Everything about Order Of The Garter totally explained
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an
order of chivalry, or
knighthood, originating in
medieval England, and presently bestowed on recipients in any of the
Commonwealth realms; it's the
pinnacle of the
honours system in the United Kingdom. Membership in the order is limited to the
sovereign, the
Prince of Wales, and no more than twenty-four members, or Companions; the order also comprises
Supernumerary knights and ladies (for example, members of the
British Royal Family and foreign monarchs).
The order's emblem, depicted on insignia, is a
garter with the
motto Honi soit qui mal y pense (
Old French: "shame upon him who thinks evil upon it") in gold lettering. Members of the order wear such a garter on ceremonial occasions.
Most British honours encompass the whole United Kingdom, but the top-most three each pertain to one constituent nation. The Order of the Garter, pertaining to
England, is senior in age and precedence;
The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle pertains to
Scotland; and the now-dormant
The Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick pertains to Ireland.
History
King Edward III founded the Order of the Garter as "a society, fellowship and college of knights."
The foundation year is usually presumed to be 1348, although dates from 1344 to 1351 have been proposed. The King's wardrobe account shows Garter habits first issued in the autumn of 1348. Regardless, the Order probably wasn't established before 1346; its original statutes required that each member already be a knight (what would now be referred to as a
knight bachelor) and some of the initial members were only knighted that year.
Various legends account for the origin of the Order. The most popular legend involves the "Countess of Salisbury" (probably either his future daughter-in-law
Joan of Kent or her former mother-in-law,
Catherine Montacute, Countess of Salisbury). While she was dancing with or near King Edward at
Eltham Palace, her garter is said to have slipped from her leg. When the surrounding
courtiers sniggered, the king picked it up and tied it to his leg, exclaiming, "
Honi soit qui mal y pense," ("Shamed be the person who thinks evil of it."), the phrase that has become the motto of the Order. According to another legend,
King Richard I was inspired in the 12th century by
St George the Martyr while fighting in the
Crusades to tie garters around the legs of his knights, who subsequently won the battle. King Edward supposedly recalled the event in the 14th century when he founded the Order. In 1987, however, it became possible to install "Ladies Companion of the Garter" under a statute of
Queen Elizabeth II.
The Order
Members
Membership in the Order is extremely limited and includes the
monarch of the
Commonwealth realms, the
Prince of Wales, not more than 24 companion members, and various supernumerary members. The monarch alone can grant membership. He or she's known as the
Sovereign of the Garter, and the Prince of Wales is known as a
Knight Companion of the Garter.
Male members of the Order are titled "Knights Companion," and female members are called "Ladies Companion." Formerly, the Sovereign filled vacancies upon the nomination of the members. Each member would nominate nine candidates, of whom three had to have the rank of
Earl or higher, three the rank of
Baron or higher, and three the rank of
Knight or higher. The Sovereign would choose as many nominees as were necessary to fill any vacancies in the Order. He or she wasn't obliged to choose those who received the most nominations. Candidates were last nominated in 1860, and appointments have since been made by the Sovereign acting alone, with no prior nominations. The statutes prescribing the former procedure were not amended, however, until 1953.
From the 18th century, the Sovereign made his or her choices on the advice of Government. However,
King George VI believed that the Order of the Garter and the Order of the Thistle had become too linked with political patronage. In 1946, with the agreement of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, membership in these two orders became a personal gift of the Sovereign. Thus, the Sovereign personally selects Knights and Ladies Companion of the Garter, and need not act on the advice of Government.
In addition, the Order includes
supernumerary members, who don't count towards the limit of 24 companions. Several supernumerary members, known as "Royal Knights and Ladies of the Garter", belong to the
royal family. These titles were introduced in 1786 by
King George III so that his many sons wouldn't count towards the limit on the number of companions. He created the statute of supernumerary members in 1805 so that any descendant of
King George II could be installed as such a member. In 1831, this statute was extended again to include all descendants of
King George I.
Descendants of Knights of the Garter may join the
Society of the Friends of St George's &
Descendants of the Knights of the Garter as Descendant Member.
Officers
The Order has six officers: the Prelate, the Chancellor, the Register, the
Garter Principal King of Arms, the Usher, and the Secretary. The offices of Prelate, Register and Usher were created on the order's establishment; those of Garter Principal King of
Arms and Chancellor, in the 15th century; and that of Secretary, in the 20th century.
The office of Prelate is held by the
Bishop of Winchester, traditionally one of the senior bishops of the
Church of England. The office of Chancellor is now held by one of the companions of the order. For most of its existence, the
Bishop of Salisbury has held the office, although
laymen held it from 1553 to 1671. In 1837, after boundary changes made
Windsor Castle fall in the
diocese of Oxford, the Chancellorship was transferred to the
Bishop of Oxford. A century later, the Bishop of Salisbury challenged this transfer, on the grounds that the Chancellorship had been attached to his office regardless of the diocese in which the chapel of the order lay; and that, in any event,
St George's Chapel, as a
Royal Peculiar, wasn't under diocesan jurisdiction. The office of Chancellor was removed from the Bishop of Oxford (the outgoing bishop had been outspoken in the abdication crisis), and has since been held by one of the Knights Companion. Since 1937, the following members have held the post of Chancellor:
The office of Register has been held by the Dean of Windsor since 1558. The
Garter Principal King of Arms is
ex officio the senior officer of the
College of Arms (the
heraldic authority of England), and is usually appointed from among the other
officers of arms at the College. As the title suggests, Garter Principal King of Arms has specific duties as the Order's officer of arms, attending to the companions' crests and banners of arms, which are exhibited in the chapel. The Secretary, who acts as deputy to Garter in the ceremonial aspects of the Order, has since 1952 also been selected from the other officers of the College of Arms. The office of Usher is held by the
Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, who is also the
Serjeant-at-Arms of the
United Kingdom House of Lords (although his functions are more often performed there by his deputy, the Yeoman Usher).
Military Knights of Windsor
At the founding of the Order of the Garter, 26 "poor knights" were appointed and attached to the Order and its chapel. This number wasn't always maintained, and by the 17th century, there were only thirteen such knights.
King Charles II increased the number to eighteen after his coronation in 1660. After the knights objected to being termed "poor",
King William IV redesignated them in the 19th century as the
Military Knights of Windsor.
The poor knights were impoverished military veterans, required to pray daily for the Knights Companion. In return, they received a salary and lodging in Windsor Castle. The knights are no longer necessarily poor, but are still military pensioners. They participate in the Order's processions, escorting the members, and in the chapel services. However, they're not considered knights or members of the Order.
The hat is of black velvet with a plume of white ostrich and black heron feathers.
Knights Companion prefix "Sir" and Ladies Companion prefix "Lady" to their forenames. Wives of Knights Companion may prefix "Lady" to their surnames, but no such privilege exists for husbands of Ladies Companion. Such forms are not used by princes and peers, except when peers' names are written out in their fullest forms.
Knights and Ladies Companion use the post-nominal letters "KG" and "LG" respectively.
The members may encircle their arms with the Garter, and, if they wish, with a depiction of the collar as well. However, the Garter is normally used alone; the more elaborate version is seldom seen. Stranger Knights and Ladies do not, of course, embellish the arms they use in their countries with English decorations.
Knights and Ladies Companion are also entitled to receive heraldic supporters, a privilege granted to few other private individuals. While some families claim supporters by ancient use, and others have been granted them as a special reward, only peers, Knights and Ladies Companion of the Garter, Knights and Ladies of the Thistle, and certain other knights and ladies are automatically entitled to them.
Connections to "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"
Medieval scholars have pointed to a connection between the Order of the Garter and the Middle English poem, "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight". In "Gawain", a girdle, very similar in its sexual undertones to the garter, plays a prominent role. A rough version of the Order's motto also appears in the text. It translates from Middle English as "Accursed be a cowardly and covetous heart."
While the author of the poem remains disputed, there seems to be a connection between two of the top candidates and the Order of the Garter. Scholar J.P. Oakden has suggested that it's someone related to John Gaunt who was the Duke of Lancaster, and, more importantly, a member of the Order. Another competing theory is that the work was written for Enguerrand de Coucy, seventh Sire de Coucy. Sire de Coucy was married to King Edward III's daughter, Isabella, and was given admittance to the Order of the Garter on their wedding day."
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