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generally performed in the Royal palace, and robes of different colours were given to the intended objects of that Royal mark of distinction. Among the Close Rolls is a writ from Henry III. to the Sheriff of Southampton, ordering him to allow Thomas Esturmy, his Majesty's valet, a scarlet robe with a cloak of fine linen, and another robe of green or brown, and a saddle and a pair of reins, and a cloak for wet weather, and a couch and a pair of linen sheets, it being usual for the person who was to be knighted, to watch all the previous night in the church, and the couch was given him to rest on.

KNIGHTS TEMPLARS.

The Knights Templars were an order of knights instituted by Baldwin, King of Jerusalem, about the year 1100, for the defence of that city and the temple, as well as of the pilgrims that travelled thither; and were afterwards dispersed through all the kingdoms of Christendom. They were enriched by vast donations of the superstitious world, having no less than sixteen thousand lordships, besides other lands, conferred upon them; and neglecting to observe the first institution of their order, and being charged with the most detested crimes, particularly sodomy, and denying our Saviour-all the princes of Europe, with the concurrence of the Pope, agreed to imprison their persons, and seize all their lands and effects at once, and abolish their order, their revenues being afterwards transferred to the Knights' Hospitallers; but whether their immense riches, and their insolent behaviour, were not the grand motives for suppressing this order, is much doubted; for none of the crimes they were charged with, were proved against the English Templars, and the confessions of those in France were extorted by torture. The English Tem

plars were only sent into other monasteries. Their principal residence in England was the Temple in Fleet-Street, London; where, in the church there, lie the remains, marked out by their effigies, numbers of these once domineering crusading heroes. They were abolished by Pope Clement I.

KNIGHTS HOSPITALLERS.

These Knights, to whom were assigned the estates of the Knights Templars, derive their appellation from dedicating their services to the sick and wounded Christian soldiers in the holy wars; hence they were called Hospitallers, or Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. Like the Templars, their principal estates and residence were in England.

Jerusalem Square, with St. John of Jerusalem's Gate, derive their cognomens from these Knights Hospitallers, who had their headquarters in this part of Clerkenwell. They had also a

church here, which Stow notices in his Survey of London. They were suppressed by Henry VIII., 1540.

ORDER OF THE BATH.

The antiquity of this order is very great, as it was derived from the ancient Franks by the Saxons, who, with other customs, introduced it into England. When the Franks conferred knighthood, they observed, among other solemn rites, that of bathing before they performed their vigils; which rites continued to be practised in England, and from thence were termed Knights of the Bath. The first of this order, under the express appellation, was instituted by Henry IV., on the 13th of October, 1399.

ORDER OF THE THISTLE.

This order was founded in 1540 by James V. of Scotland, who, being honoured with the Order of the Garter from his uncle, King Henry VIII. of England, with the Golden Fleece from the Emperor, and the Order of St. Michael from the King of France, resolved to be in the royal mode, and so made this order for himself and twelve knights, in imitation of Christ and his twelve apostles. Then celebrating all the festivals of these orders, he set up their arms and badges over the gate of his palace at Linlithgow, joining St. Andrew with them.

ORDER OF ST. ANDREW.

Some Scotch writers, very fond of antiquity, not satisfied with the novelty of this institution, affect to call it the most ancient, as to its derivation. But for this they have no better warrant than the dream of king Hungus, the Pict, to whom St. Andrew making a midnight visit, promised him a sure victory over his foes, the Northumbrians; and the next day, St. Andrew's cross appearing in the air, he made his words good, and the Northumbrians were defeated. On this story, as they say, king Achaius, about the year 800, framed the Order of St. Andrew, 700 years before James V. revived it. He also appointed the knights to wear the image of St. Andrew upon a blue ribbon, which continued till queen Anne changed it to green.

ORDER OF THE GARTER.

Instituted by Edward III. in the year 1350. Some say on account of good success in a skirmish, wherein the king's garter was used for a token; others say that the king, after his great success, dancing one night with his queen and other ladies, took up a garter which one of them dropped, whereat some of the lords smiling, the king called out, Honi soit qui mal y pense— Evil to him that evil thinks; and said, that ere long he would make that garter of high reputation; and shortly after he instituted the order, in memorial of this event, and gave these words

as the motto of the order. This origin, though frivolous, says Hume, is not unsuitable to the manners of the times; and it is indeed difficult by any other means to account either for the seemingly unmeaning terms of the motto, or for the peculiar badge of the garter, which seems to have no reference to any purpose either of military use or ornament. The probability is, that in order to promote the spirit of emulation and obedience, the king instituted the order of the garter, in imitation of some orders of a like nature, religious as well as military, which had been established in different parts of Europe. The number received into this order consisted of twenty-five persons, besides the sovereign. Ladies were members of the fraternity as late as the reign of Edward IV. When queen Anne attended the thanksgiving at St. Paul's in 1702, and again in 1704, she wore the garter set with diamonds, as Sovereign of the order, tied round her left arm, and this precedent has been since followed.

COLLAR OF S S.

This collar, which is worn on certain occasions by the judges of the present day, is derived from Saints Simplicius and Faustinus, two Roman senators, who suffered martyrdom under Dioclesian. The religious society or confraternity of St. Simplicius wore silver collars of double SS; between which the collar contained twelve small pieces of silver, on which were engraven the twelve articles of the creed, together with a simple trefoil. The image of St. Simplicius hung at the collar, and from it seven plates, representing the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost. This chain, or collar, was worn because these two brethren were martyred by a stone with a chain about their necks, and thus thrown into the Tiber. Sir John Fern says, that collars in the 15th century were worn as ensigns of rank, of which the fashions ascertained the degrees. They were usually formed of S S, having in the front centre a rose, or other device, and were made of gold or silver, according to the bearer. He says, that knights only wore collars of S S; but this is a mistake. At the marriage of Prince Arthur, son of Henry VII., in 1507, Sir Nicholas Vaux wore a collar of Esses, which weighed, as the goldsmiths that made it reported, 800 pound of nobles. The collar worn by the judges is still a collar of S S divested of certain appendages.-See Notes and Queries, vol. iv. passim.

ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF CROWNS.

In Scripture there is frequent mention of crowns, and the use of them seems to have been very common among the Hebrews. The high priest wore a crown, which was a fillet of gold placed

*See Gold Coin.

upon the forehead, and tied with a ribbon of hyacinth colour, or azure blue. It seems also as if private priests, and even common Israelites, wore a sort of crown, since God commands Ezekiel "not to take off his crown, nor assume the marks of one in mourning." This crown was no more than a ribbon or fillet, with which the Jews and several people in the East girt their heads; and indeed the first crowns were no more than a bandalet drawn round the head, and tied behind, and we still see it represented round the heads of Jupiter, the Ptolemies, and kings of Syria. The more luxuriant crowns originated with the Roman emperors, who had four kinds, still seen on medals, viz., a crown of laurel, a radial or radiating crown, a crown adorned with pearls and precious stones, and the fourth a kind of bonnet or cap, something like the mortier.

In modern heraldry we have the following order and description of the various crowns now in use :

The Imperial crown' is a bonnet or tiara, with a semicircle of gold supporting a globe with a cross top.

The British crown is adorned with four crosses, between which are four fleur-de-lis, which is the crest of France; it is covered with four diadems, which meet at a little globe supporting a cross.

The French crown is a circle of eight fleur-de-lis, encompassed with six diadems, bearing at top double fleur-de-lis as the crest. The Spanish crown is adorned with large indent leaves, and covered with diadems terminating in a globe, surrounded with

a cross.

The crowns of almost all other kings are adorned with large leaves, bordered with four, six, or eight diadems, with a globe and cross at top.

The Prince of Wales's crown consists alternately of crosses and fleur-de-lis, with one arch, in the middle of which is a ball and cross, as in the royal diadem.

That of all the other sons and brothers of the king of England consist likewise of crosses and fleur-de-lis alternately, but without an arch, or being surmounted with a globe and cross at top.

That of the other Princes of the blood consists alternately of crosses and leaves, like those in the coronet of Dukes, &c., the latter being composed of leaves of smallage or parsley, and that of a Marquis, of flowers and pearls placed alternately; an Earl's has no flowers about the circle like a Duke and Marquis, but only points rising, and a pearl on every one of them; a Viscount has neither flowers nor points raised above the circle like the other superior degrees, but only pearls placed on the circle itself, without any limited number; a Baron's has only six pearls on the golden border, not raised, to distinguish him from the Earl, and the number of them limited, to show he is inferior to the Viscount.

THE SCEPTRE.

The Greek

The sceptre is of greater antiquity than the crown. tragic poets put sceptres into the hands of the most ancient kings they ever introduce; thus, Achilles is said to have sworn by his staff or sceptre in the first Book of the Iliad.

Among the Romans, the sceptre was first used by Tarquin the Elder. We are informed by Le Gendre, that the sceptre borne by the first race of the French kings was a golden rod, crooked at one end like a crosier,* used by the bishops of the church, and almost of the same height as the king himself. This pastoral staff, or crosier, is held by the bishops in one hand when they give the solemn benediction. The custom also of having the symbol of pastoral authority before the bishops is very ancient. Regular abbots are also allowed to officiate with a mitre and crosier, except in regard to the Greeks, where none but a patriarch had a right to the crosier. The sceptre is likewise prominent in the regalia, or ensigns of royalty, used for the apparatus of a coronation, as the crown, the sceptre with a cross, that with a dove, St. Edward's staff, the globe, and the orb with the cross, four several swords, &c.

ORIGIN OF CORONATIONS IN ENGLAND, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THEIR CUSTOMS.

The first coronation ceremony performed in England, was that of Edmund Ironsides, 1016. Chronology likewise informs us, that the first sermon preached at any coronation was that of Edward the Confessor, in 1041; and the first who is stated to have been touched for the king's evil in 1058.

The first king's speech said to be delivered was that of Henry I., 1107; but it is not a little singular, that the first coronation feast in England is observed to be that which was given on the crowning of Edward I., 1273.

The oath taken at the coronation of Hugues Capet is recorded as follows:-"I, Hugues Capet, who by the grace of God will soon be made king of the French, promise, on the day of my sacre (consecration), that I will distribute justice according to the laws of the people committed to my charge."

Henry IV. was anointed 27th February, 1594, at Chartres. He made his abjurationt on the 25th July preceding, at St. Denis. On the day of his sacre, says Sully, the liguers ran in crowds to see him; they were delighted by his noble appearance; they raised their hands to Heaven, dropping tears of joy, and they exclaimed in ecstasy-Ha! Dieu le benie.

At the coronation of the Emperors of China, it was customary

*See Crosier.

+ Henry IV. of France abjured the Protestant religion.

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