_Feudal Knighthood-- Orders of Knighthood: Knights of St. John; Knights Templars; The Order of the Garter; of the Thistle; of St.

Patrick; of the Bath; of St. Michael and St. George; of The Star of India-- Order of Merit-- Royal Victorian Order-- Imperial Service Order-- The Victoria Cross-- The Albert Medal-- Naval and Military Medals-- Foreign Insignia bestowed on British Subjects._

"The same King would make an Order of KNIGHTS of himself and his Sons, and of the bravest of his land."

--FROISSART.

"I will say as I have said,-- Thou art a n.o.ble KNIGHT."

--LORD OF THE ISLES.

KNIGHTHOOD, as that term is generally understood in its comprehensive acceptation, has been well defined to be "a distinction of rank amongst freemen, depending not upon birth or property, but simply upon the admission of the person so distinguished, by the girding of a sword or other similar solemnity, into an order of men having by law or usage certain social or political privileges," and also a certain appropriate t.i.tle. It is evident, therefore, from this definition that Knighthood implies the existence of these two conditions: the one, that the man to be admitted to the rank of Knighthood should possess such qualifications as may ent.i.tle him to that distinction; and the other, that Knighthood should be conferred by a personage endowed with a competent power and authority.

In feudal times the qualifications for Knighthood were military exploits of a distinguished character, and eminent services, of whatever kind, rendered to the King and the realm: also, the holding a certain property in land (in the time of EDWARD I., land then of the yearly value of 20, or upwards), whether directly from the King, or under some n.o.ble, by the feudal tenure of personal military service to be rendered under certain established conditions; but it has been disputed whether there was any necessary connection between Knighthood, as such, and the Knight Service of Feudal Tenure. During the first two centuries after the Conquest, Knighthood was conferred by the great Barons and by the Spiritual Peers, as well as by the King himself, or by his appointed representative: but, after the accession of HENRY III., the prevailing rule appears to have been that in England no persons should be created Knights except by the King, or the Prince Royal acting for his Father, or by the King's General-in-Chief, or other personal representative.

The knightly rank, as it gave an increase of dignity, implied also the maintenance of a becoming state, and the discharge of certain civil duties: and, more particularly, all Knights were required to make such a provision for rendering military service as was held to be consistent with their position and their property; and it was expected from them that they should take a dignified part in the chivalrous exercises and celebrations of their times. It followed, that feudal Knighthood was a distinction which, if not conferred for the sake of honour, became obligatory; and fines, accordingly, were imposed upon men qualified for Knighthood who, notwithstanding, were found not to be Knights. In the course of time, as the rigour of the feudal system abated, the numbers of the military tenants of small tenures greatly increased: and, since many of these persons had no inclination for the profession of arms, they gladly accepted the alternative of paying a fine, which enabled them to evade an honour unsuited as well to their means as to their personal tastes and their peaceful avocations. A fruitful source of revenue thus was secured for the Crown, while the military character of Knighthood was maintained, and at the same time a new and important cla.s.s of the community gradually became established.

The Knights of Norman England, who at first were soldiers of the highest order, derived their designation from their warlike predecessors of Anglo-Saxon times, the word "_cniht_," in the late Anglo-Saxon tongue, signifying a military attendant. When they had established themselves in the position and in the possession of the lands of the Anglo-Saxons, the Anglo-Norman Knights retained their own original t.i.tle. The Latin equivalent for that t.i.tle of "Knight" is "_Miles_," and the Norman-French is "_Chevalier_."

These Knights may be grouped in two cla.s.ses. The first cla.s.s contains all persons who had been admitted into the comprehensive Order of Chivalry--who were Knights by reason of their common Knighthood. The second cla.s.s is formed of Knights who, in addition to their Knightly rank, were members of some special and distinct Fraternity, Companionship, or Order of Knighthood. Every Society of this kind has always possessed Laws, Inst.i.tutions, t.i.tles, and Insignia peculiar to itself.

The peculiar character and object of the Crusades led to the formation of two Orders of _Priest-Knights_--Orders not belonging to any particular nation, but numbering amongst their members men of all nations. These are the Orders of the KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM, or HOSPITALLERS, and of the KNIGHTS TEMPLARS.

The HOSPITALLERS, inst.i.tuted about A.D. 1092, were introduced into England about 1100. In the year 1310 they were established at Rhodes, and in 1530 at Malta, under their forty-third Grand Master, PHILIPPE DE VILLIERS DE L'ISLE-ADAM. Their device is a _silver cross of eight points_, No. 107, charged upon a _black field_, or worn upon a black surcoat or mantle. The Order was finally suppressed in England in 1559.

The TEMPLARS, inst.i.tuted about A.D. 1118, were introduced into England about 1140. In the year 1309 they were suppressed, and in 1312 their Order was finally abolished. They wore _a Cross_ of the same form as No.

107, but of a _red colour upon a white field_. This red cross they charged upon a white banner: and they bore another banner, No. 13, of _black and white_, ent.i.tled "_Beau Seant_." The same words, "_Beau Seant!_" were their war-cry. The Badges of the Templars were the _Agnus Dei_--the Holy Lamb, holding a red-cross banner; and a device representing two Knights mounted on a single horse, intended to denote the original poverty of the Order.[8]

[Footnote 8: The Arms of the Inner Temple of the present day are--_Azure, a pegasus_ (or winged horse) _argent_, or sometimes _or_. This Coat is derived from the early Badge, _the two hors.e.m.e.n_ having been mistaken in later times for _wings_. The Arms of the Middle Temple are--_Argent, on a cross gules_, the Agnus Dei.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 433.--Insignia of the Order of the Garter.]

THE ORDER OF THE GARTER, a military Fraternity under the special patronage of "ST. GEORGE, the good Knight," was inst.i.tuted at Windsor by King EDWARD III. in, or about, the year 1350--very probably in the summer of 1348, but the exact time is not positively known. It may safely be a.s.sumed, that the occasion which led to the inst.i.tution of this most n.o.ble and renowned Order, was a Tournament or Hastilude of unusual importance held at his Castle of Windsor by EDWARD III. at the most brilliant period of his reign: and it is highly probable that the Order suggested itself to the mind of the King, as a natural result of his own chivalrous revival of a knightly "Round Table," such as flourished in the days of King Arthur. How much of historical fact there may be in the popular legend, which professes to derive from a certain romantic incident the t.i.tle certainly borne by King EDWARD'S Order from the time of its original inst.i.tution, it is not possible to determine: but the legend itself is not in any way inconsistent with the spirit of those times; nor would the Knights Founders of the Garter regard their Order as the less honourable, because its t.i.tle might remind them of the happy gallantry, with which the casual misadventure of a n.o.ble Lady had been turned to so good an account by a most princely Monarch. The Statutes of the Order have been continually modified and altered, and the original military character of the Inst.i.tution has long ceased to exist: still, no changes in the Order of the Garter have affected the pre-eminence of its dignity and reputation. Ill.u.s.trious now as ever, and foremost in rank and honour in our own country, the GARTER is second to no knightly Order in the world.

The MOST n.o.bLE ORDER OF THE GARTER consists of the SOVEREIGN and Twenty-five KNIGHTS COMPANIONS, of whom the PRINCE OF WALES always is one. By a Statute of the year 1805, the Order includes such lineal descendants of GEORGE III. as may be elected: and still more recent statutes have provided for the admission of foreign Sovereigns, and also of certain "Extra Knights," who are elected "Companions" as vacancies occur.

The OFFICERS of the Order are--The _Prelate_, the Bishop of Winchester: the _Chancellor_, the Bishop of Oxford: the _Registrar_, the Dean of Windsor: the _Herald_, Garter King of Arms: and, the _Usher of the Black Rod_.

Knights of the Garter place the initials "K.G." after their names; and these letters take precedence of all other t.i.tles, those of Royalty alone excepted.

The Stalls of the Knights are in the choir of St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, where their Garter-plates are fixed, and their Banners are displayed.

The INSIGNIA of the Order of the Garter are--The _Garter_ itself, of a light blue originally, now of a dark blue, with border, buckle, and pendant of gold. On it, in golden letters, the _Motto_--HONI . SOIT . QVI . MAL . Y . PENSE--"Dishonour to him who thinks ill of it;" and not, as it is commonly rendered, "Evil to him that evil thinks."

The Badge of the Order is circular, and formed of a buckled Garter enclosing a Shield of St. George, the whole blazoned in the proper tinctures: it is worn on the left shoulder of the blue velvet Mantle.

When irradiated with eight rays of silver or diamonds, a device resembling the Badge in every respect, except that the cross of St.

George is enclosed within the Garter without being charged on a Shield, forms the _Star_ of the Order.

The _Collar_, of gold enamelled, is formed of twelve buckled Garters, each encircling a Tudor Rose, and as many knots of intertwined cords.

Attached to this Collar is the _George_--a mounted figure of the Saint in the act of trampling down the dragon and piercing him with his lance.

The Collar and George were added to the Insignia by HENRY VII.

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 434.--The Lesser George, of the Garter.]

The _Lesser George_, or _Jewel_, added by HENRY VIII., has the same device placed on an enamelled field, and forming a jewel generally oval in form; it is encircled by a buckled Garter of the Order, and represented in No. 434. It was this Lesser George that CHARLES I., immediately before he suffered, delivered to Archbishop JUXON, with the word, "Remember." As a matter of course, the figure of ST. GEORGE ought always to be represented as a Knight, armed and equipped as one of the Christian chivalry of the Middle Ages--not as a pagan horseman of antiquity, and more particularly not in the guise of such a nude champion as appears on some of our modern coins. The Lesser George, often incorrectly called the Badge, at first was sometimes worn from a gold chain, and sometimes from a _black Ribbon_. The Colour of the ribbon was changed to _sky blue_ by Queen ELIZABETH; and it has since been again changed to the _dark blue_ of the broad Ribbon now worn. This _Ribbon_ of the Order crosses the figure of the wearer, pa.s.sing over the left shoulder, and the Lesser George hangs from it under the right arm.

Since the time of CHARLES II. it has been customary for the nearest representatives of a deceased K.G. to return his Insignia to the Sovereign.

Each Officer of the Order, except the Usher, has his own proper Badge.

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 450.--Insignia of the Order of the Thistle.]

The ORDER OF THE THISTLE, OF SCOTLAND, styled "Most n.o.ble and Most Ancient," and indicated by the Initials "K.T.," was originally inst.i.tuted long before the accession of a Scottish Sovereign to the Crown of England; but it is now governed by statutes framed by JAMES II.

of Great Britain, ANNE, and GEORGE IV.

The Order consists of the SOVEREIGN and sixteen KNIGHTS. Its OFFICERS are--The _Dean_; _the Lord Lyon King of Arms_; and the _Gentleman Usher of the Green Rod_.

The INSIGNIA are--The _Badge_ of gold enamelled, being a figure of St.

Andrew standing upon a mount holding his silver Saltire and surrounded by rays in the form of a glory. This Badge is worn from the _Collar_ of the Order, formed of sixteen Thistles alternating with as many bunches of rue-sprigs; or, from a broad _dark green Ribbon_, which crosses the left shoulder. There are fine examples of these Insignia sculptured upon the Monument of MARY, Queen of Scots, in Westminster Abbey. The jewel is shown in No. 435.

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 435.--Jewel of the Thistle.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 436.--Badge of St. Patrick.]

The _Star_ of this Order, of silver or diamonds, is in the form of a St.

Andrew's Saltire, having its four limbs alternating with the four points of a lozenge: in the centre, surrounded by the Motto (NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT), is a Thistle proper.

The Most Ill.u.s.trious Order of ST. PATRICK, OF IRELAND, indicated by the Initials, "K.P.", and inst.i.tuted in 1783 by GEORGE III., consists of the SOVEREIGN, the GRAND MASTER, and twenty-two KNIGHTS. The OFFICERS are the Grand Master, the _Chancellor_, the _Secretary_, _Ulster King of Arms_ and _Registrar_, two _Heralds_, and one _Pursuivant_, the _Genealogist_, and the _Usher of the Black Rod_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 451.--Insignia of the Order of St. Patrick.]

The INSIGNIA are--The _Badge_ or _Jewel_, of gold enamelled, and oval in form. It has a Shamrock (or Trefoil slipped) having on each leaf a Royal Crown, charged on the Saltire of St. Patrick, the field being surrounded by the _Motto_--QVIS . SEPARABIT . ("Who will sever?") MDCCLx.x.xIII., on a blue band, which in its turn is encircled with a wreath of Shamrocks on gold. This Badge, No. 436, is worn from the _Collar_, composed of Roses and Harps, alternating with each other and with knotted cords, a Crown surmounting a Harp being in the centre; or, the Badge is worn from a broad _sky-blue Ribbon_, crossing the right shoulder.

The _Star_ resembles the Badge, except that its centre is circular instead of oval; and that it has eight rays of silver or diamonds, in place of the wreath of Shamrocks.

The Most Honourable ORDER OF THE BATH is an early Inst.i.tution which, after having long been in abeyance, has been revived and remodelled, and has received fresh statutes in the years 1725, 1815, 1847, and 1859.

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 452.--Collar and Military Badge.

Insignia of the Order of the Bath.]

The Order, now numbering about a thousand members, consists of several distinct Groups or Cla.s.ses, which include, with the SOVEREIGN, the Royal Princes, and some few distinguished Foreigners, Officers of our own Navy and Army, and also Diplomatic and Civil Servants of the Crown.

The Three "Cla.s.ses" of the Order alike include members of the Three Services, and each cla.s.s is divided into two divisions, viz. Military and Civil.

The "First Cla.s.s," of KNIGHTS GRAND CROSS OF THE BATH--G.C.B.--has 55 Military and 27 Civil Knights.

The "Second Cla.s.s" numbers (with power to increase these numbers) 145 Military and 108 Civil KNIGHTS COMMANDERS OF THE BATH--K.C.B.

The "Third Cla.s.s," not of Knights, but of COMPANIONS OF THE BATH--C.B.--has 705 Military and 298 Civil Members, who take rank between Knights and Esquires.