3T it D e jr

TO THE INTRODUCTION ; TO THE HISTORY OF MEDALS, CHAINS, CLASPS,AND CROSSES, CONFERRED IN REWARD OF MILITARY ORNAVAL SERVICES; TO THE HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF THE GUELPHS;

AND TO MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS.

Introduction, i—Ixi.; Origin, character, and antiquityof Knighthood; the dignity conferred upon all per-sons of exalted condition, except ecclesiastics, i.;instances of English and French Sovereigns who wereKnighted by their own subjects, after their Accessionto the Crown, i, ii.; Knighthood of King Edward theSixth, i. n. ; no one could confer Knighthood unlesshe had himself received it, ii.; Chaucer’s characterof “ a veray parfit, gentil, Knight,” ii.; every manwho held a Knight’s fee, immediately of the Crown,was compelled, on becoming of age, to take theOrder of Knighthood, or pay a fine for exemption,iii.; that usage abolished in the reign of KingCharles the Second, iii.; Lord Chief-Justice Coke’sobservations on “ the name of Knight Bachelor,”iii.; the remarks of Selden, Lord Chief-JusticeCoke, and Ashmole, upon Knighthood, v, vi.; themore ancient manner of conferring Knighthood wasby investiture with “ the military girdle;” principalensigns of Knighthood ; the chain or collar does notappear to have been worn until the beginning ofthe fifteenth century, vi. ; from Bathing being oneof the principal ceremonies of Knighthood, thosewho performed them were called “ Knights of theBath,” vi.; the dignity of Knighthood most fre-quently bestowed in the field, vi.; different appel-lations of Knights so created, vii.; it is difficultto state exactly in whom the power of conferringKnighthood was formerly vested, vii.; extremelydoubtful whether it has ever been bestowed in Eng-land since the commencement of the twelfth cen-tury by those who were not themselves Knights,vii.; examination of the evidence cited by Ashmole tothe contrary, vii, viii.; origin of the power of thepriesthood to bestow Knighthood; it was speciallyforbidden to be exercised in a Synod held at West-minster in 1102, viii.; during the middle ages thepower of conferring Knighthood seems to have re-sided only in Sovereign Princes and their represen-tatives, and perhaps in a few other persons of exaltedstation, ix.; Knights made at the battle of Wake-field, in 1460, by the Duke of Somerset and othernoblemen, ix.; few, if any, examples of Knighthoodin the field having been conferred by a simpleKnight Bachelor, ix.; the authority to confer thedignity greatly restrained in or before the reign

of King Henry the Eighth, ix, x.; but continuedto be vested in the commanders of armies, whofrequently exercised it, x.; instances thereof fromFroissart and Hall, x, xi. ; Shakespeare’s allu-sion to the custom of Knighting persons after abattle, and of enabling them to support their dig-nity, xi.; authority to confer Knighthood wassometimes expressly granted to the commander ofan army by King Henry the Eighth, xii. xii. n.;Queen Elizabeth permitted several of her subjects toconfer Knighthood, xii.; the Duke of Albemarle, asLieutenant-General and General-Governor of Ja-maica, in May 1686, was empowered to conferKnighthood upon six persons whom he might selectwithin that island, xiii.; for a long period the onlysubject who has made Knights by virtue of powerincidental to his commission, is the Lord-Lieutenantof Ireland for the time being, xiii.; his authority todo so questioned in 1823, but affirmed upon referenceto the Judges, xiii. n .; and the power has been exer-cised by every subsequent Lord-Lieutenant of Ire-land, xiv .; instances since the revival of the Order ofthe Bath, in 1725, of Knighthood having been con-ferred upon Knights-elect of that Order, under theauthority of royal warrants, xiv.; since the year 1815Knights-elect have often been invested without hav-ing been Knighted, xv.; and in some cases they haveremained Knights Grand Cross, or Knights Com-manders, without having ever been Knighted, xv.;remarks upon the impropriety of these proceedings,xv.; the practice of making Knights by Letters Pa-tent is modern, the earliest instance being that ofRobert Chambers, Esquire, a Judge, in Bengal, in1777, xv.; other instances, xvi.; remarks upon thismode of conferring the honour, xvi.; ancient mannerof conferring Knighthood, now almost obsolete ex-cept in England, xvi.; it is believed that in no othercountry than Great Britain does the original and ge-neric dignity of a Knight Bachelor, created by theimposition of a sword, now exist, xvii.; the title of“ Chevalier” given to Peers in Writs of Summons toParliament, although very few are Knights, xvii.;the appellation of Knight also given to Knights ofthe Shire and to the Military Knights of Windsor,even though none of these persons should be KnightsBachelors, xvii. ; qualifications for the honour of

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