803 
KNIGHTHOOD. 
Jofeph Micheli reports, that the emperor above-men¬ 
tioned, joining in battle with thefe brave knights againft 
the Turks, obtained a notable victory; and that “ the 
Turks themfelves confefs that a man on horfeback, fup- 
pofed to be St. George, patron of this order, put them in 
to great a fear and dilturbance, that they were obliged to 
take themfelves to flight, and leave the field.” See 
Plate II. 
XLVI. The Order of St. James, in Holland. Flo- 
rentius earl of Holland and Zealand, and lord of Frieze- 
land, beftowed the enligns of this order, in the hall of his 
palace at the Hague, in 1290, upon twelve of his principal 
noblemen, whofe names he let down himfelf, according to 
their rank and the fervices he had received from them. 
The fecond in rank was Launcelot lord Hamilton, then 
ambaflador from the king of Scots. The knights were in- 
vefted with a collar of gold, or military belt of filver gilt, 
adorned with fix efcallops, whereat was appended the 
image of St. James the Apoftle. All the lhields of the 
knights, u'hereupon their arms were painted, were deli¬ 
vered to John Papavert, herald of Holland, and by him 
hungup in the great hall of the palace, in commemoration 
and perpetual memory of this inftitution. Thus from 
early time we fee the ilandards and fhields of brave men 
and knights hung up in ftately halls and churches to ho¬ 
nour the dead, and at the fame time to ftirnulate the liv¬ 
ing to the praftice of honour and virtue. 
XLVII. The Order of St. George of Alfama, in 
Spain. It appears that this order was inltituted in 1201, 
in a town of the name of Alfama, in the diocefe of Tor¬ 
tola; and that it received the papal confirmation in 1363 ; 
but, on account of the knights being defirous to unite 
themfelves with thofe of the order of Montefa, which was 
then in great repute, the council of Conllance fanftioned 
the union in 1399. See Plate II. 
XLVIII. The Order of Montesa. The Knights 
Templars being extinft in Spain as well as in all other 
kingdoms, as it was mentioned under that title, (fee p. 
795.) an order was inltituted, about the year 1317, tofup- 
ply their place, in confequence of a permiflion obtained 
for that purpofe from pope John XXII. and at the fame 
time the town of Montela in Valencia was chofen as a 
proper and fit place for the refidence of the knights. I11 
the year following, James king of Arragon and Valencia, 
confcious of the importance of the inftitution, and in 
commemoration of the fervices he had received, and ex- 
pefted, from the knights, built at Montefa a noble col¬ 
lege for them to dwell in ; and, having dedicated it to Sr. 
George, the order aflumed on that occafion the denomi¬ 
nation of Order of St, George of Montefa. Segar, in his 
book of “Honour Civil and Military,” calls it the Order 
of Montejio ; but we apprehend that this worthy writer, 
who on all other occaiions aims at correftnefs, has here 
miftaken the name of the city. 
The habit of this order confifts in a white mantle, on 
the left bread whereof is embroidered a plain red crofs, 
in imitation of feveral others already defcribed ; this fym- 
bol being at once exprelfive of the intention for which 
moll of the military orders were eltablilhed, namely, to 
filed their blood in defence of the Chriftian religion. The 
badge confifted alfo of a plain red crofs enamelled on gold ; 
which was worn fcarfwife, pendent to a broad and wa¬ 
tered ribbon. See Plate II. 
XLIX. The Order of the Scale, or de la Sca- 
MA, in Spain. When we confider, in a general point of 
view, the afiociations of brave men to defend the holy 
places where Chrift converfed among men, or to fecure 
their own countries, their rights, religion, and properties, 
againft the repeated attacks of the infidels, it is natural to 
fuppofe that they found, after the example of Mithridates 
given to his fons, that ftrength confifts in union. This 
motive is the only plaufible one which we can afiign for 
the choice which the order, now under confideration, 
made for their fymbol, of a thing fo inlignificant, at the 
firft fight, as the fcale of a fifh. But, when we recollect 
that thefe fcales united together form a ftrong armour, 
which was imitated to fecure ancient warriors againft the 
flalhing of fwords and fcimeters, we mult confefs that the 
meaning is clear and juft. Similar to fo many fcales of 
hard fubftance fupporting each other, the members of this 
order became ftrong by their union, and were enabled to 
perform in fociety what no one would have been able fin- 
gly to achieve. Since no author, as far as our refearches 
have gone, has given, or attempted to give, an explana¬ 
tion of the name and badge of this Spanifii order, we have 
thought that it might be intereftingto our readers to have 
a few original ideas propofed to them on the fubjeft. 
According to feveral Spanifh writers, this order was cre¬ 
ated by Don John II. king of Caftile, about the year 1316 
or 1318. But, as the planets of heaven lofe their refpec- 
tive fplendour when the face of the fun is concealed from 
them, fo did this order fall into decay at the death of its 
founder, before whom they ufed to march in battle-array 
whenever he went to war. Their duty was to defend 
Caftile againft the Moors, and to fpill their blood in the 
defence of the Chriftian faith. The knights wore on their 
left breaft the badge of the order, which was a blue crofs 
compofed of fcales like thofe of a filh. See Plate II. 
L. The Order of Christ in Portugal. Dennis, the 
fixteenth king of Portugal, in order to excite the valour 
of his nobility to oppole the attempts of the Moors, who, 
nuiftering ftrong in the province of Algarves, were very 
troublefome to his fubjeftsf thought of no better means 
than to create a military order of knighthood for that 
purpofe ; and, having inftituted it with all requifite forms 
in 1317, he obtained, two years after, a confirmation of 
it from pope John XXII. who was then refiding at Avi¬ 
gnon. Some authors pretend that he was impelled to this 
aft by a vilion of Chrift crucified, which appeared before 
him at the moment he was to give battle ; but we, of 
courfe, refer fuch relations to the wonders of legendary 
lore. 
The firft grand mafter was Don Giles Martinez ; and the 
order fubfifted with honour and glory for a long time. It 
had been under the control of twelve mafters, when pope 
Adrian VI. in 1522, confirmed the adminiftration of it to 
king John III. 
At the deftruftion of the Knights Templars, all the 
goods and pofleflions belonging to them, within the king¬ 
dom of Portugal, were granted to this order. They had 
appointed to them for their feat Caftro-marin, where 
their firft convent was erefted ; but afterwards it was re¬ 
moved to the city of Thomar; which tranflation was ef¬ 
fected on account of thirty-feven commanderies which 
they poflefled in Africa being feparated from them. In 
1551, pope Julius III. veiled in the crown of Portugal a 
perpetual right to the grand-mafterlhip; from which epo- 
cha the kings have taken the title of Perpetual Adminif- 
trators of the Order, which confifted in the aftonifhing 
number of 417 commanderies in that fmall kingdom. Be¬ 
fore the grand-mafterlhip was united to the crown, the 
eleftion was left to the votes of the knights, who are 
now under the fame regulations and enjoy the fame privi¬ 
leges as thofe of Calatrava in Spain, who follow the Cif- 
tertian rule. According to the ltatutes, the candidates 
ftiould prove their nobleriefsof blood for four generations. 
But it is generally difpenfed with by the fovereign, on ac¬ 
count of their individual merits and the fervices they have 
rendered to the country. 
This order is ftiil extant; and, even fince the emigration 
of the houfe of Braganza from their kingdom to the weft- 
ern hemifphere, the prince regent of Portugal has con¬ 
ferred the honour of it on feveral worthy individuals. 
The badge of the order confifts of a gold crofs pa tee en¬ 
amelled gules, and charged with another argent, pendent 
from a collar compofed of three rows of gold chains. On 
common days, the knights wear the badge hanging from 
a fcarlet ribbon thrown round the neck. See Plate II. 
LI. The Order of Jesus Christ, in Italy, was infti¬ 
tuted by pope John XXII. at Avignon, in 1320. The reign¬ 
ing 
