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is in Henry V’s Statutes, Trois Contes on de greegneartrots Baner ets, er trois Batchelers. Thefe Degrees arebe ranked in Three Claffes, and they diftinguifh’d bvThree Divifions, all including the Three Degreeaforefaid.
Whereas all other Bodies and Exemplars of tb eStatutes make pofitive mention of Earls only, y e t tb.
Statutes of Hen. VIII. in^this Point are more ample, by
expreffing the firft Clafs, Dukes, MarqueJJ'es, and Earl]or Perfons fuperior to thefe in Degree, wherein the higheftDignity is comprehended.
We may obferve the different Title, tint. E mintthat Henry V’s Statutes hath given us inftead of Eam-,and not only in this Article, but in all other wherethere is Occafion to treat of Barons 5 and yet the R e .cord intends by it no other than the Perfon it mentions:For tho’ a Banneret had its Denomination d vexillo , itufually fignify’d a Degree of Honour next below a Ba-ron, both in a later and a modern Date 5 yet formerlyamong our Records, it is expreffedly Synonymous to Ba-ron, as is fufficiently clear’d up by our mofl LearnedSelden ; and in this Senfe is to be taken here, and notas a diftin£l Title of lower Degree, becaufe we obfervethe Bannerets rank’d in all Scrutinies before King Hm-ry VIII- eftablilh’d his Statutes (except one) with theKnights-Batchelors, not with Barons.
The Title of the third and lowed: Rank in thisClaffis in the Statutes of their Inftitution, are calledMHites Bachalauri, and in thofe of King Henry V. Batch-lors , and elfewhere Bachalauri Bachelauri Equates ,which
in common Acceptation are the fame with MHites, tho’thus render’d to evince their difference from Knights-Bannerets, who are of a fuperior Degree of Honour.And here we may obferve, that there is no Place in aScrutiny for any under the Degree of a Knight-Batche-lor. And tho’ Three of the Nine mentioned are fetdown to be Barons, and Three other Earls, or of higherDegree, yet muft thefe Six be fuch as have had confer-red on them the Order of Knighthood, elfe their Namesare rejefled, and neither given or taken in Nomination;for the Words of the Statute exprefly are, T hat each »jthe Knights ajpmhl’d at the EltBton JJaall name nine KnigM 1 -
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