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VIII. In the Formularies of the Knighthood of theBath, and in feveral Precedents cited in the Appendix,the Eldeft and younger Sons of our Sovereigns, aswell as other Candidates for this Honour, at theirComing to Court for the Reception of it, wereonly permitted to ferve up the firft Diih to the King’sTable j and had not the Privilege of fitting down,until they had been actually made compleat Knights,according to the Rites of the Ceremonial: Which Cus-tom is plainly intimated, in this Hiftory, by the Words,Regalibus gaudiis interejfet 5 an Inftitution of great An-tiquity •, for ‘ Paulus Diaconus, who died in the Begin-ning of the ninth Century, in his Hiftory of theLombards, is very full and clear to this Purpofe; “You“ know, faith he, it is not cuftomary, that even the“ Son of the King, ftiould be permitted to fit at Ta-“ ble with him, except he hath firft received Arms from<{ fome foreign Prince.” And fo late, as in the H In-terview of the Emperor Charles IV, with Charles VKing of France, in 137 8, the Dukes who were notKnights, had not the Privilege of fitting at Supperwith them, which was allowed to thofe who had beendignified with that Honour.
The next Teftimony will be taken from John Salis-burienfs, who lived to the Year 11 8 2,, and muft be ad-
t 1 .1. c. 23. # Entreveus, &c. par Godefroy, p. 72.
mitted