£20 
KNIGHT II O 0 D. 
pare! bimfelf foinewhat warm, bee a life of the coldnefs of 
the night; and over all he fhall wear a coat of ruftet- 
cloth with iong lleeves, after the manner of an hermit, 
with a hood. Afterwards the efquires-governors fliall open 
the chamber-door, and let the knights enter in to lead the 
elquire to the chapel; the efquires finging and dancing 
before with their melody. At their entrance into the 
chapel, fpices and wine (hall be given to the faid knights 
and eiquires. No man (hall tarry in the chapel except the 
efquire, his governors, the chandler, and watch. 
When day appears, the pried fliall fay prayers, and the 
knight fliall communicate if he will. From the entering 
of the chapel-door he fliall have a wax-candle borne be¬ 
fore him; and, at the reading of the gofpel, the efquire 
fliall take the wax candle from the hand of the governor, 
and hold it bimfelf till the gofpel be ended; and, after the 
gofpel, the efquire lhall kneel down, and offer money in 
the honour of God and him who instil make him knight. 
After which, the prayers being ended, the efquire fliall be 
led to his bed, and lie there till it be far day; and he fliall 
be covered with a coverlet of gold, called Jigleton, and the 
fame fliall be lined with kerfie, (keriemere.) And the 
governors fhall go to the king, and fay to him : Sir, when 
it pleafes your grace our mailer fliall rife ; and then the 
king fliall command the knights, efquires, and minftrels, 
to go to the chamber, to caufe him to rife, and to bring 
him before him in his hall. But, before he fhall be ap¬ 
parelled, one knight fliall give him his fliirt, another his 
hofe, the third his doublet; another (hall apparel him in 
a kirtle of red tartar ; two others fliall life him out of 
bed; two others fhall put on his black nether-ftokes foled 
■with leather; two others to lace his manches, ((leeves ;) 
another to girdle him with a girdle of white leather with¬ 
out any ftuds ; another fliall comb his head, another fliall 
put on his coife ; another fhall give him a mantle of (ilk, 
and a kirtle of red tartar laced with a white filk lace. 
Then the knights (hall mount on liorfeback and conduct 
him to the hall, the inulic playing before him ; his horfe 
fiddled with black leather ; the arfon white, ltirrup-leu- 
ther black, and (tirrups gilt; the pectoral of black lea¬ 
ther, with a crofs-paty of gold hanging before the horfe’s 
feet; and without a crupper: the bridle of black leather, 
with a crofs-paty on the forehead. And then a young 
efquire to ride before him without a hood, who fliall bear 
his fword by the point, with the fpurs hanging at the hilt, 
which are white Itudded with black, and a white leather 
girdle without any ftuds. 
When they come to the king’s hall, he fhall be brought 
to the uppermoft table ; and, when the king comes into 
the hall, and looks upon the efquire, ready to take the 
high order of temporal dignity, he fliall demand the fword 
and the fpurs ; and the chamberlain fliall take the fword 
and the fpurs from the young efquire ; and the king fliall 
take the right fpur, and fliall deliver it to the moft noble 
lord, faying: Put this upon the efquire’s heel. And he, 
kneeling on that one knee, fliall take the efquire by the 
right leg, and put his foot upon his knee, and make faft 
the fpur to bis right heel; and the lord fliall make a crofs 
on the knee of the efquire, and kifs him. This done, an¬ 
other lord (hall come, and fatten the fpur on the other foot 
in the fame manner. And then the king, of his great 
courtefy, (hall take the fword, and gird it about the elquire. 
And then the efquire fhall lift up his arms on high, hold¬ 
ing the gauntlets in his hands ; and the king (hall put 
his arm about the e(quire’s neck, and lift ins right hand 
up, and (mite the efquire on the (houlder, laying, “Be a 
good knight;” and then kiflfes him. And then the knights 
lead the new knight to the chapel, with great melody, to 
the high altar, where he kneels down, and puts his right 
hand upon the altar, promifing to defend the right of the 
holy church during his life. At his going out of the cha- 
peT, the king’s mafter-cook is ready to take away the 
fpurs, and to have them for his fee, faying : “ I am come 
from the king, being his mafter-cook, to take the fpurs 
from you; and to (how you, that, if you do any thing 
i 
againft the order of chivalry, (which God forbid,) I will 
cut away the fpurs from your heels.” The reft of this 
relation delcribes the dinner and other ceremonies of lets 
import; and contributes alfo to demonftrarte in what high 
elteem the title of knight was held in thole times. 
Mr. Anftis, with his ufual clearnefs and precifion, has 
fully proved that William the Conqueror, and fome of 
his fucceftors, conferred this degree of knighthood both 
in Normandy and in England. There exilts (till a very 
peculiar account of the ceremonies that were uled in creat¬ 
ing Knights of the Bath at the coronation of king Hen¬ 
ry V. and our hiftorians and records amply vouch, that, 
from that time to the reign of king Charles II. incluflvely, 
it was an ufual practice to create Knights of the Bath at, 
or previous to, the coronations of our kings, the creations 
of Princes of Wales, and at the celebration of their nup¬ 
tials, and thofe of others of the royal family. The lalt- 
mentioned monarch, previous to his coronation, created 
no lefs than flxty-eiglu Knights of the Bath. From that 
time it was entirely negleited, and became obfolete, till the 
reign of George I. w ho, by his letters patent bearing date 
at Weftminlter on the 18th day of May, in the eleventh 
year of his reign, inftituted, erected, conftituted, and cre¬ 
ated, a military order of knighthood, to be called by the 
name of the Order of the Bath ; to confift exclulivt-ly of 
the fovereign, of a grand matter, and thirty-fix compa¬ 
nions. The chapel of Henry VII. behind the abbey of 
St. Peter, Weftminlter, (commonly called Weftminlter 
Abbey,) has been afligned for the ceremonies of the in- 
ltallation ; and the banners of the knights are fufpended 
there over the refpettive ltails of each knight, in the fame 
manner, and with the fame folemnity, as it is done at 
Windier for the Knights of the Garter. The lalt inttal- 
lation, which was very l'plendid, and performed by the 
duke of York as aiting grand-mafter of the order, took 
place on the 19th of May, 1803. 
The badge, or cognizance, of this order, is a rofe iftu- 
ing from the dexter fide, and a thiftle from the limiter 
fide, of a feeptre, enamelled in their proper colours, all 
between three imperial crowns placed within the motto 
of the order, viz. Tr.ia juncta in uno ; the'whole of 
pure gold, richly chafed and pierced. This badge is worn 
pendent to a red ribbon placed fcarfwife. On high fefti- 
valsand collar-days, each knight wears a collar compoied 
of nine imperial crowns of gold, and of eight roles and 
thiltles ill'uing from a lceptre, as in the badge, tied and 
linked together with leventeen gold knots enamelled 
white. See Plate II. where a fufticient number of the 
pieces above-mentioned as component parts of the collar 
are correctly repreiented. Befides thel'e, the knights wear 
on the left lide of their upper garments three imperial 
crowns or, in a blue field, furrounded by a circle gules, 
fimbriated or, and inferibed with the motto in gold let¬ 
ters. The knights compofmg the order at this moment. 
May 1812, are as follow : 
The Sovereign. 
Principal Companion and ailing G 
Sir Robert Gunning, Bart. 
Vifcount Howe. 
Earl of St. Vincent. 
Vifcount Bridport. 
lit. Hon. Sir William Meadows. 
laird Whitworth. 
Rt. Hon. Sir J. B. Warren, Bart. 
Sir Alured Clarke. 
Sir 1 homas Graves. 
Sir Thomas Trigge. 
Sir James Saumarez, Bart. 
Sir Francis Craddock, K.C. 
Rt. Hon. Sir Arthur Paget. 
Hon. Sir George James Ludlow. 
Earl of Nortnelk. 
Hon. Sir Alex. Forrefter Cochrane. 
Sir Philip Francis. 
Vifcount Strangford. 
Sir George Beckwith. 
rand-.VIalter, the D. of York,K.G. 
Lord de Blaquiere. 
Earl of Malmelbury. 
lit. Hon. Sir Geo. Vonge, Bart. 
Lord Henley. 
Lord Robert Abercrorr.by. 
Lord Keith, K. C. 
Rt. Hon. Sir jofeph Banks, Bart. 
Sir John Colpoys. 
Lord Hutchinfon, K. C. 
Sir John Duckworth. 
Sir Eyre Coote, K. C. 
Rt. Hon. Sir David Dundas. 
Earl Wellington. 
SirS. Hood, Bart. K. M.T. & K. F. 
Sir Richard John Strachan, Bart. 
Sir J.Stuart, K.C.Count of Maida. 
Sir George Hilaro Barlow, Bart, ’ 
Sir Richard Godwin Keats. 
Sir David Baird, K. C. 
r Hoh. 
