78 9 
KNIGHT II ODD. 
5 n order to avoid repetition in our defcriptions of the fol- The badge confined in a crofs of goid enamelled white, 
lowing orders. cantoned with four fleur-de-lis or; on the crofs a dove ar- 
Betides thefe folemn vows taken before the altar kneel- gent, defcending from above, and holding in its beak a via?, 
ing, and with their hands joined within thofe. of the ah- received by a hand proper. The French revolution has, 
bot, there was an oath which they took alfo, not to fight of courfe, put an end to this as well as to many other 
in wars between Chriftians, and not to receive holy or- orders of knighthood. See Plate I. 
tiers or to marry without firll obtaining a licence for that IV. Order, of the Swan, in Flanders. It is Fai cl to have 
purpofe. been inftituted by Salvius Brabo of Brabant about the year 
The novices were taken at the age of about fixteen or 500, upon what occafion we cannot find, and our relearches 
feventeen, and employed nine years in the wars. When among the writings of thofe who have treated of fuck 
old, the knights retired, under the title and profeflion of matters have been entirely unfuccefsful. Alhmole, whofe 
monks, to the abbeys where they had taken refpefrively fagacity and impartiality are well known in antiquarian, 
the habit of the order. The ceremony was fimple, yet fubjecls, doubts even the very exiftence of the order, and 
awful. As the knights were on the point of leaving the fays that, if it ever was inllituted, as reported, in the 6tk 
tumultuous life of chivalry, to enter the peaceful and century, it muft have been laid afide many centuries ago. 
filent walks of the convent, they put away their military 
drels, and received from the venerable abbot the black 
gown lined with blue, and a black cowl to wear over it. 
The origin of the cowl, which is /till worn by monks of 
feveral orders, arofe from the coldnefs of the nights in 
Alia and Africa, where the inhabitants were obliged to 
flicker their heads againft the conftant dew and accidental 
rains, which take place in thofe countries after funfet. 
In Italy, France, anil Spain, there were alfo monks, 
under the name of Knights of St. Anthony. Their chef- 
lieu was at Vienne in Dauphine; and, the monaftery hav¬ 
ing been eredled into an abbey by pope Boniface, anno 
1297, the general of the order bore the title of abbot of 
that place. The occalion of this inftitution, according to 
fome, is that the body of the hermit St. Anthony was 
tranfported thither from Conftantinople. Thefe are called 
alfo by fonie authors the Hofpitaliers of St. Anthony; and 
are fuppoled to have been erefted by Gallon, a nobleman 
of Vienne, and his fon Gerin, anno 1x21; but fome 
writers are of opinion that they are more ancient. 
III. The Order of St. Remy, or the Holy Vial, in 
France. It is reported, that, loon after the converfion of Clo¬ 
vis to the Chrillian faith, when the bifliop of Rheims (St. 
Remy) was on the point of anointing him king on the font, 
a dove came down from the heavens, holding in its beak 
a fmall vial full of a bali'amic compolition, which the 
venerable prelate received in his hand, to the great afto- 
nifhment of the crowd there prefent at the time of the 
ceremony. We lhall forbear to enter into the merits of fo 
marvellous an'event, and refer our curious readers to a 
moil interefting differtation upon the 1'ubjeCl, at the be¬ 
ginning of the firll volume of Daniel’s Hiltory ot France, 
where the learned jefuit gives his readers a very amufing 
account of all that has been reported for and againft the 
miraculous defeent of the faints ampoule, the name it 
bears in France, from the Latin ampulla, a diminutive of 
amphora, a bottle. This little vial was ftiown at Rheims 
to the pilgrims and faithful on a particular day ; it was 
about an inch long, made of thick greenifh glafs, and fet 
in the middle of a Tilk pad in the ftiape of a heart, adorned 
with pearls and other precious ftones. We underlland 
that, thofe valuable ornaments being a powerful bait for 
the facrilegious monfters of the French revolution, the 
bottle was ftolen and contemptuoufly broken on the pave¬ 
ment of the abbey-church. Laying afide the fuperftitious 
circumllances attending the vial, its undeniable anti¬ 
quity fhould have entitled it to refpefl and forbearance. 
It v.as believed by the common and ignorant people of 
France, that the ampulla was as a thermometer of the 
king’s bodily constitution ; full when the monarch was 
well, and decrealing according to the decreafe of his health. 
It is faid that this order was instituted by Clovis him- 
felf, in the year 499 ; and the kings of France were the 
fovereignsof it. Four knights only constituted the knight¬ 
hood of the vial, to which they could not be admitted 
unlefs they were barons. Their fpecial duty was to bear 
the canopy over the holy vial, when carried from the abbey- 
church of St. Remy to the cathedral, upon the-ceremony 
attending the confecration and coronation of the king. 
Vol. XL No. 795. 
However, we find in feveral authors upon knighthood, 
that the badge confifted of a fwan enamelled white on a 
green mount decorated with flowers; and that it was 
borne on the breait pendent from three gold chains encir¬ 
cling the neck of the knight. 
V. Order of the Dog and Cock, in France. The 
origin of this order is involved in obfeurity and doubt. It 
is reported to have been inftituted about the year 500 by 
LifoyeMontmorency, who obtained forhimfelf and his fuc- 
cefforsthe appellation of firftchriftian, protockrijlianus,a title 
which has ever fince accompanied that of premier baron, 
archibaro, of France. Both thefe denominations and molt 
honourable titles the houfe of Montmorency has been in 
pofleflion of down to our time. The creft of the family 
is a dog, alluding to the ftaunch fidelity which the Mont- 
morencys always fliowed to their prince 5 and their motto, 
one of the moll chivalrefque ever mentioned in the an¬ 
nals of that country, was, “Dieuaideau premier chretien 
et baron de France.” Although this motto implied a re¬ 
ligious idea, yet the order was merely military. The Or¬ 
der of the Cock is aferibed to the fame illuftrious family, 
but the time of its creation is uncertain ; however, it is 
well afeertained that Philip I. king of France encou¬ 
raged the order, and added to it many knights of 
dillinflion. If we take upon ourfelves to offer our con¬ 
jecture upon the fubjeft, we are of opinion that thefe two 
affociations or orders of knighthood were nothing more 
than a kind of brotherhood among the individuals who 
compofed the feveral branches of the family of Montmo¬ 
rency, as was cullomary among the Romans and other 
nations; and that, in courfe of time, feveral knights re¬ 
ceived, in addition to their already-acquired honours, that 
o f being invefted with the infignia of thefe. We read 
that Buchard Montmorency appeared at the court of Phi¬ 
lip I. of France, attended by many knights, all of them 
wearing a gold collar compofed of flags’ heads, to which 
a dog was appended ; but we are afraid left this, which 
was probably nothing but a lninting-affociation, has 
been miftaken for an order of knighthood. Be this as it 
may, we find that both thefe orders were united into one, 
and that the badge confifted of a dog and a cock pendent 
from a collar compofed of a treble gold chain. The 
motto of the dog was Fideles, that of the cock Vigiles. 
VI. The Knights of the Round Table. There is 
fomething fo romantic in the very name of tlfis order, find to 
have been inftituted by king Arthur, that it calls back to 
the mind every deed which is bold, furprjfing, and chi¬ 
valrefque. The moll eminent authors of this country, as 
well as of France and Italy, hold the name of Arthur in 
high veneration, not more on account of his feats of 
bravery than for his having founded the knighthood of 
the Round Table. The names of thofe preux, whom their 
undaunted zeal for the revenge of oppreffed men and in- 
fulted ladies metamorphofed foon into knights errant, 
bring at once to our recollection the enchanted caftles, 
the deep moats, the wivern-haunted battlements, and all 
that has been written or fung by romancers of all nations 
fince the feventh century. It is a great pity, however, 
that the records now extant concerning Arthur are i'o 
9 P litcli 
