a laſting Bond of Friendſhip and Honour: And having iſſu'd forth his own Garter for the Signal of a Battle, that was crown'd with Succeſs, (which is conceiv'd to be the Battle of Creſſy, fought about Three Years after his erecting the Round Table;) upon ſo remarkable a Victory, he thence took Occaſion to inſtitute this Order, and gave the Garter Preheminence among the Enſigns of it, whence that ſelect Number, whom he incorporated into a Fra⯑ternity, are ſtyl'd Equites Aureae Periſcelidis, and vulgarly Knights of the Garter. By this Symbol he deſign'd to bind the Knights and Fellows of it mutually unto one anothe [...], and all of them joyntly to himſelf, as Sove⯑reign of the Order; nor was his Expectation fruſtra⯑ted, for it did not ſerve only as a vehement Spur and Incentive to Honour and martial Vertue, but alſo as a golden Bond of Unity and internal Society; and for [...]his Conſideration Cambden aptly calls it a Badge of [...]nity and Concord.

BY the Symbols of this Garter the Knights are re⯑minded, with all Religiouſneſs, Sincerity, Friendlineſs, Faithfulneſs and Dexterity, not to leave the Purſuit of whatſoever they take in hand, nor to enterprize any [125] Thing contrary to the Statutes of the Order; neither to fruſtrate the Rights of Peace and Friendſhip, nor vilify the Law of Arms, or proceed in any Thing far⯑ther than Faith and Compact, or the Bond of Friend⯑ſhip will admit. Moreover, in the binding of the Leg with this enobled Enſign, there was given this Caveat and Exhortation, that the Knights ſhould not puſilla⯑nimouſly (by running away from Battle) betray the Valour and Renown which is ingrafted in Conſtancy and Magnanimity. Nay, ſo exactly did the Founder contrive the whole Habit into the Signification of the Garter, that he ordain'd his and the Knights-Compa⯑nions Robes and Ornaments to be all alike, both for Materials and Faſhion, intimating thereby, That they ought to conſerve brotherly Affection among them⯑ſelves. The great Collar of the Order was made of equal Weight, and like Number of Knots and Links, in Token of the like Bond of Faith, Peace and Amity inviolably to be obſerv'd and retain'd amongſt them: In fine, all Things were ſo deſign'd, that every one might plainly perceive how much theſe Things tended to the Maintenance of Amity and Concord.

IN further reference to the eſtabliſhing this Order, the aforeſaid King calling together the Earls, Barons, and principal Knights of his Kingdom, Freely, ſays Froiſſart, and obligingly declar'd his Mind to them concerning this Affair: To which all of them being well inclin'd, en⯑tertain'd the Motion with equal Joy and Applauſe, deeming it would prove a very great Advancement to Piety, Nobility and Vertue, and likewiſe an excellent Expedient for the uni⯑ting not only his Subjects one with another, but all Foreigners conjunctively with them, in the Bonds of Amity and Peace. And 'tis very improbable the prudent Founder ſhould ſummon his Nobles to conſult about the Grandeur of an Order, that had taken its Riſe from ſo ſlight an Occaſion as the dropping of a Garter from a Lady's Leg. Now, to draw the Tye of Friendſhip more cloſe, the King cauſed thoſe who were (or ſhould be) of the Order, to be call'd Fellows, Aſſociates, Colleagues, Brethren, and Knights-Companions, and the Order it ſelf a Society, Fellowſhip, College of Knights, and Knight-Companionſhip; and their Habits to be all alike, to repreſent how they [126] ought to be united in all Chances and various Turn [...] of Fortune; Co-partners both in Peace and War, aſſi⯑ſtant to one another in all ſerious and dangerous Ex⯑ploits; and thro' the whole Courſe of their Lives to ſhew Fidelity and Friendlineſs one towards another. There are other Reaſons aſſign'd, much to the ſame Effect, That the Order was inſtituted to fortifie the Con⯑fidence of the King, the Kingdom and Martial Vertue; that is to ſay, to ſtrengthen the Faith of the Subjects towards them, and for their greater Security, and becauſe the Garter carries with it a Bond or Tye of Fellowſhip, and is a Symbol of Amity between Princes, being Companions of the ſame Order.

IN the laſt Place, if we look upon the Statutes of its Inſtitution, we ſhall find the Injunctions wholly Mili⯑tary, and ſo are the Words of Admonition pronounc'd at the putting on the Enſigns of the Order: And the Ground of the Inſtitution (in the Preamble to King Henry VIII's Exemplar) is ſaid to be for the Honour of God and Exaltation of the Catholick Faith, joyn'd both with Piety and Charity, in eſtabliſhing a College of religious Men to pray for the Proſperity of the Sovereign of the Order and the Knights-Companions, and to perform other holy Duties; as alſo or⯑daining a Maintenance for a Company of Alms-Knights, who have not otherwiſe wherewith to ſupport themſelves; but not one Word relating to the Engagement on behalf of the feminine Sex.

AND whereas King Edw. III. had laid Claim by his Title to the Kingdom of France, and in Right thereof aſſum'd its Arms, he from the Colour of them, 'tis ſaid, caus'd the Garter to be made Blue, and the Circum⯑ſcription Gold: And it may, without ſtraining, be in⯑ferr'd from the Motto, Honi ſoit qui mal y penſe, that he retorted Shame and Defiance upon him that ſhould dare to think amiſs of ſo juſt an Enterprize, as he had undertaken for recovering of his lawful Right to that Crown; and that the Magnanimity and Bravery of thoſe Knights, whom he had elected into this Or⯑der, was ſuch as would impower and enable them to maintain the Quarrel againſt all who thought ill of it. Conſonant to this is the Conjecture of Harpsfield, that this Apophthegm was deſign'd to put the Knights-Companions [127] in mind, Not to admit any Thing in their Actions, or among their Thoughts, derogatory to themſelves and their Honour.

THAT Age did exceedingly abound with Impreſſes, Motto's and Devices, and particularly King Edw. III. was ſo exceſſively given up to them, that his Apparel, Plate, Bed, Houſhold-Furniture, Shields, and even the Harneſs of his Horſes, and the like, were not without them, many of which now to deſcant upon would be a fruitleſs Attempt, ſeeing the Occaſion of the Inven⯑tion, and the Circumſtances are loſt, that ſhould illu⯑ſtrate them; and others, by reaſon of their Brevity, ſeem'd inſignificant, in regard ſomething was deſign⯑edly omitted, and left to be underſtood, which cannot now be rightly ſupply'd, ſo as to arrive at the Mind of the Inventor. Of this Number may be this Motto, It is as it is, which was embroider'd upon a Doublet of that King; tho' there are others which ſeem more eaſy to be decypher'd; as that daring Motto wrought upon his Surcoat and Shield provided to be uſed at a Tur⯑nament,

§ 3. THE time when the Order was inſtituted, Hi⯑ſtorians differ widely about; Selden, Cowper, and others, from Froiſſart (who wrote temp. Rich. II.) would have it in the 18th of King Edw. III. But ſince Froiſ⯑ſart errs, in making the Number of Knights-Compa⯑nions no fewer than Forty, which is a grand Miſtake, Why might not he trip in Point of Time, and con⯑found the Year of its Erection, with that wherein the Founder renew'd the Order of The Round Table, Wind⯑ſor being the Place for both. For ſhould we admit, that during ſome Part of the Solemnity held in this King's 18th Year, when the Accident of the Lady's Garter ſlipping off happen'd, what other Inference can be made, but that he had only an Intention to put in Execution ſomewhat afterwards? Not that an Order was actually [...]rected at that Time: Beſides, the Jollity of the Seaſon, the Greatneſs of the Concourſe, and [128] the Splendidneſs of the Feſtivity, it was too buſy a Time to ſuffer much Conſultation tending thereunto; or at leaſt to mould and model a Deſign ſo compleat and ſubſtantial, as it appears to have been even at firſt. If we joyn Fabian, he is plain, that tho' the King de⯑ſign'd the Inſtitution at the End of the Feſtival, (which he places between Candlemas and Lent, in the 19th, and not 18th Year of that King) Yet was it not then, ſaith he, but afterwards eſtabliſh'd by him. Never⯑theleſs, Mr. Selden elſewhere obſerves, it had its Ori⯑ginal in the 24th Year of the ſaid King. And our in⯑duſtrious Stow (with whom Lily, Speed, and Segar agree) tells us, That the firſt Feaſt of the Order was celebrated A. D. 1350. which exactly agrees to the 24th of Ed⯑ward III. But Polydore Virgil places it after the 25th of Edward III. We muſt therefore have recourſe to ſome other Proofs for elucidating this Point, ſince this Chro⯑nological Aera of the true Time of its Inſtitution hath wonderfully ſlipp'd the Pens of all Writers.

ADMITTING then that the erecting this Order was firſt thought of by King Edward, at ſome of thoſe grand Aſſemblies of The Round Table, held after the French King had ſet up the like; yet was it not ma⯑ture, or brought to any Perfection, till after his glorious Victories and Triumphs over the French and Scots in the Battles of Creſſy and Nevil's Croſs, (in the laſt of which the Scotch King, David, was taken Priſoner) and until King Edward had Calais ſurrendred to him, as will appear very conſpicuous.

AMONG the Rolls of the Great Wardrobe, is one containing the Account of all the King's Liveries, from Michaelmas Anno 21, to the 31ſt of Jan. 23 Edw. III. In the ſame are divers Things mention'd to be adorn'd with Garters, which were provided againſt the firſt grand Feaſt of St. G orge; and among the reſt, the Royal Robes, viz. his Mantle, Surcoat and Hood; likewiſe a Bed of Blue Taffaty was bedeck'd with Gar⯑ters, containing the Motto, Honi ſoit qui mal y penſe. There were made for the Sovereign Three Harneſſes, whereof Two were of White Velvet, wrought over with Garters de blu & d [...]aſp [...]i per totum compedmein cum Woodhouſes; and the Third de Velve [...]to Ynde cont. Lapp [...]kin [129] quiſſeux & caligas, wrought over likewiſe with Garters. Had the Roll been divided into Years, or had diſtinguiſhing Marks of Time upon it, we might have been guided with more Certainty as to the true Year of the Inſtitution. However, we may thence conclude it was not founded in the 18th of Edw. III. becauſe that the Sovereign's Robes were not made until the 22d Year of his Reign at ſooneſt; perhaps not till the Beginning of the 23d. But to put the Matter beyond diſpute, the Founder's Statutes fix the Time of Inſtitution to his 23d Year; ſo do the Sta⯑tutes of King Henry V. and the Preface to the Black Book, Leland, Mills and Dr. Heylin. To conclude, when he had fix'd upon the Day and Place for [...]elebrating the firſt grand Feaſt of this Order, he ſent his Heralds into Germany, France, Scotland, Burgundy, Hainault, Flanders and Brabant, to invite all Knights and Eſquires, (with Aſſurance of Safe-Conduct and Liberty for Fifteen Days, both before and after the grand Solemnity) to ſhew their military Proweſs and other publick Exer⯑ciſes there to be perform'd, proper to the Place and Occaſion; agreeable to which Invitation, ſundry Knights and Gallant Men came over to ſignalize their Valour; and what made the Solemnity more glorious, King Edward's Queen was there preſent, attended with Three Hundred of the faireſt Ladies, in all imaginable Splendor and Gaity.

§ 4. THE Patrons of the Order were ſeveral, under whoſe Protection (according to the Cuſtom of the Age) King Edw. III. put himſelf and all the Knights-Compa⯑nions, that the Affairs of the Order might be defended, preſerved and govern'd.

THE firſt and chiefeſt which he elected, was the Holy Trinity, which in a more eſpecial Manner was in⯑vocated to the Aid and Aſſiſtance of this Order.

Secondly, King [...]dward III. intitled peculiarly the bleſſed Virgin Mary, accounted then the general Media⯑trix and Protectreſs of all Men; unto whom Kin [...] Ed⯑ward IV. was ſo ſtrictly devoted, that he thought ſome additional Ceremonies requiſite to her farther Honour, and thereupon ordain'd [...] that on her Five Solemnities [130] the Knights Companions ſhould annually (as accu⯑ſtom'd on the Feaſt of St. George) wear the Habit of the Order as long as Divine Service was celebrating, (unleſs they had ſufficient Cauſe of excuſe) bearing on the right Shoulders of their Robes a golden Figure of the Virgin Mary; and that they ſhould go in the ſame Manner and Habit upon all Sundays throughout the Year; and laſtly, that on the ſame Days for ever they ſhould ſay Five Pater Noſters, with as many Ave Maria's.

Thirdly, St. George of Cappadocia, a moſt choice Cham⯑pion of Chriſt and famous Martyr, was alſo elected one of the Patrons to this Order by King Edward III. not ſo much as he was a Profeſſor of the Chriſtian Faith, or for that he was an armed Soldier or Knight of Chriſt, but ſo much the more becauſe in thoſe Wars, which were waged by the Chriſtians againſt the Infi⯑dels, he by ſeveral Appearances manifeſted his Pre⯑ſence as a moſt certain Encourager and Aſſiſtant to the Chriſtians; the Relations whereof may be ſeen in Dr. Heylin's Hiſtory, who hath laboriouſly and judiciouſly maintain'd the Hiſtory of this Saint, againſt thoſe that will not allow him a Place in Heaven, or a Being in the Church. In like manner the learned Selden hath avouch'd him to be the ſpecial Patron, Protector, De⯑fender, and Advocate of this Realm of England; and has made it plainly appear in what Veneration he hath been honour'd abroad, eſpecially among the Eaſtern Nations. To whoſe corroborating Teſtimonies we ſhall add, That this Title of Patron to our Nation, as given to St. George by the Founder of this Order, in a Patent granted to the Dean and Canons of the Chapel of St. Stephen at Weſtminſ [...]er, and St. George at Windſor, which diſchargeth them from Payment of Tythes; as alſo by King Henry VIII. in the Preamb [...]e of his St [...] ⯑tutes. And tho' in general he is ſty [...]'d the Principal Patron of the Affairs of Chriſtendom, and a tutelar Guar⯑dian of military Men, yet among all Chriſtians the Engliſh did excel; and in this Nation the Founder of this Order, in making choice of ſuch an approv'd [...] Captain and Patron, in particular Reſp [...]ct o [...] whom the Knights had the Title of [...] St. George's Knights, and the Order it ſelf came to [...] [131] call'd the Ordo Divi Sancti Georgii, The Order of St. George.

IT is remarkable, that Du Cheſn [...] a noted French Hi⯑ſtorian, acknowledges it was by the ſpecial Invocation of St. George that King Edward III. gain'd the Battle of Creſſy, which afterwards bringing to his Remembrance, He founded, ſays he, a Chapel within the Caſtle of Wind⯑ſor. But if we may aſcend a ſtep higher, and give credit to Harding, it's recorded King Arthur paid St. George particular Honours, for he advanc'd his Picture in one of his Banners, which was about Two Hundred Years after his Martyrdom, and very early for a Coun⯑try ſo remote from Cappadocia to have him in Reverence and Eſteem.

Laſtly, The Founder added a fourth Patron, whoſe Name himſelf bore, viz. St. Edward the Confeſſor, his Predeceſſor, King of Eng [...]and; and we find he was wont to be invocated by this Founder, as well as St. George, in any great Difficulties and Streights. Wal⯑ſingham gives an Inſtance at the Skirmiſh of Calais, A. D. 1349. when King Edward, in great Anger and Grief, drew out his Sword, and moſt paſſionately cry'd out, Ha St. Edward, Ha St. George; which his Soldiers hear [...]ng, ran preſently to him, and ruſhing violently upon the Enemy, put many of them to the Sword. Theſe Four Patrons we find recorded together in the Preamble of the Foundation of Windſor College by King Edward III. tho' in the Preamble to his Statutes of the Order, and to King Henry V's Statutes, St. Edward the Confeſſor is omitted; nevertheleſs he is enumerated with the reſt in the Preamble to King H [...]nry VIII's.

§ 5. As to the Honour and Reputation of this Noble Order, either in Compariſon with others, or in Refe⯑rence to it ſelf, it challenges the Precedency of Anti⯑quity, before the eldeſt Rank of Honour of that Kind any where eſtabliſh'd.

Second [...]y, The Statutes of the Foundation were ſo ex⯑quiſitely and judiciouſly deviſed and compacted, upon ſuch ſolid Foundations of Honour and Nobleneſs, that they afterwards became a Precedent to other Orders; and gave the Plan to thoſe Two of The Golden Fl [...]ece and [132] of Monſieur St. Michael, as is manifeſt by comparing their Statutes.

Thirdly, It is no ſmall Honour that accrues to this Order, that the Number of theſe Knights-Companions were never encreas'd, but as they were Twenty Six with the Sovereign, ſo they now thus continue, ut Pretium faciat raritas; for the infringing this Article hath ſplit ſeveral other military Orders into Contempt and Ruin, as nothing more tarniſhing, or throwing a fully on the Worth of Glory and Honour, than when render'd ſo vulgar, and indifferently diſpoſed without Diſtinction and Merit, as is exemplify'd in The Order of the Star, and the now declining Order of St. Mi⯑chael.

Fourthly, It has receiv'd more additional Luſtre by being honour'd with the Companionſhip of divers Em⯑perors, Kings and Sovereign Princes, who eſteem [...]d it the Summit of their Glory, and the higheſt Trophy of additional Honour, to be enroll'd in the Number. In⯑ſomuch that ſome of them with Impatience courted the Election. For we find recorded in the Regiſter, A. D. 1672. Eight Emperors of Germany, Three Kings of Spain, Five French Kings, Two Kings of Scotland, Five Kings of Denmark, Five Kings of Portugal, Two Kings of Sweden, One King of Poland, One King of Arragon, Two Kings of Naples, beſides divers Dukes and other free Princes; as One Duke of Guelderland, One Duke of Holland, Two Dukes of Burgundy, Two Dukes of Brunſ⯑wick, One Duke of Milan, Two Dukes of Urbin, One Duke of Ferrara, One Duke of Savoy, Two Dukes of Holſtein, One Duke of Saxony, and One Duke of Wertem⯑berg, Seven Count Palatines of the Rhin [...], Four Princes of Orange, and One Marquis of Brandenburg.

Fifthly, It entitles thoſe Knights and Noblemen, whoſe Vertue hath rais'd them to this Pitch of Greatneſs, to be Companions and Aſſociates with Emperors and Kings, a Prerogative of an high Nature, and a ſuffici⯑ent Recompence for the greateſt Merit. We ſhall cloſe up all with the high Elogy beſtow'd on it by the learned Selden, That it exceeds in Majeſty, Honour and Fame, all Chivalrous Orders of the World.

ORDER and Regularity is not only the Beauty and Symmetry of Government and Societies, but alſo greatly contributes to their Eſtabliſhment and Perpetuity. Statutes and Rules are as well the Bounds to determine, as Bonds to unite Fellowſhip and Societies together; and if either fall into difuſe, or be unadviſedly broken, they open a Field to Diſſo⯑lution and Ruin.

SUCH like Conſiderations mov'd and excited the vi⯑ctorious King Edward III. (after he had determin'd the Erection of this moſt renown'd Order of the Garter) to deviſe and inſtitute ſeveral laudable Statutes and Ordinances, to be duly obſerv'd and kept within the ſaid Order; which being collected into one Body, are call'd The Statutes of Inſtitution.

THE Original of theſe was ordain'd to be kept with⯑in the Treaſury of the College of Windſor, but hath long ſince wholly periſh'd; yet a Tranſcript of them is recorded in the Reign of King Henry V. in an old Book call'd Regiſtrum Ordinis Chartaceum. Two more ancient Exemplars of this Body of Statutes are alſo in being; the one in the Library of the Lord Hatton, and the other in the Black Book of the Order; and comparing them together, I ſhall here give from the Latin the Heads they conſiſt of.

1. THE King of England, his Heirs and Succeſſors, are to be Sovereigns or Superiors of this Order.

2. NONE are to be admitted, unleſs he be a Gen⯑tleman of Blood, and that he be a Knight and without Reproach.

3. THE Knights-Companions were to be Twenty Six, [...]ach to have at Windſor a Mantle and Garter for the better Splendor of the Order; to wear the ſaid [134] Habit whenſoever they go to the Chapel of St. George or Chapter-Houſe, to hold a Chapter, or do any thing relating to their Order. In like manner they are to wear the Habit upon the Vigils of St. George, in their Proceſſion from the King's Lodgings to the Chapel or Chapter-Houſe, and returning back, and during Sup⯑per, continue ſo habited till it be over, and likewiſe on the Morrow of St. George's Day, at Chapel, Dinner-time, Supper-time, and afterwards all the ſaid Day, until the Sovereign or his Deputy ſhall depoſite the Enſigns of the Order, and decree their Departure.

4. THERE were to be Thirteen Canons Secular, who at the Time of their Inſtitution, or within a Year, were to be Prieſts, and as many Vicars already Prieſts, or to be made ſo at the next Ordination, anſwerable to the number of the Knights-Companions; theſe religious Perſons to be preſented by the ſeveral Founders each one, and upon the Death or Vacancy of ſuch preſented, the Sovereign of the Order ever afterwards to have the Nomination of them, who were bound to pray for the good Eſtate of the Sovereign and his Kingdom, and particularly for this Order.

5. THE Canons were to wear a Purple Mantle, with the Arms of St. George in a Roundle upon their right Shoulder.

6. THERE were to be Twenty Six poor veterane Knights, [...]ach to have a competent Subſiſtence, their Election to be after the manner of the Canons afore⯑ſaid.

7. THESE Knights were to have a Red Mantle, with the Arms of St. George; but without any Circle of the Garter about it.

8. IF the Sovereign could not be preſent at the ſolemn Feſtival of St. George, his Deputy was to ſupply his Place at the Charge of the Sovereign; but ſuch Depu⯑ty was not to make any new Ordinances, tho' he has Licenſe to correct or amend the old Ones.

9. EVERY Year, upon the Vigils of St. George, the Knights-Companions within the Realm, or elſewhere, if conveniently, are to aſſemble, at Windſor Caſtle, and be preſent there at the Celebration of Divine Service, in the Habit of the Order, where placed regularly in [135] their Stalls or Seats, directly over their Heads their Helmets and Swords, &c. are to be hung up, and re⯑main as long as ſuch Knights live, in Honour of them, and to ſignify the Defence of the Church, to which they are obliged as a Military Order; but in caſe the Feaſt of St. George happens to fall within the Quin⯑dene or Fifteen Days after the Feaſt of Eaſter, then it was to be prorogued to the Sunday next following, ac⯑counting Fifteen Days from Eaſter Day, that every Knight-Companion might have reaſonable time to come, nor be forced to ride upon any of the Three Eaſter Holy-days.

10. THAT they meet in St. George's Chapel yearly, on the Eve of St. George, at the Hour of Three in the Af⯑ternoon; and if they come not at the Time aſſigned, without a juſt Excuſe, which the Sovereign or his De⯑puty allows, their Penalty is to be according to the Ordinance of the Chapter; which is, That they ſhall not enter into the Chapter Door for that time, but ſ [...]ay without, and ſhall have no Voice in any thing that is done in the ſaid Chapter; and if they come not before the Beginning of Veſpers, they ſhall not enter into their Stalls, but ſhall tarry below before the ſaid Stalls in the Choiriſters Places during Veſpers. The like Penalty is ordain'd for not coming to the Maſs or Morn⯑ing-Service betime, and at Veſpers, on St. George's Day; and whoſoever ſhall abſent himſelf wholly from this Solemnity, without ſufficient Excuſe and Leave from the Sovereign or Deputy, he is not to enter within his Stall the next Feaſt after, but ſhall ſtay below, and be⯑fore his Stall, as it is ſaid at Veſpers, and in the Mor⯑rows Proceſſion muſt walk before the Three proceſſional Croſſes, [now the Cho [...]riſters,] and at Maſs [Service] ſhall ſit below until the Offering, and he to offer laſt. After which he is to come before the Sove⯑reign, or his Deputy's Stall, and ask Pardon, which re-inſtates him in his Stall. Abſenting the next ſecond Time upon the Feaſt, without Leave, he has no Stall allowed him until he hath given and offered a Jewel upon St. George's Altar, to the Value of Twenty Marks, which is to be double every Year until a Reconci⯑liation.

[136] 11. WHERESOEVER they be, they muſt wear their Blue Robes from the Beginning of the firſt Veſpers, on the Eve of St. George's Day, to the ſecond Veſpers on the Morrow incluſive, &c.

12. IF any Knight-Companion appears publickly without his dignifying Garter, upon challenging the ſame, is to pay half a Mark to the Cuſtos and College.

13. AT the Times of Offering, each aſſociated with the other who holds the oppoſite Stall, are to march in Proceſſion together to make their Offerings; but a⯑lone, when his Conſort is abſent, and ſo that in all Pro⯑ceſſions the Sovereign goes laſt.

14. IN the Morrow after the Solemnity of St. George's Feaſt is over, before their ſeparating, a Maſs de Requie or Office de Defunctis was to be uſed, at which the Knights-Companions were all entirely to be preſent, without neceſſary Impediment ſhown to the Sovereign or Deputy for Liberty to depart.

15. THEY were to leave their Robes at Windſor al⯑ways, to be ready for them there upon any ſudden Oc⯑caſions that might evene.

16. JOURNYING near Windſor, in Honour of the Place, unleſs lawful Cauſe obſtructs, they muſt take it in their Way, and aſſuming the Habit of the Order the Canons wore, devoutly to meet and conduct them into the Chapel; where, if it happens to be time of Divine Service, they are to hear the ſame; if not, they are to be detained no longer than while the Canons ſhall ſay the Pſalm de profundis for the Defunct, and during their own Offering: But if any had riden thro' the Town, without viſiting the Chapel and offering there, for every Neglect he muſt go one Mile on Foot from the ſaid Chapel, to ſhew his Obedience, and offer an Half-Penny in Honour of St. George.

17. UPON firſt Notice of the Death of any of the Or⯑der, the Sovereign ſhall ordain a Thouſand Maſſes, every Foreign Prince ſhall cauſe Eight Hundred, a Prince of Wales Seven Hundred, a Duk [...] Six Hun⯑dred, an Earl Three Hundred, every Baron Two Hundred, and every Knight Batchellor One Hundred Maſſes to be celebrated for the Good of the Soul departed; [137] which neglected for a Quarter of a Year after notice of ſuch Death, the Maſſes are to be doubled; upon half a Year's Neglect, again doubled; and ſo from Time to Time in like Form till the End of the Year, and then the Year's to be doubled.

18. UPON ſure Notice of the Death of a Knight-Companion, the Sovereign, or his Deputy, is to con⯑verſe by Letters, the Remainder [not Strangers] that are within the Kingdom, to meet him within Six Weeks in ſome convenient Place, and elect another; which aſ⯑ſembled, at leaſt Six, with the Sovereign or Deputy, e⯑very of them preſent is to name Nine of the worthieſt and ſufficienteſt Knights without Reproof that he knows, whether native Subjects or Foreigners, ſobeit they hold no contrary Party, or be againſt the Sove⯑reign, viz. Three Earls, or of ſublimer Title; Three Barons, and Three Knights Batchellors, which Names the Biſhop of Windſor, for the Time being, was to write, or, in his Abſence, the Dean or Regiſter, and, in their Abſence, the oldeſt Reſidencer in the College, and after ſhew them to the Sovereign, who is to chuſe out of them him that has the moſt Voices, and whom he eſteems the moſt beneficial to the Crown and King⯑dom. Every Knight failing to appear at an Election, without an approved Cauſe, was to pay to the Cuſtos and College the Penalty of a Mark, and at his next coming to the Chapter ſhall kneel upon the Ground, in the midſt of the Chapter, before the Sovereign or De⯑puty, until Reconciliation.

19. SOON after Election, the Knight-Companion elect is to have a Garter, in token of his Election, and that he is a Fellow of the Order; and as ſoon as decreed to take Poſſeſſion of his Stall, but not before, is to have a Mantle, which, if he dies before he receiv'd, he was not to be accounted as one of the Order, becauſe he wanted Poſſeſſion; nevertheleſs he was to have one half of the Maſſes aboveſaid, becauſe he had the Gar⯑ter deliver'd to him and nothing beſide. If he was not inſtalled within a Year after his receiving the Garter, and eſpecially if within the Realm, and without rea⯑ſonable Excuſe to be allowed of by the Sovereign or Deputy, his Election became void, and they might proceed [138] to a new one: Moreover, neither the Sword nor Helmet was to be put upon his Stall within the Caſtle, before his coming; to the End, that if the Knight elect came not, his Atchievements might not be unhandſomly taken down and abuſed, but honourably removed in⯑to the Choir for the publick Uſe and Profit of the ſaid College.

20. EVERY Foreigner elected was to have Certifica⯑tion of ſuch his Election from the Sovereign, at the Sovereign's Charge, who was to ſend him the Garter and the Mantle, and a Copy of the Statutes of the Or⯑der, under the Common Seal of the ſaid Order, with⯑in Four Months after the Election, the better for him to adviſe on; which being accepted, of whatſoever Con⯑dition he be, he was obliged within Eight Months after to ſend a ſufficient Proxy, according to his State and Dignity, a Knight irreprehenſible to be inſtalled in his Room, and who was to bring with him a Silk Mantle of the Blue Colour of the Order, alſo a Sword and Helmet to remain at Windſor, which Mantle was be put upon the right Shoulder of the Proxy, by the Sove⯑reign or Deputy at the time of Inſtallment, when he is introduced to take the Stall in the Name of his Lord and Maſter; neither was he to depoſite the ſame till the End of Divine Service; after which he was not to wear it, nor be admitted in the Chapter-Houſe, or have any Suffrage, by virtue of any Powers veſted in him; but this Favour Foreigners elected by Proxy were to have, that could not perſonally come themſelves, they were to be Partakers of the whole Maſſes and Oriſons of the Order; whereas, if they died before the Inſtallation, they were to have but a Moity of them.

21. UPON the Death of any Earl, [or of Superior Dignity] Baron, or Knight Batchellor, his Succeſſor, whether Earl, [or of Superior Dignity] Baron, or Knight, was to have a vacant Stall of his Pred [...]c [...]ſſor, without any changing of Places, except the Prince of Wales alone, who was to have always the next Stall, and oppoſite to the Sovereign; ſo that it may happen for a Knight to have an Earl's Place, or an Earl a Knight's Place; and this becauſe the firſt Founders might be [...]nown.

[139] 22. EVERY Knight-Companion at his firſt Entrance, was to give a certain Alms, according to their Eminence and Degree, for the perpetual Maintenance of the Ca⯑nons and Poor Knights, viz. the Sovereign Forty Marks, a Foreign King Twenty Pounds, a Prince of Wales Twenty Marks, a Duke Ten Pounds, an Earl Ten Marks, a Baron a Hundred Shillings, and a Knight Batchellor Five Marks, that by theſe pious Don [...]tions they might juſtly entitle themſelves to the Name and Privileges of the Order; wherefore, before theſe Pay⯑ments were rightly performed, their Sword and Helmet [Atchievements] were not to be hung up, and for Fo⯑reigners the Sovereign was obliged to pay himſelf.

23. UPON the Death of any of the Founders his Arms, in a Plate of Metal, was to be fixed upon the Back of his Stall, and their Succeſſors were to have the like, but to be placed underneath their Predeceſſors, and not to be ſo great as thoſe of the firſt Founders.

24. AT Admiſſion every Knight-Companion muſt promiſe and ſwear perſonally, or by Proxy, faithfully to obſerve the Statutes of the Order, and none are to be inſtalled by Proxy but Foreigners only, which can⯑not conveniently come in Perſon.

25. IF the Sovereign be out of England at the Inſtal⯑lation of any Knight-Companion, or could not attend himſelf to do what appertains to him in that Point, he might impower and authorize any of the Fellows to of⯑ficiate for him.

26. THAT there be a Common Seal or Signet Keeper, whom the Sovereign was to aſſign.

27. EVERY Knight-Companion was to have a Copy of the Statutes under the Seal of the Order, the Ori⯑ginal ſealed likewiſe with the ſaid Seal, to remain for evermore within the Treaſury of the College, and upon the Death of any Knight-Companion, his Executors were to ſend back ſuch Copy to be deliver'd to the Cu⯑ſtos or Warden.

28. NO Knight-Companion was to go out of the Realm and Dominion of England, without the Know⯑l [...]dge and Licence of the Sovereign, who of Grace and Favour is bound to grant it upon a Military Expedition, or other notable Act appertaining to the Honour of [140] Knighthood, in Preference and Advancement of this Order of St. George.

29. THEY were not to arm themſelves againſt each other, but in the Wars of their Sovereign Lord, in his right and juſt Quarrel; and if it happen'd that any of the Order ſhould be retain'd in the Cauſe and Quarrel of any Lord, and the adverſe Party deſir'd another Knight-Companion on his Side, that latter Knight isby no means to agree but to excuſe himſelf in all Things, becauſe his Fellow was armed on the other Side, and was retain'd before him. And every Knight was bound to except and agree, at his being retain'd, that he may have his Diſcharge from the Wars, upon any of the Order's being engaged in Arms before him for the con⯑trary Party; and if the ſecond retained knows not of it, upon notice that any of his Fellows were retained be⯑fore him, and armed on the contrary Side, the ſecond retained Knight was to excuſe himſelf to his Maſter, and relinquiſh the Quarrel.

30. ALL Licences given to the Knight-Companions to travel in queſt of Honour by Military Exploits; alſo all Certificates, mandatous Letters, Certificates, and o⯑ther Writings whatſoever relating to the Order, were to be iſſued out by the Sovereign, under the Seal of the Order, to remain in the keeping of one of the Order, during the Sovereign's Pleaſure. And if the Keeper of the Seal abſent himſelf upon reaſonable Cauſe, he was to leave the Seal with another of the Fellowſhip that the Sovereign ſhould appoint, to the Intent that the Seal at no time be out of the Preſence of the Sove⯑reign, he being within his Dominion. And in like manner concerning the Seal in the Abſence of the Sove⯑reign or the Deputy.

31. IF any Knight-Companion for Devotion ſake ſhould deſire to dwell at Windſor, he was to maintain himſelf at his own, and not at the College Charge.

32. ANY other Knight, not of the Order, upon the Account of Devotion, that would reſide there, was to be provided for at the Appointment of the Sovereign, and the Fellowſhip alſo. Any Knight or other Perſon giving 10 l. yearly Rents or Lands, or more, to the College, to participat [...] of their Prayers and Suffrages, [141] he was to be regiſtred in the Calendar of Benefactors, and continually be pray'd for by the Canons and Poor Knights.

33. UPON the Death of any Canon, the Cuſtos or Warden is to certify the ſame by Letters to the Sove⯑reign, if beyond Sea, to know whom he pleaſes to pre⯑ſent to the Canonſhip.

34. THERE was to be a Regiſter appointed by the Sovereign and Fellowſhip, the moſt intelligent Perſon of the College, who was to be preſent at the Chapters, to record their Elections and the Electors, their Puniſh⯑ments, and Cauſes of them, with their Reconciliations, all Acts whatſoever adminiſtred in their Council, from Chapter to Chapter yearly; for the faithful Execution of which Office he was to be ſworn at his Admiſſion therein; and whatſoever had been regiſter'd was in the Beginning of the following Chapter, on the Vigils of St. George, to be publickly recited before the Sovereign and the whole Fellowſhip, that what was amiſs and incorrect might be mended and reduced to due Form.

§ 2. BESIDES theſe Statutes there are Two other Bodies, or Exemplars eſtabliſh'd ſince, the one by King Henry V. the other by King Hen. VIII. King Henry V. finding the Glory of the Order declining, removed the Grand Feſtival and other Solemnities, and commanded a ſtrict Obſervation of all the Founder's Statutes, and brought many more to like Perfection, which he ſub⯑joined to ſuch of them, where they might be prop [...]rly and are as follow:

To Article

• 3. That the Knights ſhould mark their Obeiſance in the Choir firſt to the Altar, and next to the Sovereign, or in his Ab⯑ſence to his Stall.
• 8. THAT the Deputy ſhould [...]lect, if the Sovereign (when abroad) had not Six Knights with him.
• 9. THAT the Feaſt of St. George ſhould not be kept upon St. Mark's Day, nor the Days of St. Philip and Jacob, nor of the [142] Holy Croſs, neither upon any Days whic [...] ſhould happen in the Feſtivals of th Aſcenſion or Pentecoſt, or other ſolem [...] Feaſts ordained by the Church to the in⯑terrupting their Divine Service.
• 12. THAT when a Knight ſhould rid [...] out he might wear a Blue Silk Ribbon in⯑ſtead of his Garter.
• 14. THAT the Order and Manner o [...] Offering up the Atchievements ſhould b [...] as is there preſcribed, viz. before the [...] offer their Money, their Swords ſhould b [...] firſt offered by Two Companions, which the Sovereign or his Deputy ſhould ap⯑point, and afterwards their Helmets with their Creſts, by Two others of the Order.
• 20. THAT Knights abſent in the Sove⯑reign's Service might be inſtall'd by De⯑puty.
• 31. THAT the Sovereign ſhould take a Signet of the Order abroad with him, to be fixed to all the Acts he does in Foreign Parts relating to this Order, in Diſtinction to thoſe done at home.
• 34. THAT no Charge ſhould be admitted upon the College by the Cuſtos or Canons, without the Sovereign's Conſent likewiſe.

THE Statutes with theſe Additions (as the Statutes of Inſtitution) this King cauſed to be tranſlated into French, and tranſcribed into a Roll, which was ordered to be preſented to every Knight-Companion under the com⯑mon Seal of the Order. In after Times it was tran⯑ſcribed into Books; and by a Decree, Anno [...] Hen. VII. an Original Book of theſe Statutes and Inſtitution [...], fair written, was to be repoſed in the College of St. G [...]org [...], and the Scribe or Regiſter to have Tranſcripts of them in Readineſs, to preſent the elected Knights withal.

THE laſt and largeſt Body was firſt began, and re⯑ceived the finiſhing S [...]roke by King Hen. VIII. chiefly in regard ſome of the former Statutes wanted Explication [143] and others Contraction. And for the compleating of which Purpoſe, on St. George's Day, Anno 9 Regni ſui he ſummoned all the Knights-Companions to convene next Year at the Time of the Solemnity, about the Ab⯑rogation of what tended to darken the Honour of this Order (if any ſuch were) and for the Advancement of what might promote the Grandeur and Luſtre of it. But theſe Reſolves came to no Perfection till May 28. Anno 11 Regni ſui, when he entred upon this Reforma⯑tion with all magnificent Ceremony imaginable, for be⯑ing accompanied with Nineteen Knights-Companions of the Order proceeding in Cavalcade to the Chapter-Houſe, and taking into Conſideration their former Statutes of Knights-Companions, with all due Reve⯑rence implor'd the Sovereign to reform and explain them as he ſhould think convenient, which he brought to a ſucceſsful Period, by the Advice and Conſent of the Society aſſembled: That done, all preſent entreated the Sovereign, kneeling, that where any of them had been peccant againſt the Order, he would pleaſe to re⯑mit, and iſſue out a general Pardon, which he granted and ratify'd in Chapter next Day. This was a Task of Three Years compleat before it roſe to Perfection, viz. April 23. Anno 14 Hen. VIII. for then the Sovereign, out of right ſingular Love, well-temper'd Zeal, and entire Affection to this moſt noble Order, to the Eſtate of Chivalry, and the Continuance and Encreaſe thereof; as alſo at the humble Requeſt and inſtant Importunity of the then Knights-Companions, and by their Ad⯑vice, Counſel and Conſent, did interpret and eluci⯑date all the Obſcurities, Doubts and Ambiguities of the former Statutes and Ordinances. Divers Affairs contain'd in Fifty of them being explain'd and amended; he made likewiſe neceſſary Additions, the Original whereof being ſign'd and ſeal'd, were commanded to be carefully laid up in the Treaſury of Windſor Col⯑lege, to remain as a Standard to ſucceeding Times; yet they have not been ſeen there theſe many Years paſt.

THE Articles and Clauſes added to the former Sta⯑ [...]utes, in this laſt Body, are theſe:

[144]To Article

• 1. THAT the Interpretation of the Statutes, &c. belongeth to the Sove⯑reign.
• 2. THE Three Points of Reproach de⯑clar'd, and what is meant by a Gentle⯑man of Blood.
• 4. OF the Prerogative of the Feaſt.
• 5. HOW the Feaſt is to be obſerved by abſent Knights.
• 6. ATTENDANCE on the Sovereign, if he be not at the Feaſt.
• 7. THAT the Sovereign's Deputy may correct Things in Chapter.
• 12. THE offering up of Atchievements, and a Taper arm'd with an Eſcutcheon.
• 13. CANONS to ſit in the lower Stalls, when any Knights are preſent.
• 14. THAT Six Knights make a Chap⯑ter.
• 20. THE Manner of Inſtallation ſet down.
• 21. CLAUSE for a Foreign Knight's Deputy to be conducted from the Chap⯑ter-Houſe to the Stall; and for making an Election void, if the Knight ſend not his Proxy within Seven Months.
• 23. FOR advancing and tranſlating of Stalls.
• 25. PLATES not to be larger than the firſt Founders, except Strangers.
• 27. THE Time Three Months prefix'd for the Executor of a deceas'd Knight-Companion to ſend back the Copy of the Orders deliver'd to him at his Admiſſion, which might be alſo ſent to one of the principal Officers of the Order.
• 38. CONCERNING the Collar of the Order.

THIS Body of Statutes was compil'd in Latin, and is recorded in the Black Book of the Order. It was tran⯑ſlated into French and Engliſh by Sir Thomas Wriotheſl [...]y, [145] Kt. then Garter King of Arms. The Engliſh Verſion annex'd here to this Treatiſe, is what hath ſince been deliver'd (inſtead of the former Statutes) to all ſuc⯑ceeding Knights-Companions, according to the Injun⯑ction; but of late Times appointed to be ſent to Fo⯑reign Princes and other elect Knights abroad, ſealed with the Great Seal of the Order, affix'd to a Label of Blue Silk and Gold.

§ 3. THERE have been ſeveral Endeavours ſince the Reign of King Henry VIII. for reforming the Statutes. As firſt, King Edward VI. who as Sovereign, by the Orders themſelves, had an undoubted Prerogative ſet him to alter and reform many Things which ſeem'd inconſiſtent with the Religion he eſtabliſh'd. To which Purpoſe, at a Chapter at Greenwich, held April 23. in the Third Year of his Reign, the Lord St. John, the Earl of Arundel, and Sir William Paget, were to peruſe and make them agreeable to the King's other Proceed⯑ings, by the Aſſiſtance and Advice of the Protector, the Duke of Somerſet, and other Companions. This was follow'd by a ſubſequent Order paſs'd in the Cha [...]ter at Greenwich the Year after, that the Statutes ſhould be reform'd and corrected as they thought expedient: And for the better Accompliſhment of their Deſign, at the next Feaſt, April 24. 5 Edw. VI. another Order commenc'd, impowering the Duke of Somerſet, the Mar⯑queſs of Northampton, the Earls of Warwick, Arundel, Bedford and Wi [...]ts, to peruſe and amend the Statures and other Books of the Order, which were brought to ſome tolerable Degree of Perfection; for thereupon a new Body was collected (in general very much alter⯑ing the Laws of the Order) and publiſh'd March 17. Anno 7 Edw. VI. But this King within Four Months after expiring, Queen Mary, his Siſter and Succeſſor, the very firſt Thing ſhe tranſacted was to abrogate and make them void; wherefore we need not mention them, as never in uſe and unrevived. For the Execu⯑tion of which Purpoſe, ſhe conven'd a Chapter at St. James's, the 27th of September following; and it was then decreed, that the ſaid Laws and Ordinances, as inconvenient, impertinent, and tending to Novelty, [146] ſhould be diſannulled, and no Account to be made of them for the future; and for the quicker Execution, Sir William Petre (that Day admitted Chancellor) had Or⯑ders to ſee them ſpeedily expung'd out of the Book of Statutes, and forthwith defac'd, leſt any Memory of them ſhould remain to Poſterity; and only thoſe of her Father, Hen. VIII. and his Royal Predeceſſors, ſhould be retain'd.

IN this Affair King Philip, her Husband, appear'd no leſs zealous; for on the 5th of Auguſt, 1 and 2 Philip and Mary, (which was the 3d Day after he had been inveſted with the Habit) himſelf being preſent at a Chapter at Windſor, it was ordain'd, That all Acts and Decrees in the Great Book, [i.e. the Black Book afore⯑ſaid] which were repugnant and diſagreeable, either with the ancient and receiv'd Statutes of the Order, or elſe with the Laws of the Realm, ſhould clearly be aboliſh'd and eraſed, by the Marquis of Wincheſter, the Earls of Arund [...]l, Pembroke, and the Lord Paget.

No ſooner was Queen Elizabeth fix'd on the Throne, but ſoon after, viz. on St. George's Day, in the ſecond Year of her Reign, a View of the Statutes was com⯑mitted, by Commiſſion, to Four of the Knights-Com⯑panions, viz. the Marquis of Northampton, the Earls of Arundel and Pembroke, and the Lord Howard of Effing⯑ham, who were thereby impower'd to peruſe and con⯑ſider thoſe Statutes with the utmoſt Care and regard, if any of them were repugnant to the Religion, Laws and Statutes of the Realm; and if any ſuch were re⯑corded, to repreſent them faithfully to the Sover [...]ign, that ſhe, in Conjunction with the Knights-Companions, might eſtabliſh ſuch Decrees concerning them as ſhe ſhould think ſit; but that any thing was done in pur⯑ſuance hereunto, doth not appear; for the Tranſcripts of her Father's Body of the Statutes, throughout the Time of her Reign, were preſented to the Kn [...]ghts-Companions at their Inſtailations; and the Practice of her Time was purſuant to the Direction therein, except in ſome few Things now and then added or alter'd at future Chapters, when there aroſe freſh Matters for ſuch Expedients.

[147] KING James I. her Succeſſor, revolv'd ſomething to⯑wards a new Regulation; and in order to put it in Execution, the 14th of May, in the 9th Year of his Reign, decreed, That Commiſſionary Letters ſhould be granted to the Earls of Nottingham, Worceſter, Pem⯑broke and Northampton, to empower them to examine the Regiſters and other Monuments which pertained to that Order; and where any Paſſage ſhould be found obſolete or obſcure, to make it conſpicuous and clear; where Contrariety appear'd, fitly to reconcile it; yet with no Deſign of innovating any Thing, but an Inten⯑tion of renewing all, as near as might be, to the firſt Standard and moſt ancient Inſtitution of the Order; ſaving always Power to himſelf, as Sovereign of the Order, to add or diminiſh any Matter (according to the Occaſion) as it ſhould ſeem agreeable to his Pru⯑dence for the Honour of this Moſt Noble Order. What Progreſs they made in this Commiſſion, the Memoirs of that Time are [...]ſilent in; but ſome few Years after, this Affair was reviv'd, and another was iſſu'd forth, to the Earls of Nottingham, Worc [...]ſter, South⯑ampton, Arundel and Montgomery, and the Viſcount Liſle, all Knights-Companions, dated April 26. in the 16th Year of his Reign; which Six, or any Four of them, were thereby conſtituted to take an exact Survey of all the ancient Statutes and Articles of the ſaid Order; and authoriz'd to call before them all ſuch Perſons, whe⯑ther Officers of the ſaid Order, or others, as could give any Light or Information concerning that Affair; and after a ſerious Deliberation, to pen down what in them they conceiv'd meet to be explain'd, and what to be added, whereby to render the Order more illuſtri⯑ous, that the ſame being preſented to the Sovereign and the Society, at a Chapter holden, might be reſolv'd on in part, or in all, to be put in Ex [...]cution, if it ſeem'd ſo good to that King.

THIS Affair mov'd very ſlowly; but towards the latter End of his Reign, the Earls of Worceſter, Mont⯑gomery, Arundel, Surry and Le [...]ceſter, Five of the Six Commiſſioners above-nam'd, having held divers Con⯑ferences, and debated ſeveral Matters repreſented to them, and at a Chapter convened at Whitehall the 19th [148] of May, Anno 20 Jac. I. did preſent to the Sovereign certain Articles, ſubſcribed with their Hands, which, for the Honour of the Order, they thought requiſite to be duly obſerv'd.

BY the firſt of which they made Proviſion for a fur⯑ther Progreſſion and Advancement of the illuſtrious In⯑ſtitution, in propoſing, that every Year a Commiſſion from the Sovereign ſhould be granted, or continu'd to ſuch Knights of the Order as the Chapter ſhould pitch on, to deliberate and weigh all Affairs that fell under the Order, and that the Year after, an Eſtimate, by the Knights in Chapter, ſhould be exhibited, of their Re⯑ſolutions and Proceedings by Virtue of the ſaid Com⯑miſſion. This, with Eight other Articles, were con⯑firm'd by the Sovereign and Twelve of the Knights-Companions, the 22d of May following, in a Chapter held at Whitehall; and ſo proſperouſly their Endeavours ſucceeded, that on the Feaſt-day of St. George, at Windſor in the enſuing Year, the Earl of Worceſter, (being then the Sovereign-Deputy) with Ten Knights-Companions more, gave their aſſent to Eight other Articles (moſt of them concerning the Alms-Knights) which the Morning after had the Approbation of the Sovereign; and before the Celebration of Divine Service, by his Deputy and Companions aſſembled in the Chapter-Houſe, the Obſervation thereof was duly decreed.

KING Charles I. deſign'd and endeavour'd the moſt compleat and abſolute Reformation of any of his Pre⯑deceſſors; and at the Solemnity of St. George, held at Windſor the 6th of October, in the 6th Year of his Reign, He commiſſion'd Nine Knights-Companions, viz. the Earls of Mulgrave, Pembroke, Montgomery, Arund [...]l, Surry, Salisbury, Carliſle, Dorſet, Holland, Berkſhire and Suffolk, with command to aſſemble Four Times in a Year, to take into their Conſideration the Affairs of the Order; all which, but the Earls of Mulgrave and Dorſet, met at Whitehall the 2d of January following, where ſome few Matters fell under their Conſultation. This Commiſ⯑ſion was ſeconded by one of a larger extent about Three Months after, and directed to the ſaid Knights-Companions, or to any Eight, Seven, Six, Five or Four of them, empowering them to meet and deviſe, [149] and exactly preponderate all the Statutes and Ordinan⯑ces of the Order, as well ſuch as were eſtabliſhed at the Foundation, as thoſe that had been ſince made, by Explanation or Addition, and to weigh adviſedly whe⯑ther any Thing had been enacted, that had cauſed Doubt or Ambiguity, or ſtood in need of any Change or Amendment; and if upon mature Deliberation by them thus conven'd, there ſhould appear any Contrariety or Defect, for want of plain Expreſſion, or other Omiſſi⯑on, fit to be ſupplied, tending to the Honour of the Order, That then the Sovereign might, upon Return of their Proceedings, reſolve upon ſome general Decla⯑ration in Chapter, to reform and reduce into one Body all the Statutes and Ordinances thereof, that the ſame being compil'd and ſettled in one perfect Model, might be ſo conſign'd to Poſterity, free from all future Queſti⯑ons and Doubts.

NEVER THELESS not any thing was done upon this Commiſſion, tho' it ſtood in force even from the 6th to the 13th Year of this King's Reign; but where the Neglect lay Hiſtory does not fully inform us, tho' it may be conjectur'd by what follows.

AT the Feaſt of St. G [...]orge, celebrated by Prorogation at White-hall, for the Year 1636. upon the 17th, 18th, and 19th Days of April, 1637. divers Petitions for Re⯑formation, and reducing of Matters to their priſtine Conſtitution, were preſented to the Sovereign by the Chancellor, and read; ſome of which, more eſpecial⯑ly, tending to ſet off and encreaſe the Honour of the Order, were received and decreed by the Sovereign, and the reſt referr'd to the ſaid Knights-Commiſſioners. The firſt of thoſe Decrees which at that time had its Sanction, was to revive and renew the Powers given in the former Commiſſion; and thereupon a new one, dated the 7th of May following, was iſſued under the Great Seal of the Order, and directed to the Earls of Mulgrave, Darby, Pembroke, and Montgomery, Arundel, and Surry, Kelly, Salisbury, Dorſet, Holland, Barkshire, Suffolk, Lyndſey, Exeter, Marquiſs Hamilton, Duke of Lenox, the Earls of Darby, Moreton, and Northumberland, or to Three or more of them, to meet and conſult of any Matters contain'd in the Statutes, or for Honour of [150] the Order. Theſe Knights-Commiſſioners were en⯑dow'd with all the plenary Powers given in the foreſaid Commiſſion, dated 6 Car. I. unto which was granted a further Addition, for the better effecting the Sovereign's Care: That Three or more of them ſhould meet at the Sovereign's Court, and begin to put the ſaid Com⯑miſſion in execution in Whitſon Week next enſuing, at⯑tended and aſſiſted by the Chancellor of the Order, and all, or any other Officers, or ſuch of them as they ſhould fix on, or find ſerviceable. And being aſſem⯑bled, to have free Liberty to hear, propound, and de⯑bate of whatſoever ſhall fall under their Cogniſance, or that they ſhould conceive conducible to the Honour and perfect Eſtabliſhment of ſo Illuſtrious and Noble a Body. And to prepare all Matters of ſuch their Re⯑ſolutions and Debates to be laid before the Sovereign at the next Feaſt of St. George, and ſo ſucceſſively at e⯑very Chapter ſo appointed by him, to receive his full Determination, Approbation, and Royal Aſſent, with further Power to adjourn from time to time, after the firſt Opening and Reading of the ſaid Commiſſion; their Meetings to be in ſuch Places, and on ſuch Days as ſhould ſeem moſt convenient to them.

NOW who wou'd ſuppoſe, that after ſo Noble an In⯑tention of the Sovereign, and his earneſt Solicitude to iſſue forth a ſecond Commiſſion, his hearty recom⯑mending and exciting their Deligence for a ſpeedy Diſ⯑patch, and laſtly, his expecting an Account of their Tranſactions the next Feaſt, theſe honourable Perſons, Companions of the Order, ſhould need a Spur to ac⯑compliſh ſo laudable a Deſign; but it was ſo.

FOR altho' the Commiſſion was opened at White-hall the 30th of May following, in the Preſence of the Earls of Pembroke and Montgomery, Salishury, Holland, Marquiſs of Hamilton, and Duke of Lenox, Commiſſi⯑oners; yet Sir Thomas Row Chancellor, in his Letter to Dr. Chriſtopher Wren, dated the 4th of June, 1637. ſad⯑ly complained, That it was much as he could do to draw together Five of the Knights-Companions, to o⯑pen and read the Commiſſion, and this quaſi in [...]ranſi [...], was in Confuſion and Hurry, and all that was tranſacted was to appoint another Convention at Court in M [...]ſummer [151] Week then next enſuing, and charge the Chan⯑cellor to prepare Matter (for Propoſitions and Obſerva⯑tions upon the Statutes) fit for their Conſultations a⯑gainſt that Appointment, according to the Tenor of the Commiſſion. And in another Place writes, That he found ſuch Difficulty to procure Meetings, and as cer⯑tain non Chalance in every one, as if it were but a cere⯑monious Affair, and ſo few hearty in it, that he feared he and the Officers ſhould wait to little Purpoſe: And ſo indeed it fell out; for albeit he att [...]nded in Midſummer Week, according to their Direction, yet there was no⯑thing diſpatch'd, ſave only the adjourning of their Meeting to London.

SOME little Progreſs was afterwards made in this Af⯑fair at White-hall the 8th of February following, where Three of them were preſent, viz. the Earls of B [...]rk⯑ſhire, Lindſey, and Northumberland, who order'd the Chancellor, Regiſter, and Garter, to prepare an Abbre⯑viation of the Statutes, and reduce every thing of one Head into an Act, to keep up to Method, and avoid Confuſion.

THE 1ſt of February after, another Aſſembly of Seven of the Knights-Commiſſioners was held at White-hall, in whoſe Preſence a few Points were debated; but little or nothing concluded.

§ 4. As concerning the Annals of the Order, or the Books wherein the ſeveral Reſolutions and Decrees oc⯑caſionally made in Chapters, and wherein other hiſto⯑rical and ceremonial Matters relating to it are recorded, [...]t will not be amiſs to give ſome Account of them in this Place.

THE firſt, in Order of time, is an old Paper Book written in French, call'd Regiſtrum Chartaceum, hitherto fortunately preſerv'd in the Paper Office at White-hall, which probably was b [...]gun by John Coningham; for we find him, 1414. (a little before the Annals commenced) made Canon of Windſor, and Regiſter of the Or⯑der, and in regard the ſame Hand-Writing is carry'd on from the Beginning of the Book down to 16 Hen. VI. incluſive, where follows an Hi [...]tus till Anno 23 Hen. VI. that the Annals began to be ſet down with another [152] Hand; and that he ſhortly after died in 1445. Hence⯑forward theſe Annals are entred with promiſcuous Hands, which may be preſumed the proper Hand-Writings of the Regiſters of this Noble Order, as they ſucceeded each other in the Office.

AFTER we find Richard Sidnor mention'd in the Regiſter Anno 16 Hen. VIII. (who ſubſcribed his Name at the foot of every Leaf) the Annals were pen'd in one Hand until Anno 26 Hen. VIII. that Robert A [...]drydge, D. D. and one of the Canons of Windſor ſucceeded him; and then 'tis evident the Writing alſo was changed to an old ſet Roman Hand, which ran on to the End of 29 Hen. VIII. in which Year he was advanced to the Biſhoprick of Carliſle; and this Book breaks off in the 31ſt of his Reign.

BESIDES this there is another Book that goes by the Name of the Black Book, wherein the Annals of the Order are tranſcribed in Latin, concerning which there paſs'd a Decree, Anno 3 Hen. VII. that it ſhould be fairly copy'd out, and afterwards that the Sovereign ſhould be put in Remembrance of it; but neither of theſe De⯑crees was put in execution, nor was this confirm'd till towards the End of the Reign of King Henry VIII. This Book differs very little from the Regiſtrum Chartaceum, for therein is nothing enrolled relating to the Order (except one of the Exemplars of the Founders Statutes, and a Catalogue of the firſt Twenty-five Knights-Companions) before the 4th Year of King Henry V. the Annals of the Order, until that time, be⯑ing entirely loſt. It hath the ſame Hiatus or Intervals from 16 to 23 Hen. VI. from 7 to 10 of Edw. 4. from 4 to 7 Hen. VII. and from 10 to 14 Hen. 7. It alſo runs parallel therewith for the moſt part, and that it was compil'd by Dr. Aldrydge, whilſt he continu'd Regiſter, is collected from ſome Paſſages in the Preface of all the Sovereigns, ending with King Henry VIII. The Tran⯑ſcription of this Book was finiſh'd Anno 13 Hen. VIII. for ſo far is written, as alſo the Appendix, with one and the ſame Hand; (in a middle-ſiz'd Text) but Anno [...]2 Hen. VIII. another Hand appears, which, with ſome Variation, is continu'd to the End of 5 Edw. VI. where this Book breaks off.

[153] THE Regiſter of the Order was oblig'd to provide Two Books, and therein to enter the Ordinances, Statutes, and Acts of this Noble Corporation, one to be lodg'd at the Chapter Houſe at Windſor, and call'd, Index Windeſorienſis, and the other being a Duplicate of the former, to remain in his own Cuſtody, ready to expoſe to the View of the Sovereign, whenſoever he ſhould demand it; this latter was called Aulae Regiſtrum.

AS to the general Directions for Compiling theſe Books, and the Particulars they are to conſiſt of, we are inform'd from the ſaid Statutes and Conſtitutions; for beſides the Entry of all the Scrutinies taken in Chapter and Elections made thereupon, it is his Office to record the Penalties inflicted on Knights-Compa⯑nions, and the Reconciliation of all Delinquents with other Acts, and their Cauſes appertaining to the Order, all which are decreed to be recited before the Sove⯑reign and Knights-Companions at the Beginning of the Chapter yearly, if Occaſion be, to correct and reduce into Method. Moreover he is to record all the Policies in War, Exploits, Tranſactions, and memorable Atchievements, both of the Sovereign and Knights-Companions, according as he can beſt attain the Know⯑ledge of them, by his own diligent Search, or the Aſ⯑ſiſtance of Mr. Garter, which having conſign'd to Wri⯑ting from Year to Year, is to be peruſed at the next Chapter by the Knights-Companions, for their Appro⯑bation and Correction; and being reiterated the ſecond time in the Chapter, he is to ſee that they be fairly en⯑groſſed in the ſaid Book, for a perpetual Remem⯑brance.

AND becauſe the time perfix'd for Rehearſal of theſe Particulars in Chapter, had in ſucceeding Years been imploy'd in other Affairs. In one of thoſe Articles which the Knights-Companions exhibited to King Jac. I. the 19th of May, Anno Jac. R. 20. and rati⯑fied the 22d of May following, it was decreed that no⯑thing of this Nature, or any other Act in Chapter, ſhould be regiſtred before it had been perus'd and paſs'd the Conſideration of the then Knights-Companions, or at leaſt Four of them, who when they ſhould ſet Times apart to conſult of the Affairs of this Order (for which [154] they were chiefly commiſſion'd) might then alſo make Uſe of ſuch Opportunities as ſhould give this Buſineſs Diſpatch with more Conveniency. Upon mature Conſi⯑deration had of thoſe Injunctions, the then Regiſter at a Chapter held 19 Nov. 22 Car. II. preſented the Conti⯑nuation of the Annals of this Order, which he had ranged in order to regiſter in the Liber Carolinus, and ſubmitted them to the Approbation of the Knights-Companions, whom the Sovereign had commiſſion'd to inſpect the Affairs of the Order; which Tender, when they declin'd, he propos'd that it might paſs the Exa⯑mination of the Prelate; but they not giving the ir Aſ⯑ſent to it, in regard the Regiſter himſelf was under the Obligation of an Oath, to deal with the utmoſt Fi⯑delity in his Reports, it was decreed, That the ſaid Annals ſhould be fairly recorded in the Book, without any further Inſpection.

BESIDES the abovemention'd Particulars, there were Materials of another Nature, decreed to be collected by the Chancellor of the Order and Garter King of Arms, to be digeſted firſt, and after entred by the Re⯑giſter; for whereas one part of the Chancellor's Duty was to make a Narration every Year in Chapter, at the Feaſt of St. George, of the illuſtrious Exploits of the Knights-Companions, as well as the Actions that tend to eclipſe their Glory; ſo the Regiſter was to note theſe, and record them from a perpetual Aera or Memorial of their Honour or Diſgrace.

AND it is part of Garter's Duty diligently to enquire after the Valiant, Fortunate, and Renown'd Acts, both of the Sovereign and the reſt of the Knights-Compani⯑ons, and relate them with all Exactneſs to the Regiſter, for his Engroſſing: But how ſparingly theſe are put in execution, the Annals themſelves bear witneſs. How⯑ever, Sir Edward Walker Garter-King has drawn up an Account of the ſhining Actions and Characters of the Knights-Companions, beginning with Thomas Earl of Strafford, and continuing it down to his Son, which he deliver'd Dr. Ryves the Regiſter, for the Uſe afore⯑directed.

AMONG the Articles eſtabliſh'd at the Feaſt of St. George, 21 Jac. I. the laſt is, That the then Regiſter [155] ſhould compoſe a Book, wherein ſhould be orderly tran⯑ſcribed the Form and Manner of all the Solemn [...]ties, Ce⯑remonies, and Proceſſions, at the Celebration of the Or⯑der; as alſo of taking down and offering the defunct Knight's A [...]chievements, that the Knights-Companions might have free Recourſe to it; but ſuch Book never was extant.

For the Safety and Preſervation of the Annals, the Knights-Commiſſioners determined the 22d of May, An. Jac. I. 20. That a ſecure and convenient Place within the Caſtle of Windſor ſhould be appointed, in which all Acts concerning the Order ſhould be repoſed, and to which every Knight-Companion at all times might have acceſs. And upon the Remove or Deceaſe of the Regiſter of the Order, the Book, containing the Account of all ſuch Tranſactions, ſhould be committed to one of the Knights of the Order.

The ſecond of theſe Books is called the Blue Book, ſo call'd, being bound in Blue Velvet; it begins with the firſt Year of Queen Mary, and ends at the 18th of King Jac. I.

The third being bound in Red Velvet, is denominated the Red Book; it commences where the Blue Book leaves off, and treats of the like Acts and Entries, and is carry'd down to 14 Car. I. having firſt given a full Account of the Inſtallation of the Prince, afterwards King Charles II. And as to great part of this Work, it was perform'd by the elegant and judicious Dr. Matthew Wren, Biſhop of Ely, and Regiſter of the Order, whoſe excellent Pattern his Brother and Succeſſor Dr. Chriſtopher W [...]en hath co⯑py'd in its following Tract. This Biſhop compiled a MS. A. D. 1631. wherein, by way of Comment upon King Henry VIII's Statutes, he hath com [...]endiouſly ſhewn what Alteration there hath paſſed in the Law of the Garter, a Work performed with great Judgment, and exce [...]dingly uſeful to the Curious.

The fourth and laſt Book is, Liber Carolinus, and com⯑mences 1640. wherein the Annals are brought down to the beginning of 1670. by Ryves, then Regiſter. And in a Chapter conven'd at Windſor the 16th of April, Anno 1 [...] Car. II. it was decreed, That there ſhould be Two of theſe Books compiled, the one printed in Latin, in the Cuſtos of the Regiſter at Windſor; and the other in [156] Engliſh, to be reſerv'd at Whitehall, and call'd, Regiſtrum Aulicum.

THE Habit and Enſigns of this moſt Noble Order are moſt eminently diſtinguiſhable and magnifi⯑cent, and conſiſt of theſe Particulars, viz. Garter, Mantle, Surcoat, Hood, George, and Collar; for as the Romans were very exact and particular in aſſigning each Degree a peculiar Habit and Veſture, by which the Qua⯑lity and Rank of their Citizens might be diſcernable, the Diſtinction of Apparel was afterwards taken up by divers other Nations, whence every Military, as well as Eccle⯑ſiaſtick Order of Knighthood, did appropriate to it ſelf a peculiar Dreſs, Enſign, or Badge, as a Mark of Diſtin⯑ction one from another, to ſet off the Luſtre and Honour of their ſeveral Societies.

The four firſt, viz. the Garter, Mantle, Surcoar, and Hood, were aſſigned the Knights Companions, by the Founder, and the George and Collar by King Henry VIII. and all theſe together are called the whole Habit or En⯑ſigns of the Order, which we ſhall treat of ſuccinctly, beginning with the Garter.

The Royal Garter challengeth the Preheminence, for from it this famous Order receiv'd its Denomination: It is the firſt part of the Habit preſented to Foreign Princes [...]nd Abſent Knights, and that wherewith they, and all other elect Knights, are firſt adorn'd; and of ſo great Honour and Grandeur, that by the bare Inveſtiture with this Noble Enſign, the Knights are eſteem'd Companions of the greateſt Military Order in the World.

The Materials whereof it was compos'd at firſt, is an A [...]canum; nor is it deſcribed by any before Polydore Vi [...]gil, and he but in general: As to the ornamental Part of it, it was adorn'd with Gold and precious Stones, and had a Buckle of Gold at the End, to faſten it about

[157] the Leg; but there's no doubt but it was wrought with rich Embroidery, and the Motto rais'd with Gold, Pearl, and ſundry Sorts of Silk, as may be gueſs'd from the Garters anciently plac'd on the left ſide of the Knights-Companions Mantles, and thoſe other little embroider'd Garters, wherewith their Surcoats and Hoods were heretofore embelliſh'd.

BUT of thoſe wrought in the laſt Age, we have more particular Satisfaction; for we find the Garter ſent to Emanuel Duke of Savoy, Anno 1 and 2 Philip and Mary, was ſet with Letters of Goldſmith's Work, the Buckle and Pendant of the ſame, and on the Pendant a Ruby, and a Pearl hanging at the End. The Garter made for Francis II. Anno 6 Elizabeth, was richly wrought with Letters of Gold, ſet off and garniſh'd with Stones, the Buckle and Pendant weighing Three Ounces and an half-quarter, was richly ſet with Rubies and Dia⯑monds. The French King Henry IV. had a Garter of Purple Velvet embroider'd with Letters of Gold, and deck'd out with Diamonds and Rubies. And the Gar⯑ter of Chriſtian IV. King of Denmark, was embroider'd with Gold and Pearls: But that Garter ſent to Guſtavus Adolphus King of Sweden, outvied all others conferr'd by former Sovereigns, each Letter of the Motto being compos'd of ſmall Diamonds; and for every Stop, a Diamond within a Range of Diamonds, above and be⯑low, on the ſides of the Garter, and beſides other Dia⯑monds on the Buckle, and about the ſame, to the Num⯑ber in all of 411.

THE Garter which King Charles I. wore upon his Leg at the Time of his Martyrdom, had the Letters of the Motto compos'd likewiſe of Diamonds, which amount⯑ed to the Number of 412. It came to the Hands of Captain Preſton (one of the Uſurper's Captains) from whom the Truſtees, for Sale of the King's Goods, re⯑ceiv'd it, and ſold it to Ireton, ſometimes Lord Mayor of London, for 205 l. But after the Reſtoration, the King's Attorney-General proceeding upon an Action of Trover and Converſion, Verdict was given for the King againſt him for 205 l. and 10 l. coſts of Suits, in Trinity Term, 16 Car. II.

[158] THE Motto of King Charles II. was ſet with Dia⯑monds upon Blue Velvet, and the Borders wrought with fine Gold Wire; the Diamonds which framed the Letters of the Motto, were Roſe Diamonds, much of a Size or Proportion; but thoſe which framed the Stops, Table-Diamonds; the Total which ſet each Let⯑ter, compos'd the Stops, Ilot Holes, and adorn'd the Buckle; the Table was Two Hundred and Fifty; the Hinge of the Buckle was pure Gold, and on it the So⯑vereign's Picture to the Breaſt, curiouſly cut in Flat⯑ſtitch, crown'd with a Laurel and the military Garb of the firſt Roman Emperors; the Table or Pendant was Gold, and on the back-ſide thereof engrav'd St. George on Horſe-back encountring the Dragon.

THIS noble Enſign, the Garter, was at the Erection of the Order appointed to be wore on the left Leg, a little beneath the Knee, which Uſage ſtill preſides: And the placing it thus, on the Sepulchral Portraictures of Knights-Companions, was an early Cuſtom; for on the Alabaſter Monument of Sir William Fitz-warin, who was interr'd in the North-ſide of the Chancel at Wan⯑tage in Com. Berks, 35 Edw. III. he lies there with his Surcoat of Arms upon his Breaſt, and the Repreſenta⯑tion of a Garter (but without Motto) carv'd upon his left Leg. In the ſame Poſture lies Sir Richard Pem⯑bridge, elected a Knight-Companion, temp. Edw. III. and is portraicted on his Monument in the South-ſide of the Cathedral of Hereford, below the Pulpit, and en⯑compaſs'd with a Rail of Iron-Spikes.

THE next Monument whereon the Garter was de⯑picted, was that erected for Sir Simon Burley, (beheaded A. D. 1388.) and rear'd in the North-Wall near the Choir of St. Paul's, London. Thence-forward the Pra⯑ctice became more frequent, and then the Motto began to be cut thereon; inſomuch that it is now the con⯑ſtant and juſt Practice to do it, whenſoever the Knights-Companions are exhibited in Effigies.

AND altho' this Enſign was firſt deſign'd in Orna⯑ment to the left Leg, yet it was not confin'd ſo ſolely thereto, but was anciently us'd to incircle the Eſcut⯑cheon of St. George's Arms, worn by the Sovereign and Knights-Companions on their Mantles, who within a [159] ſmall ſpace after us'd it to ſurround their own proper Coat of Arms, which their Succeſſors have retain'd as their peculiar Privilege, permitting it to none but to their principal Officer, the Prelate of the Order.

THE firſt Example that occurs, is the before-menti⯑on'd of Sir Francis Burley, where, on the Front, to⯑wards the Head, is his own Arms empaling his firſt Wife's, ſet within a Garter, (wanting the Impreſs;) but another having the ſame Empalement, (plac'd be⯑low the Feet) is ſurrounded with a Collar of SS. of the ſame Form with that about his Neck.

THE Monument alſo of Joan, Wife of Ralph Nevil, Earl of Weſtmoreland, on the South-ſide of the Choir, in the Cathedral of Lincoln, bears the Arms of Nevil, empaling thoſe of Joan, his Wife, (who dy'd A. D. 1410.) Incircled within a Garter, and fix'd on this Lady's Monument, Daughter to John of Gount, Duke of Lancaſter, is there ſuch a Collar of SS. placed about a Square; but the Paint being faded, was render'd un⯑intelligible.

ANOTHER antique Inſtance is that Eſcutcheon, Sable, Three Oſtrich Feathers Argent, ſurrounded with the Gar⯑ter, affix'd in the Glaſs-Windows of Greenwich-Church in Kent, by Humfrey, Duke of Gloceſter, and ſupported with a Greyhound and an Antelope. It is reported, theſe Three Feathers were the Enſign of King Henry IV. which were conferr'd by John of Gaunt, his Father, who bore them for his Device, and placed in a Field Sable, as here, but the Pens were powder'd with Ermin, for a difference from the Black Prince's Feather, which were Argent, as the King's Pen was Or, and the Duke of Somerſet's Compony Argent and Azure.

THE Arms of Sir L [...]wis Robeſſart, Lord Bourchier, Knight-Companion, t [...]mp. [...]en. V. we find encompaſs'd with a Garter on each ſide his Monument, in Weſtmin⯑ſier-Abbey.

AT the Interment of Richard Duke of York, Father to King Edw. IV. at every Corner of the Majeſty-Eſ⯑cutcheon (ſet over the Image of the D [...]ſunct) was an Eſ [...]utcheon of the Arms of France and [...]gland quart [...]rly, and [...]our A [...]gels Gold, holding the ſame within a Garter. And ſo ſome of the Funeral Eſ [...]utch [...]ons of John Viſcount [160] Wells, (who dy'd 14 Hen. VII.) were ſurrounded with the Garter, as others bearing his Lady's Arms.

AT the Interment of Thomas Duke of Norfolk, in Thet⯑ford-Abbey, (who dy'd 16 Hen. VIII.) there was pro⯑vided a Shield of his Arms within a Garter, and a Coronet affix'd over it; a Target alſo of the Arms of George, Earl of Shrewsbury, within a Garter, was born at his Funural, Anno 33 Hen. VIII.

IT was the Cuſtom, (begun about the Reign of Hen. VII.) when the Obſequies of any Foreign Prince were celebrated in England, to paint an Eſcutcheon of ſuch Prince's Arms within the Collar of the Order, whereof he was Sovereign or a Fellow-Companion; as thoſe of the French King, Charles VIII. celebrated at St. Paul's, London, had Eſcutcheons of the Arms of France, within the Collar of the Order of St. Michael, at each End of the Hearſe; and when the Obſequies of John King of Portugal were ſolemniz'd at St. Paul's, there was, among others, one large Eſcutcheon of his Arms within the Collar of the Golden Fleece. The Fu⯑neral Rites of the Emperor Charles V. being perform'd in Weſtminſter-Abbey, 22 and 23 Dec. 1558. there were Ten great Eſcutcheons compaſs'd with Garters, to ſhew he was a Fellow of this Order: And upon the ſame Account, where Princes were Sovereigns of one, and Companions of another Order, their Hearſes were hung with Eſcutcheons of their Arms, ſurrounded with the Collars or principal Badges of both thoſe Orders; as at the Interment of Francis I. the French King, cele⯑brated at St. Paul's, London, 1 Edw. VI. the Eſcutcheons were the Arms of France, encompaſs'd within the Gar⯑ter of St. George, and Collar of St. Michael. At the Ob⯑ſequies of Hen. II. of France, Anno 1 Eliz. at St. Paul's alſo, there were ſome Eſcutcheons of his Arms, incir⯑cled both with the Garter and Collar of the Golden Fleece, having been a Knight-Companion of both theſe Orders: Under the Joyſts was a Majeſty Eſcutcheon of Black Taffaty of this King's Arms, within a Garter crown'd with an Imperial Crown, and in ſeveral Places of the Hearſe were faſten'd other Eſcutcheons of his Arms within this principal Enſign of the Garter.

[157] KING Hen. VIII. was the firſt that introduc'd into his Great S [...]al the Eſchutcheon of his Arms incircled with⯑in a Garter, as may be ſeen placed on either ſide his Portraicture ſi [...]ting on his Royal Throne; ſince him, all ſucceeding Sovereigns have born their Arms after that Manner. not only in their great and Privy-Seals, but in thoſe other appertaining to their Courts of Ju⯑ſtice, and generally in all Matters where their Arms were viſible (except Coins); in Imitation of whom, the Knight-Companions have don [...] the like.

BUT there were An. 21 Car. 1. certain Half Crowns ſtamp'd in the Weſt of En [...]and, containing the Sove⯑reigns Arms, ſo encompaſſed, regally crowned and ſupported; and this was the firſt Money whereon the Royal Garter appeared. After him King Charles II. having an Eye to the Advancement of the Honour of this Order, cauſed the irradicated Croſs of St. George en⯑compaſs'd about with the Royal Garter to be publickly ſtamp'd in the Center of his Silver Coin, ſtruck upon the Recoinage of it, A [...]no 14. Car. 2.

THERE were other Medals heretofore ſtamp'd upon ſeveral Occaſions, wherein the G [...]rter was deſignedly expreſs'd, and encloſing Shields of their Arms; as that in the Year 1619. Frederick Prince Palatine of the Rhine, was crowned King of [...]o [...]em [...]a, and Robert Cecil Earl of Salisbury created Lord Treaſurer, both Knights Compa⯑nions of this Noble Order: Moreover, Gold Rings have been caſt into the Figures of Garters; the Ground on the outſide enamell'd with a deep Blue, through which the golden Letters of the Motto appearing, ſet them off with an admirable Beauty. And it ſeems ſuch Rings were in vogue ſince the Preface to the black Book of the Order makes mention of wearing the Garter on the Leg and Shoulder, and ſometimes likewiſe ſub⯑o ins the Thumb, interdum Pollice geſtare; by which we may naturally conjecture, that Gold Rings were formed into the Faſhion of Garters, and beſtowed by ſome new inſtalled Knights upon their Relations and Friends to wear in Memorial of ſo great an Honour conferred up⯑on them.

AMONG the Officers belonging to the Order the Pre⯑late is permitted to bear h [...]s proper Arms (impaled with [158] thoſe of his See) within the Garter, and the reſt only to wear the Badges of their Offices, ſurrounded with the ſame to expreſs their peculiar Relation.

BESIDES the Manner of bearing Arms, within the Gar⯑ter of this Order, the Garter either in whole or part, hath been by Way of Armory, but without the Motto; as in the Seal belonging to the Office of Garter King of Arms, where the Garter (encloſing a Crown) is placed on a Chief, between a Lyon of England and a Flower de Lys of France. And to inſtance in Family, we find Argent Three Demy-Garters Azure, buckled and garniſhed, Or, granted by King Hen. VII. to his Servant Peter Nerborne, and ſable a Garter, Or, between Three Buckles of the Second, to be born by Buckland or Bowland in Com. Northampton.

§. 2. THE ſecond Enſign of the Order is the Mantle, which is the Chief of thoſe Veſtments which the Sove⯑reign and Knights-Companions make uſe of upon all ſolemn Occaſions relating to the Order. That this Pattern was derived to us from the ancient Greeks and Romans, is not at all to be diſputed, ſince it ſo little va⯑ries in Faſhion from their Pallium or Toga; for the Gre⯑cian Pallium was a ſort of long Cloak, which only wanted a Collar or Cape, and the Roman Toga as pro⯑per to them, as the Pallium to the Grecians, and the Cuſtom as Antique as Romulus himſelf; for he is recited by Plutarch to have worn it. The Pallium is more fully deſcribed to be a kind of upper Robe that covered the whole Body, made faſt on the right Shoulder with a Fibula or Claſp. It was uſually worn over the Tunica or ſhort Coat, whence the Proverb Tunica Pallio propior, and is more particularly obſerved to have been a Gar⯑ment faſhioned without Sleeves, that reached down to the Ancles.

IN deſcribing this upper Robe, called the Mantle, (the Sovereigns being diſtinguiſhed from the Knights-Companions, only by a long Train) we ſhall firſt ſet down its various Appellations it is mentioned by in the Records of the Order; Secondly, the Materials where⯑of it conſiſts; Thirdly, the Colour; Fourthly, the Quantity; and laſt of all the Ornamental Trimmings, that nothing be omitted to ſatisfy any curious Enquirer.

§. 3. The Third Enſign of the Order is the Surcoat or Kirtle, which altho' we find no Place for it in the Founder's Statutes, is nevertheleſs as ancient as the Man⯑tle or upper Robe, that is only taken Notice of there, for ſuch a Veſture King Edward III. then made, to⯑gether with his Mantle and a Hood to celebrate the firſt Feaſt of the Order in.

ITS Original it owes to the Greeks and Romans; a⯑mongſt whom this Garment had its determinated Tu⯑nica, and was worn next under the Toga, but amongſt them was both narrower and ſhorter; it was girt cloſe to the Body with a Girdle, and ſo fitted, that the Hem of it reached a little below the Knee, or to the middle of the Ham. It was the proper Mode of the Roman Citi⯑zens, and by its trimming were the three Degrees among them known; for the Senators Tunicks were embroi⯑dered or purfled over with broad purple Studs, the Knights with narrow ones, and the Plebeians plain.

IN ſetting forth the Surcoat, which was heretofore annually beſtowed by the Sovereign or the Knights-Companions, and therefore called his Livery, we ſhall, as in the Deſcription of the Mantle, treat ſomewhat of the Name, Materials, Colour, Quantity and Garniſh⯑ing of it.

AS to the Name in the old Rolls of the great Ward⯑robe, it is ſtiled Roba, but more properly as the Founder's firſt Surcoat is called Tunica, which Name it bears in the red Book of the Order. In Engliſh it is ren⯑dred Gown, Kirtle, Surcoat, Undercoat and Robe. The Appellation of Gown is attributed to Surcoats of the So⯑vereigns and Foreign Princes, Temp. Hen. VI. Edw. IV. and Hen. VII. But ſince, and very lately, it hath been beſtowed alſo on the Surcoats of Knights-Companions; and that of Kirtle ſometimes given to thoſe ſent to Foreign [164] Princes, as appears by the Books of Warrants in the great Wardrobe, but the reſt are Terms of a later Date: As the firſt Mantles, ſo the firſt Surcoats were compoſed of Woollen Cloth, and tho' the Cloth of the Mantles was in ſome ſpace after changed for Velvet, yet the Surcoats continued afterwards to be of Cloth, at leaſt till after the Office of Chancellor of the Garter was erected by King Edward IV. as is manifeſt by the Precedent of this Livery in the Sovereigns great Ward⯑robe; but in proceſs of Time they became Velvet, which ſort of Silk is yet retained.

THE Colour of this Veſture was anciently changed every Year, commonly into Blue, Scarlet, Sanguine in Grain, or White. But the Colour of the Mantles re⯑mained the ſame as at the Inſtitution, until Queen [...]li⯑zabeth's Reign, and then it commenced Blue: And 'tis remarkable, that the Surcoats of the Knights-Compani⯑ons, were always of the ſame Colour with the Sove⯑reigns.

THE Founder's firſt Surcoat was of the ſame Cloth and Colour with the Mantle, viz. Blue, but in the 34th Year of his Reign he altered it to Black, and of the ſame Colour were thoſe he conferred that Year upon th [...]ſe following Knights-Companions, viz. the B [...]ack Prince, the Earls of Ulſter, Richmond and Sali [...]bury, Edmund of [...]angly, Sir Richard la Vacle, Sir [...]ugh Wrot [...]ſly, Sir Reginald Cobham, Sir Bartholomew Burgheſt, the Lord Mohun, Sir Wal [...]er Manney, Sir N [...]le Loring, Sir Walter Pavel [...]y, Sir William Fitz Warin, Sir Miles Stapleton, the Earls of Stafford, Warwick and Suffolk, and Sir Thomas Ughtred: The Motive that induced him to pitch upon this [...]able Colour, was conceived to be a kind of Humiliation, becauſe the Peſtilence began again to ſpread its Male⯑volence, which had furiouſly raged Eleven Years be⯑fore. The Surcoats which the Sovereign gave the Dukes of Lancaſier and [...] and Fourteen other Knights, Anno 37. Edward III. were of Cloth, Sanguine in Grain. Thoſe Twenty four provided for the Feaſt of St. George, Anno 7 Ru [...]ard II. were Violet in Grain, whereof one was for the Sovereign, the other Twenty three for the Knights-Companions, following John King [...]f Caſtile, and Leonard Duke of Lancaſ [...]er, the Earls of [165] Cambridge, Buckingham, Derby, Kent, Warwick, Stafford, Salisbury, Northumberland and Nottingham, the Lords Nevil, Baſſet, and John Holland, Sir Guy Bryan, Sir Wil⯑liam Beauchamp, Sir Thomas Percy, Sir Nele Loring, Sir John Sulby, Sir Lodowick Clifford, Sir Simon Burl [...]y, Sir Richard Burley, Sir Bryan Stapleton and Sir Soldan de la Trane.

Anno 11 Richard II. there were ordered againſt St. George's Feaſt Twenty three Surcoats of white Cloth for the Sovereign, and Twenty two Knights-Companions; and the 12 and 19 Year of the ſame King, the Sove⯑reign beſtowed on the ſame Perſons Surcoats of long blue Cloth, after the Original Model. The Twenty two Surcoats made up for the Feaſt of St. G [...]orge, Anno 1 Henry V. were of white Cloth; Anno—Henry VI. the Sovereigns Gown or Surcoat was of Scarlet, as was that ſent to the King of Portugal in the 13th Year of the ſame King. Anno—Henry VI. the Sovereign had white Cloth; and ſo were the Surcoats given to Twenty Knights-Companions more in the—Year of his Reign. Afterwards the beforementioned Four Colours began to be diſuſed, for the Surcoat preſented to Julian de Medi⯑cis, temp. Edward IV. was purple Velvet, and towards the latter end of the Reign of King Henry VIII. and ſince, it is upon Record, the Surcoats of the Sovereign and all the Knights-Companions were Crimſon Velvet, nor did the Colour ſuffer a Mutation in the Surcoat, tho' King Charles I. reſtored the Mantle to its firſt pri⯑mitive Colour, Anno 12 Regni ſui.

THERE has been ſome diſproportion in the Quan⯑tity of the Cloth allowed in the Proviſion againſt one and the ſame Feaſt, for Anno 34 Edward III. the Earls of Stafford, Warwick and Suffolk, as alſo Sir Thomas Ughtred had then for each of their Surcoats fix Ells of Cloth (perhaps the tallneſs of their Stature required it) when the other Fifteen Knights were allowed but five Ells, being the ſame Quantity the Sovereign's Surcoat had contained in it at the ſame time.

THE Dukes of Holland and Clarence, Anno 1 Henry V. with the Earls of Arundel, were allowed Eight Ells a⯑piece, the Dukes of Bedford, Glouceſter and York, the Earls of Weſtmorland and Warwick, the Lords Grey, [166] Fitz Hugh and Roos, ſix Ells apiece; the Earls of Dorſet [...] with ſix Barons and five Knights Batchelors, but five Ells apiece. Afterwards, when the Number of Ells of Cloth, Garters and Furrs came to be aſcertained for each Degree, all the Knights-Companions (even the Pri [...]ce of Wales) were not to exceed five Ells: But ſince Vel⯑vet came in Plea, the Allowance for Surcoat and Hood hath been eighteen Yards, when the Surcoat reached down to the Feet; but now it being the Faſhion to wear if ſhorter, the Allowance is ſtinted to Ten. The Length of King Charles II's Surcoat was one Yard and an half, and of the Sleeve one Yard wanting a Nail.

THE Ornamental Trimmings of theſe Garments are next worthy of Note, eſpecially at the Time of Inſti⯑tuting this Order, for they were then, and a long time after, powdered all over with little Garters, embroi⯑dered with Silk and Gold-Plate, in each of which was neatly wrought the Motto, Honi ſoit, &c. Beſides, the Buckles and Pendants to thoſe ſmall Garters, were Silver gilt; of theſe Garters there were no leſs than 160 upon the firſt Surcoat and Hood made for the Founder.

IN King Richard II's Reign, the little Garters that a⯑dorned the Surcoats of the Sovereign, and the other Knights were wrought in Embroidery upon blue Taffa⯑ty with Cyprus, and Soldat Gold and Silk of divers Colours, and the Letters Gold. And as the Sovereign was not limited in the Proportion of Cloth or Velvet for his Surcoat, no more was he confined to the Num⯑ber of Garters, wherewith to adorn it; nor do I find that any of the Knights-Companions were, until the Precedent of the Livery of the Garter was ſettled, for Anno 1 Henry V. the Dukes of Holland and Claren [...], the Earl of Arundel, the Dukes of Bedford and Glouceſter had each of their Surcoats adorned with 120 Garters, but the Duke of York and the reſt wore but 100. The Settlement in the Precedent of the Livery was, in re⯑lation to Degrees of Honour, a greater or leſs Number of Garters: Thus,

[167]

ABOUT the Reign of King Henry VI. the Sovereigns Number of Garters did not much exceed thoſe which the Founder allow'd to himſelf at the Inſtitution; for the Surcoat and Hood of the ſaid King conſiſted of 173; and the King of Portugal, Anno 13 Henry VI. 120 Garters. But this Drapery of their Robes became at length quite obſolete, perhaps when Cloth was altered to Velvet, and the plain Surcoat hath to this Day continued in Uſe.

WHILE theſe Surcoats remained of Cloth, they were lined with Bellies of pure Minever Fur, only the Sovereigns was purfled with Ermin; and of theſe, it ſeems, a like Proportion was at firſt ſtated to all the Knights-Companions, viz. 200 Bellies. Yet in the Reign of King Richard II. ſome Difference began in the Allowance to the Knights-Companions, for a Baron, and all Degrees upward had 200 Bellies; but under a Ba⯑ron 120 only. However, Anno 1. Henry V. the Barons were tantamount to the Knights-Batchelors, for all De⯑grees above a Baron were allow'd, a Fur of 200 Bellies. But the Barons and Knights-Batchelors Furs were on⯑ly 120 Bellies.

AFTERWARDS, by the Precedent of the Garter, there was another Proportion limited, the Prince, a Duke, a Marquis, an Earl, had each of them Five Timber of pure Minever allowed to a Surcoat; but the Viſcount, Baron, Baronet and Batchelor-Knights but Three Timber apiece. In time theſe Furs were diſuſed, and the Surcoats came to be lined with white Sarcenet, to which, temp. Eliz. white Taffaty ſucc [...]eded, and that ſtill continues.

WHAT became of the old Surcoats, ſince the Knights-Companions had new ones every Year, the Black Book of the Order informs us, That on the Eve of the Feaſt [168] of St. George, the Knights wore to Veſpers, the Sove⯑reigns Livery or Surcoats, uſed by them the preceding Year, which after that Night they threw off, (for the new Surcoats were worn on the Feaſt-Day); but the Enſigns and Ornaments of this Kind were diſpoſed of to the Uſe of the Colledge.

THE Hood and Cap comes in the next Place to be ſpoken of, which Hood in King, Henry VIII's Statu⯑tes, and the Black Book of the Order is called Hu⯑merale; but in the Rolls of the Great Wardrobe, Capu⯑cium. In the French it is Chaperon, a Word uſed in the Statute, Anno 1. Richard II. C. 7. and alſo retained in the Old Engliſh Copy of Henry VIII's Statutes made of his Reign, and annexed to this Treatiſe. They were anciently wore for Defence of the Head againſt the In⯑clemencies of Weather, but of later Times Caps and Hats have ſupplied their place. How they ſat upon the Head, may be obſerved in the Portraitures of the firſt Founders; as alſo with ſome Variety of Faſhion in ſuc⯑ceeding Ages: Yet is not the Hood quite thrown by, ſince 'tis ſtill kept reclining upon the Back, almoſt like a Pilgrim's Hat.

THIS Hood was ordained, and is yet retained as part of the Habit of this moſt Noble Order. And tho' neither it nor the Surcoat is mentioned in the Statutes of Inſtitution, or in either its Exemplars, nor doth King Henry V. lay any Streſs upon it, yet it is of equal Antiquity with the reſt, as appears from the Rolls of the great Wardrobe, and Henry VIII's Statutes have made re⯑markable Obſervation of it, for the Mantle, Surcoat, Hood, and Collar are called the Habit of the Order: And in the Black Book, Anno 22. Henry VII. at the Inveſtiture of Philip King of Caſtile, the Mantle, Kirtle, Hood and Collar are expreſly called Whole Habit.

IT was heretofore, and now is generally made of the ſame Materials as the Surcoat, and was anciently trim⯑med and ſet off with a ſmall Proportion of Garters lined with Cloth of a different Colour, and ſuch as would beſt ſtrike the Sight; but now with Taffaty, as is the Lining of the Surcoat.

AS to the Cap, which was inſtituted to ſucceed the Hood; it hath been, and yet is, faſhioned of black [169] Velvet lin'd with Taffaty; but the Figure hath ſeveral Times varied; for Temp. Henry VIII. it was flat, in Queen Elizabeth's Reign it was a little raiſed in the Head; but in King James's Time they were much more high-crown'd. This Cap hath been uſually adorn'd with Plumes of White Feathers, and Spriggs, and bound a⯑bout with a Band ſet thick with Diamonds; ſo was the Cap for the Inſtallation of King Charles II. and ſometimes the Brims have been tack'd up with a large and coſtly Jewel.

THIS Cuſtom of wearing Caps and Feathers at the Grand Solemnities of the Order, had, for ſome Time, about the Beginning of King James I. Reign, been omitted, and thereupon, in a Chapter held the 13th of April, Anno 10. Jac. I. this commendable Cuſtom was re-eſtabliſh'd.

To theſe may be added the Croſs of the Order en⯑compaſs'd with a Garter, which by the Sovereign was ordain'd the 27th of April, 2 Car. I. to be worn upon the Left Side of the Cloaks, Coats, and riding Caſſocks of the Sovereigns and Knights-Companions, of the Prelate and Chancellor at all Times, when they were not adorn'd with their Robes, and in all Places and Aſſemblies (but not embelliſh'd with Pearls and Stones) that the wearing thereof might be a ſufficient Indication to the World, of that Height of Honour they arriv'd to from the ſaid moſt Noble Order, inſtituted for Perſons of the greateſt Merit and Worth.

AND it was not long after e'er the Glory or Star, as it was uſually call'd, having certain Beams of Silver, that ſhot out in Form of a Croſs, was introduc'd and annex'd to it, in Imitation (as thought) of the French, who after the ſame manner wore the chief Enſign of the Order of the Holy Ghoſt, being the Repreſentation of a Dove irradiated with ſuch like Beams.

AND whereas ſome Painters affirm the Symbol of the Holy Ghoſt to be thus adorn'd congruous enough, yet cenſure it improper for a Garter, let them conſider that King Edw. IV. erected his White Roſe with the like Glory, whereof both the Stone Work and Wood Work of St. George's Chapel in Windſor, manifeſtly illuſtrate, whoſe Antiquity makes a Precedent for it long before [170] the Inſtitution of the Order of the Holy Ghoſt; but this King aſſum'd this Device upon appearance of three Suns, which ſuddenly united together into one immediately, before his ſucceſsful Victory at Mortimer's-Croſs, a happy Aera he thought himſelf oblig'd to perpetuate. And they miſtake who ſuppoſe it to be the Garter that is thus irradiated, whereas it is ſomething elſe more worthy of the Glory, for from it, not the Garter, do the Rays diffuſe, viz. the inclos'd Croſs of the Order, cele⯑brated as glorious, ſince it darted its bright Beams from Heaven, when it appear'd to Conſtantine the Great; as the ſame is repreſented on a Silver Medal: On the one Side whereof was a Buſt in profile, or ſide Face of King Charles I. and on the Reverſe, this Badge of the Order, within a Garter, inſcrib'd, Honi, &c. a Croſs irradiated, diſperſing its Beams in a Rhombular Form of Eight Angles, beyond the Orbit or bounding Lines of the ſaid Garter, having for Circumſcription, Priſci decus Ordmis Auctum, 1629.

§ 5. HAVING finiſh'd our Diſcourſe concerning the Robes of the Order, we ſhall ſpeak of the robes and Hoods aſſign'd to the Queen, Knights-Companions Wives, and other great Ladies, by the Donation of the Sovereigns, ſet off and embelliſhed with Minute Gar⯑ters, and lin'd with Rich Furs, which Robes they were adorn'd with during the Solemnity of the Feaſt of St. George, a Cuſtom almoſt as ancient as its Inſtitution. The firſt Mention we find recorded of the Feminine Habit occurs, Anno 7. R. II. when the Queen, the Sovereign's Mother, the Dutcheſs of Lancaſter, the Counteſſes of Cambridge, Buckingham, Pembroke, Oxford, and Salisbury, the Ladies Philippa and Catherine, Daughters to the Duke of Lancaſter, and the Lady Mohun had ſuch kind of Robes and Hoods provided for them. They were made of Cloth, Violet in Grain, like as the Sovereign and Knights-Companions that Year, the Robes lin'd with Fur, but the Hoods with Scarlet, and both embroidered over with little Garters, and the Proportion of Cloth, Furs, and Garters, were ſtated according to their ſeveral Ranks and Degrees; for the Queen had Eight Ells, and Half an Ell of [171] Scarlet for the Lining of her Hood. The Sovereign's Mother had allow'd her one whole Piece, and a double Proportion of Scarlet; but from the large Quantity it is conceiv'd ſhe had Two Robes and Hoods made at this time: Beſides, the particular Number are but Eleven Perſons, and cannot elſe reach the Total of the Robes that were made up and expreſly ſet down to be Twelve. The Dutcheſs of Lancaſter had the Allowance of Half a Piece, and Half an Ell of Scarlet; the Counteſs of Cambridge Seven Ells of Cloth and Half an Ell of Scarlet, and the reſt of the Ladies the ſame Proportion of Cloth with the Knights-Companions, i. e. each Five Ells a-piece, and Half an Ell of Scarlet. According to their Cloth was alſo their Proportion of Minever; the Queen's Allowance was Two Furs, each containing Three Hundred Bellies of pure Minever; the Sove⯑reign's Mother had twice that Proportion, the Dutcheſs of Lancaſter, and Counteſs of Cambridge had the ſame Allowance as the Queen; but all the reſt of the Ladies had only one Fur of Two Hundred Bellies. Beſides the embroidered Garters to deck out the Twenty-four Surcoats of the Sovereign and Knights-Companions, and the Twelve Robes for the Queen, and other Ladies, amounted to the Number of 2900.

AGAINST the Feaſt of St. George, Anno. II. R. II. there were prepared Fifteen Robes and Hoods for the Queen and other Ladies, of the ſame Livery and ſuit with the Sovereign and Knights-Companions, viz. White long Cloth, and Blue Cloth for the Lining of their Hoods, bearing the ſame Proportion in all Things as the former, Anno 13. Rich. II. the Ladies Robes and Hoods were Sanguine Cloth, and the Lining of their Hoods Cloth in Grain. And in the 19th Rich. II. they were Blue Cloth, and long Cloth in Grain for Lining their Hoods. In both theſe Years we find the Dutcheſs of Aquitaine had double the Proportion of Cloth allow'd her (as had alſo the Dutcheſs of York) viz. Fourteen Ells, (the Queen having then but the former Allowance of Eight Ells) and yet her Proportion of Lining, both for the Robe and Hood, was no more than allow'd the Queen.

[172] BUT Anno 1 Henry V. the ſame Quantities of Cloth, Minevers, and Garters, were the ſame to Ladies of all Degrees, and that was to each Five Ells of White Woollen Cloth, only the Queen-Mother had Eight Ells of White Cloth and Eight Ells of Black Cloth, a Fee containing Two Hundred Bellies of Minever, and an Hundred embroidered Garters, and 12 Henry VI. the Maſter of the great Wardrobe was commanded to make ready the like Livery, both for Colour of Cloth, number of Ells, Bellies of Minever, and Garters, for the Counteſs of Suffolk, againſt the approaching Feaſt of St. George.

A plainer Narrative is made of theſe Liveries, Anno 16 Edw. IV. when at the Feaſt of St. George at Windeſor, the Queen, the Lady Elizabeth, the King's Daughter, and Dutcheſs of Suffolk, the King's Siſter, had for their Livery Murrey Gowns embroidered with Garters.

BESIDES theſe Robes worn by the Ladies at the Fe⯑ſtivals of the Order, there ſeems to be ſome Imitation of wearing a Garter alſo on their Left Arms, as the Knights did on their Left Leg, as it is obſerv'd on the Counteſs of Tankervile's Monument, where ſhe is ſo pourtray'd.

AFTER a long Diſuſe of theſe Robes, Anno 14 Car. I. there was an endeavour to reſtore it; for the Deputy Chancellor ſollicited the Sovereign in Chapter, That the Ladies of the Knights-Companions might be granted the Privilege to wear a Garter of the Order a⯑bout their Arms, and an upper Robe at Feſtival Times, according to ancient Uſage, upon which Motion the Sovereign gave Order that the Queen's Pleaſure ſhould be known herein, and the Affair left to the Ladies particular Requeſt, and the Year enſuing, upon the Deputy Chancellor's Report at another Chapter at Windeſor, it was then left to a Chapter to be called by the Knights-Companions, to preponderate of every Circumſtance, how it were fitteſt to be effected for the Honour and Luſtre of the Order; which was ap⯑pointed to be held at London about All-hollantide next; But the unhappy War breaking out, this Matter en⯑tirely broke off.

§ 6. THERE remains now the Collar and George, brought in by King Henry VIII. And firſt, of Collars in general, which is an Ornament not of late, but ancient Invention, and the wonderful Conſent of moſt Nations plead for it: Sacred Writ ſets down the Collar of Gold for one of the Ornaments Pharaoh conferr'd upon Joſeph. The Images of Iſis and Oſiris were repreſented with ſuch like Collars, in a manner, extending to their Shoulders, as Kircher informs us. Their Workmanſhip ſeems won⯑derfully curious, being interſected with various Lines, and divided with Tablets and precious Stones. The Collar was of an illuſtrious Original among the Romans, and gave Denomination to the Family of Torquati, de⯑ſcended from L. Manlius, whom the Soldiers ſurnam'd Torquatus, becauſe he fought with a Champion of the Gauls, Anno V. C. 392. and, having foil'd him in fight, cut off his Head, and then pluck'd off his Collar, bloody as it was, and put it about his own Neck. In further Memory of which Action were found ſeveral Roman Coins referring to L. Torquatus, Conſul with L. Cotta, Anno V. C. 688. And it's remarkable that when one of another Tribe was adopted into this Fa⯑mily, he did alſo aſſume this Badge of Honour, as in the Coin of D. Junius Silanus, tho' the Faſhion of the Work ſome what differ'd from the former.

IN priſtine Times none but Kings and Princes wore Collars, and therefore their Uſe ſeems of Dignity and Power, as is evident from Daniel, where the Aſſyrian Kings uſed this Ornament. Afterwards Men famous for Wiſdom and Council, had them as a diſtinguiſhing Badge, as in the Example of Joſeph, and from the Pro⯑clamation of Belſhazzar King of Babylon, who propoſed it as a Praemium to him that could interpret the Hand-Writing upon the Wall. And Men famous for Milita⯑ry Atchievements had it conferr'd upon them, in Re⯑compence of their Merits; thus Collars were of the Number of the Dona & Praemia Militaria among the the Romans, and the Honour of receiving them thought wor⯑thy to be conſign'd to Poſterity in Marble Inſcriptions. From them the later Emperors receiv'd it, and we read of inveſting a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre with a [174] Collar at his Creation; where, as ſoon as the Ceremony of his Ordination is over, the Padre Guardian Kiſſes the new Made Knight, and puts about his Neck (according to the mode of the Ancients) a Golden Collar, with a Croſs hanging at it.

MOST aptly therefore have the Sovereigns of Military Orders annex'd this Ornament of the Collar to their Habit, and conferr'd it on the Fellows and Companions, many of whom have meritoriouſly deſerv'd it for their great Wiſdom and valorous Exploits, and for this rea⯑ſon it was inſtituted in additional Glory to the Enſigns of the Garter, compos'd in a peculiar manner, in Rela⯑tion to the Name and Title; to the wearing of which the Sovereign oblig'd both himſelf and Knights-Com⯑panions, and his and their Succeſſors.

THIS Collar was ordain'd to be of Gold Thirty Ounces Troy weight, but not to exceed it; howbeit that Collar ſent to Guſtavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, weigh'd Thirty-four Ounces and a Quarter, and that of King Charles I. 35 Ounces and an Half; which, after his Sufferings, fell into the Hands of Thomas Harriſon, one of Oliver's Major-Generals, and was by him deli⯑vered to the Truſtees for Sale of the King's Goods: They, 1649. ſent it to the Mint, with divers of the Regalia, to ſet the Stamp on work for the firſt Gold that the upſtart Com [...]on-wealth coin'd.

IT was appointed by King Henry VIII's Statutes, that this Collar ſhould be compos'd of Pieces of Gold in Faſhion of Garters, the Ground enamelled Blue, and the Letters of the Motto Gold; in the midſt of each Garter, Two Roſes plac'd, the innermoſt enamei⯑led Red, and the outermoſt White, contrarily in the next Garter, the innermoſt Roſe enamelled White, and the outermoſt Red, and ſo alternately; but of lat [...]r Times theſe Roſes are wholly Red.

THE Number of theſe Garters are ſo many as be the ordain'd Number of the Sovereign and Knights-Com⯑panions; at the Inſtitution they were Twenty-ſix, be⯑ing faſten'd together with as many Knots of Gold, and this Mode hitherto has continu'd invariable; nor ought the Collar to be adorn'd or enrich'd with pre⯑cious Stones, (as the George may be) ſuch being prohi⯑bited by the Law of the Order.

[175] AT the Middle of the Collar before pendant, at the Table of one of the Garters in the Collar is to be fix'd the Image of St. George arm'd ſitting on Horſeback, who having thrown the Dragon on his Back encounters him with a Tilting-Spear. This Jewel is not encompaſs'd with a Garter or Row of Diamonds, as in the leſſer George; but in round Relief. It is allow'd to be beauti⯑fied and ſett off with Diamonds and other Enrichments, at the Pleaſure of the Knight-Companion who poſſeſſed it, and upon that Score it hath been frequently adorn'd with Variety of coſtly Work, whereon the Diamonds, and other precious Stones, being ſet to that Advantage as might, upon its Motion and Agitation, dart forth a reſplendent Luſtre.

BEFORE the Eſtabliſhment of this Article by King Henry VIII. it appears that the Knights-Companions were inveſted with Collars at their Inſtallations, for the Black Book makes mention of a Collar among the Enſigns of the Garter, wherewith Philip King of Caſtile was inveſted, Anno 22 Henry VII. but whether a Collar of SS's, or of another Model, is not ſpecifi'd: Neverthe⯑leſs this Scruple is in part clear'd up by an old Memo⯑rial of the Ceremonies, at the Creating Henry Lord Stafford Earl of Wiltſhire, 1 Henry VIII. where it is ſaid in the Annals, that after he was inveſted with the Robes of his State and Dignity, the Collar of the Garter was put about his Neck at conſtituting him a Knight of the Order. And to make it more conſpicuous in a Vellum Book of the Statutes ſent to Maximilian the Emperor, ſign'd 1508. by the Regiſter T. Rowthale, and in another of Edward Stanley Lord Monteagle, elected ann. 6. Hen. VIII. the Forty Firſt Article, enjoins a Collar to be worn by each Knight-Companion expreſly called the Collar of the Order, which tho' it be not in all Reſpects conſentient to that preſcribed by King Henry VIII's Sta⯑tutes, yet there is not much Variation, and 'tis reported to be a Gold Collar coupled together by ſeveral Pieces of Links, in Faſhion of Garters, with a Vermilion Roſe, and the Image of St. George hung thereat. The Reaſon of the Knights-Companions wearing it at the Times appointed, the Licenſe for putting it to mending, the Command not [176] to enrich the Collar, but the George only; and under a Penalty not to ſell, pawn or alienate it upon any Neceſſity whatſoever, are wholly the ſame as was afterwards en⯑joyn'd by King Henry VIII. So that he did but only annex to his Body of Statutes a Decree, which for the greateſt part had been put in practiſe before. In the 11th Hen. VIII. upon Interpretation of the Eleventh Article of the Statutes, the Collar is there enumerated as part of the entire Robes that a Knight-Companion is oblig'd to wear, for a more convincing Proof, That the Collar of Garters was uſed before King Henry VIII's Reign, the Monument of Sir Giles Daubeny plainly De⯑lineates (who departed 22 Henry VII.) in Weſtminſter-Abbey, where his Portraicture in the Robes of the Or⯑der is adorned with ſuch a Collar as King Henry VIII's Statutes do afterwards deſcribe.

AS the Garter ſent to Guſtavus Adolphus King of Swed [...]n, ſo the great George (pendant at his Collar weighing Seven Ounces) was ſet with large and reſplendent Dia⯑monds, to the Number of Eighty-Four.

IN what Regard this Noble Enſign of Honour the Colla [...], hath been with the Sovereigns and Knights-Companions, not only of the Order of the Garter, but other Military Orders, may be collected from the Pictur [...]s of ſome of them, as well as from their Seals, Coins, and Medals, for in theſe they have been pleaſed to exhibit their Effigies and Eſcutcheons of Arms; and omitting Foreign Examples, the Collars, both of the Garter and Thiſtle, were expreſs'd in the Coronation Me⯑dal of King Charles I. in Scotland, 1633. tho' in that of his Coronation at Weſtminſter, and afterwards in that of King Charles II. 1661. the Collar of the Order of the Ga [...]ter are only put over their Royal Robes.

THESE Ornaments of the Collars, have been affix'd ſometimes encircling the Shields of their Arms; and in a S [...]al of Charles the Bold. Duke of Burgundy, Sovereign of the Order of the Golden Fleece, plac'd to an Inſtru⯑ment dated, 1470. it is worthy of Remark, that Collar adorns the Neck of the Lyon of Flanders; but the Sovereigns of the Garter uſually encompaſs'd their Arms, not within the Collar of the Ord [...]r, but the Royal Garter, that being its principal Enſign; and [177] ſometimes, having no Shield of Arms, the void Space within the Garter, exhibits their Arms.

OBSERVABLE is the Seal of Charles Count Palatine of the Rhine, wherein is a Shield quarterly of the Palatinate and Bavaria, obſcuring the Lyon Guardant its Supporter, his Four SS's only appearing quadrangularly, and his Head a top enſign'd with an Electoral Crown; this Shield is encircled both within the Garter and Collar of the Order, and is the firſt Example wherein both theſe Enſigns are jointly together. It is very frequent to ex⯑preſs the Collars of different Orders together: Thus I have ſeen the Arms of Robert Dudley Earl of Leiceſter, entour'd within the Garter, and a Collar of the Order of St. Michael, having been Knight of theſe Orders, and the Funeral Atchievement of the late James Hamil⯑ton Douglas Duke of Hamilton, had the Garter and a Collar of the Thiſtle about it. And in a Plate under the Effi⯑gies of the Duke of Aſpernons, a Shield of his Arms quarter'd, is encompaſs'd with the chiefeſt Enſigns of thoſe Three Orders, whereof he was a Brother and Companion, viz. with the Garter and the Collars of St. Michael and the Holy Ghoſt. And the older the Order is in the Roll of Antiquity, whoſe chief Enſign is there repreſented, the nearer ought it to be plac'd to the Eſcutcheon of Arms, being the more Honourable Poſt. A Miſtake was committed in the marſhalling theſe Col⯑lars, when the Duke of Chevereux affixed it over his Stall at Windſor, the Collars of St. Mithael and the Holy Ghoſt are plac'd nearer to his Eſcutcheon than that of the Garter.

§ 8. AND whereas we have ſpoke of another kind of Collar, call'd a Collar of SS's, worn as Badges of lower and inferior Honour, it will not be amiſs to inform our Judgment in other Affairs concerning them, Wicelius informs us from a Book in the Library of Fulda, where (in the Life of the Two Brothers Simplicius and Fauſtinus, both Senators, and ſuffer'd Martyrdom under Diocleſian) there is a Deſcription of the Society of St. Simplicius, conſiſting of Noble Perſonages in their own Families, and deſcribing the Collar wore as the Badge of it ſays, thus: It was the Cuſtom of thoſe Perſons to wear about [178] their Necks Silver Collars, compos'd of double SS's, which denote the Name of Saint Simplicius, between theſe double SS's. The Collar conſiſted of Twelve ſmall Plates of Silver, in which were engraven the Twelve Articles of the Creed, toge⯑ther with a ſingle Trefoil: The Image of St. Simplicius hung at the Collar, and from it Seven Plates, repreſenting the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghoſt. As to the manner of their Martyrdom, they were bound together by the Neck to a Stone, and thrown over the Bridge into the River Tyber.

AT what Time the Collar of SS's came into England is not fully determin'd, but it will appear at leaſt Three Hundred Years ſince, and worn as an Ornament for Women, as well as Men; for on a Monument in the Collegiate Church of Warwick, the Figure of Margaret, Wife to Sir William Peito (ſaid to be interr'd Temp. Edw. III.) hath a Collar of SS's drawn about, and ſet cloſe to her Neck, which the Sculpture in The Antiqui⯑ties of Warwickſhire, by miſtake, repreſented like a Ruff. There was alſo a Collar of SS's about the Neck of Sir Simon Burley's Statue in St. Paul's London.

IN the ancient Creation of an Eſquire in England, part of the Ceremony was the King's putting about his Neck a Silver Collar of SS's. And Selden, in his Titles of Honour contemns not the old Ballad, The Tanner of Tamworth, to prove the Creation of Eſquires in King Edw. IV's Reign, by conferring ſuch Collars on them. But that the Golden one was the undoubted Badge of a Knight, as may be inſtanc'd by many undeniable Ex⯑amples, deduc'd from the Monuments of ſuch Perſons, Temp. Hen. VI. Ed. IV. Hen. VII. Hen. VIII. and ſince, and ſo legally appropriate thereto, that in the Act 24 H. VIII. made for Reformation of Apparel, there is a Proviſo entred, That Knights, notwithſtanding, might pub⯑lickly wear a Gold Collar of SS's, tho' ſince it is grown obſolete and uſeleſs. Favin tells us that our Hen. V. in⯑ſtituted an Order ſurnam'd Knights of the SS's, on the Day of the Martyrs St. Criſpine and Criſpianus; which tho' he found nothing of it in our Engliſh Hiſtorians, yet from the Chronicle of Juvenal des Urſins, where he treats of the Battle of Agincourt, he collected this fol⯑lowing Relation.

AMONG the Variety of Collars of SS's now in vogue, there are theſe following: The Lord Mayor of London's Collar is compos'd of Gold, having a Knot (like one of thoſe that tye the Garters together in the great Col⯑lar of the Order) inſerted between Two SSs, and they again ſituated between Two Roſes, viz. a White Roſe within a Red, and in the Middle before the Breaſt is a large Portcullis, whereat hangs a moſt rich Jewel ſett with large Diamonds.

THE Collars of the Lords Chief Juſtices of both the Benches, and the chief Baron of the Exchequer, are (in Memory of the ſaid St. Simplicius, a Senator, and conſequently a Gownman) form'd of the Letter S, and a Knot alternately, having a Roſe ſet in that part of it which falls out to be in the Middle of their Breaſts, and another on their Backs; the Five Flowers of theſe Roſes are conſtituted of Five large Pearls.

THOSE Collars, which appertain to the Kings and Heralds of Arms, as well as to Serjeants at Arms, ha⯑ving been beſtow'd by former Kings, and renew'd to them by King Charles II. to be worn upon Days of ſo⯑lemn Attendance, are compos'd of SS's link'd together. In the Middle of the Breaſt is a Roſe, at each of which hangs Three ſmall Drops of Silver; but the SS's in the Collars worn by the Kings of Arms are made ſomewhat larger than the other, and in that part lying on either Shoulder, is a Portcullis taken in between the SS's, which are wanting in the reſt.

[180] THE general difference of the Collars appropriate to the before-named Degrees, is this; Knights have allow'd them Collars of Silver gilt, but Eſquires only Silver [...] and therefore in the Creating of an Herald, in part of that Ceremony, he is made an Eſquire, by putting on him a Collar of SS's of Silver; and ſo is a Serjeant at Arms.

THE Kings of England have ſometimes been pictured with a Collar of SS's about their Arms, in like manner as the Garter doth ſurround them, as appears from an Impreſſion of King Henry VIII's Privy Signet; whereon his Royal Arms crown'd are encircled with a Collar of SS's, to the lower End of which are affix'd Two Port⯑culliſſes.

§ 9. WE come now to the leſſer George of the Order; and we do not find that the Effigies of St. George was at any time worn by the Sovereign or Knights-Compa⯑nions, before the Breaſt or under the Arm, as now uſed till the 13th of Henry VIII. But then that King decreed in a Chapter held at Greenwich, the Morrow after St. George's Day, That every Knight ſhould wear looſely before his Breaſt the Image of St. George in a Gold Chain, or otherwiſe, in a Ribband, the ſame to be faſten'd within the ennobled Garter, for a manifeſt Diſtinction between the Knights-Companions, and o⯑thers of the Nobility and Knights, who, according to the Mode of thoſe Times, wore large Gold Chain [...], the ordinary Enſigns of Knighthood. And thus the wearing the Medal or Jewel, uſually call'd the leſſer George, to diſtinguiſh it from the other Work at the Collar of the Order, firſt receiv'd the Injunction, and hath ſince been frequently uſed.

THIS George was, for the moſt part, pure Gold curi⯑ouſly wrought, but divers of them were exquiſitely graved in Onyx's and Agats, and with ſuch a happy Collection of the Stones, that heightned and received their Beauty by the Skill of the Artificer, in contriving the Figures and Hiſtory, the natural Tincture of the Stones have ſo fitted them with Colours for Fleſh, Hair, and every thing elſe, even to Surprize and Admiration. In this Jewel is St. George repreſented in a Riding [181] Poſture encountring the Dragon with his drawn Sword.

BY the laſt Article of King Henry VIII's. Statutes, it was allowed to be enriched at the Pleaſure of the Poſ⯑ſeſſor, (as is the great George) which for the moſt Part hath been curiouſly enamell'd, and the Garter about it ſett with Diamonds. And of what weight and bigneſs theſe leſſer George's were, may be gather'd from that ſent to the French King Charles IX. being an Ounce and an half and half quarter Weight. The Variety of Workmanſhip in thoſe Gold Chains whereat this Jewel hung, was uſually great, according to the Fancy and Pleaſure of the Perſons for whom they were wrought. But within a ſhort Space, wearing the leſſer George in Silk-Ribbands, as well as Gold-Chains, was promiſcu⯑ouſly us'd and ad Libitum. (So were the Symbols of Fo⯑reign Orders, as divers Coins and Medals declare.) But the Colour of theſe Ribbands when they came firſt to be wore, was black. John Dudley Viſcount Liſle, the Lords St. John and Parr, ſo uſed them at their Inveſtiture, 35 Henry VIII. and ſeveral Pictures of other Knights-Companions about that time confirm the ſame. That ſmall Chain whereat hung the leſſer George tranſmitted to Emanuel of Savoy, Ann. 1 & 2 Ph. & Mar. was formed of twelve Pieces of Gold, in every of which was ſett three ſmall Diamonds, and of twelve other like Pieces, wherein were three Rubies and twenty four Pearls.

IT appears by a Letter of Sir Richard St. George, Kt. Clarencieux, dated July 10th, 1627. that the blue Ribband had ſome Years before been additional to the Ornament of the Order; and 'tis reported, that Robert Earl of Eſſex obſerving in France the Jewels of the Order of St. Michael and St. Eſprit worn in blue Ribbands, upon his return was the principal motive thoſe Ribbands whereat the George hung, were exchanged into that Colour. And in a Picture of Queen Elizabeth, drawn towards the Declenſion of her Reign, her leſſer George is repreſented hanging before her Breaſt in a blue Rib⯑band. And this Colour was more careſſed, and grew in great repute, by reaſon it was the Ground of the Gar⯑ter, and neareſt the Colour of the Mantle of the Order: So that toward the latter End of the Reign of King [182] James I. becauſe the dye of the Ribband had not been peculiarly expreſs'd in any Statute, and the blue and azure accuſtomed for ſome Years paſt, it was de⯑creed, That for the future it ſhould be always of blue, and no other; nor in time of Mourning it ſelf, ſhould be changed.

THE Manner of wearing this Ribband in time of Peace, was of later Times pendant about the Neck, down to the Middle of the Breaſt, where the leſſer George hung; but ſince, for the more Conveniency of Riding or Action, the ſame is ſpread over the left Shoulder, and brought under the right Arm where the Jewel hangs [...]

BUT where the Pictures of the Sovereign and Knights-Companions are drawn in Armour, there even to this Day the George is repreſented as fix'd to a Gold Chain inſtead of a blue Ribband, and worn about the Neck, not brought under the right Arm, as exhibited on the three Pound Pieces of Gold ſtamped at Oxford by King Charles I. 1643. and a Medal of Charles Count Palatine of the Rhine, dated 1645.

AMONG the invaluable Jewels and other Curioſities of King Charles I. which came to the Hands of the Tru⯑ſtees appointed for Sale of his Goods, were theſe,

THE George King Charles I. had at his Martyrdom, was curiouſly Engraved in an Onyx ſet about with twenty One large Table-Diamonds in the Faſhion of a Garter. On the reverſe of the ſaid George was the Picture of the Queen ſet in a Caſe of Gold, the Lid neatly enamell'd with Goldſmith's Work, and ſurrounded with another Garter adorned with an equal Number of Diamonds, as [183] was that of King Charles II. alſo ſett with fair Diamonds; and after the Defeat given to the Scotch Forces at Wor⯑ceſter, 4 Car. II. was ſtrangely preſerved by Colonel Blague, one of that King's diſperſed Attendants, who re⯑ſigned it for ſafety to the Wife of Mr. Barlow of Blare-Pipe-Houſe in Stafford-ſhire, where he took Sanctuary; from whom Robert Milward Eſq; receiv'd and gave it into-the Hands of Mr. Iſaac Walton, (all Loyaliſts.) It came again to Blague's Poſſeſſion, then Priſoner in the Tower; whence making his eſcape, he reſtor'd it to King Charles II.

IT is worthy of Remark, that beſides the Sovereign of the moſt Noble Order of the Garter, other Princes of Chriſtendom have aſſumed the bearing St. George en⯑countring the Dragon in like Poſture, tho' not ſo an⯑ciently, nor upon the ſame Grounds and Foundation as they; probably having elected him Patron and Guar⯑dian of their Countries or Families; ſuch as the Em⯑perors of Ruſſia, the Dukes of Mantua, and the Counts Mansfield in Germany, as their Seals and Coins plainly demonſtrate.

IN the Great Seal of Borice Feodorwicke, Emperour of Ruſſia affixed to his Letter ſent to Queen Elizabeth, dated at Moſco, June 12th, 1602, was a double Headed Eagle diſplaid, having each Head crowned, and bear⯑ing an Eſchutcheon with the Repreſentation of St. George upon its Breaſt. There is another of this Empe⯑rour's Great Seals, fixed to his Letter, dated May 31ſt. 1594. which he alſo ſent to Queen Elizabeth. On one ſide is the above-ſaid Eagle, having on his Breaſt an Eſcutcheon charged with an Horſe currant; the Reverſe the Figure of St. George encountring the Dragon with his Spear. The Great Seal of Alexie Michaelowich, Empe⯑rour of Ruſſia, affixed to his Letters ſent King Charles II. 1660. hath a like Eagle with a third Crown ſituated between the two Heads, and bearing in a Cartouch-Com⯑partment upon his Breaſt, the Figure of St. George: Which Repreſentation of St. George and the Dragon, we find aſſigned for Arms, to Anne de Ruſſie, Daughter to Jariſla [...]s King of Ruſſia and Muſcovia, given in Eſpouſal to Henry I. King of France, 1051. and thus Blazon'd [...] D'in St. Marthe de Gueules, a [...]un homme a [...]Cheval, d'argent, tenant [184] une Lance en la main, qu'il darde en la gueule d'un Dragoⁿ renverſe.

THE Counts of Mansfield have frequently ſtamp'd it on their Coin. On one ſide is St. George encountring the Dragon with his Sword, with this Circumſcription, Sanct. Geo. Co. do. de Man. on the reverſe, his Arms cir⯑cumſcribed, Mon. de Arc. Co. do. de Man. Of thoſe of the Dukes of Mantua, we may ſee one of Vincentius Duke of Mantua and Montferat, a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, wherein is his Effigies to the Breaſt, Vinc. D. G. Dux MANT. III. MONTFERU. on the Reverſe St. George and the Dragon, Motto, Protector noſtra aſpic. 1591. and Caſal at the Bottom.

§ 10. When the Habit or part of it ought to be worn is the next thing we ſhall ſpeak of.

THE more ſolemn Days and Occaſions which require a fuller conformity, and the wearing the whole Habit, i. e. the Garter, Mantle, Surcoat, Hood, Collar, Great George, and Cap, ar [...] firſt, The High Feſtival of the Order, commonly called St. George's Feaſt, whether it be ſolemnized on the 22d, 23d or 24th of April, annually, or any other Days within the Year by Prorogation, as is apparent by all the Bodies of the Statutes.

FOR, Firſt it is ordained, That the Knights-Compa⯑nions ſhould be Arrayed in the whole Habit on the Eve of St. George, before the Sovereign proceeded to the Chapter to hear Divine Service, and being ſo Robed, ſhould attend on the Sovereign to the Chapter-Houſe, thence to the Chapel, and return with him back in the ſame manner, until after Supper, as well thoſe that minded to Sup, as thoſe that ſhould not Sup; nor might they diſrobe, until the Sovereign or his Deputy had put off his, or declar'd it ſeaſonable for his or their doing ſo.

BY the ſame Statute they were enjoined to wear the whole Habit on the Feaſt of St. George, both at their Progreſſion in the Morning to the Chapter-Houſe or Chapel, at their return to Dinner from thence to the Second Veſpers, and back to Supper, as alſo till Supper was over, and until the Sovereign or his Lieutenant took leave of the reſt of the Knights-Companions.

[185] Secondly, IT is manifeſt from King Henry VIII's Sta⯑tutes, That the Eve, the Day of St. George, and Mor⯑row following, were to be obſerved with ſolemn Ser⯑vice, and holding of Chapters whereſoever the Sove⯑reign was reſident; tho' the Grand Feaſt were Prorogued to a longer Duration; and when by reaſon of ſuch Pro⯑rogation, they ſhould convene in any Place beſides Windſor to attend the Sovereign for the Solemnization of St. George's Day, they then muſt Adorn themſelves with the whole Habit from beginning of the firſt Veſ⯑pers, until the laſt Evening Service of the ſame Day.

Thirdly, ON ſuch other Days of the Year whereon the Grand Feaſt is held by Prorogation, and during ſuch Part of the Eve and Day of the Feaſt, as is before ap⯑pointed when it is held on its proper Day.

Fourthly, BY abſent Knights, whenſoever the Grand Feaſt of St. George ſhould be celebrated, and whereſo⯑ever they ſhould happen at that time to reſide, (if at Liberty, and not under reſtraint) to keep it in like manner as if then preſent with the Sovereign, or his Deputy in the Place where he ſhould Celebrate the Feaſt. The time of wearing the whole Habit in this Point extends but to the End of the ſecond Veſpers, as in the ſecond Inſtance above.

Fifthly, THE Knights-Companions are to wear the entire Habit at the Feaſts of Inſtallation when they aſſiſt at that Ceremony; where, if it commence in the Evening, they are not to diſrobe themſelves till after Supper; and being the next Morning habited as be⯑fore, then to proceed to the Chapter-Houſe or Cha⯑pel, and not to deveſt themſelves till Dinner is ended.

THE leſs ſolemn Occaſions are thoſe, which require the wearing the Mantle or Collar of the Order only.

AND they are firſt, upon the Morrow after the Grand Feaſt-Day, when the Sovereign and Knights-Companions proceed to the Chapel, and make their Offering; then it ſufficeth, that they barely put on the Mantle, which, Service being Finiſhed, they were wont to leave it at the Chapter-Houſe-Door as they retired out of the Chapel.

Secondly, AS often as Chapters are called, and in what Place ſoever aſſembled, either for Elections, or other Cauſes, as it ſhall pleaſe the Sovereign to nominate: [186] And as often as it is requiſite for the Sovereign, or any of the Knights-Companions to enter into the Chapel of St. George at Windſor; and in reference hereunto, is the Article 15 E. 3. was that their Mantles ſhould remain in the Veſtry at Windſor, that upon any ſudden emergency, they might be in readineſs: for in the Inventory of the Chapel taken 8 R. 2. we find remaining at that time in the Veſtry, a Mantle appertaining to the Sove⯑reign, another to John Duke of Britain, a third to John Holland Earl of Huntington, another to Edmund Langley Earl of Cambridge, and one to Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent, all of them then ſurviving [...] And by a Decree paſt at the Grand Feaſt 1 H. 6. the Mantle of the young Sovereign was appointed to be left at Windſor, as the Statutes required; and this Article was confirmed by King Henry VIII. by Virtue whereof, the Mantles of the Emperor Charles V. and Anna Duke of Montmorency, were left in the Cuſtody of the Dean and Canons of Windſor. And heretofore in the Bill of drawing up Matters neceſ⯑ſary for the Inſtallation of a Knight-Companion, there were uſually two Mantles ſet down; one expreſſed to be left in the College, and the other for all other Occa⯑ſions that might intervene.

THESE Mantles thus ordered to be repoſed in the College upon emergent Occaſions, were anciently com⯑mitted to the Cuſtody of the Black-Rod, as granted by Letters Patent with the Office 1 H. 5. And after the Death of the Owners, devolved to the Dean and Canons of Windſor, either for the publick Uſe of the Knights-Companions when they caſually came to Windſor, or elſe ſold ſometimes to the Heirs of the Deceaſed, or others who ſucceeded in the Order, as that of Charles V. was to the Earl of Bedford, and that of the Conſtable of France lent to the Earl of Warwick, Ann. 7 Eliz. which appears from the Accounts of the Chanter of the College, temp. H. 4. H. 5. H. 8. Q. Eliz. and Jac. 1. who in all times anſwered the full Benefit thereof to the College, as being a certain Perquiſite to the Dean and Canons, which they accordingly had and enjoyed.

AND yet we find ſome of the College made over⯑bold with the Robe of Sigiſmond the Emperour, and ſold it while he ſurviv'd. But the Archbiſhop of York, who, [187] as Chancellor of England, viſited the College, 1431. ſecured the Money from being diſtributed among thoſe that ſold it, and reſerved the Dividend to the Dean and Chapter that ſhould chance to be living at that Emperour's Expiration; and commanded for the Future under Pain of Excommunication, That no Dean and Canon ſhould imbezil or aliene any Knights-Com⯑panion's Mantle while he was alive, but the ſame ſhould be decently and faithfully kept and preſerved. But we are informed, that this Statute was altered, Ann. 9 Eliz. and one drawn up to this effect, That the Knights-Com⯑panions ſhould be bound by Oath to take care by their Wills, that after their Deceaſe, all the Ornaments which they had received ſhould be reſtored, the Robes to the College, and the Jewels to the Sovereign that gave them.

IN the laſt Place, the Times of wearing the Collar of the Order, with the Great George appendant, which is not only enjoined to be worn (as part of the Habit) at the grand Feaſts and Feaſts of Inſtallation, but alſo at other times when not any of the reſt of the Habit is ordered (ſaving the Garter) is to be worn, as in ſpe⯑cial, at the principal and ſolemn Feaſts of the Year, and o⯑ther Feaſt-Days: To which a particular Order in Chap⯑ter, Ann. 4 Eliz. thus directs,

• The Holy-days and Sundays within the twelve Days.
• St. Matthias Day.
• Holydays in Eaſter-Week.
• St. Mark's Day.
• St. Philip and Jacob's Day.
• Holy-days in Whitſun-Week.
• St. Peter's Day.
• St. James's Day.
• St. Bartholomew.
• St. Matthew.
• St. Luke.
• St. Simon and Jude.
• St. Andrew.
• St. Thomas.

BESIDES theſe, the Sovereigns and Knights-Compa⯑nions have been accuſtomed to wear this Enſign upon the Anniverſary of the Sovereign's Coronation, of the Gun [...]Powder Treaſon, and, of later Times, on the Sove⯑reign's Birth-day: So formerly upon ſome occaſional Ceremonies not relative to the Order; as when a Knight-Companion hath been created into Titles of Dignity and Honour, he had the Collar of the Garter added to his [188] Inveſtiture, as appears in the Caſe of Henry Stafford, cre⯑ated Earl of Wiltſhire, Ann. 1 Hen. 8. And at a Chapter held May 22d. 1622. That ſuch Knights-Companions as ſhould afterwards aſſiſt at the Funeral of any Knight-Companion, ſhould wear the Collar apert at the ſaid Funeral. And it was ſo obſerved by the Dukes of Or⯑mond and Richmond, the Earls of Mancheſter and Sandwich, at the Obſequies of George Monk Duke of Albemarle.

Howbeit, the Cuſtom is otherwiſe as to wearing the Garter, the principal Enſign of the Order; for tho' it be injoyned to be wore at the grand Feſtivals, &c. yet it does not imply that it might be left off: For indeed it ought daily to be worn both by the Sovereign and Knights Companions. And therefore was it decreed even in its Inſtitution, That if any Knight-Companion ſhould in publick be found without one buckled about his Leg, upon Challenge he ſhould be mulct a Noble to the Dean and College of Windſor. By King Henry VIII. the Fine was raiſed a Mark, payable as before to any of the five Officers of the Order [...] or to the Dean; beſides which Fine, the Knight lies liable to a Check. But to alleviate the Strictneſs, and obviating other Inconveni⯑encies, King Henry V. admitted of a Qualification; and in caſe of riding with Boots, ordained, That it might ſuffice if the Knight-Companion wore ſome Ribband or Silk-Lace to repreſent the Garter; tho' in this very Article there is a Proviſo, That no Knight-Companion ſhould enter into Chapter, without his Garter buckled about the Leg.

In ſhort, King Henry VIII. ordained, That the Gold-Chain whereat the leſſer George (in that Age) hung, ſhould be worn all other days in the Year, except the Principal and Solemn Feaſts, whereon the great Collar was ordained to be worn, and except in time of War, Sickneſs, or long Voyage, in any of which Caſes, a Silk-Lace or Ribband, with the Image of St. George thereat, was ſufficient; and the blue Ribband having ſince ſuc⯑ceeded in Place of the Cold Chain, the Injunction of this Statute extends to it in all particulars.

The preſent Habits, Enſigns and Badges, belonging to the Officers of the Garter.

§ 1. CONCERNING the Officers appointed for the ſervice of the Order, to give it a greater degree and augmentation of Honour, the Founder conſtituted a Prelate, R [...]giſter and Uſher, aſſig⯑ning them ſeveral Duties. Some of his Succeſſors added the Chanchellor and Garter, and all of them Sworn to be of the Council of the Order; among theſe the Prelate and Chanchellor are uſually nominated the Prin⯑cipal, the other three the inferiour Officers of the Order.

IN this Chapter we ſhall give ſome account of their Inſtitution, Oath, Habit, Enſigns, Privileges and Pen⯑ſions; for as to the nature of their Offices and their Duties, they are for the general, Recorded in the Black Book, under the Title Conſtutiones ad Officiales Ordinis [Garterij] peculiarit [...]r attinentes, &c. Upon the Eſtabliſh⯑ment, Anno 13. Hen. VIII. 1521. and annex'd to his Statutes, and more particularly their Duties, will occur in ſeveral places of the enſuing Diſcourſe, where they properly fall in to be Treated of, as follows;

THE Prelate is the firſt and primier Offic [...]r, and in the Founders Statutes, call'd Praelatus O [...]dinis; and that the then Biſhop of Wincheſter, William de Edyngton was the firſt Prelate is very obious from thence; he is an Officer of Honour only, and hath neither Penſion nor Fees allowed him by the ſaid Conſtitutions; this Office is veſted in the Biſhop of Wincheſter, for the time being; and from the Annals of the Order it's manifeſt his Suc⯑ceſſors have continued Prelates to this Day, except the interruption only of a few Months, Anno 7. Ed. 6. im⯑mediately after the Publiſhing this King's Statutes; wherein the other Four Officers were conſ [...]ituted a new, to attend the Order, but the Prelate wholly laid by.

WHAT high reputation this See hath been favour'd with, may be collected from an Act of Parliament, [...]1. [...]en. VIII. concerning the Placing of the Lords in Parlia⯑m [...]nt Chamber, and other Aſſemblies and Conference [...] of Council, whereby thi [...] Biſhop had Place aſſigned [190] him next to the Biſhop of Durham, who hath place by that Act, next the Archbiſhop of York; tho' before in re⯑ſpect of the prehemenence of this noble Order, he had precedence and Place granted above all Biſhops, and next unto the Arch-Biſhops. At that Officers admittance he is oblig'd to take an Oath in the preſence of the Soveraign or his Lieutenant, which conſiſts of theſe particulars.

1. To be preſent in all Chapters, whereunto he is Sum⯑moned.

2. To report all things truly without Favour or Fear.

3. To take the Scrutiny faithfully, and preſent it to the Sovereign.

4 [...] To keep ſecret, and not diſcloſe the Councils of the Order.

5. To promote and mainta [...]n the Honour of it.

6. To withſtand and reveal what is deſigned to the con⯑trary.

THIS Oath is read in Chapter, by the Regiſter of the Order, the Gentleman-Uſher of the Black-Rod, hold⯑ing the Book, whilſt the Prelate Kneels between th [...] Sovereign's Knees.

§ 2. THE inſtitution of the Chancellors Office, his Oath, Robe, Badge, and Penſion next follows to be han⯑dled. At the Erecting this Noble Order, the common Seal was ordained to remain in the cuſtody of whomſo⯑ever the Sovereign ſhould pleaſe to lodge it, but expreſly to be one of the Knights-Companions; among whom in after times, Sir John Robertſack is Stiled Cuſtos Si [...]illi Or⯑dinis, having the cuſtody of it by Decree, 1. Hen. VI. by a Prolepſis of Speech, Styled Chancellor in the Black Book. But King Edw. IV. finding it requiſite to fix the Office of Chancellor of the Garter, in a Perſon diſtinct from the Knights-Companions, and ſubſervient to them, Decreed in a Chapter at Weſtminiſter, 16 R [...]gni ſui, That the Seal of the Order ſhould be reſigned to Richard Beauchamp, then Biſhop of Salisbury to keep [194] during pleaſure, and he to be called Chancellor of this moſt noble Order; not long after by Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of England, Dated the 10th of Oct. 15. Edw. IV. this King declared, that tho' this Office was not expreſſed by the Founder's Statutes, yet was it nevertheleſs very uſeful, and therefore for the Advance⯑ment, and good of the Order, he conſtituted an Of⯑ficer named Chancellor: And foraſmuch as this Office was of great Import and Concern, and required an ex⯑pert and able Perſon, it was His further Pleaſure, that none but a Biſhop ſhould Execute it; moreover con⯑ſidering the Chapel of St. George at Windſor, was Found⯑ed within the Dioceſs of Salisbury, and having regard to the prudence and diligence of the ſaid Beauchamp, who out of meer love to the Order, attended daily the progreſs of the Work, wherewith the King was then in hand for enlarging the Chapel at Windſor; he did therefore Ordain the ſaid Biſhop for the Term of his Life, Chancellor of the Order, and after his deceaſe, his Succeſſors, Biſhops of Salisbury, ſhould always have and hold the ſaid Chancellor-ſhip; Nevertheleſs, pro⯑vided that the King's Conceſſion ſhould be put in exe⯑cution, by the Advice of the Knights-Companions, and without prejudice to the Biſhop of Wincheſter, in thoſe things which ought by the Statutes of Inſtitution to belong unto him.

THIS Office thus conferred upon Beauchamp perſo⯑nally for Life, and perpetually to his Succeſſors, Bi⯑ſhops of Salisbury, by vertue of this Grant continued Chancellors, nor doth it appear that any other Perſon had been inveſted therein, until Ann. 7. E. VI. that Sir William Cecil, then principal Secretary of State, was made Chancellor.

FOR upon Reformation of the Order by that King, his Statutes wholly excluded the Eccleſiaſticks, and ap⯑pointed that the Chancellors-Office ſhould be executed by a Knight qualified, with Honour and Reputation to manage a Poſt of that Care and Fidelity; he there⯑upon appointed Sir William Cecil, Chancellor; And here firſt entred a ſecular Perſon, notwithſtanding which in a Charter to the Biſhop of Salisbury, 4 Eliz. (containing the Charters of Queen Mary, H. VIII. and [195] H. VII. and in another 4. Car. I. the forementioned Letters Patents, made to Beauchamp, by King Edw. IV. are therein recited totidem verbis, and confirmed as a Tacit Reſervation of the Right and Title of thoſe Biſhops, whenſoever the Sovereign ſhould have a benign and propitious Aſpect towards that See. The firſt of theſe Biſhops who concerned himſelf for re⯑covering this high Station to that See, was Biſhop Cotton, who upon the Death of Sir Edward Dyer, ſometime Chancellor, Petitioned the Sovereign, 6. Jac. I. and pray⯑ed Reſtitution thereof to the Church of Salisbury; but be⯑fore any determination, the two chief Juſtices, and chief Baron was adviſed withal, who were of Opinion, that this Office was not compleatly or ſufficiently annexed to the Biſhoprick of Salisbury by King Edw. IV. But Cook in his Inſtitutes, reports the point Void, upon the incertainty of the Grant, for that a new Office was Erected, and not defined what Juriſdiction or Authority the Officer ſhould Exerciſe; and there's aſſigned a third Reaſon, That the Grant was in the Sovereign's diſpoſal, becauſe the Patent was obtained without Fee; with one or more of theſe Opinions, the Sovereign's judg⯑ment being ſwayed, He forthwith nominated Sir John Herbert, one of His privy Council to the Chancellor⯑ſhip, and ſo this affair remained Silent, until Anno 12. Car. I. when John Davenant, Biſhop of Salisbury, upon Sir Francis C [...]anes deceaſe, remonſtrated to the So⯑vereign his Claim to this Office, whereupon at a Chapter held at Windſor, 5th of Dec. that Year, the Sovereign propos'd to the Knights-Companions preſent, that tho' he had made Election of Sir Thomas Rowe for his Chancellor that time, yet underſtanding a Claim made by the Biſhop of Salisbury, that the Place was annexed to that See, he commanded the Lords-Companions to take the pretence of right into their conſiderations; to which propoſition of the King's, they anſwered that they thought it not their duty to ſearch for the Title of any Perſon, but that if the Biſhop did produce his Evidence and Proofs, he might preſent it in Chapter to be conſidered.

UPON this Encouragement, the Biſhop preſented a Petition, which was read in the Chapter at Windſor, [196] the 18th of April enſuing, to this effect, That King Edw. IV, by Letters Patent, had Erected this Office of Chan⯑cellor, and did then grant the ſame to Richard Beauchamp, Biſhop of Salisbury, and his Succeſſors for ever, in con⯑ſideration that the Chapel of St. George was within their Dioceſs; that thoſe Biſhops had enjoyed the ſame, according to the Charter, which Charter had been con⯑firmed under the Great Seal of England, by ſome other Kings and Queens, and laſtly by the King himſelf. But that the uſe and exerciſe of that Office had for many Years been diſcontinued from them, praying therefore an Hearing, and Examination, that the right of the ſaid Church might be preſerved and reſtored. To the ſubſtance of which it was objected.

Firſt, THAT the Great Seals of England did not work within, or upon the Statutes and Rules of the Order of the Garter.

Second, THAT no Grant could preſcribe the preſent Sovereign, it being a Law Fundamental within the Or⯑der, Suprema Lex was Suprema Voluntas.

Third, THAT it did not appear by the Records of the Order, that the Office of the Chancellor was any other⯑wiſe conferred upon Richard Beauchamp, Biſhop of Salis⯑bury, than quam diu Regiae celſitudini complaceret.

TO the Firſt, It was anſwered by way of Exception, as to the Grant of Offices, foraſmuch as the Great Seal of England was took into, and became legal within the Order in like caſes; and not any Patent for an Office, had paſt under the Seal of the Order, but under the Great Seal of England, and in particular the Office of the Chancellor-ſhip, which had not been tranſacted, if any legal defect had been therein.

TO the Second, granting it was ſo as was Objected, it appeared that the Sovereign was as much at liberty to reſtore this Office to the See of Salisbury, as continue it to ſecular Dignities.

TO the Third, what was alledged out of the Records of the Order, related only to the time of delivering the Seals to Biſhop Bea [...]champ: But afterwards when the Office was Erected by Letters Patent, it was then granted to him during Life. Something was replied from the Judges Opinions, even in this caſe, Ann. Jac. [197] R. VI. But the Sovereign thought it was not then well canvaſs'd and weighed, to permit the Chapter Acts of this Order, wholly independant from other Laws, to receive conſtruction and determination from the com⯑mon Law, and therefore declared that the Biſhop ought to be heard; and to that purpoſe, gave him Orders to prepare the Vouchers and Proofs of his pretenſions in vindication of his Petition, and to ſend them to be delivered to the Knights-Commiſſioners, elected for the affairs of the Order, for their conſideration at the next Chapter, which was accordingly put in execution, and then refierred to them again to be conſidered, prepar⯑ed and abbreviated, to be peruſed by the Sovereign, for his final determination. But the Scotch War ſhortly af⯑ter breaking forth, and troubles running high at Home, the further Proſecution was laid aſide, and not revived until the 19th of Nov. Anno 21. Car. II. When Seth Ward, Biſhop of Salisbury, took encouragement upon the former grounds, and the Sovereign's favour, to ſet on foot this Claim, by a Petition preſented to the Chap⯑ter then held at Whitehall, where, after a full debate and mature deliberation had of its equity and juſt Foun⯑dation, he obtained a Decree for Re-eſtabliſhment of this Office on the Biſhops of that See, upon the firſt vacancy, Dated the 19th of Nov. 1669. and preſent his Majeſty the Sovereign, the Dukes of York, and Or⯑mond, Earls of Oxford and Mancheſter, Prince Rupert, Earls of Briſtol and Sandwich, and the Duke of Mon⯑mouth.