Mar. 10. 1855.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



179 



Office, where, by permission of H. E. the Governor, 

 I have ready access, and for which favour my ac- 

 knowledgments are due, I am now enabled to 

 send this fourth and last notice of the Knights of 

 the English tongue of the Order of St. John of 

 Jerusalem. The list is continued, as it was com- 

 menced, in alphabetical order. 



Shelley, Richard, second son of Sir William 

 Shelley, of Michaelgrove, in Sussex, and his wife 

 Alice, dausrhter and coheiress of Sir Henry Bel- 

 Jcnap, of Knowle, in the county of Warwick, was, 

 during the reigns of Mary and Elizabeth, the last 

 Turcopolier of England.* Shortly after the ac- 

 cession of the last-named queen. Sir Richard 

 retired to Spain, but while in that country he re- 

 fused to be called Prior d'Ingalterra, stating he 

 was Turcopolier of the English nation, being 

 " Dominus natus, and having a seat in the House 

 of Peers:"! "His position being next to that of 

 the Abbot of Westminster, and above all lay 

 Barons." In 1561 Sir Richard obtained permis- 

 sion from the king of Spain to leave his kingdom 

 and go to the relief of Malta, then threatened by 

 the Turks ; but he had scarcely reached Genoa 

 ■when travelling for this purpose, before he received 

 n command from the Grand Master La Valetta, 

 requiring him to take up the title of his Priory, 

 and assume its duties. How long this distinguished 

 tnight may have remained in England after re- 

 ceiving this order, is not known; but it is stated in 

 a MS., that on the 14th day of August, 1566, the 

 Venerable the Grand Prior of England, the Lord 

 "brother Richard Shelley, presented himself in 

 council, and took with his seat the usual oaths.J 

 I^ot long had Sir Richard been in Malta, before a 

 serious difficulty arose between him and the Grand 

 Prior of Messina, as to their pre-eminence in coun- 

 cil. The prudent and politic manner in which the 

 same was arranged, is clearly shown by the fol- 

 lowing literal translation from the Latin documents 

 which were observed to bear on the question. 



On occasion of the dispute and controversy 

 which arose between the Most Illustrious and 

 Very Reverend the Priors of England and Mes- 

 sina, concerning their pre-eminence, namely, which 

 of the two should take precedence of the other at 

 the meetings of council, at public assemblies, and 

 other solemn congregations of this Order ; the 

 Very Reverend and Most Illustrious the Grand 

 Master, with his venerable council, appointed a 

 commission consisting of the Very Reverend Era 

 Antonio Cressini, Prior of the Church, Era Pietro, 

 Marshal, and Don Fernando del Arcon, Lieu- 

 tenant tp the High Chancellor, in order that they, 

 having inquired into the pretensions and allega- 

 tions of both parties, and having consulted and 

 •examined the documents which they should re- 



* Plnyfair's Baronett. f Kimber, vol. i. p. 36. 



I MS. records of the Order. 



(spectively produce from the registry, might make 

 a just and unbiassed report to the council, who 

 having executed the orders which were given to 

 them, reported to the said Very Reverend Grand 

 Master and his council, that having heard all the 

 Priors and their procurators had alleged in de- 

 fence and in favour of their own cause, and having 

 carefully considered the statements contained ia 

 the documents from the registry, produced by 

 them, they (the commissioners) discovered that 

 the Priors of England, both in the general chapters 

 and in the ordinary assemblies of this Order, had 

 been accustomed to take precedence not only of 

 the said Priors of Messina, but also of the Castel- 

 lani d'Emposta, who precede the said Priors of 

 Messina, and who take precedence of several other 

 members of the Order. Whence it came to pass, 

 that the Very Reverend the Grand Master, and 

 his venerable council, having heard in profound 

 silence the report of the said commissioners, and 

 having discussed the contents of the documents 

 produced, as to whether they were or were not 

 explicit on the point in question, unanimously 

 agreed that the said Priors of England should take 

 precedence of the Priors of Messina. 



Moreover, to remove all cause of dispute, which 

 it was foreseen might in many ways arise, if any 

 decree should be published regarding this pre- 

 cedence, it was resolved that no sentence should 

 be recorded, the more so, as in contesting the right 

 of pre-eminence it was generally acknowledged 

 that the documents produced by authority from 

 the registry, in conformity with the regulations 

 and ancient custom of this convent, form in them- 

 selves the most equitable and most dispassionate 

 sentence that could possibly have been anticipated. 

 It therefore seemed proper to the whole council, 

 that the Most Illustrious and Very Reverend the 

 Grand Master, in order to intimate this right of 

 pre-eminence, should proceed as follows ; namely, 

 that after summoning the contending parties into 

 his presence, and that of his council, the Very 

 Reverend the Grand Master should assign to each 

 his place without the use of any words, and should 

 allot by gesture the place of greater pre-eminence 

 to the Prior of England, and the place of less 

 eminence to the Prior of Messina, without, how- 

 ever, in any way prejudicing any claims which he 

 should at any future time lawfully make and sup- 

 port in favour of his pretensions. Which command 

 the Most Illustrious the Grand Master carried into 

 execution ; and having summoned the said Priors 

 into his presence, and that of the council, said unto 

 them : " Sir Knights, we having listened atten- 

 tively to the report of the commissioners, and 

 having subsequently discussed together all the 

 arguments and reasons which each of you have re- 

 spectively produced from the registry in favour of 

 your pre-eminence, do ordain and require, that 

 you the Prior of England should sit in that place, 



