CROWNS, CORONETS, AND COLLARS
Crowns and Coronets; Introduction of Coronets; Coronets of
Princes, Dukes, and Earls; Bequests of Coronets;
Illustrations of Coronets and Crowns; Collars and Chains;
Collars of Orders; Lancastrian Collars of SS; Yorkist
Collars of Suns and Roses; Tudor Collars of SS; Other
Livery Collars; Waits' Collars; Collars and Chains of
Mayors, Mayoresses, and Sheriffs; The Revival of Collars;
Inordinate Length of modern Collars.
At the present day it is the habit of divers ladies of rank to surmount
their hair, when occasion allows, with diamond tiaras of surpassing
splendour. The ladies of olden time were not free from a similar
weakness, but the diamond mines of South Africa being then unknown, and
other gems too costly, they encouraged the goldsmiths to make them
beautiful crowns and crestings, with which they adorned their heads and
headgear. A reference to the accurate drawings and details published by
Stothard in his _Monumental Effigies_ will show not only the high
artistic excellence of these ornaments, but also how becoming they were
to the ladies who wore them. They varied greatly in design, from the
simple circlet of fleurons and trefoils of Queen Eleanor of Castile
(fig. 158) to the sumptuous piece of jewellery beset with pearls and
stones, which is represented on the alabaster effigy of Queen Joan at
Canterbury (fig. 159) and reflects so worthily the yet more splendid
crown of her husband, King Henry IV (fig. 173).
[Illustration: FIG. 158. Crowned effigy of Queen Eleanor at
Westminster.]
[Illustration: FIG. 159. Crowned effigy of Queen Joan at Canterbury.]
Attention has already been drawn to the decorative use of crowns in
heraldry, and a reference promised to the coronets of peers and
peeresses.
Coronets, as they are now called, originated as early as 1343, when
Edward duke of Cornwall and earl of Chester was created Prince of Wales,
and invested by his father with a circlet (_sertum_) on his head, a gold
ring on his finger, and a golden verge which was placed in his hand.
The circlet in question passed into the possession of his brother,
Lionel duke of Clarence, who in 1388 left in his will 'a golden circlet
with which my brother and lord was created prince' as well as 'that
circlet with which I was created duke.' This latter event happened in
1362, at the same time that his brother John of Gaunt was created duke
of Lancaster, when King Edward girded his son with a sword and put upon
his head a fur cap and over it 'un cercle d'or et de peres,' a circlet
of gold and precious stones. This investiture with a coronet was for
some time restricted to dukes, but in 1385 King Richard II bestowed upon
Richard earl of Oxford the new dignity of marquess of Dublin, and
invested him with a sword and a circlet of gold.
The investing of an earl with a coronet does not seem to have become
customary before the reign of Edward VI, but earls had worn coronets in
virtue of their rank for a long time previously. In April 1444, when
Henry Beauchamp earl of Warwick was created premier earl by Henry VI,
the letters patent of his appointment empower him 'to wear a golden
circlet upon his head and his heirs male to do the same on feast days
in all places where it is convenient as well in our presence as of
others.' But the practice can perhaps be carried still further back, for
Selden in his _Titles of Honour_ (p. 680) quotes a receipt dated 1319 by
William of Lavenham, treasurer of Aymer of Valence earl of Pembroke, of
'a gold crown of the said earl.'
By his will dated 1375 Richard FitzAlan earl of Arundel leaves to
Richard his son 'my best crown (_ma melieure coroune_) charging him upon
my blessing that he part not with it during his life, and that after his
death he leave it to his heir in the same manner to descend perpetually
from heir to heir to the lords of Arundel in remembrance of me and of my
soul.' He also leaves to his daughter Joan 'my second-best crown' and to
his daughter Alice 'my third crown,' under similar conditions. The
earl's best crown may be that shown upon the alabaster effigy at Arundel
of his grandson Thomas earl of Arundel; to whom it was bequeathed by his
father (fig. 163). It has alternate leaves and pearled spikes, similar
to, but richer and better in design than, the earls' coronets of to-day.
Sir N. H. Nicolas suggests that earl Richard's second and third coronets
were bequeathed to his daughters because both were countesses; Joan
being wife to Humphrey Bohun earl of Hereford, and Alice to Thomas
Holand earl of Kent.
There are other bequests of coronets to ladies: Edmund Mortimer earl of
March and Ulster left in 1380 to his daughter Philippa, afterwards wife
to (1) John Hastings earl of Pembroke, (2) Richard earl of Arundel, and
(3) John lord St. John, 'a coronal of gold with stones and two hundred
great pearls (_un coronal a'or ove perie et deuz cents grands perles_)
and also a circlet with roses, with emeralds and rubies or Alexandria in
the roses (_un cercle ove roses emeraudes et rubies d'alisaundre en les
roses_).' Michael de la Pole earl of Suffolk also left in 1415 to his
wife Katherine the diadem or coronet which had belonged to her father
Hugh earl of Stafford, who died in 1386.
The swan's head crest of Richard Beauchamp earl of Warwick (_ob._ 1439)
on his effigy at Warwick is encircled by a crown of stalked pearls, not
unlike those of an earl's coronet of the present day (fig. 160).
[Illustration: FIG. 160. Helm and crest, and bust, of Richard Beauchamp,
earl of Warwick (_ob._ 1439,) from his gilt-latten effigy at Warwick.]
Among Stothard's engravings are two of effigies of quite early date of
ladies wearing crowns or coronets. One, at Scarcliffe in Derbyshire
(fig. 161), cannot be later than about 1250, and the crown in this case
is composed of some twenty simple leaves set upright upon the edge of a
narrow band. The other, at Staindrop in Durham, is about a century
later, and represents a widowed lady, probably Margery, second wife of
John lord Nevill, wearing a crown of curled leaves with points between
(fig. 162). The next illustration is of special interest since it
represents Thomas earl of Arundel (_ob._ 1416) wearing presumably the
coronet mentioned above in his grandfather's bequest (fig. 163); his
countess Beatrice has a slighter coronet of similar character. The great
alabaster tomb, also at Staindrop, or Ralph earl of Westmorland (_ob._
1425) and his two countesses furnishes the next example. In this case
the earl is in armour, but both ladies wear delicate coronets, formed of
rows of points with triplets of pearls and intervening single pearls,
rising from narrow ornamental circlets (fig. 164).
[Illustration: FIG. 161. Effigy of a lady (_c._ 1250) in Scarcliffe
church, Derbyshire.]
[Illustration: FIG. 162. Effigy of a lady in Staindrop church, Durham.]
[Illustration: FIG. 163. Thomas earl of Arundel (_ob._ 1416), from his
alabaster effigy at Arundel.]
[Illustration: FIG. 164. Joan Beaufort, countess of Westmorland (_ob._
1440), from her alabaster effigy in Staindrop church, Durham.]
The tomb of another earl of Arundel, William FitzAlan (_ob._ 1487), and
of his countess Joan, further illustrates the use of coronets. The
earl's coronet is in this case composed of a continuous row of leaves
with a jewelled band (fig. 165); the countess wears a similar coronet,
but curiously distorted behind, evidently because it was thought to be
more becoming when so worn (fig. 166).
[Illustration: FIG. 165. William FitzAlan, earl of Arundel (_ob._ 1487),
from his effigy at Arundel.]
[Illustration: FIG. 166. Joan countess of Arundel, from her effigy at
Arundel.]
The monument in St. Peter's church, in Sheffield, of George earl of
Shrewsbury (_ob._ 1538) and his two wives represents him in armour, with
the mantle and collar of the Garter, and a coronet, now broken, about
his head. His wives also have coronets, which are happily complete, and
are composed of continuous series of twelve short points tipped with
pearls. The earl's coronet seems to have had similar points, but with
sixteen pearls instead of twelve.
The effigy _circa_ 1500 at Whitchurch in Salop of that famous warrior,
John Talbot earl of Shrewsbury, who was killed in 1453, also represents
him in the mantle of the Garter over his armour and a coronet about his
head. This is unfortunately badly broken, but seems to have resembled
that on the Sheffield figures.
Besides these examples of coronets of earls and their countesses a few
illustrations of those worn by dukes and duchesses may be cited.
It has been already noted that the shields on the monument of Humphrey
duke of Gloucester (_ob._ 1446) at St. Albans are surmounted alternately
by crested helms and by caps with coronets. These coronets have a richly
jewelled circlet on which is set, instead of leaves, a series of what
seem to be cups full of daisies, with small triplets of pearls between.
Another good coronet is to be seen on the effigy of Thomas Holand duke
of Exeter (_ob._ 1447) on the monument formerly in St. Katharine's
hospital by the Tower, now in the chapel in Regent's Park. The duke's
coronet here is quite narrow, and composed of some eighteen or twenty
trefoils set close upon a band (fig. 167); but his two duchesses have
coronets of triplets of pearls with intermediate single pearls, like
those of the countesses of Westmorland at Staindrop (fig. 168).
[Illustration: FIG. 167. John Holand duke of Exeter (_ob._ 1447), from
his effigy at St. Katharine's hospital, Regent's Park.]
[Illustration: FIG. 168. Head of a duchess of Exeter, from the monument
at St. Katharine's hospital, Regent's Park.]
The alabaster effigy at Ewelme of Alice, widow of William duke of
Suffolk (_ob._ 1450), shows her in a beautiful coronet of fleurs-de-lis
alternating with small clusters of pearls (fig. 169), and similar
coronets once adorned the effigies at Wingfield in Suffolk of her son
John de la Pole duke of Suffolk (_ob._ 1491) and his wife Elizabeth.
[Illustration: FIG. 169. Alice duchess of Suffolk (_ob._ 1475), from her
alabaster effigy in Ewelme church, Oxon.]
The privilege of wearing coronets was not extended to viscounts until
the reign of James I, and to barons until 1661.
The official patterns of coronets to which peers and peeresses are now
restricted have, as may be seen from the examples above cited,
practically no relation to the older forms, which exhibited the usual
delightful medieval elasticity of design.
The present coronets too are rendered uglier than ever by the modern
rule forbidding them to be jewelled in any way. This was not formerly
the case. Among the stuff remaining in the palace of Westminster in
1553, and delivered to lady Jane Grey, was 'a coronet for a duke, set
with five roses of diamonds, six small pointed diamonds, one table
emerald, six great ballases, seven blue sapphires, and thirty-eight
great pearls, with a cap of crimson velvet and a roll of powdered armyns
about the same'; and a beautifully ornamented coronet of much earlier
date than the painting is shown in a portrait of John marquess of
Winchester, the defender of Basing House, who died in 1674.
It is the custom now for ladies of rank to wear their coronets only at
coronations, and to display them on their note-paper, their spoons and
forks, and on the panels of their carriages and motor-cars. Such
coronets cannot however be considered artistic objects, even when
depicted apart from the crimson velvet bonnets which they encircle, and
there is no reason why ladies should not devise and wear coronet-like
ornaments of their own invention.
A little research will show that crowns of every form and fashion have
always been freely used in heraldic decoration, both by themselves and
as ensigning letters or other devices, and so long as care be taken
not to infringe what may be called official patterns, there are really
no limits to a continuance of the ancient practice.
The lady Margaret Beaufort, countess of Richmond and mother of King
Henry VII, has left us a delightful series of coronets. First, on a seal
newly made for her on the accession of her son, her shield of arms is
ensigned with a coronet or crown of roses and fleurs-de-lis placed
alternately along the edge of a narrow band (pl. XXX). Shortly after
1505 the lady Margaret began to build Christ's College at Cambridge, and
both the gatehouse (fig. 170) and the oriel of the master's lodge (fig.
171) are rich in heraldic decoration. In this case both her arms and her
portcullis badge are ensigned with coronets set with a continuous row of
triplets of pearls.[20] In the lady Margaret's later foundation of St.
John's College, her arms, etc. again are displayed upon the stately
gatehouse; in this case with a coronet of roses and fleurs-de-lis over
the shield, as in her seal (fig. 172). Her portcullis badge, on the
other hand, has over it a fine coronet formed of clusters of roses,
which recalls the circlet of roses set with emeralds and rubies of
Alexandria mentioned earlier in this chapter. It is quite easy to
conjure up visions of coronets or circlets formed of lilies or
marguerites, or of roses red and white, or of any other suitable flower
or device, wrought in gold or gilded silver, and either jewelled or
bright with enamel. And let designers take heart when so recent and yet
so picturesque an object as the so-called 'naval crown' can be produced,
with its cresting of sterns and square sails of ships. This was used
most effectively some years ago as one of the decorations encircling the
Nelson Column in London on Trafalgar Day.
[20] On the gatehouse the coronet over the arms has been restored.
[Illustration: FIG. 170. Armorial ensigns and badges of the lady
Margaret Beaufort, from the gatehouse of her foundation of Christ's
College, Cambridge.]
[Illustration: FIG. 171. Arms of the foundress, the lady Margaret
Beaufort, with yale supporters, from the base of an oriel in Christ's
College, Cambridge.]
[Illustration: FIG. 172. Armorial panel on the gatehouse of St. John's
College, Cambridge.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXX.--Crowned shield with supporters and badges of
the Lady Margaret Beaufort, 1485.]
It may be as well to point out that the royal crown has been composed,
from the fifteenth century, of crosses alternating with fleurs-de-lis,
and since the coronation of King Henry IV it has been distinguished by
being arched over cross-wise. The splendid open crown shown on the
effigy of the king at Canterbury (fig. 173) is not that wherewith he was
crowned, but another worn with the parliament robes in which he is
represented. Beautiful examples of crowns of simpler type are afforded
by the effigies of King Henry III (fig. 174) and King Edward II (fig.
175). When the lady Elizabeth Wydville became the queen of Edward IV,
she ensigned her arms with a beautiful crown or coronet of alternate
large crosses and fleurs-de-lis with smaller fleurs-de-lis between,
rising from a richly jewelled band (pl. XXV), and a rich example of the
crown of King Henry VIII so treated is to be seen on the great carved
panel with his arms, etc. at New Hall in Essex (fig. 189). Crosses and
fleurs-de-lis are now used only in the coronets of those of royal blood.
[Illustration: FIG. 173. King Henry IV, from his alabaster effigy in
Canterbury cathedral church.]
[Illustration: FIG. 174. King Henry III, from his gilt-latten effigy at
Westminster.]
[Illustration: FIG. 175. King Edward II, from his alabaster effigy at
Gloucester.]
From ornaments for the head it is easy to pass to those for the neck.
The wearing about the neck of something which was considered decorative
or becoming has been customary with the fair sex in every part of the
world and in all ages of its history, and necklaces of every form,
material, and fashion are as popular to-day as ever. But less attention
is now paid to the decorative collars that once were worn not only by
women but by men.
It has always been a mark of distinction or dignity to wear about the
neck a chain or collar of gold, silver, or silver-gilt, either as an
ornament, or a decoration of honour, or as a badge of partizanship; and
the most noteworthy of these to-day are the collars of the various
orders of Knighthood, such as the Garter (fig. 177), the Thistle, and
the Bath.
[Illustration: FIG. 176. Crowned initials of King Henry VII, from his
Lady chapel at Westminster.]
[Illustration: FIG. 177. Thomas Howard third duke of Norfolk
(1473(?)-1554) with the collar of the Order of the Garter, from the
picture by Holbein at Windsor castle.]
The history and characteristic features of these are well known, and
representations of them abound; moreover the wearing of them is confined
to a few privileged persons. It is therefore hardly necessary to discuss
them further in a work like the present.
The case is however different with regard to the so-called livery
collars, since these may properly be regarded as models for the
formation and construction of such similar collars as may freely be worn
to-day.
The most notable of such decorations during the medieval period was the
collar of SS which formed the distinctive cognisance of the House of
Lancaster (figs. 178, 179). It was worn by persons of every degree, from
the King and Queen to the knight and his esquire, and it was likewise
worn by their wives and even conferred on civilians.
[Illustration: FIG. 178. Collars of SS.
1. From the brass of Lady Camoys, 1419, at Trotton in Sussex.
2. From the brass of Sir William Calthorpe, 1420, at Burnham Thorpe in
Norfolk.]
The collar of SS was apparently invented by King Henry IV before his
accession, and quite a number of important entries that throw light upon
its history occur in his household accounts while he was only Henry of
Lancaster earl of Derby.
[Illustration: FIG. 179. Collar of SS from the effigy of William lord
Bardolf (_ob._ 1441) at Dennington in Suffolk.]
In 1390-1 a gold signet was engraved for him 'cum j plume et j coler,'
of which unhappily no impressions are known. In 1391-2 there was made
for him a 'coler' of gold 'with seventeen letters of S after the manner
of feathers with scrolls and scriptures in the same with a swan in the
tiret.' This recalls the badge upon one of Henry's own seals as earl of
Derby (1385) described above (p. 167), an ostrich plume entwined with a
scroll and the scripture ~souvereyne~ (pl. XXIV C), and we know from
other sources of Henry's favour towards the Bohun swan, which device he
used in right of his first wife, the lady Mary Bohun. The collar of SS,
moreover, on the effigy of John Gower the poet (_ob._ 1402) in Southwark
cathedral church has a swan on the pendant of it, and no doubt
represents the collar actually given to him by Henry of Lancaster in
1393-4. The initial letter, too, of the charter granted to the city of
Gloucester by Henry as King in 1399, contains a crown encircled by a
collar of SS ending in two lockets between which is a pendant charged
with a swan. The earl's accounts for 1393-4 mention the purchase of the
silver 'of a collar made with rolled esses and given to Robert Waterton
because the lord had given the collar of the same Robert to another
esquire.'
In 1396-7 a charge is entered 'for the weight of a collar made, together
with esses, of flowers of ~soveigne vous de moy~[21] hanging and
enamelled weighing eight ounces.'
[21] In 1426 Sir John Bigod lord of Settrington left to his daughter a
covered cup 'pounset cum sovenez de moy'; perhaps a gift to him from
Henry of Lancaster. _Testamenta Eboracensia_ (Surtees Soc. 4) i. 411.
What these flowers were is uncertain. Charges for making 'flores domini'
occur in 1390-1 and other years, and in 1391-2 three hundred leaves
(?flowers) _de souveine vous de moy_ of silver-gilt were bought for one
of the earl's robes.
In 1407 Henry of Lancaster as King ordered payment to be made to
Christopher Tildesley, citizen and goldsmith of London, of the huge sum
of £385 6_s._ 8_d._ 'for a collar of gold worked with this word
~soveignez~ and letters of S and X enamelled and garnished with nine
large pearls, twelve large diamonds, eight balases, and eight sapphires,
together with a great nouche in manner of a treangle with a great ruby
set in it and garnished with four large pearls.'[22]
[22] P.R.O. Issue Rolls (Pells) Mich. 8 Henry IV (1407).
Most of these entries suggest that the mysterious SS stand for
_Soveignez_, and possibly at one time this was the case, but Henry's
seal as earl of Derby in 1385 containing the feathers with the scripture
~souvereyne~ must not be overlooked. There is moreover, on a fragment
which has fortunately survived in a tattered and burnt mass of fragments
of a jewel account of Henry's reign in the Public Record Office, the
important entry of a payment to Christopher Tildesley of 'a collar of
gold made for the King with twenty-four letters of S pounced with
~soverain~, and four bars, two pendants, and a tiret with a nouche
garnished with a balas and six large pearls (the balas bought of the
said Christopher for £10 and the price of the pearls at 40_s._, being
£12) weighing 7 oz. Troy at 23_s._ 4_d._ £8 3_s._ 4_d._ Also a black
tissue for the same collar 3_s._ 4_d._ and for the workmanship of it
£4.'[23] The King's word ~soverayne~ also occurs many times, with the
Queen's word ~a temperance~, on the tester over their monument at
Canterbury, which has likewise the shield of arms for the King, the King
and Queen, and the Queen alone, encircled in each case with a collar of
SS with golden eagles placed upon the tiret. Gold eagles also form stops
between the repetitions of the word ~soverayne~.
[23] Accounts, Exch. K.R. 404/18.
Another example of a collar of SS with an eagle as a pendant is to be
seen on the monument of Oliver Groos, esquire (_ob._ 1439), in Sloley
church, Norfolk (fig. 180).
[Illustration: FIG. 180. Spandrel of the tomb of Oliver Groos, Esq.
(_ob._ 1439), in Sloley church, Norfolk, with collar of SS.]
Examples of effigies in stone or brass of men and women wearing the
collar of SS are common throughout the Lancastrian period. The SS seem
in most cases to be represented as sewn or worked upon a band of silk,
velvet, or other stuff,[24] which usually ends in buckled lockets,
linked by a trefoil-shaped tiret, from which is hung a small ring (fig.
181).
[24] Notice of the theft of a collar of black silk dotted (_stipatum_)
with silver letters of SS is entered on the Patent Roll of 7 Henry IV
(1406), part ii. m. 29.
[Illustration: FIG. 181. Collars of SS from (1) the effigy of Queen Joan
at Canterbury, and (2) the effigy of Robert lord Hungerford at
Salisbury.]
Several other interesting occurrences of the collar of SS may be noted.
In one of the windows in the chapter house at Wells is a shield of the
arms of Mortimer, and next to it a gold star within the horns of a
crescent party blue and silver, encircled by a collar of SS also half
blue and half white. As there are associated with these the arms of the
King and of Thomas duke of Clarence (_ob._ 1421), they probably
commemorate Edmund Mortimer earl of March, who died in 1425.
In 1449 a receipt given to the steward of Southampton by the prior of
the Shene Charterhouse, which was founded by King Henry V, bears a seal
with ~ihs~ within a collar of SS; and in St. Mary's church at Bury St.
Edmunds the ceiling over the tomb of John Baret, an ardent Lancastrian,
who died in 1480, is painted with collars of SS surrounding his
monogram.
There is also in a MS. in the British Museum,[25] written probably for
John lord Lovel (_ob._ 1414), a painting of the arms of Holand
quartering Lovel surrounded by a collar, one half of which is white and
the other half blue, with gold letters of SS, having for a pendant a
gold fetterlock, party inside of red and black.
[25] Harl. MS. 7026, f. 13.
On a brass _c._ 1475 at Muggington in Derbyshire the Beaufort portcullis
appears as a pendant to the collar of SS.
With the rise to power of the Yorkists on the accession of Edward IV a
rival collar to that of the Lancastrian livery came into vogue, composed
of blazing suns and York roses disposed alternately (fig. 182). It may
be seen in various forms on a number of monumental effigies and brasses,
usually with the couchant white lion of the house of March as a pendant,
but on the accession of Richard III the lion was replaced by his silver
boar. On the wooden Nevill effigies at Brancepeth the earl has a collar
of rayed suns with the boar pendant, while the countess has a collar of
alternate suns and roses. Joan countess of Arundel, on her effigy at
Arundel (fig. 166), shows another variation by interpolating the
FitzAlan oak leaves between the suns and the roses.
[Illustration: 1 2
FIG. 182. Collars of suns and roses from (1) the effigy of a knight of
the Erdington family at Aston, Warwickshire, and (2) from the effigy of
Sir Robert Harcourt, K.G. 1471, at Stanton Harcourt, Oxon.]
After the accession of Henry VII the collar of SS was again revived, but
with variations and different pendants. The effigy, for example, at
Salisbury of Sir John Cheyney, K.G. (_ob._ 1489), has appended to his SS
collar a large portcullis charged with a rose. A collar of gold weighing
over 7 ounces is recorded to have been given in 1499 to adorn the image
of the Holy Trinity in Norwich cathedral church, and is described as
containing twenty-five letters of S, two tirets, two 'purcoles'
(portcullises), and one double R(?) with a red rose enamelled.[26] A
similar collar, but all of gold, is shown in the portrait of Sir Thomas
More, painted by Holbein in 1527 (fig. 183). On a brass _c._ 1510 at
Little Bentley in Essex the collar of SS has a portcullis pendant, and
on the Manners effigy (_c._ 1513) at Windsor and the Vernon effigy
(1537) at Tong the pendant to the knight's collar is a large double
rose.
[26] Norwich Sacrist's Register, xi. f. 111.
[Illustration: FIG. 183. Sir Thomas More wearing the collar of SS, from
an original portrait painted by Holbein in 1527, belonging to the late
Mr. Edward Huth.]
The collars on the Salkeld effigies (1501) at Salkeld in Cumberland are
composed of SS and four-leaved flowers alternately, and that worn by Sir
George Forster (_ob._ 1526) on his tomb at Aldermaston in Berkshire is
of SS laid sideways and alternating with knots, and has a portcullis
and rose pendant. In 1545 Sir John Alen, sheriff in 1518 and lord mayor
in 1525 and 1535, bequeathed for the use of the lord mayor of London,
and his successors for ever, his collar of SS, knots, and roses of red
and white enamel; and a cross of gold with precious stones and pearls
was given to be worn with it in 1558. An effigy of a Lisle _c._ 1550 at
Thruxton in Hants has a similar collar of SS, knots, and roses, also
with a cross as a pendant. Sir John Alen's collar, somewhat enlarged,
and with a modern 'jewel' as a pendant, is still worn by the lord mayor
of London, and is the only medieval collar of SS that has survived.
After the reign of King Henry VIII the wearing of the collar of SS
gradually became restricted to judges and other officials, and has so
survived to the present day, when it is still worn in England by the
lord chief justice, the kings-of-arms, heralds, and pursuivants, and by
the serjeants-at-arms.
The lord chief justice's collar, like all those formerly worn by the
judges, is composed of SS and knots; the others of SS only.
Beside the livery collars above mentioned, others have been worn from
time to time.
In the exquisitely painted diptych or Richard II and his avowries, now
at Wilton House, the King has about his neck a collar formed of golden
broom-cods, and the gorgeous red mantle in which he is habited is
covered all over with similar collars enclosing his favourite badge, the
white hart. A collar of gold 'de Bromecoddes' with a sapphire and two
pearls occurs in the great inventory taken on the death of King Henry V,
and a collar formed of SS and broom-cods was also made for King Henry VI
in July 1426.[27]
[27] John Anstis, _The Register of the most noble Order of the Garter_
(London, 1724), ii. 116 note.
On his effigy at Ripon (_c._ 1390) Sir Thomas Markenfield displays a
collar formed of park palings, which widen out in front to enclose a
couchant hart (fig. 184). If this were not a personal collar, it may
have been a livery of Henry of Lancaster as earl of Derby.
[Illustration: FIG. 184. Head of the effigy in Ripon minster of Sir
Thomas Markenfield with livery collar of park-palings.]
A brass of the same date of a knight, formerly at Mildenhall, showed him
as wearing a collar apparently once composed of scrolls with scriptures,
joining in front upon a large crown with a collared dog or other beast
within it.
The brass at Wotton-under-Edge of Thomas lord Berkeley (_ob._ 1417)
shows him with a collar sown with mermaids, the cognisance of his house
(fig. 185).
[Illustration: FIG. 185. Thomas lord Berkeley (_ob._ 1417) with a collar
of mermaids, from his brass at Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire.]
In his will dated 1430 William Stowe the elder, of Ripon, a retainer in
the household of the earl of Northumberland, bequeaths his silver
livery _Anglice cressaunt_ and his livery _Anglice coller_ to the shrine
of St. Wilfrid.[28] Possibly the 'cressaunt' was an object similar to
that here figured (now belonging to the duke of Northumberland), and the
collar like that formed of ~p's~ and crescents enclosing ~p's~ linked
together which is engraved upon it (fig. 186).
[28] 'Item ego liberaturam meam argenteam Anglice cressaunt, et
liberaturam meam Anglice coller. ad feretrum Sancte Wilfridi.' _Test.
Ebor._ ii. 13.
[Illustration: FIG. 186. Silver badge belonging to the duke of
Northumberland.]
The earlier collars, as has already been noted, were composed of devices
sewn upon a band of stuff, but in later examples a more open treatment
is found wherein the devices are linked together by short pieces of
chain, as in the collar of SS shown in Sir Thomas More's portrait. The
Yorkist collar of suns and roses on an effigy at Erdington is so
treated, as is the collar of SS and flowers on the Salkeld effigies,
which may perhaps be a personal and not a livery collar.
Collars of similar construction, but always of silver, with pendent
scutcheons of the town arms, were worn by the little bands of minstrels
called waits, formerly in the employ of most towns of importance (fig.
187).
In London the six waits appointed in 1475 had silver collars of SS with
scutcheons of the city arms. At Exeter the four waits' collars, dating
from about 1500, still exist, and are formed of roundels with ~X~'s and
~R's~ alternately (fig. 187). Two beautiful waits' collars at Norwich
(_c._ 1550) are composed of silver castles and gilded leopards
alternately, like those in the appended shield (fig. 187). The waits'
collars at Lynn were formed of scrolled leaves alternating with dragons'
heads pierced with crosses, like those in the town arms, which are
allusive of St. Margaret (fig. 187). At York the collars are formed
wholly of little silver leopards, and at Beverley of eagles and beavers
alternately. The waits' collars at Bristol date from the reign of Queen
Mary, and are composed of pierced roundels containing alternately the
letters CB. and a rose dimidiating a pomegranate.
[Illustration: FIG. 187. Waits' Collars of Exeter, King's Lynn, and
Norwich.]
The wearing of collars, or chains as they are called, by mayors,
mayoresses, and sheriffs is comparatively modern. It was formerly the
custom for every person of any dignity to wear a chain, and it was only
when chains began to go out of fashion that the wearing of them survived
among persons of particular dignity such as mayors and sheriffs.
The collar of SS worn by the lord mayor of London is an exceptional
example, and the only other early mayor's chain is that given to
Kingston-on-Hull in 1564 and remade in 1570. A plain gold chain was
bequeathed to the city of York in 1612, and 'a fayre chayne of gold
double linked with a medall of massy gold' was given to the town of
Guildford in 1673. In 1716 a gold chain for the mayor was given to the
city of Norwich, but passed on for the use of the deputy mayor on a new
chain being given in 1757. Yarmouth bought itself a chain in 1734, and
seven other towns became possessed of mayors' chains towards the end of
the eighteenth century. Down to 1850 some fifteen more mayors' chains
came into existence, mostly of simple type, like the older chains, with
one or more rows of plain or ornate links. Since 1850 practically every
town that can boast of a corporation has likewise got a chain for its
mayor, and appalling creations many of them are, with rows of tablet
links, and armorial pendants as large as saucers.
A simple gold chain to be worn by the sheriffs of Norwich was given in
1739, but those at Chester, Newcastle, Exeter, and other places are
quite recent. In London it has been the custom for the friends and
admirers of the sheriffs to present them with elaborate gold collars on
their accession to office, but these are happily private property and
not official insignia. The same description applies to them as to the
recent mayors' chains.
Chains for mayoresses have not yet become general, but they are being
multiplied yearly. The mayoress of Kingston-on-Hull had an official
chain as early as 1604, but it was sold as being 'useless' in 1835. The
lady mayoress of York has a chain of plain gold links given in 1670,
which is regularly weighed on its delivery to and return by the wearer.
All other mayoresses' chains are quite recent, and in most cases of the
same fearsome design as those worn by their husbands.
The unfortunate mayors, mayoresses, and sheriffs are practically at the
mercy of ignorant and inartistic tradesmen for the designing and making
of the collars they are called upon to wear officially, but that is no
reason why people with more enlightened ideas should not invent, design,
and wear collars or chains that are beautiful in themselves. The
examples already quoted and the many illustrations of others that are
accessible will show what comely ornaments the old heraldic collars
were, and many a lady would look well in a collar to whom a necklace is
most unbecoming. Flowers, letters, and devices of heraldic import can
easily be embroidered in gold, or struck out of metal and enamelled, and
then be sewn down on velvet or silk stuff, or linked together by fine
chains.
But let every wearer of a chain or collar avoid the error of making it
too long. The ancient collars were quite short, and therefore rested
comfortably and easily upon the shoulders. Official collars have however
grown to so preposterous a length that they have to be tied with bows of
ribbons upon the shoulders to hinder them from slipping off the wearer
altogether! The reason of this is curious and instructive. The old
collars were, as aforesaid, of sensible dimensions, but the
introduction of wigs in the seventeenth century necessitated the
collars being lengthened to be worn outside them. Wigs had their day and
at last disappeared from general wear, but the lengthened collars
remain, and it has not occurred to any one in authority that they might
now advantageously be shortened. So the inconvenience goes on.