INTRODUCTION.

lxv

*

together with lists of the persons to whom Robes of the Orderare stated to have been issued. New Notes will also be foundon the Windsor Tables; on Stall Plates; and on the natureand character of Wardrobe Accounts, chiefly in relation to theelection, in the reign of King Henry the Fourth, of Henry theThird King of Spain, and Sir John Arundell, (whose namesdo not occur in any other Catalogue of the Knights), and ofThomas Earl of Salisbury.

These alterations and additions render the more importantparts of this History of the Garter, in point of fact, a new edition.They are the result of several months’ labour, and of much pe-cuniary expense; and, it is impossible to refrain from observingthat this sacrifice of time and money would have been sparedif two public functionaries had not withheld information, whichit was the duty of the one to have afforded, and which mighthave been fairly expected from the other. Many essential andmost valuable improvements have recently been made in thesystem of keeping the Public Muniments, but neither thesechanges, nor the intention of the Legislature, nor the wish ofthe Keeper-General that the Records shall be completely avail-able, will be of much practical service unless the AssistantKeepers are equally animated by the desire of facilitating his-torical inquiries.

The result of a full consideration of all the authorities dis-covered previously to the Author’s more recent inquiries, asstated in the following pages, 4 was, that though it be not impos-sible that King Edward the Third might, as Froissart asserts,have determined to found a Chivalrous Fraternity in 1344, in

* Vide pp. 1 —16, postea.