24

Inflitutio Ordinis .

pexit. Nec alium locum tam commodum, aptum & huic toti Ne-gotio tanquam ab initio deftinatum, quam Wyndeforum elle fenfit. Hæcipfa namcp Regum domus eil, propria Sedes ifta principum, hæc utRegiæ Majeftati Congrua, fic & inprimis femper Eledta : Illic itaque pn-P. 15. muni Arci reparandæ feu reedificandæ potius & clarius ac munitius ex-truendæ, fluduit. Mox Ordinem inflituere decrevit, in quo Supremum,Anglia Regem, & viginti Sex auratos Equites Subrutilantes exhiberet, cui& Cærulei fubligaris Nomen indidit. Huic etiam ad averfandam inomni Re non male facia malam Interpretationem, & in Significatio-nem integri pecloris honeltique amoris, Apothegma Gallice conili tuitinicribi, icilicet aureis vel preciofis alioqui Literis ; & in altero humero,Crure quoque, interdum pollice geilari. Equitibus autem annuamDivi Georgi feilivitatem, folenni Ritu Juilaque Ceremonia tranfigendam,præiêrtim id Wyndefori ; ad quem quidem Ordinem inchoandum, & per-petuo firmandum, Rex, Principes, Duces, Comites, Dominos & Equi-tes Regni præcipuos in locum fibi viihm convocans, Mentem in hacRe fuam hiis gratanter expofuit. Ad quod omnes mirum in modumaffedti, pari cum lætitia plaufùq; fufcepere relatum : maxime quod præ-ter ea Commoda, quæ fiipra jam recitata fimt, permagnum inquamPietatis, Nobilitatis, & Virtutis Incrementum, perpenderunt inde fore,quo multo facilius Noflrates inter fe, tum exteri quoque nobifeumuno amore paceq; coirent. Quod etiam ut citius & validius in finem

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this Intent he found no Place more commodious than W indio r, which was as itwere originally defined entirely for this Work. For this is the King’s own properHoufe, this is the Seat of Princes : And as this Houfe is moß fit for a KinglyPerf onage, fo it has always heenfirfi made Choice of. There, therefore, he beganto repair or rather re-edefie, and more beautifully and firongly rebuild the Cafile :Which when he had done, hepurpofed to infiitute an Order, in which the King ofEngland ßould prefide as Sovereign over twenty fix Knights, to which , hegave the Name of the Blew Garter. Unto this alfo , to prevent any bad Con-firiMion being put upon any Thing not done with an ill Defign , and for a Signalof their Sincerity and Loyalty , he ordered a Motto in French Words to bewrought round the Garter , in Letters of Gold, or fome other cofily Manner :And to be wore over one of their Shoulders, or the Leg, and fometimes on theirThumb. And he commanded the Knights to obferve with folemn Rites andjufiCeremonies, the annual Fefiival of St. George, and that chiefly at Windfor, tobegin which Cufiom, and perpetually to eflablifi it, the King called togetherthe Princes, Pukes, Earls, Lords, and chief Knights of the Kingdom, and witha great Peal of Satisfaction, declared his Mind to them in this Affair. Atwhich they being all extremely pleafed, received his Royal Peclaration with greatJoy and Applaufe : And befides the Advantages above mentioned, flaw whata vafi Increafe of Piety, Nobility, and Virtue would accrue from thence ; howour Countrymen would the eafier accord amongfi themfelves, and Foreignerslikewife be joined in the fame Bond of Peace and Friendßip with us. Andthat he might the fooner and more firmly gain this End, he Juited Vefis and Or-naments with Names proper for the Order, that every one might know, that

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