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 Antiquities 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 Examples, 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 publickly wear a Gold Collar of SS’_s_, tho’
since it is grown obsolete and useless. _Favin_ tells us that our
_Hen._ V. instituted 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 following Relation.
“THE King of _England_ exhorted his Men, and commanded, That if any had
trespass’d against another, they should be reconcil’d and confess’d to
the Priests, otherwise no good Success wou’d accrew to them in their
Attempts. He advis’d them to be civil in their March, and to do their
Duty well, and agreed upon these Conditions, That those of their
Company who were not of gentle Extraction he wou’d make so from the
Fountain of Honour, and give them Warrants, that for the future they
should enjoy the Privileges the Gentlemen of _England_ had; and to the
End they might be distinguish’d from others, he granted them leave to
wear a Collar powder’d with the Letter S.”
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 Collar of the Order) inserted between Two SS_s_, 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, having been bestow’d by former Kings, and
renew’d to them by King _Charles_ II. to be worn upon Days of solemn
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.
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 Portcullisses.
§ 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-Companions, 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 others of the Nobility and Knights, who,
according to the Mode of those Times, wore large Gold Chains, 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 curiously 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
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 Possessor, (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
promiscuously us’d and _ad Libitum_. (So were the Symbols of Foreign
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 Ribband. And this Colour was more caressed, and grew in great
repute, by reason it was the Ground of the Garter, and nearest the
Colour of the Mantle of the Order: So that toward the latter End of the
Reign of King _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 decreed, 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 Trustees appointed for Sale of his
Goods, were these,
_l. s. d._
A George containing 161 Diamonds, Sold for 71 2 0
A George cut in Onyx, with 41 Diamonds }
in the Garnish, } 37 0 0
A small George with a few Diamonds 9 0 0
A George with 5 Rubies and 3 Diamonds, }
and 11 Diamonds in a Box } 11 0 0
A George cut in a Garnet 8 0 0
-------
Total 136 2 0
-------
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 was that of King _Charles_ II. also
sett with fair Diamonds; and after the Defeat given to the _Scotch_
Forces at _Worcester_, 4 _Car._ II. was strangely preserved by Colonel
_Blague_, one of that King’s dispersed Attendants, who resigned 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_ encountring the Dragon in like Posture, tho’ not
so anciently, nor upon the same Grounds and Foundation as they;
probably having elected him Patron and Guardian of their Countries or
Families; such as the Emperors 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
bearing an Eschutcheon with the Representation of St. _George_ upon its
Breast. There is another of this Emperour’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_, Emperour 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-Compartment
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 _Jarislaus_ 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
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 circumscribed, _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, are 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-Companions 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.
_Secondly_, IT is manifest from King _Henry_ VIII’s Statutes, That the
Eve, the Day of St. _George_, and Morrow following, were to be observed
with solemn Service, and holding of Chapters wheresoever the Sovereign
was resident; tho’ the Grand Feast were Prorogued to a longer Duration;
and when by reason of such Prorogation, 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 Vespers, 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 appointed when it is held on its proper Day.
_Fourthly_, BY absent Knights, whensoever the Grand Feast of St.
_George_ should be celebrated, and wheresoever 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 before, then to proceed
to the Chapter-House or Chapel, 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: 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 Sovereign,
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 necessary
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 Occasions that might intervene.
THESE Mantles thus ordered to be reposed in the College upon emergent
Occasions, were anciently committed 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, 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-Companion’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-Companions
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 special, _at the principal and
solemn Feasts of the Year_, and other Feast-Days: To which a particular
Order in Chapter, _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-Companions 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
Sovereign’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 Investiture, as appears in the Case of _Henry Stafford_,
created 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
_Ormond_ 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
Inconveniencies, 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 succeeded in Place of the Gold Chain, the Injunction of
this Statute extends to it in all particulars.
CAP. VIII.
§ 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_, _Register_ and _Usher_, assigning 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 Principal,
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 Pensions; 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] peculiariter attinentes_, &c. Upon the Establishment, _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;