CAP. XIII.
The Installation of a Knight-Subject by Proxy.
The Original Cause of making Proxies.
§ 1.
There was no liberty given at the Institution of the Order, for a Knight-Subject to be installed by his Proctor or Deputy; but on the contrary, in the Founder’s Statutes was inserted this express Prohibition. That none of the Knights elect should be permitted to be installed by Proxy, unless he were a Stranger. And this Law continued unaltered till the Reign of Henry V. when John Duke of Bedford, the Sovereign’s Deputy for holding the Feast of St. George at Windsor, 7 Henry V. and other the Knights-Companions then present, took it into Consideration; that where a Knight-Subject, elected into the Order, was at that Time employed beyond Sea, in the Service of his Prince, and likely to continue in that Service some time, it was agreed, that the said Duke should make an Address to the Sovereign, by Letters under the Seal of the Order, (he being then employed in the War against France,) that in the like cases his Majesty would Ordain, That Knights-Subjects might, as well as Strangers, be admitted into the Order, notwithstanding the Clause in the Statutes.
It likewise appears from that Letter, as well as from the Blue-Book, that Sir John Grey, and the Lord Bourchier, had been installed at the aforesaid Feast, by their several Proxies; which the Sovereign’s Deputy concurr’d with, out of great Respect to their Persons; lest by a too rigid Observance of the Statutes, by their absence in the Wars, where they were then loyally employed, and might meet their Deaths, they should want the desired Suffrages of those Masses, ordained to be Sung for a defunct Knight; as had happen’d to several by unsuspected delays. But to clear this matter, for the future it was Decreed, 9 Hen. V. That where any elect Knight was actually in the Sovereign’s Wars, or otherwise employed Abroad on his Sovereign’s Affairs, he should possess the Privilege of a Stranger in this particular; which Decree was added to King Henry Vth’s Statutes. And it was soon after enjoined the elect Knight, on notice of his Election, to take care timely to appoint his Proctor, that he might enjoy the Rights and Privileges of a Founder: Such an Obligation was laid on Sir John Falstaff, who, at the reception of the Garter, was in France, employed in the Sovereign’s Service.
But King Henry VIII. besides his Confirmation of this Decree, for allowance of a Proxy in the aforesaid two Cases, farther enlarged it, to such as the Sovereign should either Command, or permit Licence to be installed by Proxy, which is to be understood of Knights elect within the Kingdom, as well as those beyond Sea: By Virtue of which Clause, the elect Knight, the Earl of Dorset being Sick, 1 Car. I. obtained the Sovereign’s Licence to be installed by his Deputy Sir Richard Young.
Letters of Procuration.
§ 2. It is observed before, out of the Registrum Chartaceum, that Sir John Robesart, elected into the Order by King Henry V. was installed by Virtue of his Letter Missive, sent to Sir Thomas Barr his Proxy; but the same Register calls it, in another Place, a sufficient Procuration under his Seal of Arms, enabling him to perform the Ceremony of his Installation.
The Copy of this Instrument is not extant; but that Letter Missive Sir John Grey directed to Sir John Lisle, to take Possession of his Stall, and by Virtue of which he was installed, tells him he had Chosen him for his Proxy, and to take his Stall for him in his Name, &c. And omitting other Precedents, doubtless, in the case of a Knight-Subject, the Sovereign may, if he pleases, nominate and appoint a Proxy for Installation, where the elect Knight hath not done it himself; for here, all those Considerations of grand Respect, Forms of the Oath, &c. constantly afforded to Strangers, have no Place; which is evident from the Sovereign’s Letters of Summons to the Commissioners named for Installation of the Lord Grey, 4 and 5 Phil. and Mar. who at that time was Prisoner in France, and his Deputy Sir Humphry Radcliffe, is therein mentioned to be appointed by the Sovereign herself.
The first Precedent of Letters of Procuration, or Deputation, drawn into a solemn Form, is that made by Sir William Phelip, 5 Hen. V. by which, having obtained the Sovereign’s Licence, he impowers two Knights, Sir Andrew Butrely, and Sir John Henington, or either of them, as their Business would permit, to supply his Place, and take Possession of his Stall, in the Choir at Windsor.
Qualifications of a Proxy.
§ 3. The Qualifications of a Proctor, nominated by a Knight-Subject, are the same with those requisite in the Proctor of a Stranger, of which something will fall in our Way hereafter; I shall therefore only in general observe here, that to neither Knight-Subject, nor Stranger, the Proctor is to be under the Degree of a Knight, enobled with Arms, and of an honest and untainted Reputation; it being judg’d proper chiefly in this Point, that a Knight-Subject should exactly observe the same Rule enjoined to Strangers; in respect of which, it is very remarkable, that Sir William Lisle, though one of the Alms-Knights, yet in Degree a Knight, was not refused to be Proctor to Sir John Grey, 7 Hen. V.
Preparations for Installation.
§ 4. The Day for Installation of a Knight-Subject by Proxy, being appointed by the Sovereign, there are to be provided for him, first, a Commission for Installation, which by the Chancellor of the Order is presented to the Sovereign for his Sign Manual; to which is after affixed, the Seal of the Order: And appoints, 1. To conduct the Proctor to Windsor-Castle. 2. To put him in Possession, as from the Sovereign, of the Stall assigned his Principal. 3. To invest him with all the Benefits, Honours, Prerogatives, Franchises, and Liberties thereto belonging. 4. To receive his Mantle, Helm, and Sword, and set them up in their appointed Places. 5. To add thereto all usual Ceremonies. 6. Lastly, an Injunction to all the Knights to permit all the Solemnity punctually to be performed: An ancient Precedent of this is found 5 Hen. V. in the case of Sir John Falstaff: Also 2 Edw. IV. at the Installation of the Earl of Worcester, and other elect Knights, by their Proxies.
Of later Times, the Commissions granted on such Occasions differ from those made for the Personal Installation of the Knights themselves, only by premising the Cause of their Principal’s Absence, and Service he is then employed on; authorizing the Commissioners to admit the Proxy into his Stall: Likewise where the Installation is performed by two or more Commissioners, the Sovereign directs Letters to each of them, giving notice of the intended Solemnity, and requiring them to attend at a Day prefixt, to the end the Proxy may be put into Possession of his Principal’s Stall.
And as there is, upon admission of an elect Knight, installed by Proxy, the same ground for removal of Stalls, as in personal Installations; so the Sovereign issues out Warrants to Garter, some time before the Solemnity, to remove the Atchievements and Plates, as usual, and place them in the Order such Warrants direct. Anciently the Stall for an elect Knight, was assigned in the Commission issued for Installation, as in the case of Sir Henry Inghouse, Proctor to Sir John Falstaff, 5 Henry V.
The rest of the Particulars to be provided against the Day of Installation, are at the Knight’s own Charge, and are agreeable with those in Personal Installations.
Proceeding to the Chapter-House.
§ 5. The next thing to be consider’d, is the Proxies Place in proceeding to the Chapter-House, and this is immediately after the Provincial King of Arms, because as yet he hath not taken Possession of his Principal’s Stall; which done, it gives him a Place in his return according to its Dignity. In this Order the Proctors of the Marquiss of Newcastle, and the Earl of Bristol, proceeded (Bare-headed,) 13 Car. II.
And though this be the Proctor’s usual Place in this Proceeding, yet Sir Henry Sidney, Proctor to the Earl of Warwick, 5 Eliz. proceeded immediately before the elect Knights; which is the only instance of that kind.
Lastly, the Proctor, as in the case of an elect Knight, passes into the East-Isle, behind the High-Altar, as soon as he comes within St. George’s Chappel, while the Sovereign, Lieutenant, or Commissioners, proceed into the Chapter-House, and there reposeth himself till he is sent for in; as in the case of the Marquiss of Newcastle and Earl of Bristol above: But if the Proxy pass not in the Proceeding, he then goes privately to his Place, before the Proceeding sets forward.
Transactions in the Chapter-House.
§ 6. After the Chapter is opened, the first thing done, is for Garter to present the Commission or Commissions, which he carried in the Proceeding thither, as well that for the Lieutenancy, (if a Lieutenant held the Feast,) as of Installation, for admitting a Proxy, the Order of which is observed before.
The Letters of Procuration, or Deputation, are next read, after which the Proxy is sent for into the Chapter-House by Garter, who conducts him to the Door, and there the Commissioners, or Assistants, or Knights-Companions, receive him. But 5 Eliz. Sir Henry Sidney exhibited his Deputation, after he was called in: Or sometimes the Proxy produces his Deputation before the Proceeding to the Chapter-House, as Sir George Howard, Deputy to the Earl of Bedford, did, 6 Eliz. And in such case there is no need of admitting the Proxy into the Chapter-House, but that he may stay without, till the Sovereign, his Lieutenant, or Commissioners, are past into the Choir, and he sent for thither; at which time the Mantle was wont to be laid on his right Arm at the Chapter-House Door, by the Knights-Companions appointed to introduce him.
Anciently, as soon as the Proxy was admitted into the Chapter-House, and the Letters of Procuration were read, the Mantle of his Principal was usually laid on his right Arm by the Sovereign’s Lieutenant, or Commissioners, and part of it spread on the Proxies Shoulders, the Escutcheon of St. George lying uppermost, and the Cordons laid fair to be seen; and in this manner he bore it in the Proceeding to the Stall, where he held it till Service was ended; but ’tis now ordered otherwise, as by the direction of King Charles II. that the Mantle should be born on the left Arm.
But 5 Eliz. the Earl of Warwick’s Proctor had the Mantle born before him into the Choir by Garter, in the same manner as is usual to Knights Personally installed; and not delivered him, till he had taken the Oath; and at the delivery thereof, the Words of Admonition were pronounced by the Register; as it was observed to the Proxies of the Marquiss of Newcastle, and the Earl of Bristol, 13 Car. II.
Proceeding to the Choir.
§ 7. The Proxy proceeds from the Chapter-House Door, between the Sovereign’s Commissioners, &c. But touching the Order of this Proceeding, so much has already been said, that we shall give but one Instance, Anno 6 Elizabeth.
Ceremonies performed in the Choir.
§ 8. The Proceeding having entered the Choir, the Commissioners, &c. conduct the Proxy into the lower Stall, directly under that designed for his Principal, where the Register reads the Words of the Oath, while the Proxy, laying his Hand on the Book, repeats them after him, and Kisses the Book: And this Oath his Deputation impowers him to take, in the Name of his Principal; the Form of the Oath having no difference from the Oath taken Personally by an elect Knight.
The Oath being taken in this solemn manner, the Proctor is led up to the Stall of his Principal, where both the Knights, who conducted him into the Choir, first take the Mantle, and lay it on his Arm, next laying their Hands on him, in the Name of his Lord and Master, from whom he received his Deputation, set him down therein: And so the Ceremony of Installation being fully ended, the Service of the Church begins.
If the Installation be performed in the Morning, there is an Offering of Gold and Silver; at which time the Proxy in his turn comes from his Principal’s Stall, and stands before it, and when the Sovereign, or the Lieutenant for him, and for himself, or else the Commissioners, and the rest of the Knights-Companions present, have offered, then the Proxy (being joined to the Knight, sitting in the opposite Stall, if present at the Solemnity, and having two Officers of Arms before them,) proceeds to the High Altar, and there offers both Gold and Silver; and then returns, and takes his Stall as the rest do. In this manner the Earl of Warwick’s Proxy, joining with the Earl of Northumberland, installed at the same time, proceeded to the Offering, 5 Eliz. As likewise the Proctor to the Earl of Bedford, with the Lord Hunsdon, 6 Eliz.
The Ceremony of the Offering being finished, the Service of the Church goes on, which being over, the Proceeding returns in the same Order it came to the Chapter-House, except, that now the Proxy takes his Place according to the Dignity of his Stall. But in regard the Statutes expresly declare; That after the Proxy hath been admitted to his Principal’s Stall, he shall neither wear the Mantle, nor have any Voice in Chapter, nor enter there in the absence of him that sent him; so that it was the ancient Practice to take off the Mantle from his Arm at the Chapter-House Door, in his return from the Choir, and delivered to the Verger of the Chappel, though sometimes to the Sexton, at other times to Garter, also to the Black-Rod, who hath taken it from off the Proxies Arm, and carried it into the Chapter-House; this done, the Proxy retires privately out of the Proceeding to his Lodging.
It appears however, but by what indulgence is not mentioned, that though Garter took the Mantle from Sir Henry Sidney, 5 Eliz. at the Chapter-House Door, on the Evening he returned from Installation; yet the next Morning he rode in the Procession to the Chapel, the Celebration of the Feast of St. George continuing, with the Mantle on his right Arm; and having entered the Choir, took his Principal’s Stall, bearing likewise the Mantle in the grand Procession, at the Offering of Money, and during Divine Service, and from the Chappel to the Castle to Dinner: And the like in the Afternoon of the said Day, he rode on Horse-back in the Proceeding to the Chapter-House Door, but there the Mantle was taken from him, and laid within upon the Table, whilst he retired into the East-Isle of the Chappel, and at the rising of the Chapter, it was again delivered to him, whence he proceeded in his Principal’s Place to the second Vespers.
Next Morning, the Lieutenant, and Assistants, having ended the Chapter, the Mantle was again laid on his Arm, and in that manner he passed to his Principal’s Stall, and afterwards offered, as on the Feast Day. The Morning Service ended, the Lieutenant and Assistants returned to the Chapter-House Door, where they put off their Mantles, and at the same time the Sexton of the College receiv’d the Mantle from him.
The Grand Dinner.
§ 9. At Dinner the Proxy sits with the Lieutenant or Commissioners, and takes Place where his Principal should sit if he were present; and this was so observed at the Installation of the Earl of Warwick, 5 Eliz.
The Stile of the Knight installed by Proxy, is proclaimed in French, or English, in the usual Form and Place, as 25 Hen. VIII. at the Installations of the Earls of Beaumont and Newblanke, by their Proxies; for they were Knight-Subjects, though not to the Sovereign, and therefore not improper to be made use of as an Instance. To conclude, the Proctor is to take care that the Atchievements and Plate of his Principal are set up in their proper Places, which appears not only from the ancient Letters of Procuration, but also by Commissions of Installation, which appoint that the Sovereign’s Deputy should receive from the Proctor his Principal’s Helm and Sword, (for there is no mention of the Banner till afterwards,) and place it over his Stall.