GARTEL, ORDER OF THE, one of the most ancient and illustrious of the military orders of knighthood in Europe, was founded by King Edward III. The precise year of its institution has been disputed, though all authorities agree that it was established at Windsor after the celebration of a tournament Walsiugham and Fabyan give 1344 as its date ; Stowe, who, according to Ashmole, is corrobo rated by the statutes of the Order, says 1350. The precise cause of the origin or formation of the Order is likewise not distinctly known. The common story respecting the fall of the Countess of Salisbury's garter at a ball, which was picked up by the king, and his retort to those who smiled at the action, "Boni sat qui awl y pense," which afterwards became the motto of the Order, is not entirely given up as fable. A tradition certainly obtained as far back as the time of Henry VI. that this Order received its origin from the fair sex. Ashmole's opinion was, that the Garter was selected at once as a symbol of union and a com pliment to the ladies.
This Order was founded in honour of the Holy Trinity, the Virgin Mary, St. George, and St. Edward the Confessor. St. George, who had become the tutelary saint of England, was considered as its especial patron and protector. It was ori ginally composed of twenty-five knights, and the sovereign (who nominates the other knights), twenty-six in all. This number received no alteration till the reign of George III., when it was directed that princes of the royal family and illustrious foreigners on whom the honour might be conferred should not be in cluded. The number of these extra knights was fifteen in 1845. The mili tary knights of Windsor are also con sidered as an adjunct of the Order of the Garter.
The officers of the Order are a prelate, who is always the Bishop of Winchester ; a chancellor, who till 1837 was the Bishop of Salisbury, but is now the Bishop of Oxford, in consequence of Berkshire, and of course Windsor, being transferred to that diocese ; a registrar, who is the Dean of Windsor ; garter principal king-at-arms of the Order; and a gentleman usher of the black rod. The chapter ought to meet every year on St. George's Day (April 23rd), in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, where the installations of the Order are held, and in which the banners of the several knights are suspended.
The original dress of the Knights of the Garter was a mantle, tunic, and capuchin or hood, of the fashion of the time, all of blue cloth ; those of the knights COM penions differing only from the sovereign's by the tunic being lined with miniver instead of ermine. All the three garments were embroidered with garters of blue and gold, the mantle having one larger than all the rest on the left shoulder. The dress underwent -various changes. Henry' VIII. remodelled both it and the statutes of the Order, and gave the knights the collar, and the greater and lesser George, as at present worn. The last alteratiOn in the dress took place in the reign of Charles II.: the principal parts of it con sist of a mantle of dark blue velvet, with a hood of crimson velvet ; a cap or hat with an ostrich and heron plume ; the stockings are of white silk, and the garter, which is of dark blue velvet, having the motto embroidered in gold letters, is worn under the left knee. The badge is a gold
medallion representing St. George and the Dragon, which is worn suspended by a blue ribbon ; hence it is a form of speech to say, when an individual has been appointed a Knight of the Garter, that he has received the blue ribbon. There is also a star worn on the left breast. The fashion of wearing the blue ribbon suspended from the left shoulder was adopted in the latter part of the reign of Charles II.
From the institution of the Order of the Garter to at least as late as the reign of Edward IV., ladies were admitted to a participation in the honours of the fra ternity. The queen, some of the knights companions' wives, and other great ladies, had robes and hoods of the gift of the sovereign, the former garnished with little embroidered garters. The ensign of the garter was also delivered to them, and they were expressly termed Dames de la fraternite de St. George. The splendid appearance of Queen Philippa at the first grand feast of the Order is noticed by Froissart. Two monuments also are still existing which bear figures of ladies wearing the garter ; the Duchess of Suffolk's, at Ewelme, in Oxfordshire, of the time of Henry VL, represents her wearing it on the wrist, in the manner a bracelet ; Lady Harcourt, at Stanton Harcourt, in Oxfordshire, of the time of Edward IV., wears the garter on her left arm.
When Queen Anne attended the thanks giving at St. Paul's in 1702, and again in 1704, she wore the garter set with diamonds, as head of the Order, tied round her left arm. Queen Victoria wears the blue ribbon suspended from the shoulder.
The fees which are payable upon the installation of a Knight of the Garter amount to a considerable sum. If the honour is conferred on any foreign prince or other distinguished foreigner, these fees are commonly, if not invariably, charged upon the civil contingencies, and are consequently paid by the public. When the King of Prussia was installed, in 1842, the following were the fees paid by the public :— To the Register of the Order . 40 the Dean and Canons of Windsor 20 the Military Knights of Windsor 20 Garter King of Anna, in lieu of the upper garment . . 60 the Usher of the Black Rod . 20 Garter King of Arms, his installa tion fee . . . . 30 the Officers at Arms . . 30 the Church of Windsor, for the offering . . . . 11 the Choir of Windsor. . 16 Accustomed charges for the Royal Banner, Garter Plate, Helmet, Sword, and other achievements for his Majesty, with extra em broidery, ornaments, and deco rations, with a variety of con tingent expenses. . . 138Fees to the Secretary of the Chan cellor of the Order, on warrants for Robes and Jewels, and on the Patent for Dispensation . 21 Extra ingrossing and ing and otherwise ornamenting the Patent of Dispensation transmitted to his Majesty the King of Prussia, printing ad ditions to the Statutes of the Order, &c. . . . • 22 Expenses to Windsor on putting up Achievements, &c. . . 10£439