808 
KNIGHT 
The Garter, had the honour of giving a name to the 
order ; and, as we have Itated beforp, was moll likely the 
occafion of the inflitution, and undoubtedly coeval with 
its origin. It is f'o highly elleemed, that the bare invef- 
titure therewith, by the fovereign or his deputy, makes the 
perfon, who receives that honour, a companion of the mod 
noble and greateft military order ever known. The gar¬ 
ter ufed in the ceremony of indallation, and which each 
knight wears on the left leg, a little below the knee, is of 
blue velvet edged with gold, with the words “ Honi foit 
qui mal y penfe,” richly wrought thereon in folid gold ; 
the buckle and pendent being elegantly chafed and en¬ 
graved. See Plate 1 . 
Tli c.Mantle is of blue velvet lined with white taffeta, to 
the collar of which are fattened two long firings with 
large talfels, and called cordons ,made of bluefilk intermixed 
with gold. On the left bread of this mantle are placed 
the arms of the order, viz. argent, a crofs gules, within the 
garter, richly embroidered. The fovereign wears the fame 
mantle as does every knight, without any didinCtion, ex- 
. cept that the train is much longer, and generally borne 
by a page. The fiiape of the mantle is undoubtedly the 
lame as was worn by the founder himfelf, being a kind of 
cloak very uleful to keep the body from cold and rain ; 
from which circumftance it was called in Latin pluviale\ 
but the duff of which it was originally made was of fine 
woollen cloth, as well for the fovereign as for the knights j 
and the fird time we meet with mantles made of velvet for 
this order is about the reign of Henry VI. By the 
founder’s datute, the colour of this mantle is ordered to 
be blue, and it continued fo until the reign of queen Eli¬ 
zabeth, when it was changed to purple, and fo continued 
till about the twelfth year of king Charles I. when he re- 
ftored the colour of the mantle to its primitive inditution ; 
fo that now the colour is the real tint of pure ultramarine ; 
and it is worthy of remark, that this (hade keeps a medium 
between the light blue of the origin and the purple of the 
time of Elizabeth., 7 n all ancient paintings, previous to 
lier reign, where the garter is introduced, the light colour 
is invariably made ule of; and is often a clue for antiqua¬ 
ries to find the exaCt time when a piece of dained glafs 
was manufactured, or old achievements were painted. 
The Surcoat, or Kirtle, was originally compofed of wool¬ 
len cloth, as well as the mantle, and continued fo at lead 
till the reign of Edward IV. abcmt which time it was or¬ 
dered that it fliould be made of velvet. It is curious 
that anciently the colour of this garment changed every 
year, commonly into blue, fcarlet, fanguine, or white : 
but this proteus-like indability was fixed at lad; and it 
is now invariably made of crimlon velvet lined with white 
taffeta, and offers an elegant appearance to the eye, by 
thfe contrail of its colour with that of the mantle. 
The Hood. Lefs delicate and effeminate than we are, 
our ancedors performed all their public ceremonies bare¬ 
headed under the canopy of heaven; and, having not yet 
invented thofe ufeful confmodities called the hat and the 
umbrella, ufed to draw a part of the mantle over their 
heads. This hood was very common, and is dill ufed in 
Italy, and among fearnen of different nations. This part 
of the Garterial drefs was made of the fame materials as 
the mantle, to which it naturally belongs, and was 1‘ome- 
times trimmed or let off with a fmall proportion of gar¬ 
ters. It is not now ufed as formerly, but remains fixed 
to the mantle as part of the habit, being in fad a mere or- 
iiament; for, indead of it, the fovereign and knights now 
wear a hat of black velvet, deep in the crown and flat, 
lined with taffeta, and adorned with a large plume of of- 
trich feathers, in the centre of which is a tuft or aigrette 
of heron’s feathers, a mark of didinftion anciently worn 
by men of the higheft rank in feudal times. This panache 
is generally fixed to the hat by a bandeau of diamonds. 
The cudom of wearing thefo caps and feathers at the great 
folemnities of the order had for fome time been omitted ; 
therefore, in a chapter held on the 13th of April, in the 
’ H O O D. 
tenth year of the reign of James I. it was re-edabli!hcd, 
and has continued ever (ince. 
The Collar of the order is of gold, weighing thirty 
ounces troy. It is compofed of twenty-fix pieces in the 
form of the garter, enamelled blue, with the motto of the 
garter in gold ; in the centre of each garter is a rofe ena¬ 
melled red, feeded or, and leaved green. Thefe twenty- 
fix garters are fadened together with as many knots of 
gold. At the middle thereof, pendent to the centre-gar¬ 
ter, is the badge of the order, viz. St. George armed, fit¬ 
ting on horfeback, and with a fpear encountering a dra¬ 
gon, which lies on his back under the horl'e’s feet. See 
Plate I. The fovereign and each knight wear in common 
the above-deferihed badge or figure of St. George, within 
the garter, all of gold, and called the IcJJer George, appen- 
dent to a broad deep-blue ribbon, which ties on their left 
(houlder, and paffes thence down to their right hip. On 
the left bread of their coats, cloaks, riding habits, or up¬ 
per garment, they alfo wear a dar of eight points embroi¬ 
dered with (ilver, having in the centre the arms of the or¬ 
der, viz. argent, a crofs gules, within a garter in its pro¬ 
per colours. 
7. hjlallation. This fplendid ceremony takes place at 
the will and pleafure of the fovereign of the order, in the 
chapel of St. George at Wiudfor-cadle. We cannot pre¬ 
tend to give our readers a better idea of this fplendid ce¬ 
remony than by inferting here an exaCl account of that 
magnificent folemnity as it took place on the 23d of April, 
1805, being St. George’s day. The lad previous indalla- 
tion of knights of the Garter was on the 25th of July, 
1771 ; but the vacancies by death in the order had conti¬ 
nued to be filled up as before. 
For fome time before, and particularly for the lad few 
days preceding the 23d of April, Windfor, as well as the 
whole country, had been in expectation of being gratified 
with this fplendid fpeCtacle. During the whole of Mon¬ 
day the 22d, the road from London to Windfor was al- 
mod covered with one continued line of carriages; and 
they were principally with fix horfes, and feveral out-ri¬ 
ders, which had a very grand effeCt. Tin's fight attracted 
crowds from the neighbouring villages to all the towns 
through which they palled. Several waggons and carts 
loaded with fedan-chairs w'ere conveyed to Windfor, and 
fome were carried by chairmen. 
The fedivities of the populace preceded thofe of the 
nobility and knights. His majedy had expreffed a parti¬ 
cular wilh, that as many of the old cudoms fliould be kept 
up as poffible ; and he gave directions that a baron of beef 
fliould be procured for the multitude, wdiich was accord¬ 
ingly done. It was cut nearly in the form of a faddle of 
mutton, and weighed 1621b. On the previous Sunday it 
was roafled, and the drefling of it took ten hours. The 
novelty of the fight attracted the attention of his majedy 
very much ; and, during the time it was roading, lie 
brought feveral parties of perfons of didinCtion to view 
it. The weight of it being confiderably more than the 
jack was able to carry, a man was obliged to be kept to 
turn it. A filver dilh was made on purpofe to hold it. 
The tables in the great quadrangle, where the populace 
dined, were well fupplied with fowls, ham, beef, mutton. 
Sec. Sec. But the great objeCt of the populace was to get 
into their poffefiion the table-cloths, pewter dilhes, plates, 
knives,forks,and fpoons ; the latter were only pewter. The 
eatables were not dilpofed of in the ufual mode, but by 
throwing the provifions at one another. The carpenters’ 
benches, which compofed the tables, in a few moments 
difappeared : they were carried to the market-place, and 
fold for half a guinea each. Several hogdieads of ale 
w'ere fet out, and they were quickly dilpofed of, but in 
the tapping at lead half was loft on the ground. Great 
was the diiappointment experienced by the men who had 
brought down from London their hack-chairs ; not more 
than two or three were employed. The difappointment 
a rofe from an unforefeen circumdance; all the company 
invited 
