Part 32

Nevertheless, there was a Question moved 12 _Jac._ I. whether the usage of wearing the Hood should not be restored to the left Shoulder, but it seems it was over-ruled; and 23 _Car._ II. some of the Knights-Companions imagining it most proper to wear their Hoods on their left Shoulders, ran into that error, but upon better information the next Morning, altered them to the right. To Foreign Princes, there is liberty given by King _Hen._ VIII’s Statutes to receive, if they please, their Habit wholly within the Chapter-House, before they enter their Stalls; by which it appears that this was the Custom in times past; an instance whereof we have in _Philip_ King of _Castile_, _Anno_ 22 _Henry_ VII. who was entirely invested in the Chapter-House with the Garter, Surcoat, Mantle, Hood, and Collar; the Sovereign himself putting his Hand to his Investiture with the Mantle. Hence King _Philip_, Grandson to the aforesaid King of _Castile_, was invested with the whole Habit of the Order before he assumed the Stall; in _Philip_ and _Mary_’s proceeding to the Chapel, he receiv’d his Investiture within the West Door, and there the Register delivered the Mantle to the Earls of _Derby_ and _Pembrook_, who kissing it, presented it to the Queen, who, assisted by the said Earls, personally invested the King therewith: Next Garter gave the Collar to the Earls of _Arundel_ and _Pembrook_, who likewise presented it to the Queen, and she thereon put it about King _Philip_’s Neck; and immediately the Knights-Companions, having robed themselves within the Chapel Door, proceeded before the King and Queen, who with joined Hands passed into the Choir, where the Queen led him to the Sovereign’s Stall, which ascending, they both sat therein. But as the aforesaid Statute leaves this to the pleasure of the Stranger Prince, and was permitted only for gaining Time, so none, who have receiv’d personal Installation at _Windsor_ since, have been fully invested before they entered the Choir. For instance, _Francis_, Duke _de Montmorency_, 14 _Eliz._ and _Frederick_, Prince Palatine of the _Rhine_, 10 _Jac._ I. were both invested with their Surcoats only in the Chapter-House, but they receiv’d their Mantles, Hoods, and Collars, in their Stalls, after they had taken their Oaths.

_The proceeding into the Choir._

§ 6. The Knight elect, habited as before, proceeds from the Chapter-House along the North Isle, and enters the West Door of the Choir in solemn Order; but his Place in this proceeding is changed, for here he is led between two Knights-Companions. This is noted in the Black-Book to be the Order wherein _Albra Vasques d’Almadea_, Earl of _Averence_, and two others, proceeded to their Installations, 24 _Henry_ VI. And notwithstanding the Statutes of Institution, and those made by King _Henry_ V. are silent in the Order of this Proceeding; yet for an elect Knight to be led to his Stall between two fellow Knights, is no modern Ceremony; since we likewise find, that the Viscount _Bourchier_, 30 _Henry_ VI. past to his Instalment between the Lord _Hastings_ and Lord _Beauchamp_. But the Order of proceeding is precisely set down in _Henry_ VIII’s Statutes, _viz._ _That the elect Knight, attended by his Gentlemen and Servants, shall be led between two other Knights-Companions, the Officers of the Order going before them_. And this has been the constant Practice at all Installations since; the Knight elect proceeding, either between two of the Knights-Commissioners, when there hath been no Lieutenant, or between two of the Knights Assistants, where a Lieutenant was constituted; or lastly between the two Senior Knights-Companions, the Sovereign being present: But when there hath been three Commissioners named, then the two Senior Commissioners take the Knight elect between them, and the Junior Knight-Commissioner proceeds before them; which was observed at the Instalment of the Earls of _Essex_ and _Ormond_, and Sir _Christopher Hatton_, 30 _Eliz._

In all cases where the Sovereign is present at an Installation, after the custom of investing with the Collar in the Chapter-House was left off, it is generally to be observed, that as soon as the Investiture with the Surcoat is finished, the Sovereign passes from the Chapter-House into the Choir, with the whole proceeding before him, leaving the elect Knight behind; and when he and the Knights-Companions have taken their Stalls, the two Senior Knights-Companions, by the Sovereign’s verbal Directions, descend from their Stalls, and stand under their Banners, whilst the Alms-Knights, but not the Prebends, Officers of Arms, and the three inferior Officers of the Order, pass out of the Choir, and proceed before them to the Chapter-House, from whence they introduce the elect Knight into the Choir to his Installation; but if there be more than one Knight installed, then the two next Senior Knights descend, and so the next, till all the elect Knights are Conducted in: And this course is likewise observed when a Lieutenant is constituted, and hath been generally so practised since the Investiture with the Collar was performed in the Choir; and particularly at the Installations of the Duke of _Lenox_, the Earls of _Pembrook_, _Marr_, and _Southampton_, 1 _Jac._ I. and of the Duke of _Holstein_, and the Earl of _Northampton_, 3 _Jac._ I. In this proceeding to Installation, the Register usually carries a Book of the New Testament, for the elect Knight to take his Oath on, as likewise the Oath it self, fairly written on Parchment: Garter bears his Mantle till he arrives at his Stall; and King _Henry_ VIII’s Statutes place this Service upon some of the Knights-Companions likewise; but it never appears that it was ever performed by any of them. ’Tis probable, that about the time when this Injunction passed, it was the Custom for Garter to bear the Mantle on his Arm; for so it was at the Installation of the Lord _Russel_, and others, 31 _Henry_ VIII. but it was not long after, that the laying it on a Velvet Cushion began. The great Collar of the Order was likewise laid upon the Cushion, at the Installation of Sir _Henry Sidney_, 6 _Eliz._ the Earl of _Shrewsbury_, 34 _Eliz._ and in this manner born before the Knights elect, 13 _Car._ II. before the Duke of _Monmouth_, 15 _Car._ II. and before the Duke of _Albermarle_, 23 _Car._ II. with these the Hood, heretofore put on in the Chapter-House, hath of late been laid on the Cushion, and also the Book of Statutes, and so born by Garter before Prince _Henry_, 1 _Jac._ I. and _Frederick_, Elector Palatine, 10 _Jac._ I. and before the Knights Installation, 13 _Car._ II. and since.

And here it is to be observed, that when Garter bears the Ornaments and Ensigns on the Cushion before an elect Knight, or a Proctor, he is always placed between the Register and Black-Rod in the proceeding: Lastly, in this proceeding the Knight elect goeth Bare-headed, holding his Cap in his Hand; and so did the Duke of _Albermarle_, 23 _Car._ II. for it hath been thought incongruous to the Order of Investiture, as is before observed of the Hood, to put on any part of the Habit, or other Ornaments, that must be taken off again, before the Investiture is compleated; and the proper Place for putting on the Cap is not till all the other is finished.

_The Ceremonies of Installation._

§ 7. When the proceeding hath entered the Choir, the Alms-Knights, and Officers of Arms, make their Obeysances toward the High Altar, and the Sovereign’s Royal Stall, in the manner hereafter described; then they proceed to the Steps before the Altar, and divide themselves; next the Officers of the Order make the same Reverence; and lastly, the two Commissioners, or Knights Assistants, or Knights-Companions, and Knights-elect, all three together. After this the Officers of the Order turn aside toward the Stall designed for the elect Knight, and approaching near it, stand below in the Choir, whilst the Commissioners, or Assistants, or Knights-Companions, pass into the lower Row of Stalls, sometimes called the middle Row, directly under the designed Stall, leading the elect Knight with them, who in this Place takes his Oath, called in the Annals, the sacred Oath of the Order of the Garter; during which time he ought to stand between the two Knights-Companions who brought him thither, as at the Installation of Prince _Henry_, 1 _Jac._ I. and when the Earl of _Shrewsbury_ was installed, 34 _Eliz._ ’tis observed, that the Senior Commissioner first entered the lower row of Stalls; but 31 _Henry_ VIII. at the Installation of the Lord _Russel_, and others, the Junior Assistant went up first. The Knight elect being thus placed, the Register of the Order standing before them, but below in the Choir, reads the Oath; for it is part of his Duty to administer the same: And in this solemn Ceremony, the New Testament, whereon the Oath is taken, generally opened in some Place of the Gospels, is indifferently held by one of the three inferior Officers of the Order, or sometimes the Register hath held it, as at the Installation of the Earl of _Derby_, 16 _Eliz._ the Earl of _Rutland_, and Lord _Cobham_, 26 _Eliz._ At other times the Garter hath held it, as 5 _Eliz._ when the Earl of _Northumberland_ took his Oath; and 10 _Car._ I. at the Installation of the Earl of _Moreton_: But when the Earl of _Shrewsbury_ was Sworn, 34 _Eliz._ the Usher of the Black Rod performed this Office.

Whilst the Oath is administring, the elect Knight holds his right Hand on the Holy Evangelists; and when the Register hath pronounced the Words, he immediately Responses, _I will, so help me God_, and then takes off his Hand reverently, kissing the Book; and by this Ceremony seals his Obligation to the Statutes of this most Noble Order. The Ceremony used when _Philip_, King of _Castile_ and _Leon_, took the Oath, which was done in the Chapter-House at _Windsor_, 22 _Henry_ VII. he laid his Hand on the Canon, under which was placed the Book of Statutes of the Order by the Prelate, to whom it was delivered by the Register, and having repeated the Words of the Oath, and reverently kissed all those things by which he Swore, he took a Pen from the Prelate’s Hand, and Signed the Oath he had taken, and deliver’d it to the Sovereign then present.

The Form of the ancient Oath appointed by the Statutes of Institution, to be taken by a Knight-Subject, was very short, but comprehensive: _That he should well and faithfully observe, to the utmost of his Power, all the Statutes of the Order_; and this was all the Oath taken by the first Founders, and to which they also affixed their Seals; and so it continued without alteration or addition, till towards the End of King _Edward_ IV’s Reign; and then, at a Chapter held at the King’s Wardrobe in _London_, it was decreed, That all the Knights-Companions then alive, and all such as should afterwards be admitted into the Order, should be obliged to subjoin the Words following: _That they wou’d aid, support, and defend, with all their Power_, the Royal College of St. _George_, within the Castle of _Windsor_, _as well in its Possessions, as all other things whatsoever_; which being drawn in form, was enter’d in the Black Book; but has since receiv’d many alterations: And there is an instance, 1 _Eliz._ when the Oath has been dispensed with; as by the Duke of _Norfolk_, and others, in regard the Rites and Ceremonies of Religion were then altered, and no new form of an Oath settled, so that they only obliged themselves by Promise to observe such Statutes and Orders as should be decreed in the next Council of the Order, which was soon after settled, and recorded in the Red Book of the Order, and is the Oath taken by a Knight-Subject at this Day.

_You being Chosen to be one of the Honourable Company of this most Noble Order of the Garter, shall Promise and Swear, by the Holy Evangelists, by you here touched, that, wittingly or willingly, you shall not break any Statute of the said Order, or any Articles in them contained; the same being agreeable, and not repugnant to the Laws of Almighty God, and the Laws of this Realm, as far forth as to you belongeth and appertaineth: So help you God, and this Holy Word._

As soon as the Knight elect hath taken the Oath, he is led to his appointed Stall, through the Entrance next beneath it, and there placed before it. In the Interim, Garter advancing into the lower row of Stalls, to the Place where the elect Knight stood when he took the Oath, presents from thence the Mantle, Collar, and Book of Statutes, to those who led him, who invest the Knight elect first with the Mantle, by putting it on his Shoulders. There are some Examples where the elect Knight hath been invested before he went up to his Stall, as in the case of the Earl of _Northumberland_, 5 _Eliz._ _Francis_, Duke _de Montmorency_, and others, 14 _Eliz._ the Earls of _Dunbar_ and _Montgomery_, 6 _Jac._ I. and the Prince of _Wales_, 14 _Car._ I. among which may be numbered those installed at the Grand Feast of St. _George_, 13 _Car._ II. but this happen’d through a vast Concourse of People in the Chapel, that prevented the due Order.

In the Red Book it is observed, that the Investiture with the Mantle and Collar, hath been sometimes performed by the Black Rod; as at the Installation of the Earl of _Northampton_, 5 _Car._ I. the Lord Treasurer _Weston_, the Earls of _Exeter_ and _Lindsey_, and the Marquiss of _Hamilton_, 6 _Car._ I. Nevertheless, this is to be understood as this Officers Assistance to the Knights-Companions, whose Office it only is, and no otherwise. Whilst the Ceremony of Investiture with the Mantle is performing, the Words of Admonition proper thereto, are pronounced as follows.

_Take this Mantle of Heavenly Colours, in Sign and Token of the most Honourable Order you have receiv’d, and to the increase of your Honour, signed and marked as you see, with a red Escutcheon of our Lord’s Cross, to the intent that you, being always defended by the Virtue and Strength thereof, may pass through your Enemies, and them also overcome and vanquish, so that at the last, for your worthy and approved Acts, you may, after this Temporal Chivalry, come to Eternal Triumphant Joys in Heaven._

But at the Installation of King _Charles_ II. they receiv’d some alteration, and were put in the following Form.

_Receive this Robe of Heavenly Colour, the Livery of this most excellent Order, in augmentation of thy Honour, enobled with the Shield and Red Cross of our Lord, by whose Power thou may’st safely pierce Troops of thy Enemies, and be over them ever Victorious; and being in this temporal Warfare Glorious in egregious and heroick Actions, thou may’st obtain Eternal and Triumphant Joy._

Next, the Commissioners, Assistants, or Knights-Companions, lay the Hood on the Knight’s right Shoulder over the Mantle, and bringing the Tippet athwart his Breast, tuck it under the Girdle, at which his Sword hangs: And lastly tye the Collar about his Shoulder, over his Mantle and Hood; and at this part of the Investiture, the following Words of Admonition are likewise pronounced.

_To the encrease of your Honour, and in Token of the Honourable Order you have receiv’d; take this Collar about your Neck, with the Image of the Holy Martyr, and Christ’s Knight, St._ George, _by whose aid you being defended, may pass through the Prosperities and Adversities of this World, that having here the Victory, as well of your Ghostly as Bodily Enemies, you may not only receive the Glory and Renown of Temporal Chivalry, but also at the last, the endless and everlasting reward of Victory._

This Form of Words receiv’d likewise alteration when King _Charles_ II. was to be installed, to the Tenor following.

_Wear this Collar about thy Neck, adorn’d with the Image of the Blessed Martyr and Soldier of Christ, St._ George, _by whose Imitation provoked, thou may’st so overpass both prosperous and adverse Encounters, that having stoutly vanquished thy Enemies, both of Body and Soul, thou may’st not only receive the Praise of this transient Combat, but be Crowned with the Palm of eternal Victory._

Antiently at the Solemnity of Installation, when the Sovereign, or his Lieutenant was present, the elect Knight, after he had been invested with the Mantle in his Stall, was immediately conducted out of the Choir, back to the Chapter-House, where the Sovereign, or Lieutenant, used to remain till his return, there to receive the Collar of the Order from one of them, which done, he is said to have receiv’d the entire Possession of his Habit. This is contained in King _Henry_ VIII’s Statutes, and appears to have been the Practice about that Time, as in the case of the Lord _Mountjoy_, and others, 18 _Hen._ VIII. and several others after, in the 1 and 3 _Edw._ VI. and the 3, 5, and 14 _Eliz._ The Proceeding back to the Chapter-House on this occasion, was much after the manner of what is before mention’d, except, that here the new installed Knight took his Place according to the Dignity of his Stall. But ’tis observable, that when the Sovereign’s Lieutenant remained in the Chapter-House, while the elect Knight proceeded to his Installation, the Usher of the Black-Rod stayed behind to attend the Lieutenant; and as soon as the Investiture with the Collar was over, the Lieutenant proceeded to the Choir in the Rear, and the new installed Knight in Place according to his Stall, as in the case of the Lord _Russel_, and others, 31 _Hen._ VIII. and the Marquiss of _Dorset_, and others, 1 _Edw._ VI. The Proceeding having entered the Choir, and the Lieutenant and Knights-Companions taken their Seats, then the usual Ceremonies, the Service of the Church began.

But when the Installation was performed by Commissioners, the Collar of the Order was laid on the Cushion with the Mantle, and born before the elect Knight to his Stall, where, after his Investiture with the Mantle and Hood, he receiv’d Investiture with the Collar also, of which there are several Examples in the time of _Phil._ and _Mar._ and Queen _Eliz._ In like manner, at all Installations since, where the Sovereign has been present, the ancient custom of returning to the Chapter-House being laid aside, the Knights-Companions, who led the elect Knights to their Stalls, did there invest them with their Collars also; as the Earl of _Rutland_, Sir _George Villars_, and the Viscount _Lisle_, 14 _Jac._ I. and the Earl of _Suffolk_, 4 _Car._ I. and hath been thus observed at all Installations since, the Sovereign present.

So soon as the Investiture with the Mantle, Hood, and Collar is over, those appointed deliver the Book of Statutes to the new invested Knight, which was observed to the Earls of _Shrewsbury_ and _Cumberland_, 34 _Eliz._ the Earl of _Rutland_, Sir _George Villars_, and the Viscount _Lisle_, 14 _Jac._ I. and so generally to all elect Knights since. This Book the Knight is to keep safe in his own Custody, for his Instruction in the Laws and Ceremonies of this most Noble Order. They likewise give him the Black Velvet Cap adorned with Plumes of white Feathers, and this in particular was observed to be the last Ceremony performed at the Installation of King _Charles_ II.

All things relating to the full Investiture being ended, there remains only to compleat this great Ceremony, the Installation it self, which is performed in the manner following. The new invested Knight standing before his Stall, and turning toward the High Altar, makes humble Obeysance that way, and then toward the Sovereign, or if absent, toward his Stall; which done, the Commissioners, Knights-Assistants, or Knights-Companions, receive and embrace him with great Civility, as their Fellow and Companion, and set him down in his assigned Stall with Professions of Esteem, and Wishes for his Honour and Happiness. Of this Ceremony, there is a notable Instance at the Installation of _Philip_, King of _Castile_, 22 _Henry_ VII. where the Sovereign personally introduced him to his Stall, and there placed him, at which time there was a certain Form of Words pronounced relating to the elect Knight’s Session, and Act of Installation, no less than at his Investiture, but the same are not repeated.

_The Order to be observed when two or more Knights are installed in one Day._

§ 8. In this case it seems to have been the ancient Practice, when the Ceremony has been perform’d by two Commissioners, or two Knights-Assistants, that as soon as they had finished all the Ceremonies due to the Senior of them, they left him possest of his Stall, and forthwith returned to the Chapter-House in the usual manner, and thence conducted the next Senior elect Knight, and so of the rest; So it was at the Installation of _Albro Vasques d’Almadea_, Earl of _Averenches_, the Lord _Beauchamp_, and Sir _Thomas Hoo_, in the time of _Henry_ VI. and so of the Earl of _Huntington_, 1 _Edw._ VI. when the two Assistants, after they had invested and installed the said Earl, returned to the Chapter-House for the Lord _la War_, and so for the Lord _Cobham_, and Sir _William Herbert_. In like manner, when the Commissioners had given the Proctor to _Emanuel_, Duke of _Savoy_, Possession of his Principal’s Stall, 1 and 2 _Phil._ and _Mar._ they proceeded back for _William_ Lord _Howard_; so by the Earl of _Pembrook_, 16 _Eliz._ when they had first installed the Earl of _Derby_, and by the Earl of _Cumberland_, after the Earl of _Shrewsbury_ had been installed.

When the Sovereign hath nominated three Commissioners, they have returned altogether to fetch in the other Knights singly, that were to be installed, and alternately changed their Places in the proceeding to the several Installations, one of them always going single before; as at the Installation of the Earls of _Essex_ and _Ormond_, and Sir _Christopher Hatton_, 30 _Eliz._ when the Earl of _Worcester_, the Lords _Hunsdon_ and _Grey_, were Commissioners: And if the Lieutenant had four Assistants assigned him, which was necessary when many Knights were to be installed, the order of their Installation hath been as follows.

First, Two of the Senior Knights-Assistants conducted the Senior elect Knight to his Installation, and the other two Assistants proceeded with the second elect Knight; the former then took the third elect Knight, and so alternately changed till all were installed: As at the Installation of _Francis_, Duke _de Montmorency_, and others, 14 _Eliz._ And the like manner of alternate change is observed if four Commissioners be constituted, as at the Installation of _Frederick_, King of _Denmark_, and _John_, Prince Palatine of the _Rhine_, 25 _Eliz._ where the King’s Proxy was conducted into the Choir between the Earl of _Leicester_ and the Lord _Hunsdon_, the two Senior Commissioners; and the Prince, between the Earl of _Huntington_ and the Lord _Charles Howard_, the two Junior Commissioners.