KNIG H T II O O D. 
738 
Fourthly, he rnuft he fober and difcreet, not inclined 
to vain delights or effeminate pleafures. 
Fifthly, he ought to he obedient; for of obedience pro¬ 
ceeds that the meaner are content to be commanded by 
the better, and the ignorant by thofe that know. This 
virtue was greatly embraced of (praftifed by) the Ro¬ 
mans, and occafioned their often victories. 
Sixthly, he ought to be vigilant and patient; for in the 
one confifts the execution of warlike actions ; by the 
other, all travails, pains, and misfortunes, are endured. 
Seventhly, he mult be faithful and loyal, which quality 
is required in all forts of fubjefts, but chiefly in foldiers. 
This is the caufe why men poffeiling arms do commonly 
fwear by the faith of a foldier : the Frenchman, “ foyde 
foldat;” the Italian, “a fe di foldato,” &c. yet the kings 
of France do commonly life this phrafe ; “ foy de gentil- 
liomme ; foy de chevalier.” 
Eighthly, he ought to be conftant and refolute; becaufe 
refolution makes all difficulties eafy, and conltance and 
perfeverance bring perfeftion in what he profeffes. 
Ninthly, he thould be charitable, becaufe wars are not 
taken in hand for the deftruftion of countries and towns, 
but the defence of laws and people. 
Laftly, lie fliould be fortunate, (ince fortune is the lady 
of arms, and (hows her power in nothing more than in 
the adventures of war.” 
Having given, under the article Heraldry, a com¬ 
plete elementary and hiftorical treatife of all that is gene¬ 
rally comprehended under that word, it becomes now in¬ 
cumbent upon us to prel'ent our readers with exatft and 
interefting lketches of all the Orders of Knighthood 
which have been inftiluted in modern times, as a proper 
appendix to what we have faid upon a fcience which owes 
nearly the whole of its origin, rife, and prefervation, to 
knighthood. The chronological feries being in this cafe 
the mod: naturally adapted to our purpofe, we fhall adopt 
it, and review the orders according to the date of their in¬ 
itiation. 
I. The Order of the Golden Angel. This appears 
to be the moft ancient military order ever inftituted in 
Chriftendom. It took its origin from Conftantine the 
Great, and was called from his name the Conftantinian An¬ 
gelic Order. The date of the inititution is the year 312. 
The miracle of the crofs difplayed by an angel in the 
clouds to the eyes of Conftantine before the battle, with 
the words In hoc figno vinccs, caufed the order to be ftyled 
the Order of the Golden Angel; and, foon after his con- 
verfion, the emperor ordered that the crofs which makes 
part of the labarum ffiould be carried at the head of his 
army, and engraved on the armour of his legionary fol¬ 
diers. He went farther: he elefted fifty illuftrious gran¬ 
dees of his empire to be knights of the recently-created 
order, and entrufted them with the ftandard and the laba¬ 
rum. Conftitutions, ftatutes, and law's, were planned and 
confirmed by pope Sylvefter, and by Leo I. on the aoth of 
July, A.D. 456. In fuccellion of time, feveral popes gave 
their fanction to this knightly eftablifliment, and loaded it 
with extenfive privileges and high honours. The grand 
mafters were called Commcnfales Pontificum, becaufe they 
were allowed to fit at table with the fupreme head of the 
church ; the knights were fiibject to no other than to their 
grand mafter; and the order had the royal privilege of 
coining money. Thus, when barbarity was fpreading her 
dufky wings over Europe, valour and virtue were (till 
taken notice of and powerfully encouraged, as the heft 
fpring which can create, or at leaft imitate, real patrio- 
tifm. The collar is compofed of fifteen oval plates of 
gold, richly chafed on their edges and enamelled blue. 
Fourteen of thefe bear each the cipher of the name of 
Chrift compofed of the Greek capitals X Sc P (the two firft 
letters of the word XPIITOS), between the two capitals A 
and ft, alluding to thefe words of the Holy Scripture, “ I 
am Alpha and "Omega, the beginning and the end” of all 
things. Rev. i. 8.xxii. 13. On the oval which is in the 
centre,and hangs on the breaft, the cipher X P as above, and 
within a wreath of laurel-leaves is placed a crofs patonce, 
gules, edged or, and bearing the letters I.H S.V. the Greek 
name of our Saviour; pendent therefrom was the figure 
of St.. George in the aft of killing the dragon. The habit 
of this angelic order was originally of white filk, accord¬ 
ing to A(hmole; but it feems that afterwards the cloak 
was of fky-blue velvet lined with white filk, tied at the 
neck with a cord of criinfon filk and gold threads inter¬ 
mixed, terminating with a large taffel at each end ; on 
the left breaft of the cloak was richly embroidered the 
crofs of the order. See Plate I. 
II. St. Anthony in Ethiopia. The firft centuries of 
the Chriftian era were notable for the immenfe number of 
men, who, not bent upon fighting their fellow-creatures, 
or monftersand giants, turned the exertions of their cou¬ 
rageous minds againft their own paftions, and, finding that 
true virtue in that dangerous attempt is to fly, ftgere vir- 
tus eft, abandoned the gay world and its meretricious al¬ 
lurements, andrepaired tothefolitudeof the Egyptian The- 
bais, where, undifturbed by the temptations fo frequent in 
large focieties, they entirely devoted themfel ves to the great 
work of their own falvation. The fame of their virtues 
and the aufterity of their lives fpread foon around, and 
penetrated into Ethiopia. Hence the origin ©f the Order 
of St. Anthony, who, with St. Paul, (hared the reputa¬ 
tion of being the firft; fathers of the defert, and of l iving 
the foundation of the anachoretical and csenobitical life. 
This order dates as far back as the year 370 after Chrift, 
when it was founded by John emperor of Ethiopia, com¬ 
monly called Prefter John; the monks of St. Anthony’s 
monafteries had embraced the rules of St. Bafil, and kept 
both the habit and the name of the hermit. The Ethio¬ 
pian monarch, out of refpedf for their virtue, erefted them 
in to a military and religious knighthood, and befto wed. upon 
them great revenues and privileges. They flourifhed fo 
well, that they had a great number of convents in that em¬ 
pire ; and it is reported that the annual revenue of the or¬ 
der amounted to upwards of two millions. The ifle of 
Meroe was the feat where the abbots refided. Their habit 
was black, with a blue kind of crofs embroidered upon it. 
It is afferted by feveral authors that this crofs reprelented 
the Syriac or Hebraic letter Thau ; but it is an error. 
The principal duties of thofe camobites confifted in affift- 
ing the blind and the lame. Hence the moft ancient effi¬ 
gies of St. Anthony reprefent him with a crutch, a bell, 
and a dog, which laft was afterwards, by the ignorance 
or unlkilfulnefs of painters and glafs-ftainers, transformed 
into a pig. The figure of part of a crofs on the garment 
is intended neither for a crofs noraletter, but fora crutch, 
as a lalting memorial of the benevolent intention of the 
original duties impofed upon the order. Our opinion is 
confirmed by the very fhape of the badge they ufed to 
wear, as it confifted of a crofs boutonne or, fleury azure, 
the bafe point of which is couped as if to lean upon it} 
the whole edged with gold. See Plate I. 
This fociety, which was of a mixed nature, being both 
religious and military, was under particular rules; and 
the knights were obliged to make feveral vows at their 
entrance into the order. They were to obferve, 1. Con¬ 
jugal chaftity. Being furrounded by Arabs and otheridola- 
ters who-admitted polygamy, it was not improper to lay 
a greater ftrefs upon the duty of Chriftian marriage; and 
it would not perhaps be amifs in our times that fuch 
means (hould be reforted to in order to fecure the happi- 
nefs of the connubial ftate. 2. The fecond vow confifted 
in promiiing to die in the defence of the Chriftian faith. 
The immenfe number of infidels, which formed part of the 
newly-converted Ethiopian empire, made this article of 
importance to the order. 3. To guard the confines of 
the empire. 4. To yield obedience to the laws and regu¬ 
lations of the order as let down at its foundation. And, 
5. To be entirely fubfervient to the commands of their 
luperiors. Thefe articles were common to all other reli¬ 
gious or military fraternities of knighthood; and we 
have therefore thought it expedient to infers them here. 
