appearing on the Grand Feast, so hath the Sovereign, on sufficient
Grounds, been pleas’d to license and dispence with their departure;
from the same of this is an Example, 6 _Eliz._ when the Lord _Hastings_
of _Loughborough_, falling Ill a little before the Offering on St.
_George_’s _Day_, obtain’d Licence from the Sovereign to depart out of
the _Choir_; and came no more abroad that Day, nor during the Feast. As
also another in the Duke of _Lenox_, _Anno_ 15 _Car._ I. _The Deputy
Chancellor having, by Command of the Sovereign, and in discharge of the
Duty of his Office_; who being forc’d to go back to _London_, by reason
of the aforesaid Dutchess of _Richmond_’s Death, had his Excuse, and
the Sovereign’s Licence for departure.
We are next to consider Excuses, which, though sent in due time, yet on
Debate in _Chapter_ were suspended rather than allow’d; to which Head
may be referr’d that Case of several of the _Knights-Companions_, who
were Members of the Lord’s House in the long Parliament. For _Anno_ 18
_Car._ I. the Deputy Chancellor having, by the Command of the
Sovereign, and in discharge of the Duty of his Office, sent to each of
them a Summons, for their Attendance at the Celebration of the Grand
Feast, to be held for the preceeding Year at _York_; and notice thereof
being given to the House of Lords, they immediately made the ensuing
Order.
Die Martis 22 Maii, 1641.
_Whereas the Lord Chamberlain of his Majesty’s Houshould, and some
other Lords of Parliament, Knights of the_ Garter, _have been Summoned
to give their Attendance, and repair into the City of_ York, _for the
Celebration of St._ George’_s Feast; who acquainting this House with
the Summons aforesaid, it is this Day ordered by the Lords in
Parliament, that they attend the weighty Affairs of the Kingdom
discussed in Parliament, whereunto they are obliged by his Majesty’s
Writ, and the Law of the Land._
Jo. Browne, Cleric. Parliament.
Whereupon the said _Knights-Companions_, before the Days appointed by
Prorogation for holding the Feast, sent their petitionary Letters of
Excuse to the Deputy Chancellor, wherein they profess’d their desire
and readiness to attend, in Obedience of the said Summons; nevertheless
pleaded the foresaid _Order_ for the Ground of their stay in _London_,
and therefore desired him to obtain for them the Sovereign’s
Dispensation: On producing the said Letters in _Chapter_, the Sovereign
would not at that time either admit or disallow of their Excuses, but
referr’d the consideration to the next _Chapter_, to be held by
Prorogation.
Of Excuses which have not been allow’d, the most remarkable is that of
the Duke of _Norfolk_, and the Lord _Scales_, _Anno_ 36 _Hen._ VI. who
were adjudg’d to the Penalty of the Statute, in regard the Causes
alledged to excuse their absence were not approved; the latter was
signed by the Sovereign and _Knights-Companions_, in a Jewel to the
value of twenty Marks, to be offered in the College; whereby the rigour
of the _Statutes_ appears to have been more strictly executed on him,
than the Duke, probably because the Lord _Scales_ was absent the Year
before, and no cause thereof shewed to the _Chapter_.
In relation to the Proceedings on the absent _Knights-Companions_
neglect of sending their Excuses, we shall observe, that some of them
have with difficulty been remitted, some left in suspence, and others
sentenc’d, and referr’d either to the Sovereign’s pleasure, or the
Punishment assign’d by Law; of the first kind we find that the Earl of
_Westmorland_, _Anno_ 10 _Hen._ V. though not very well, yet had much
ado to be excus’d, because he signified not the Cause of his absence,
as the _Statutes_ required. So _Anno_ 12 _Car._ I. the Earls of _Derby_
and _Kelly_, having made no Excuse, were for that Omission blameable,
but by the Grace of the Sovereign for that time pardon’d.
As to those who, through the indulgence of the Sovereign, (where
probable cause hath induc’d it,) have not had Sentence pass’d on them
presently, but were deferr’d in expectation of some satisfactory Cause
to be shewed; we find in the Case of the Prince, the Duke of
_Buckingham_, and five other _Knights-Companions_ absent from the
Feast, held _Anno_ 18 _Hen._ VII. wherein it is registred, that _no
cause of Excuse was shewed, but there was an expectation of one to be
alledged_.
But as for those of the third sort, on whom Sentence hath pass’d; they
have been left either to the pleasure of the Sovereign, or to those
Penalties which the Law of this _Order_ inflict; of which, as also of
those on whom Judgment hath pass’d, are divers Instances.
Besides these Grounds of assigning Penances, there are other Causes set
down in the before recited ninth Article, of the _Statutes_ of
Institution for Penances; as when the _Knights Companions_ are absent
at other times, beside the Hour of _Tierce_, that is, the beginning of
the first _Vespers_. Secondly, At the beginning of the Morning Service
on the Feast Day. Thirdly, At the beginning of the second _Vespers_.
Fourthly, During the whole Feast. And, Fifthly, at the Grand Feast next
following.
For the first, admitting any _Knight-Companion_ hath failed of meeting
and attending on the Sovereign at the Hour of _Tierce_, and thereupon
suffered the Punishment of Non-admittance into the _Chapter-House_, and
deprivation of Vote; nevertheless if at the rising of the said
_Chapter_, he be not ready to proceed with the Sovereign, and other the
_Knights-Companions_, into the _Choir_, to the beginning of the first
_Vespers_; he ought not only to suffer the former, but this additional
Penalty, that he shall not presume to Enter into his Stall at that
time, but tarry in that part of the _Choir_, where the Taper-bearers
are wont to stand; nevertheless before his own Stall, until the holy
Offices be ended; and the Law of the _Order_ is the same in King
_Henry_ V’s, and King _Henry_ VIII’s _Statutes_, only render the Place
for the Delinquent Knight to stand in, to be before the Stalls in the
Choiristers Places; and now how the Penalty hath been inflicted, upon
breach of the Law in this particular, we shall see by the following
Instances.
At the Grand Feast celebrated at _Windsor_, _An._ 21 _H._ VII. when it
seems the Lord _Kildare_, Sir _Gilbert Talbot_, and Sir _Richard
Goulford_, came late to the Chappel, we find this Memorandum fixt to
their Names; they stood without, (before their Stalls) by the
Sovereign’s Permission, or rather Command: But yet this is not all the
Punishment which hath been inflicted upon the _Knights-Companions_ for
this Offence; (though it be all that is set down in the foresaid
Article,) for _Anno_ 25 _Hen._ VI. upon the Eve of St. _George_, the
Marquiss of _Dorset_ not coming to the first _Vespers_, and being
convicted of his late coming, was prohibited joining in the Nomination
then made, for the Election of the King of _Portugal_, into the room of
the Duke of _Gloucester_.
Offenders in the second and third Case, being such as neglect to come
before the beginning of the high Mass, or the second _Vespers_, called
also the _Vespers_ on St. _George_’s _Day_, have the like Punishment
with the former assigned them, throughout all the Bodies of the
_Statutes_; _viz._ Exclusion from their Stalls, and Station in the
Choiristers Range.
_Anno_ 1 _Hen._ VI. We observe the Lord _Willoughby_ noted to be absent
upon the Eve of the Grand Feast, but present on the Day; and
consequently he incurred no further Penance than what his absence on
the Eve drew on him; the Earl of _Derby_, _Anno_ 18 _Eliz._ coming too
late to the first Morning Service on the Feast Day, did for some short
time undergo the same Penance, but soon after, upon Dispensation from
the Lieutenant, went up to his Stall.
There are several other Instances; and besides the aforesaid Defaults,
he is likewise to undergo the same Penalties, when the Grand Feast is
prorogued, or celebrated at any other Place than _Windsor_.
But if he offend in all, and have no reasonable or allowable Excuse for
his absence, he is then prohibited entering his Stall at the next
Feast, and to pay ten Pounds, to be employed towards the Ornaments of
the College; and sometimes the former Penance has been inflicted for
late coming to Divine Service.
The fourth degree of Offence is yet greater than any, and the variety
of Penances are heightened. If a _Knight-Companion_ shall neglect
coming to the Grand Feast, and have no allowable reason; he shall not
at the Feast held the ensuing Year be permitted to enter his own Stall,
but stand below it; he shall walk alone by himself before three
Crosses, which, in ancient time, were born in the Grand Procession:
When the Grand Procession returns to the _Choir_, he shall stand in the
Place aforesaid, till the time of the Offertory; he shall Offer last by
himself, and then humbly approach the Stall of the Sovereign, or his
Deputy, and there desire Absolution. But there is no Instance that
these Rigours were put in Execution, though many have offended in this
kind.
Lastly, The _Statutes_ enjoin; That where a _Knight-Companion_ remains
within the Kingdom, and shall be Guilty of an Omission two Years
together, he ought to be so long interdicted his Stall, till he have
offered a Jewel at St. _George_’s _Altar_, to the Value of twenty
Marks; and thenceforward every Year in which he shall be guilty of the
same Omission, the Penalty to be doubled, till he is pardoned: The most
memorable Case in the Prosecution of a Contempt, was against the Earl
of _Arundel_, 14 _Edw._ IV. who for being absent two Years together,
was Mulct forty Marks; and continuing his Contempt the next Year, was
fined the Sum of eighty Marks.
Touching the Necessity, and Power, of the Sovereign’s constituting a
Deputy; it was provided for at the Institution of the _Order_; the
Sovereign being then engaged in the Wars of _France_, thought it
reasonable that Provision should be made by the _Statutes_, for to
depute some Person in his stead.
When therefore such Occasion happened, a Commission was made out to one
of the _Knights-Companions_, some reasonable time before the approach
of the Feast; so that none of the ancient Ceremonies might be omitted,
or any Impediment happen through his absence; and such Deputy hath
usually been one of the chief of the _Order_, in Authority, Eminence,
or Birth. The first so made was, _John_ Duke of _Bedford_, 7 _Hen._ V.
and the reason thereof given, in the _Registrum Chartaceum_, is,
because the Sovereign was then employed in the Wars in _Normandy_.
And though the Title given by the _Statutes_ to this Officer, be not
particularly mentioned in the _Blue-Book_, where it speaks of the said
Duke’s holding the Feast of St. _George_ that Year, but rather implied
in the Words _Regiæ Sublimatis locum implevit_; yet in the _Registrum
Chartaceum_ it is expresly set down, and the said Duke there styled,
_Depute de l’Ordre de Jaritiere_. Sometimes he has been styled,
_Deputatis Ordinis, & præses clarissimæ Ordinis_, &c.
About the beginning of the Reign of King _Henry_ VIII. the Title of
_Locum Tenens_, or Lieutenant, began to be taken up, and has, for the
most part, continued in all succeeding Times; and the other Titles of
Deputy, President, and Vicegerent, laid aside. As to the Business of
this Officer, sufficient has been said already. As an Essential
Honour to his Place, he has from ancient Time had some of the
_Knights-Companions_ assigned for his Assistants; the first mention
of which is in the _Registrum Chartaceum_, 8 _Hen._ VIII. The Number
of these Assistants were in those times uncertain; at the time
aforesaid they were 4. 21 _Hen._ VIII. 3. and 32 _Hen._ VIII. we find
but two; which Number has been a constant Rule ever since, except
once, _viz._ the last of _Hen._ VIII. They were always appointed in
_Chapter_, and have Letters of notice sent them thereof: But neither
the Lieutenant, nor Assistants, can be Chosen two Years together,
except the Sovereign should please to be present at the Day or Feast;
and after it was Decreed, 23 and 24 _Hen._ VIII. that this Indulgence
should extend to the term of three Years.
Lastly, We observe that this Officer always held the Feast at his
peculiar Cost and Charge; and gave liberal Rewards to _Garter_, and for
his Escutcheons, as also to the Officers of Arms, Gentlemen-Ushers,
Alms-Knights, and to all the several Waiters and Attendants employed in
the Ceremony.
_The Ceremonies relating to the first_ Vespers.
§ 6. The first _Chapter_ held on the Eve of St. _George_ being
finished, the Sovereign and _Knights-Companions_ immediately proceed
from the _Chapter-House_ to the _Choir_, to hear _Vespers_. The
Officers of Arms, Prebends, and Alms-Knights, having attended in the
North-Isle of the Chappel, do now put themselves in Rank, and continue
the Proceeding from the _Chapter-House_ Door, along the said
North-Isle, to the West Door of the _Choir_; in like manner as they did
from the Presence Chamber, to the _Chapter-House_: The Organs then
beginning to play, and so continue till _Vespers_ begin.
When the Alms-Knights arrive at the West-Door, they first enter in a
whole Body, while the rest of the Proceeding makes a short stand, and
pass forward near the middle of the _Choir_, where they make a joint
and low Obeysance; next, all turning about by the left Hand, to the
Sovereign’s Seat; then still turning from the right, to the left Hand,
they ascend the _Haut Pas’s_, even to the Rails set before the _Altar_;
and forthwith divide themselves, flanking on each side, the _Juniors_
nearest the Rails.
This done, the Prebends enter in a Body also, and having made the like
Obeysances in the middle of the _Choir_, divide themselves, and take
their Seats; which, by King _Henry_ VIII’s _Statutes_, are appointed in
the lower range of Seats, between, but not in, the Stalls of the
_Knights-Companions_. While the Prebends are entering their Seats, the
Pursuivants, Heralds, and Provincial Kings of Arms, in a Body, likewise
enter the _Choir_; and after due Reverence, pass up to the _Altar_, and
join the Alms-Knights; though anciently some difference was in this
Ceremony.
Afterwards, the two _Junior Knights-Companions_ enter, passing on till
they come near their own Stalls, and there make their Reverences, and
then divide, and take their stands directly before their Stalls; and so
of the rest of the _Knights-Companions_.
Next to the _Knights-Companions_, the _Black-Rod_, _Garter_, and
_Register_, enter in a Breast, who, proceeding to the middle of the
_Choir_, make their Obeysances, and then pass to their Form, placed on
the South-side of the _Choir_, before the Sovereign’s Stall, and stand
before it. After them, the Chancellor and Prelate in the like manner,
stand before their Form, placed near the Sovereign’s Seat: And for
these Forms, whereon the Officers of the _Order_ sit in the Chappel,
there is a special Decree for the allowance of them, entered at the end
of the Constitutions of their Offices.
Last of all the Sovereign enters, (having the Sword born before him,
but his Band of Pensioners stay at the _Choir_ Door, to keep off the
Crowd,) who, coming to the Steps which ascend the Royal Seat, makes a
Reverence toward the Altar, and then takes Place therein, before he
makes a second Reverence.
When the Lieutenant, in the Sovereign’s absence, proceeds to the first
_Vespers_; as soon as he enters the _Choir_, and comes near the
Sovereign’s Stall, he stands and makes a little pause there; then doing
his Reverences, after he has again stood a while, before he ascends his
own; where being arrived, he makes the double Reverence a second time,
and then sits down.
And now to placing the _Knights-Companions_ in their Stalls: _Garter_,
as soon as the Sovereign, or his Lieutenant, is placed, makes again the
usual Reverence in the middle of the _Choir_; then turns to the
_Senior_ Knights, and doth his Reverence to each of them; whereupon, at
one Instant, they make their double Reverences below, where they stood,
and strait ascend at the first, or western Entrance, that goes to the
side Stalls; where being arrived, they make again their double
Reverences, and then seat themselves. But when the Sovereign’s
Lieutenant is present, each Knight adds a third Reverence to him, both
when they ascend to, and descend from, their Stalls; and so likewise do
all Persons, who pass in the Proceeding, add to their double Reverences
so often as there is occasion to make it, after such time as the
Lieutenant is entered his Stall; and so long as he continues therein,
both on the Eve, the Feast Day, and the Morrow after.
The _Knights-Companions_ being all seated, the Prelate and Chancellor
pass into the middle of the _Choir_, and having made double Reverences,
return to their Forms, and sit down. And after them, in the same
manner, the _Register_, _Garter_, and _Black-Rod_, proceed.
As to the Sovereign’s other Attendants, the Nobleman who carries the
Sword retires before the Sovereign’s Stall, a little on the right Hand;
and the Lord Chamberlain of the Houshold, if not a Knight of the
_Garter_, and the Vice Chamberlain, on the left, till the Sovereign
give them leave to sit down. The Clerk of the Closet stands at the
Sovereign’s right Hand, but the young Noblemen, that carry up the
Sovereign, and the Gentleman of the Robes, sometimes repose themselves
on the Steps going to the Sovereign’s Stall.
This being done, preparation for _Vespers_ begin; in reference to
which, the Prelate ascends the _Altar_, it being the Duty of his
Office, which if he omits, he is fined twenty Marks, to the use of the
College, unless he give sufficient reason for his absence; in which
Case, or on the vacancy of the See of _Winchester_, the Sovereign hath
sometimes appointed another Bishop to Officiate for him. The Proceeding
to the _Altar_, on this occasion, is as follows.
First, The Serjeant of the Vestry makes a double Reverence, then comes
before the Prelate, and makes a single one to him; who thereon arises
from his Seat, and the Serjeant proceeds before him into the middle of
the _Choir_, where the Prelate makes a double Reverence; and passing
forward after the Serjeant, and having ascended the uppermost
_Haut-pas_ before the _Altar_, he makes one single Reverence toward the
same, and so goes to the North side of it.
After which, the two _Provincial Kings_, _Heralds_, and _Pursuivants_,
leaving their fore-mentioned Stations, join together till they come
near the Forms of the _Register_, _Garter_, and _Black-Rod_; where,
making their double Reverences, they divide again on each side, and
there stand.
Lastly, The Alms-Knights come down into the _Choir_ in a Body, and
there make their joint double Reverences, and then take their Chairs;
all which being finished, Divine Service is begun by the Prelate.
The like Solemnity is observed at any other Place, as well as at
_Windsor_; where, because the Alms-Knights are absent, the Pursuivants
at Arms ascend nearer the _High-Altar_ than when they are at _Windsor_;
but this occasions little Variation.
When the _Vespers_ are ended, the Prelate goes to the middle of the
_Altar_, and with great Reverence makes an Obeysance; and thence, with
the Serjeant before him, descends to the middle of the _Choir_, where
he makes his double Reverences, and so returns to his Seat; whereupon
all make ready to pass out of the _Choir_, which is performed in much
the same manner, and with the same State, as they proceeded thither;
and the Servants and Attendants of the _Knights-Companions_ are
marshalled in the same Order as they were at the beginning of the
Proceeding, that the whole Procession may again pass through them.
The Alms-Knights having entered the Guard Chamber, spread themselves on
each side thereof; the Prebends pass through them, and fall off on
either side the Room to the Presence Chamber Door.
Then the _Pursuivants_, _Heralds_, and _Provincial Kings_, proceeding
through the Lane made by the Alms-Knights and Prebends, enter the
Presence Chamber, and fall off on either side toward the Stall, the
King’s standing uppermost.
Then enter the _Knights-Companions_, and place themselves on each side
of the State, in such Order as they sat in their Stalls, the eldest
nearest the State; but those whose Companions are absent, stand alone;
after whom follow the Officers of the _Order_, disposing themselves
conveniently near the State.
Lastly, The Sovereign passes to the Step before the State, where, being
arrived, he turns toward the _Knights-Companions_, who make their
Reverences jointly to him, and he thereon puts off his Cap, and
re-salutes them; which done, the Sovereign and they withdraw into the
Privy Chamber till Supper time.
But in Queen _Elizabeth_’s Reign, when the Feast of St. _George_ was
held at _White-Hall_, or _Greenwich_, and the Sovereign, as was usual
with her, proceeded no farther on the Eve to _Vespers_, than to the
great Closet, the ordinary way, and thence sent her Lieutenant into the
_Choir_. Then, in such Case, when _Vespers_ were ended, the Lieutenant
returned from the _Choir_, through the great Hall, and so back to the
said Closet, and stood at the Door thereof, attending the Sovereign’s
coming forth; from whence they all proceeded before her into the
Presence-Chamber, and there the Ceremony, for that time, ended.
But in the Reign of King _James_ I. when the Supper on the Eve, as also
the following Meals, were prepared in the Banquetting-House, the
Sovereign’s Lieutenant frequently returned from the Closet, by the
Lobby, to the said Banquetting-House, instead of going to the Presence;
and passing up the State, gave an End to the Ceremony till Supper time:
And so we find it observed in the 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, and 16 of
that King.
When the Sovereign and _Knights-Companions_ are retired, they are not
to put off any part of their Robes till Supper is over, for that is
prohibited by the _Statutes_, not only to those who do not Sup, as well
as those who do. And hereon, 19 _Car._ II. the Sovereign having a mind
to take the Air, went into _Hide-Park_, after he had taken leave of the
_Knights-Companions_, the Dukes of _York_ and _Monmouth_, and the Earl
of _Oxford_ being with him, but all in full Robes, and so returned to
Supper.
_The Supper on the Eve._
§ 7. When the Sovereign is pleased to Sup publickly, on the Eve of the
Feast at _Windsor_, the Supper has been always prepared in St.
_George_’s _Hall_. The usual Place at _White-Hall_, was heretofore in
the Presence Chamber; of later times, the Banquetting-House; and at
_Greenwich_, either the Presence, or the Council Chamber; where the
Sovereign, or his Lieutenant, were always present. But when the Feast
of St. _George_ was celebrated at _York_, 17 _Car._ I. the Sovereign
and _Knights-Companions_ marched after the first _Vespers_, to a House
prepared for that purpose, and supped there.
But if the Eve of the Feast fell out on a Fasting Day, as it did 22
_Hen._ VIII. and 11 _Jac._ I. the Supper was always omitted; and the
Sovereign, with his Lieutenant, and _Knights-Companions_, were served
of the Void only.
Nor does the Sovereign, when he Sups publickly, pass privately to the
Place; but as soon as notice is given that the first Mess is set upon
the Table, he presently enters the Presence Chamber, whence the
Officers of the _Order_, and of Arms, the _Knights-Companions_ in their
full Robes, for so the _Statutes_ expresly direct, having put
themselves into their usual Order, proceed before him to St.
_George_’s-_Hall_: Where being entered, the _Pursuivants_, _Heralds_,
and _Provincial Kings_, fall off all upon the right Hand, opposite to
the _Knights-Companions_ Table, the _Junior Pursuivants_ standing
toward the lower End of the Hall. Then the _Knights-Companions_ passing
up beyond them, formerly divided themselves on either side, according
to the Decree, 16 _Hen._ VIII. and made a stand, each taking Place,
according to the Order of their Stalls. But at the Feast held at
_White-Hall_, 19 _Car._ II. the Sovereign directed that they should
stand all on the right Hand side, facing the Table.