Feathers Argent_, surrounded with the Garter, 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 _Lewis Robessart_, Lord _Bourchier_, Knight-Companion,
_temp. Hen._ V. we find encompass’d with a Garter on each side his
Monument, in _Westminster-Abbey_.
AT the Interment of _Richard_ Duke of _York_, Father to King _Edw._ IV.
at every Corner of the Majesty-Escutcheon (set over the Image of the
Defunct) was an Escutcheon of the Arms of _France_ and _England
quarterly_, and _Four Angels Gold_, holding the same within a Garter.
And so some of the Funeral Escutcheons of _John_ Viscount _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 _Thetford-Abbey_,
(who dy’d 16 _Hen._ VIII.) there was provided 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 Funeral 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, celebrated at St. _Paul_’s, _London_, 1 _Edw._ VI. the
Escutcheons were the Arms of _France_, encompass’d within the Garter of
St. _George_, and Collar of St. _Michael_. At the Obsequies of _Hen._
II. of _France_, _Anno_ 1 _Eliz._ at St. _Paul_’s also, there were some
Escutcheons of his Arms, incircled 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.
KING _Hen._ VIII. was the first that introduc’d into his Great Seal the
Eschutcheon of his Arms incircled within a Garter, as may be seen
placed on either side his Portraiture sitting 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 Justice, and generally in all Matters
where their Arms were visible (except Coins); in Imitation of whom, the
Knight-Companions have done the like.
BUT there were _An._ 21 _Car._ 1. certain Half Crowns stamp’d in the
West of _England_, containing the Sovereigns 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_ encompass’d about with the Royal Garter to be
publickly stamp’d in the Center of his Silver Coin, struck upon the
Recoinage of it, _Anno_ 14. _Car._ 2.
THERE were other Medals heretofore stamp’d upon several Occasions,
wherein the Garter 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 _Bohemia_, and _Robert Cecil_ Earl of
_Salisbury_ created Lord Treasurer, both Knights Companions 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 subjoins 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 upon them.
AMONG the Officers belonging to the Order the Prelate is permitted to
bear his proper Arms (impaled with 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 Garter 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 Sovereign 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 varies in Fashion from
their _Pallium_ or _Toga_; for the _Grecian_ Pallium was a sort of long
Cloak, which only wanted a Collar or Cape, and the _Roman Toga_ as
proper 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 Garment 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 whereof it consists;
Thirdly, the Colour; Fourthly, the Quantity; and last of all the
Ornamental Trimmings, that nothing be omitted to satisfy any curious
Enquirer.
NAME.
IN the Founder’s Statutes it is called _Mantellum_, and in _Hen._ V.
_Manteau_, both which we render _Mantle_. But the Exemplar of the
Founder’s Statutes entred in the black Book, and the Statutes of King
_Henry_ VIII. call it _Trabea_, which _Rosinus_ reckons among the
different Kinds of _Mantles_ or _Gowns_. And in 20 _Art._ of King
_Hen._ VIIIth’s Statutes, it is applied both to the _Mantle_ and
_Surcoat_; sometime it is stiled _Chlamyda_; sometime _Stola_; but in
other Places more pertinently, _Pallium_ and _Toga_.
MATERIALS.
THAT Mantle prepared for the Founder against the first Feast of this
Order, appears to be fine Woollen Cloth, and it is not improbable this
Material was chosen, rather than any other richer, to the Intent the
Founder might give the Preference to our native Commodity, altho’
there’s permitted in the Statutes of Institution a permission for the
Proxies of Foreign Princes to bring over with them Mantles of Silk and
Velvet when they came to receive possession of their Principal Stalls,
either because other Countries were better stored with such Commodities
than our _English_ Cloth, or that it might be more agreeable to
represent the State and Grandeur of Foreign Princes, as accounting Silk
or Velvet the nobler Representation.
WHAT Duration the wearing Cloth had, is not directly set down, but the
first time we discover their Mantles to be of Velvet, is about the
beginning of the Reign of King _Hen._ VI. which Sort of Silk hath
thence remained until this Day. About this Period, ’tis observed, that
the Mantles of Foreign Princes were made here of Velvet, for so was
that transmitted to the King of _Portugal_, elected _Anno_ 1346.
Concerning the Mantles of the Knights-Companions, there is no doubt but
they were of the same Materials with those made for the Sovereign,
_viz._ at first of fine Woollen Cloth, and when the Sovereign exchanged
it for Velvet, they followed his Example; but we cannot meet with equal
Satisfaction in this Point, because the Knights-Companions provided
this Robe at their own Expence; and their private Accounts herein
passing thro’ so many Contingences, were of no great Durability. But
their Surcoats were of the Sovereigns Donation, and consequently the
Particulars of them remain on Record in the Rolls and Accounts of the
great Wardrobe.
THE Colour of these Mantles is appointed by the Statutes to be Blue,
and of this Colour was the Founders; by which, as by the Ground-work of
the Royal Garter, it is not improbable he alluded to the Colour of the
Field in the _French_ Arms, which a few Years before he began to
Quarter with those of _England_. But the Colour of the Surcoat was
changed every Year, as will appear by and by. Of the same Colour were
the Velvet Mantles, made _temp. Hen._ VI. who tho’ he altered the
Stuff, did not vary the Dye. It is apparent, that the blue Colour was
retained to King _Edw._ IVth’s Reign, for when this Sovereign
transmitted the Habit and Ensigns of the Order to _Julian de Medicis_,
the Mantle was of blue Velvet.
BUT in King _Hen._ VIIIth’s Statutes there’s no mention at all of the
Colour of this upper Robe, save only of the _Mantle_, which the Proxy
of a Foreign Prince was enjoined to bring with him when he came to
assume the Stall of his Principal; which, tho’ it does not come
directly up to the Point, yet it is to be observed to be of blue
Velvet. And it’s highly probable that the blue Colour remained still to
be used; for within a few Months after the compiling the said Statutes,
it’s plain, the Mantle sent to _James_ King of _Scotland_, was of blue
Velvet, and in the ancient Form of Admonition and Signification
appointed to be spoke at the Investiture of Foreign Princes, and then
in Plea it is called _the Mantle of celestial Colour_. Likewise the
Mantle sent to _Emanuel_ Duke of _Savoy_, 1 and 2 _Ph._ and _Mar._ was
of the same Composure.
IN Queen _Elizabeth_’s Reign, upon what Ground History is silent, the
Colour of Foreign Prince’s Mantles was changed from Blue to Purple, for
of that Colour were the Mantles sent to the _French_ Kings, _Charles_
IX. _Anno._ 6 _Eliz._ and _Hen._ III. _Ann._ 27 _Eliz._ So also to the
Emperor _Maximilian_ 9 _Elizabeth_, to _Fredrick_ II. King of
_Denmark_, _An._ 24 _Eliz._ to _Joh. Casimire_ Count Palatine of the
_Rhine_, _Anno_ 21 _Eliz._ to _Christiern_ IV. King of _Denmark_, _An.
J. R._ IV. But that sent to _Frederick_ Duke of _Wirtemberg_ in the
same Year, was a mix’d Colour of Purple and Violet.
THUS the Purple Colour came in Request, and continued till about the 12
of King _Charles_ I. when he determining to restore the Colour of the
Mantle to the primitive Institution, gave Directions to Mr. _Peter
Richaut_, Merchant, to provide himself with a Quantity of rich blue
Velvets from _Genoa_; and upon their arrival into _England_, signify’d
his Pleasure by Sir _Thomas Rowe_ the Chancellor, That all
Knights-Companions should purchase as much of the said Velvet as would
furnish them with new Robes against St. _George_’s-Day next ensuing;
compliance to whose Will, all the Knights paid Obedience, at the Rate
of Thirty seven Shillings a Yard, being the Price the Sovereign paid to
Mr. _Richaut_ for the Velvet of his own Robes. And the first Essay of
these Mantles was to honour the Installation of the Prince, afterwards
King _Charles_ II.
AND because there were many Knights-elect to be installed after the
Restoration, it was ordained at the Chapter held at _Whitehall_ the
_14th_ of _Jan. Anno_ 12. _Car._ 2. (called to consider of the
Preparations of the grand Feast then at hand), That Directions should
be given to the Master of the Wardrobe to negotiate Abroad for
excellent Velvets of Skie Colour, and Crimson, and other Materials
agreeable for the Mantles and Surcoats, both of the old
Knights-Companions, and those that were then to be installed; which was
accordingly effected, and they were transmitted in time to accommodate
them at the said Feast.
THO’ the just Number of Ells of Cloth for the Sovereigns Mantle at the
first Institution are not set down, yet in the Total for his Mantle,
Hood, and Surcoat, there was allowed ten Ells of long Cloth. The Mantle
of King _Henry_ VI. took up one Piece, five Ells and three Quarters of
blue Velvet; and those sent to _Frederick_ II. and _Christian_ IV.
Kings of _Denmark_; and to the _French_ King, _Henry_ III. contained
each twenty Yards of Velvet.
THIS we find to be the Allowance for Foreign Princes, and are the more
full and extensive, by reason of their long Train, which being more
scanty in the Mantles of Knights-Subjects, eighteen Yards was
sufficient to make one of them. The full Length of King _Charles_ II.
from the Collar behind to the end of the Train, was three Yards the
Length of the foreside, one Yard and three Quarters from the Foot along
the bottom to the fixing on of the Train, was two Yards, and from
thence the Length or Compass of the Train, two Yards.
THE left Shoulder of each of these Mantles have from the Institution
been adorned with a large fair Garter, containing this Motto, _Honi
soit qui mal y pense_. These were distinguished from the lesser
Garters, anciently embroider’d upon the Surcoats and Hoods of the
Sovereigns and Knights-Companions, by the Name of _Garters Gross_.
WITHIN this Garter was the Arms of St. _George_, _viz._ Argent a _Cross
Gules_, and was heretofore wrought in Sattin, with Gold, Silver and
Silk; but in descending Times greater Expence and Magnificence became
the Practice of the Order, for it was embordered upon Velvet with
Damask, Gold, and sundry Sorts of Purls, Plates, _Venice_ Twists and
Silks, and the Letters of the Motto and Borders of the Garter composed
of fair Oriental Pearl. The Garter fix’d upon the Mantle of King
_Charles_ II. was encircled with large Oriental Pearl, so were the
Letters of the Motto and the Cross within the Garter, the Diameter of
which was seven Inches, but the Depth from the upper Part to the end of
the Pendant, ten Inches.
_Temp. Hen._ VI. it seems to have been the Mode to embellish the Mantle
with three or four Velts drawn down the sides, and round the bottom, as
it appears by the Monument of _John Talbot_ Earl of _Shrewsbury_ in the
South-wall of the Chancel of _Whitechurch in Com. Salop_.
ABOUT that Time the Lining of this Robe was white Damask, and
afterwards white Sattin; but of later Date it was lined with white
Taffaty, which continues yet in vogue.
FOR exemplary Ornament, the Mantle had fixed to its Collar a pair of
long Strings, anciently woven of blue Silk only (called _Cordons_,
Robe-strings or Laces); but of later Days, twisted round and made of
_Venice_ Gold and Silk of the Colour of the Robe, at each end of which
hung a great Knob or Button, wrought over and raised with a rich Caul
of Gold, and Tassels thereunto of like Silk and Gold.
AND at the Collar was usually fixed an Hook and Eye of Gold for its
firmer affixing of it to the Shoulders.
§. 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 Mantle or upper Robe, that is only taken
Notice of there, for such a Vesture King _Edward_ III. then made,
together with his Mantle and a Hood to celebrate the first Feast of the
Order in.
ITS Original it owes to the _Greeks_ and _Romans_; amongst whom this
Garment had its determinated _Tunica_, 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_ Citizens, and by its trimming were the
three Degrees among them known; for the Senators Tunicks were
embroidered 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 Garnishing of it.
AS to the Name in the old Rolls of the great Wardrobe, 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 rendred _Gown_, _Kirtle_, _Surcoat_, _Undercoat_ and
_Robe_. The Appellation of _Gown_ is attributed to _Surcoats_ of the
Sovereigns 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 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 Wardrobe; 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 remained the same as at the Institution, until Queen
_Elizabeth_’s Reign, and then it commenced Blue: And ’tis remarkable,
that the Surcoats of the Knights-Companions, were always of the same
Colour with the Sovereigns.
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
these following Knights-Companions, _viz._ the Black Prince, the Earls
of _Ulster_, _Richmond_ and _Salisbury_, _Edmund_ of _Langly_, Sir
_Richard la Vach_, Sir _Hugh Wrotesly_, Sir _Reginald Cobham_, Sir
_Bartholomew Burghest_, the Lord _Mohun_, Sir _Walter Manney_, Sir
_Nele Loring_, Sir _Walter Paveley_, 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 sable Colour, was conceived to be a kind of Humiliation, because
the Pestilence began again to spread its Malevolence, which had
furiously raged Eleven Years before. The Surcoats which the Sovereign
gave the Dukes of _Lancaster_ and _Clarence_, 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
_Richard_ II. were Violet in Grain, whereof one was for the Sovereign,
the other Twenty three for the Knights-Companions, following _John_
King of _Castile_, and _Leonard_ Duke of _Lancaster_, the Earls of
_Cambridge_, _Buckingham_, _Derby_, _Kent_, _Warwick_, _Stafford_,
_Salisbury_, _Northumberland_ and _Nottingham_, the Lords _Nevil_,
_Basset_, and _John Holland_, Sir _Guy Bryan_, Sir _William Beauchamp_,
Sir _Thomas Percy_, Sir _Nele Loring_, Sir _John Sulby_, Sir _Lodowick
Clifford_, Sir _Simon Burley_, 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
Sovereign 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. _George_, _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 Medicis_, _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 primitive Colour, _Anno_ 12 _Regni
sui_.
THERE has been some disproportion in the Quantity 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 six 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_, _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 Prince of _Wales_) were not to exceed five
Ells: But since Velvet 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 it 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 Instituting this Order, for they were then,
and a long time after, powdered all over with little Garters,
embroidered 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.