To our Trusty and Well-beloved Servant, SirEdward Walker, Kt. Garter, and Principal King of Arms, of our most Noble Order of the Garter.
To our Trusty and Well-beloved Servant, SirEdward Walker, Kt. Garter, and Principal King of Arms, of our most Noble Order of the Garter.
By the Sovereign’s CommandHen. de Vic.
By the Sovereign’s CommandHen. de Vic.
By which we find the Stranger Princes are placed in the upper Stall, nearest the Sovereign, according to their Dignities and Degrees, and all theKnights-Subjectsas to the Time of their Elections. It is to be observed upon this Settlement, that though the Earl ofSouthamptondid not receive his Garter and George, till the Sovereign, upon his happy arrival inEngland, conferred it upon him with his own Hand; yet, according to the Time of the Election, Place and Precedency were allowed him; which was inJanuary,An. Dom.1649. in the Isle ofJersey, some few Days before DukeHamiltonand the Marquiss ofNewcastlewere elected.
It was ordered by the Sovereign andKnights-Companions, convened in Chapter on the 10th ofJanuary,Anno14Car.II.That thenceforward all Princes Strangers, of what Condition soever, shou’d have Precedence among themselves, according to the Seniority of their Elections andInstallations. Upon which the Sovereign, under the Signet of the Order, authorized the Garter, upon the 30th ofMarch, to set up their Atchievements in St.George’sChapel, in the Order here exhibited.
CHARLES Rex.
But upon mature Consideration of a Law made byHenryVIII. for placing of Strangers, and for another founded by QueenElizabethforKnights-Subjects; the Sovereign, by the consent of the most Noble Companions present, at a Chapter held the 19th ofNovember, 1699. was pleased to Ordain, first,That the Prince ofWales,and such Emperors and Kings that shou’d be of the Order, shou’d be placed in the nearest Stalls to that of the Sovereign, according to their Elections and Installations.
Then,That all other Sovereign Princes, and Princes of the Blood, shou’d be placed in their Stalls nextunto the King’s,according to the Seniority, in the Order. And thirdly, That all other his Majesty’s Subjects and Strangers, not of the Dignity above-mention’d, shou’d be installed in the lowest Stalls, according to their Antiquity in the Order, and the ancient Practice.
And whereas the Stall termed the Prince’s had been long vacant, the Sovereign KingCharlesII. by the advice of the most Noble Companions, at the same Chapter, was pleased to order,That the present King ofSwedenshou’d, by his Proxy, be placed in that Stall, and his Atchievements hung up thereon accordingly, in convenient Time. Whichorder was strictly put in Execution, and the Stalls at the Feast of St.George,Anno23Car.II. were thus ranged.
CHARLES Rex.
§ 7. Having dispatch’d the ancient Law of Succession into void Stalls, and of Translation from one to another; we come now to consider what is farther to be prepared for the Knight elect, against the Day of the great Solemnity, at his own Expence; the chief of which are;
1. A Mantle or upper Robe, with its Appurtenance.2. A Collar of the Garter and Great George.3. A Cap of black Velvet, adorned with Plumes.4. A Helmet, Crest, Mantlings, and Sword.5. A Banner of his Arms.6. A Plate of his Arms and Stile.7. A Cushion, to carry his Robes and Collar upon.8. Lodging Escutcheons.
1. A Mantle or upper Robe, with its Appurtenance.2. A Collar of the Garter and Great George.3. A Cap of black Velvet, adorned with Plumes.4. A Helmet, Crest, Mantlings, and Sword.5. A Banner of his Arms.6. A Plate of his Arms and Stile.7. A Cushion, to carry his Robes and Collar upon.8. Lodging Escutcheons.
1. A Mantle or upper Robe, with its Appurtenance.2. A Collar of the Garter and Great George.3. A Cap of black Velvet, adorned with Plumes.4. A Helmet, Crest, Mantlings, and Sword.5. A Banner of his Arms.6. A Plate of his Arms and Stile.7. A Cushion, to carry his Robes and Collar upon.8. Lodging Escutcheons.
1. A Mantle or upper Robe, with its Appurtenance.
2. A Collar of the Garter and Great George.
3. A Cap of black Velvet, adorned with Plumes.
4. A Helmet, Crest, Mantlings, and Sword.
5. A Banner of his Arms.
6. A Plate of his Arms and Stile.
7. A Cushion, to carry his Robes and Collar upon.
8. Lodging Escutcheons.
Though the Kirtle on the Surcoat was anciently given by the King to theKnights-Subjects, yet we do not find the Mantle of the Order was, nor indeed of a later Date, unless now and then, as a distinguishing mark of Favour. But the Sovereign always bestows the Mantle upon Strangers, as well as the whole Habit, when he has elected them into the Society of the Order. And upon sending of the whole Habit over by Garter to the King ofPortugal,Anno13Hen.VI. the Mantle, Surcoat, and Hood, were accompted for in the Great Wardrobe, and is to this Day practised.
However of late the Sovereign hath been pleased, now and then, to confer the Mantle upon aKnight-Subject. Witness KingJamesI.Anno21. did toJamesMarquiss ofHamilton; and KingCharlesI.Anno4. toTheophilus, Earl ofSuffolk, and the Year ensuing toWilliam, Earl ofNorthampton: AndAnno14. SirJames Palmer, by his Sovereign’s Direction, paid for the Velvet and Taffety of the Earl ofKelly’s Mantle and Surcoat, to SirPeter Richaut, and put it upon the Account of the extraordinary Expence of the Order.
KingCharlesII. as a signal Mark of his Favour, caused seventeen Mantles (with the usual Liveries of Surcoat and Hood,) to be made ready against the grand Feast of St.George,Anno13. which he confered not only among the new elect Knights, but upon the Earls ofSalisbury,Barkshire, andNorthumberland, that were three SeniorKnights-Companions.
The Collar of the Order, and the great George, the elect Knight is to provide himself, unless where the Sovereign is pleased to bestow the Mantle, which is always accompanied with the Collar, and then a like Warrant issues to the Master of theJewel-House, as was used for providing the seventeen Collars,Anno13Car.II.
The black Velvet Cap before-mentioned and described, with the Helm, Crest, and Mantlings, together with a Sword and Girdle, are to be got in readiness by the care and direction of the Garter, but at the Expence of the Knights elect; all which are to be set over his Stall, as soon as his Installation Fees are paid.
This Honour, that everyKnight-Companionshall have his Helm, Crest, and Sword, affixed over his Stall at the Chappel of St.George, is particularly provided for in all the several Bodies of Statutes; and are ordained to remain there during the Lives of the Possessors,In Memory of him that bears them, and a Testimony of the Defence of the Church, as the Oaths of Military Orders require.
The Helms upon this Occasion are composed of Steel, and of a more than ordinary proportion; those for Sovereign Princes are framed open, with large Barrs; but those for theKnights-Subjectsare made close. About KingHenryVIII’s Reign, theKnights-SubjectsHelms were parcel gilt with fine Gold in Oil, wrought with curious Works, and burnished with fine Gold. But in the Reign of QueenElizabeth, and since that Time, it hath been the Custom to gild their Helms all over, and place the Arms of St.Georgein the Middle before the Vizors.
The Mantlings that hang down on either side of the Helm, together with the Wreath, are in some places called Appendixes, and are all of Tissue, or Cloth of Gold, and formerly lined with Sarcenet; but in the Reign of QueenMarythey were exchanged for white Satin, for so were the Mantlings ofAnthony Brown, ViscountMontague, andWilliam Howard, Lord Admiral, lined.
At the bottom of these Mantlings hang a pair of gilt Knobs burnished with Gold, from which spring out Tossels either of Gold or Silver, (consentaneous to the Metal in the Knights Court of Armour) mixed with Silk of the chief Colour in his Arms.
Upon the Helm and Mantlings, is placed a Wreath of corded Silk, of the Knight’s Colours, which was formerly of Sarcenet, but now of Taffety.
The Crest of the Knight is placed either upon these Wreaths, or Issuant out of a Crown, or Ducal Cap, turned with Ermin; and of what kind soever the Crest is, the same is neatly carved in Wood, and either gilt, or wrought in; Directly before the Helm, an armed Sword hangs down, the Pomel, Cross, and Chape are gilt; the Scabbard is made of the same Tissue or Cloth of Gold as the Mantlings are, as is the Girdle that belongs to it; but the Buckles and Pendants are of Copper Gilt.
The Custom of setting up the Helm, Crest, and Sword, over the Stall of the Knights, is as ancient as the Institution of the Order; but when the Banners were first hung up, we have not so clear a Conviction; for neither the Statutes of Institution, nor those ofHenryV. make mention of them.
The first time they occur to us, we find to be inAnno2Hen.VI. in the black Book of the Order, where the Banners of the King ofPortugalis particularly spoke of, among the Atchievements then set over the Stall. But they are more particularly mentioned in the Body of KingHenryVIII’s Statutes.
The Fashion of the Sovereign’s and all theKnights-CompanionsBanners are square; yet it does no where appear what the exact Standard was; yet we find them in the Reign of QueenElizabethto be two Yards and a Quarter Long, and a Yard and three Quarters Broad, besides the Fringe, which is composed of Gold, or Silver and Silk, of the Colours in the Wreath; and on them are wrought, upon Taffety-Sarcenet, double Sarcenet, or rich Taffety, with fine Gold Colours on both sides, the Paternal Coat of theKnights-Companion, together with his Quartering, or so many of them as he pleases to use, and the Garter is to take care they be warrantably Marshalled.
And because a single Coat was not conceived to stand fair enough in a Banner of this proportion, the Sovereign hath been pleased to grant a new Coat, to bear in Quarters his Paternal one, if he wanted it; as KingJamesI. did toRobert Carr, ViscountRochester; to whose Paternal Coat he first added a Lion Passant, Gardant Or, in the dexter Part, as an especial Gift of his Favour, and then invented a new Coat, to be born in Quarter therewith,viz.Quarterly Or and Gules, a Lyon Rampant Sable over all,June8.Anno9Jac.I.
These Banners of Arms are fixed to the End of long Staves, painted in Oil, formerly of the Colour of the Wreaths, but now Red; their Ends are put into Sockets of Iron, well fixed in the Wall, directly over theKnights-CompanionsHelms and Crests, and frequently lined with Fustian to preserve them.
There is moreover to be provided a Copper Plate Gilt, whereupon are engraved, the Escutcheon of the Knights elect Arms in Colours Enamilled, with his Quartering, Helm, Crest, and Supporters, and underneath, his Style and Titles of Honour, encircled with a Garter. Which Plate the Garter usually takes Care to provide, and is to be fixed on the back of the Knights Stall, assigned for his Installation.
A Velvet Cushion is likewise to be provided, to carry the Knight’s elect Mantle, Collar, Hood, and Book of Statutes, before him, in the Progress into the Choire, in order to his Installation. At the Installation of the Lord TreasurerWeston, and the Earls ofExeterandLindsey, who were installed,Anno6Car.I. the materials and garnishing of these Cushions are recited severally, to containone Yard and a Half of Crimson Velvet, one Ell of rich Taffety for their Lining, four Yards of Fringe, and four great Tossels.
Lastly, There have frequently been made ready a convenient Number of Lodging Escutcheons of the elect Knights Arms, invironed with a Garter, and his Stile and Titles placed underneath; it having been an ancient Custom, for the Knights to distribute these Escutcheons at the Inns, in their Passage to, and atWindsor, as a Memorial of their Installation.
What falls under the Care of the Garter to prepare and make ready, the Expence sometimes has been cast up, and the Account stated and defraid before-hand; by which means, he was in a better capacity to furnish out the Ceremony, for so did the Earls ofShrewsburyandCumberland,Anno34Eliz.
Besides these mentioned to be prepared and provided either by the Chancellor of the Order, or the Garter, the Knight elect must take care of other Affairs more particularly relating to himself and his retinue; such as are Apparel, the Number of his Attendants and Servants, with their Cloaths and Liveries, his Coach and Saddle Horses, both for himself and them, with other material Circumstances, to set off his Cavalcade and Proceeding with greater Pomp and Gallantry. The Provisions for Dyet atWindsor(if the Feast be kept at the elect Knight’s Charge and Expence,) are to be considered of, and very often some Clark of the Sovereign’s Kitchin is to be consulted, in the management of that Affair.
The Hall or Room where the grand Dinner is to be kept, as well as the Chapter-House and Chappel, ought chiefly to be decked and adorned with rich and sumptuous Furniture, against this Solemnity, over and above what is commonly used. The Hall or Dining-Room is to be set off with rich Hangings; and if the Sovereign or his Lieutenant hold the Feast, there must be placed a Cloth of State at the upper End of it. The Chapter-House is also to be hung, and a rich Carpet spread upon the Table, set about with Velvet Chairs and Cushions; and because in the late Times of Rebellion and Plunder, this Place was not exempt, and nothing was found there upon the Restauration; KingCharlesII. in a Chapter convened the 1st ofJanuary,Anno14th of his Reign, caused Directionsto be given to the Master of the Wardrobe, to provide Velvet for Chairs, to furnish the Chapter-House, and Cushions to be used in the Choir of St.George’sChappel, which accordingly were prepared against the following Feast.
Against the Installation ofPhilip, King ofCastileandLeon,Anno22HenryVII. The Table in the Chapter-House was covered with Cloth of Gold, and the Forms with Baudkin; before the Sovereign was laid a Cushion of Cloth of Gold, whereupon a Crucifix lay, and the Evangelist turned open to a place of the Cannon, with several Tapers burning on either Side. At the upper End of the Table, towards the Right Hand, was set a Chair for the Sovereign, under a golden Canopy, with Cushions of Cloth of Gold, and on the Left Hand a Stool with like Embellishments, for the King ofCastile.
In St.George’sChappel, the High Altar is to be richly adorned with Plate, the Sovereign’s Stall with a Canopy, and other usual Ornaments, and the Stalls of theKnights-Companionspresent at the Ceremony, with Velvet Cushions. As to the Furnishing of other Places in the Castle ofWindsor, on so solemn an Occasion, we shall relate the Account of the Ceremony of the Installation of the King ofLeonandCastile, just now mentioned. The Words are these:
To wit of the gret rich Cobbord, which continually stode in the gret Hall, which was all guilt Plate, or of the gret and rich Beds of Estate, Hangings of rich Cloth of Gold, or of the rich and sumptuous Clothes of Arras, with divers Clothes of Estate, both in the King’s Loggings, and in the King ofCastile’sLoggings, so many Chambers, Haulls, Chappels, Closettes, Galleries, with odir Loggings, so richly and very well appointed, with divers odir things, that I suffice or cannot discern, and as I suppose few or none that there were, that ever sawCastellor odir Loggings, in all things so well and richly appointed, and thegreat continual fare, open Houshold, so many Noble Men soo well appareilled and with soo short Warnying, heretofore, as I think hath not been seen.