CAP. XVI.
The Installation of a Stranger by Proxy.
Touching the Choice and Nomination of a Proxy.
§ 1.
After the Stranger is invested, he is enjoin’d by the Statutes (be he of what State or Condition soever,) to send in eight Months after his Investiture, either a Proctor or Deputy to be installed in his behalf, in the Seat assign’d him within the Chappel of St. George at Windsor.
The Time limited for sending in Henry Vth’s Statutes, is but seven Months; and those of Henry VIII. allow no more; and that not only after Investiture, but after the Stranger hath certified the Sovereign of his reception of the Order.
By King Henry VIIIth’s Statutes, it’s also provided; That in case a Stranger do not send his Deputy or Proctor within seven Months, without having a reasonable Excuse, and such as should be allowed by the Sovereign or his Deputy, the Election (notwithstanding his former Acceptation,) should be also void, except so it be, that the Stranger be hindred or disturbed by great Affairs, and then might he send his Excuse to the Sovereign, or his Deputy, within one Month after; and according as the Sovereign or his Deputy should allow or disallow of his Excuse, that then the Sovereign or his Deputy might give unto him four Months of respite more; within which time, if he neither come, nor send his Deputy to be installed for him, then the said Election should be void for that time.
The French King, Francis I. was so earnest for compleating this Honour, that he dispatch’d his Proctor hither with all the speed he could, and most of the Stranger Princes have sent their Deputies within the limited time, there being very few Instances to the contrary, and those were occasioned through the multiplicity of Affairs.
When the Garter and George only have been sent to a Stranger, the Ceremony of Installation hath been dispenc’d with, till a more convenient time, as appears from the Instructions of March 4. Anno 19 Car. I. given at the sending these two principal Ensigns of the Order, to William, Prince of Orange, and Bernard de Foix, Duke d’Espernon, (in regard of the Interruptions then given by the Rebellion here,) such dispensations, and for the same reason, was King Charles II. necessitated to give those Strangers whom he honoured with Election, while he remain’d in Foreign Parts.
Upon the said King’s happy Restauration, among many other things relating to the Order, this particular was taken into consideration, in reference not only to the Duke de Espernon and Prince Maurice, who were dead, but those Strangers also then living; and at two Chapters held at White-Hall, Anno 13 Car. II. directions were given to Garter to place the Banners and Atchievements of the surviving Strangers over their respective Stalls; and the Sovereign, by his supream Power, (induc’d by the impossibilities of the late Troubles to perform the Installation, and by reason of the time elaps’d since their Elections,) dispenc’d wholly and absolutely with their Installations, but at the same time declar’d, that as the like necessity and conjuncture could never happen again, so he would not, on any motion or pretence whatsoever, give the like dispensation.
It seems to rest in the pleasure of the Stranger, whether he will chuse to send over any Person of his own Court, or give his Procuration to some one of the Sovereign’s Subjects, to receive his Stall, and in his Name to take Possession of it; the latter of which hath been done several times, out of desire to favour some of our Nobility with this Honour, of which many instances might be given.
It hath sometimes happned, that a Proctor for the Installation of a Stranger, hath been appointed and nominated by the Sovereign of the Order, though the Principal had nam’d another before: Thus it fell out in the case of Maurice, Prince of Orange, Anno 10 Jac. I. who having deputed Count Henry his Brother, to be installed for him, and he having put to Sea in Order thereto, but by reason of contrary Winds not arriving in England before the Day appointed for his Installation, the Sovereign and Knights-Companions ordered that Lodowick of Nassau, Kinsman to the elect Prince, should take Possession of his Stall on his behalf: A case somewhat like, was that of John George, Duke of Saxony, who sent over his Procuration to John, Earl of Bath; and he being detained in the West on extraordinary Occasions, when St. George’s Feast was held at Windsor, Anno 23 Car. II. wrote to the Chancellor of the Order, to obtain the Sovereign’s Dispensation, for not appearing in the Name of his Principal; who representing his humble request to the Sovereign, in a Chapter held on the Eve of the said Feast, he was pleas’d to grant it, and appointed Heneage, Earl of Winchelsea, who perform’d the Service. There is also an ancient Example of this kind, Anno 9 Hen. V. where the Sovereign nominated the Lord Fitz Hugh, Proctor for the King of Denmark; which yet was not done, till after the Sovereign had been certified that the said King had been invested, and obliged himself by Oath to the observation of the Statutes.
In like manner it is recorded, that the Earl of Cleveland was by the Sovereign appointed Deputy for the Installation of Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, and yet not unlike, but this might be with consent of the said King, though the Annals herein are silent.
The Proctor’s Qualifications.
§ 2. By the Statutes of the Order, the Proctor, whether he be nominated by his Principal, or by the Sovereign, must be Procurator sufficiens & Idoneas; that is, such a Person who hath always been accounted of unblameable Conversation, not branded with any note of Infamy, but altogether irreprovable. And such was Dominicus Franciscus, Deputy to Charles, Duke of Ferrara, who in the Black-Book of the Order is characterized to be a Knight of incorrupt Fame; nor are we to doubt but that other Proctors to Strangers were such, though the Testimonials of their Virtues do not appear in the Annals of the Order.
Secondly, The Proctor ought to be a Person correspondent to the State and Dignity of the Stranger that is invested, which may sufficiently appear by several Instances; the Emperor Maximilian I. appointed for his Proxy, the Marquiss of Brandenburgh, Anno 6 Hen. VII. Francis I. King of France, Adrian de Fercelin, Lord of Bross, Anno 19 Hen. VIII. and Henry IV. of France, Sieur de Chastes, Vice Admiral of France, Anno 42 Eliz.
Thirdly, It is provided that he be a Knight, and without any manner of Reproach; and if it so happen that he have not receiv’d the degree of Knighthood, the Sovereign is to bestow that Honour before he be allow’d to take upon him the Execution of his deputative Power; for none but Knights are capable of this Honour, or permitted to bear the Ensigns of so great an Order. Hereupon the Lord Willoughby of Eresby, Proctor for Frederick II. King of Denmark, was Knighted by the Sovereign, the Morning before he proceeded to take Possession of the Stall.
There was one reason notwithstanding, why this particular was not strictly stood upon, (though moved) in the case (and it’s the single case) of Henry Ramell, Hereditary Lord of Wosterwitz and Beckeskaw, Deputy for Christian IV. King of Denmark, Anno 3 Jac. I. for it being taken notice of that he was not a Knight, certain Persons were sent from the Sovereign to signify his Pleasure, that he should be advanc’d to the Honour of Knighthood before he took upon him the Ensigns of the Order in his King’s behalf; to which he made Answer, that he appeared here, not in his own, but in the Name of the King of Denmark; and that such a degree of Honour was unusual in his own Country, (being Born in Pomerania,) and therefore humbly desired that he might be excus’d from the Honour; upon which the Sovereign was pleas’d to dispence with him, and forthwith the said Deputy (but no Knight,) was admitted to take the Stall assign’d to the said King his Principal.
His Letters of Procuration.
§ 3. The Authority wherewith an elect Stranger invests his Proxy, which ought to pass under his Hand and Seal, do generally contain these Particulars.
First, He premiseth the Sovereign’s Election of him into the Order of the Garter, and his receipt of the Habit and Ensigns thereof, then takes notice or the Obligation the Statutes of the Order put upon him, for sending a Proxy to take Possession of his Stall, in regard the Dignity whereunto he is advanc’d in his own Country, will not permit him to repair Personally to Windsor; and being not only desirous that the Election and Investiture should obtain its due effect, but to fulfil, as far as in him lies, the Injunctions of the Statutes, in what concerns the assuming of his Stall, and taking the Oath appointed; he therefore Ordains, Authorises, and Deputes, a Person fitly qualified, (named in the Deputation,) his sufficient Proctor, and special Deputy, to appear at the Castle of Windsor in his behalf and in his Name, at the next Solemnity that should be held there, to supply his room, and receive Possession of the Stall assign’d him, according to the usual Form; and in all respects to perform those Ceremonies and Things in his behalf due and accustom’d, or should appear to belong any way to the Splendor or Ornament of the Order: As also to take the accustomed Oath with those Qualifications, and in that Form as had been (or should be) agreed on; and further, to fulfil all other things which he should think necessary to be perform’d on this Occasion, or whatsoever thing might require a more special Command, than was contain’d in the Letters of Procuration; and as fully as the Stranger should be obliged to, and would do, if he were there present in his own Person. Lastly, there is usually added a Clause of Ratification and Confirmation, of all such things as the Proctor should say or do, in reference to the Solemnity of installation.
Of the Proctor’s Reception.
§ 4. When the Sovereign is acquainted with the arrival of the Proxy, and the occasion of his coming, he soon after gives him Audience; after which, a Day for Installation is assign’d, and the Sovereign nominates some of the Knights-Companions his Commissioners, to perform the Ceremonies.
The Proctor heretofore has been receiv’d with very great State; Sir Balthasar Castilian, sent hither from the Duke of Urbin, Anno 22 Hen. VII. was met at the Sea-side by Sir Thomas Brandon, with a goodly Company of his own Servants well Hors’d, who kept Company with him, till they came near Deptford in Kent; where, by the Sovereign’s Command, he was met by Sir Thomas Dokara, and Sir Thomas Wriothesley, Garter: The said Sir Thomas Dokara had attending him thirty of his Servants, all in new Liveries, well Hors’d, every Gentleman bearing a Javelin in his Hand, and every Yeoman a Bow and a Sheaf of Arrows, and so they convey’d him to his Lodging. The next Day they conducted him to London, and by the way there met him divers Italians, and Paulus de Gygeles, the Pope’s Vice Collector, to whose House he was convey’d and lodg’d. The reception also of James Lord Rambovillet, Proctor for the French King, Charles IX. was very noble.
The Preparations for Installation.
§ 5. The Preparations of the Installation of a Stranger by Proxy, are the same as for the Proxy of a Knight-Subject, mention’d as before, and the Form of the Commission for Installation is much the same; the Preamble contains the Authority wherewith the Proxy is impower’d and is penn’d with like Words.
The Letters of notice to the Commissioners.
The Warrants for removing of Stalls, and for the Strangers Atchievements, are all to be obtain’d by the Chancellor of the Order, under the Sovereign’s Sign Manual, to which the Signet of the Order is to be affixt.
The Strangers Atchievements (as mention’d in the Warrant,) are to be provided at the Sovereign’s Charge; namely, his Helm, Crest, Mantlings, and Sword, together with a Banner of his Arms and Quarterings; and these the Proctor is enjoin’d to bring along with him to Windsor.
Sometimes a Warrant hath been directed to the Master of the Wardrobe, to provide but some part of these Atchievements; and another Warrant to the Lord Treasurer of England, to deliver Garter Money to provide the other part; in each of which, the particulars relating to either are enumerated; for so were the Warrants drawn up for the Atchievements of the French King, Henry II. At other times direction hath been to the Master of the Wardrobe, to deliver to Garter the whole, who thereupon puts the Charge upon Account.
Sometimes particular Warrants have been directed to the Master of the Wardrobe, to deliver several Parcels of the Materials, for the making up these Atchievements; as were those Warrants, to deliver the Sovereign’s Embroiderer, and to Garter, so much Velvet, Cloth of Gold, &c. for making the great Banner, and other the Atchievements of Charles IX. and Henry III. French Kings.
It also appears that Garter hath sometimes laid out the Money for all, or part of the Atchievements, and then delivered his Bill of disbursements into the Wardrobe; as is manifest from those Bills for the Atchievements of Frederick II. King of Denmark, in Count Palatine of the Rhine, and the Duke of Holstein.
Besides the Atchievements, some other things used at the Solemnity are commonly included in the foresaid Warrants; the Mantle of the Order is not prepared at the Sovereign’s Charge, for the Statutes of Institution appoint the Proxy to bring one with him, not that the Sovereign should provide it, having done that before, at the Legation with the whole Habit; nor is it found in the Rolls or Books of the Sovereign’s great Wardrobe, that any Account is made for providing a second Mantle, when the Proxy of a Stranger came hither; which, had the Sovereign been at such Charge, would not have been omitted.
The Proctor’s Cavalcade to Windsor.
§ 6. The Day appointed for the Installation drawing on, the Proxy was heretofore accompanied from London to Windsor, with the Sovereign’s Lieutenant and his Assistants, (if the Feast of St. George was then also celebrated,) or otherwise the Sovereign’s Commissioners with a great Retinue.
Among the rest, when the Deputy of the French King, Francis I. rode to Windsor, Anno 19 Hen. VIII. all the Knights-Companions that were in Commission for that Solemnity, assembled at the Lord Sandy’s Place near St. Paul’s Church in London, whence they rode to the Deputy’s Lodging, and thence accompanied him with a gallant Equipage to the Castle of Windsor, where Lodgings were prepared for him at the Dean’s House.
In like manner, Anno 8 Eliz. the Earls of Sussex and Leicester, and Lord Clinton, (three of the four Commissioners appointed for the Installation of the French King, Charles IX.) with other Lords and Gentlemen, took their Horses at the Court Gate at Westminster, and with a great Train rode to the Lodgings of the said King’s Proxy, (being then at St. Mary’s Spittle in London,) whence they went through Holbourn towards Windsor; the Earl of Southampton, Viscount Mountague, Sir Henry Lea, and Sir Edward Umpton, met them at Langford near Colbrook, with their Hawks, and shew’d the Proxy variety of sport, with which he being well pleased, they rode to his Lodgings at the Dean’s House at Windsor, the usual Place of entertaining the Strangers Proxies.
Supper after his Arrival there.
§ 7. The Evening of their arrival passeth with a sumptuous Supper, but the principal Entertainment is reserv’d for the following Day’s Dinner. At the Installation of the French King, Francis I. all the Commissioners met together at the Marquiss of Exeter’s Lodgings, and went to the Dean’s House, where they were entertain’d by him at Supper all at one Table; at another Table sat Garter, with certain of the Deputy’s chief Gentlemen, and some of the Heralds; and at a third sat the rest of the Heralds, and other of the Proxies Servants.
The Commissioners and other Noblemen, who accompanied the Proctor of Charles IX. to Windsor, supped also with him at the Dean’s; He himself sitting at the upper-end of the Table; then the Earls of Sussex and Leicester by him, one against the other, next the Earl of Southampton, and Viscount Mountague, then the Lord Clinton, and Lord Herbert of Cardiff, after them two Strangers of distinction, then lower sat the Lord Grey, and other Strangers, and last of all, at the lower end, opposite to the Proctor, sat Monsieur Dose, alias St. Michael, the French Herald. Garter, Black-Rod, and divers Strangers, supped with the Dean, and in the Parlour and Hall sat divers Pensioners, Gentlemen, and Strangers.
Of the Proceeding to the Chapter-House.
§ 8. What hath been before set down of the Proceeding to the Chapter-House, at the personal Installation of a Knight-Subject, will extend hither, both as to Order and Circumstances; yet this general Rule is to be born in mind, that the Place of a Stranger Prince’s Proctor here, is next after the Provincial King’s, (unless the Proctor of a Knight-Subject happen to intervene,) and before the Junior Knight-Companion, (unless a Knight-Subject pass then in the Proceeding,) of which we have an Instance at the Installation of the Dukes of Brunswick and Chevereux, and the Earl of Dorset, by their Proctors, but the Earls of Salisbury, Carlisle, and Holland, with Viscount Andover in Person, Anno 1 Car. I. when the Proceeding was ordered as followeth.
Only in the single case of Christian IV. King of Denmark, Anno 3 Jac. I. (as an extraordinary Respect and Honour,) his Proxy went in the Proceeding to the Chapter-House next before the Sovereign’s Lieutenant.
As we had a former Example, of a Proctor to a Knight-Subject, who in this Proceeding past before the Alms-Knights, and Officers of Arms, namely, Sir Henry Sidney, Deputy to the Earl of Warwick, 5 Eliz. so here in the case of a Stranger, the Viscount Hereford, Proxy to the Duke of Holstein, installed 3 Eliz. went in this Proceeding to the Chapter-House, before the Officers of Arms: Which Proceeding was ordered as follows.
If the Proxy of a Stranger pass in the Proceeding, which the Sovereign, his Lieutenant, or Commissioners, make to the Chapter-House, then for the most part he gives his Attendance in the Presence-Chamber, or in the Room whence the Lieutenant or Commissioners proceed, and there joins himself thereto.
But sometimes the Commissioners, as an instance of singular Respect, after their setting out, have taken the Proxies Lodging in their way, and there receiv’d him into the Proceeding; so did Prince Henry, by the Proctor of Christian IV. King of Denmark; and the Commissioners by the Proctor of the Duke of Wirtembergh, 2 Jac. I.
’Tis observed, that the Proxies of Strangers have not always gone in the Proceeding, but sometimes staid at their Lodging, till the Commissioners were ready to send for them to the Chapter-House. As at the Installation of Charles IX. King of France, 8 Eliz. the Commissioners meeting, they, and the three inferior Officers of the Order, robed themselves, and then went to the Proxies Lodging, and having just conferr’d with him, took leave, and proceeded to the Chapter-House, whence they sent out Garter to the Proxy, with invitation to come to them, who was presently conducted by Garter to the Chapter-House Door, where the two Senior Commissioners receiv’d him between them.
Sometimes the Proxies have past privately to the East-Isle of St. George’s Chappel, and there rested, before the Sovereign and Knights-Companions went into the Chapter-House, or proceeded into the Choir, without entering thereinto; for so did the Earl of Cleveland, and the Marquiss of Dorset, Proxies to Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, and Henry, Prince of Orange, 4 Car. I. The like Method was observed by the Earl of Dover, Proxy to Charles, Prince Palatine, 9 Car. I. and by Sir George Cartaret, Proxy to Christian, Prince of Denmark, 15 Car. II. so also of the Earls of Carlisle and Winchelsea, Proxies to Charles, King of Sweden, and John George, Prince Elector of Saxony, 23 Car. II.
The Ceremonies perform’d therein.
§ 9. When the Proceeding hath arrived at the Chapter-House Door, the Sovereign, and Knights-Companions, or the Lieutenant, &c. with the Officers of the Order before them, enter to hold their Consultation; the Stranger’s Proxy being first requested to stay without, till his Deputation, or Letters of Procuration are read, to the end they may understand the effect thereof.
To this purpose we find it directed, by an ancient Hand, that where any Knight is installed by his Deputy, he ought to stay without the Vestry, or Chapter-House Door, till he be introduced by two Knights-Companions: So the Lord Paget, one of the Commissioners for Installation of the Duke of Savoy, when the Proceeding was come to the Chapter-House Door, acquainted his Proxy with this Custom and Injunction, which he complied with.
The East-Isle, behind the High Altar, is the usual Place for Proxies to stay, till they are called into the Chapter, as it is also for the Deputies of Knights-Subjects, where Chairs and Cushions are prepared for this occasion.
The first thing done after the Chapter is opened, is reading the Commission for Installation, by the Register of the Order, (but if the Sovereign be present, no Commission issues,) and next, the Letters of Procuration; this being the most usual and proper Place for this Ceremony.
However, at the Installation of the French King, Francis I. by a very unusual compliance, the Commissioners went from the Chapter-House, after they had called in and invested the Earl of Oxford, with his Surcoat and Hood, to the Dean’s House, where the Proctor was lodg’d, and in a great Chamber there, shewed him the Sovereign’s Commission, and in it the Authority for admitting him into the Stall of his Lord and Master: Upon which the Proctor presented them with his Procuration, which impowered him to take Possession of it, and to perform what Ceremonies related to it; which Instrument the Register read before them. This being done, they all proceeded to the Chappel; where entering, they waved their return to the Chapter-House, and passed directly into the Choir.
After some time of Consultation in the Chapter-House, the Proxy is sent for in thither by Garter, who conducts him to the Chapter-House Door, and his Reception there by the Commissioners is after the same manner as is used to the Knight elect, or to his Proxy: But whether he ought to enter the Chapter-House, or be admitted any farther than the Door, or Porch thereof, and to pass thence immediately into the Choir, hath been some Question; because the Practice seems to have been sometimes one way, sometimes another.
All that we find to prohibit his Entrance therein, is an Expression in the short Ceremonial of Installation of Strangers by Proxy, entered in the Black-Book; where it says—That the Mantle is to be laid on the Proctor’s right Shoulder, in the Porch of the Chapter-House, because he is not to enter into it.
And there are two Instances where the Mantle was delivered to the Proctor at the Chapter-House Door; from whence some may infer, that the Practice of those Times was also agreeable to the aforesaid direction; namely, that of the Proctor of the French King, Francis I. 19 Hen. VIII. where Garter stood at the Chapter-House Door, with the Mantle, and as the Proceeding passed by, presented it to the two Senior Knights-Companions, who placed it upon the Proctor’s right Arm; and so of the Proctor of Emanuel, Duke of Savoy, 1 and 2 Phil. and Mar. who entered not into the Chapter-House, but had the Mantle discussed at the Door.
But these Instances, if duly weighed, cannot properly, or with any Advantage, be alledged to prove the Assertion; because the Affairs relating to both, receiv’d dispatch in the Proctors Lodging a little before, and where the Proctor himself was present, where the meeting of the Commissioners and Proctor cannot be deemed less than a Chapter, tho’ not held in the Chapter-House, from the Transactions that passed there, viz. producing the Sovereign’s Warrant, and the Proctor’s Instrument of Deputation, which were both read before them by the Register, and the Proctor accordingly admitted, which being finished, nothing relating to the present purpose required their passing into the Chapter-House, or remained to be done till they came into the Choir.
But the general Practice runs strong on the contrary side; for we find that the Proctor for Charles IX. King of France, 8 Eliz. was met at the Chapter-House Door, by the Earls of Sussex and Leicester, who took him in thither between them, where, after the Register had read, as well the Sovereign’s Commission for Installation, as his Letters of Procuration, and the Commissioners had admitted him Deputy for the said King, they all came forth, and laid his Principal’s Mantle on his right Arm and Shoulder, the Train whereof was born by the Earl of Southampton, assisted by the Lord Herbert of Cardiff.
Again it is remarkable, 25 Eliz. that Garter conducted the Proxy of Frederick II. King of Denmark, to the Chapter-House, and at that Place the Earl of Leicester, and the Lord Hunsdon, received and led him in: So also was Christian IVth’s Proxy led thither, by the Earls of Nottingham and Dorset. And in Jac. I. Lodowick, Count Nassau, Proctor to Maurice, Prince of Orange, was called into the Chapter-House, and there left, while the Sovereign, and Knights-Companions, proceeded into the Choir: Also in like manner was Sir George Cartaret, Proctor to Christian, Prince of Denmark, 15 Car. II. and the Proctors to the King of Sweden, and Duke of Saxony, 23 Car. II.
Nor are these Instances, and the Practice in this latter case, really derogatory to the Statutes, which, though they prohibit the Proxies Entrance into the Chapter-House, yet do not extend to any thing previous to the Installation, but what may happen after; for the Article of the Statutes having first directed the delivery of the Mantle to the Proxy, and next the assumption of his Principal’s Stall, in these Words, Dictus Procurator Installatus, it immediately subjoins, that from thenceforth, that is, from the time of Installation, he shall neither wear the Mantle, nor enter into the Chapter, nor have Voice there, by virtue of any Power granted him. All which are Prohibitions, plainly relating to future Examples, and arising after the Ceremonies of Installation are past, and not at all refering to what preceeds it.
And it seems the Law hath been thus understood, in regard the greater prevalence of Practice hath generally attended it; for not only the Proxies of Strangers, as is observed, but generally Knights-Subjects, have been called into the Chapter-House, and there received the Mantle, before they proceeded into the Choir.
The Ceremony of delivering the Mantle to the Proctor, is performed by the Sovereign, his Deputy, or the Commissioners, Garter presenting it to them; and the manner of it was anciently, by putting it on the Proxies right Arm or Shoulder, in the Name of his Lord and Master, there to hold it till the End of Divine Service.
But as there hath arisen some dispute, touching the Proctor’s entry into the Chapter-House before Installation, so it hath happened in this Point of receiving the Mantle, viz. whether in the Chapter, or Stall allotted their Principal, of which there are Examples.
That part of the Article in the Statutes of Institution, relating to this Point, runs thus:——That the Mantle, tempore Installationis Procuratoris, shall be laid on his Arm, &c. but whether this shall be construed to that instant of time, when the Proctor is brought to the Stall of his Principal, or to some greater Latitude, as during the time of Installation, including the very first Action, or beginning of the Ceremony, namely, the being called to the Chapter-House Door, and entrance into it, is the Question; because there are Instances in both, but the latter is most warrantable by the Statutes and general Practice.
The Article in Henry VIIIth’s Statutes being much more clear in describing and explaining the Ceremonies of Installation, than any of the former; (the particulars of which in every Point seems to be excellently regulated,) having mentioned the Sovereign, or his Deputies, laying the Mantle on the Proxies Arm, it immediately follows, as the very next thing to be performed in course of time; That afterwards he shall be led by two Knights, from the Chapter-House Door to the Stall, and there being, shall make his Oath, and be installed; it gives no Account of laying the Mantle on the Arm of the Proctor at the instant of Installation in the Choir, that being directed to be done before. It is also recorded in the Black-Book, where this Ceremony is more fully treated; That Garter shall take the Mantle upon his Arms, and deliver it to both the Knights-Commissioners, and that they (according to the Tenour of the Statutes,) shall lay it on the Proctor’s right Shoulder, in the Porch of the Chapter-House.
Besides, the ancient usage of receiving the Mantle in the Chapter-House, or at the Chapter-House Door, either before, or in the Proceeding to the Choir, of which many instances may be given, there are several modern instances where the Mantle was born to the Choir, (and sometimes the Collar of the Order with it,) not by the Proctor, but by Garter, before him, and delivered in his Principal’s Stall; as in the Proceeding of the Proxy for the Duke of Wirtembergh, Anno 2 Jac. I. when, after he had taken the Oath, and was led into the Duke’s Stall, (not before) was the Robe laid on his Arm; and so was it done in many more Installations; which manner hath so far prevail’d as to be the continu’d Practice, Garter carrying the Mantle on a Cushion before the Proctors into the Choir, and laying it (after they have taken their Oaths,) on their Arms in such manner, that the Cross of St. George may be conspicuous.
Of the Proceeding to the Choir.
§ 10. Concerning the Proxies Proceeding into the Choir, King Henry VIIIth’s Statutes direct: That he shall be accompanied and led by two Knights-Companions of the Order, from the Door of the Chapter-House, to the Stall assigned to his Principal; agreeable to which, is that Passage in the Black-Book; That as soon as the two Knights have placed the Mantle on his Arm, they shall take him between them, and conduct him to the Stall of his Lord; and thus assisted have all Proxies proceeded to the Choir.
Since the Custom of receiving the Collar in the Chapter-House was laid aside, the Sovereign, (or his Lieutenant,) with the Knights-Companions, (so soon as the Mantle is delivered the Proctor, or (as of late) that he hath been admitted according to the purport of his Deputation,) proceed to the Choir, leaving the Proxy behind them in the Chapter-House, and after they have taken their Stalls, the Sovereign directs two of the Knights-Companions to descend; who taking the Alms-Knights, Officers of Arms, and the three inferior Officers of the Order before them, pass to the Chapter-House, and bring thence the Proxy to his Installation. In this Proceeding the Proxy goes Bare-headed, as did the Earl of Dover, Proctor to Charles, Prince Palatine of the Rhine, and Sir George Cartaret, Proctor to the Prince of Denmark, Anno 15 Car. II.
The Ceremonies of Installation.
§ 11. When the Proceeding hath entred the Choir, and paid the accustomed Reverences, both towards the Altar and the Sovereign’s Stall, and the Alms-Knights, Officers of Arms and of the Order, taken their usual Stations; the two Commissioners (Knights-Assistants or Knights-Companions,) and Proctor make their Reverences together, and then they conduct him into the lower Stalls directly before the Stall appointed for his Principal, the foresaid Officers of the Order standing below in the Choir: If there be more than two Commissioners, then the two Senior conduct him as before, while the rest of the Commissioners take their Station below in the Choir, before their proper Stalls, and there stay till the Installation be finish’d, and the like do the Lieutenants-Assistants, except the two Senior that are imployed in the Ceremony.
The Proxy thus introduced into the lower Stalls, stands there while the Register pronounceth the Oath of the Order to him, which he repeats distinctly, laying his Hand on the New Testament, and afterwards kisseth the Book.
The ancient Oath appointed by the Statutes of Institution is short, and without limitation in all Points, the same with that a Knight-Companion takes at his Personal Installation, viz. Faithfully to observe, to the utmost of his Power, the Statutes of the Order; but afterwards the Sovereign’s and Fellows of those other Orders of Knighthood, (as the Golden Fleece, Monsieur St. Michael, &c.) before their admission into the Order of the Garter, sued for, and obtained the allowance of some relative exceptions or proviso’s to be added to the aforesaid Oath; which usually were such as stood with the interest of their Religion, their great State or Dignity, or precedent obligation to the Order they had before accepted.
In the Black-Book is a Precedent of the Oath to be taken by an Emperor; whereby he is obliged to promise on his Royal Word, and give his Faith on his Honour and the Holy Evangelists, That he will faithfully and truly, to the utmost of his Power, observe the Statutes in every Branch and Article thereof, at least so far as they can or ought to be observed by him, and so far as they shall not be contrary or derogatory to those whereunto he hath before given his Name and Sworn, and saving all other conditions agreed on. There are besides this, other Precedents in the Annals of the Form of the Oath from the Proctor of an Emperor or King, and of every other inferior Degree, wherein are several exceptions before agreed on; and when Philip, King of Castile and Leon, (Sovereign of the Order of the Golden Fleece,) was Personally installed at Windsor, Anno 22 Hen. VII. and took the Oath without Limitation, yet he soon after obtain’d the Sovereign’s Dispensation, that the use of the Collar and other Ensigns of the Order might be left to his pleasure, and that he might not be obliged to be present at future Chapters.
Other Exceptions have been admitted, but were obtained with great difficulty and much debate, lest the Dignity and Reputation of the Order should (instead of being kept up) be lessen’d, the forbearance of some Circumstances that hath been yeilded to, having sometimes been brought into Precedent, to the prejudice of the Order.
The exceptions that were allow’d the Arch-Duke of Austria, when he took the Oath at his Investiture at Noremberg, Anno 15 Hen. VIII. were as follow.
Not to wear the Garter and Collar but at some certain times in the Year, at his own pleasure.
That if he were not in Place convenient to go to hear Mass on St. George’s Day, he should cause a Priest to say it in his presence.
Not to be obliged, if busied in weighty Affairs, to wear the Garter, Collar, or whole Habit of the Order, on St. George’s Day, longer than during divine Service; nevertheless he promised, if he could not than wear it for a whole Day together, he would willingly wear it on some other solemn Day within the compass of the Year.
Of another nature were the exceptions which Francis I. King of France, procured to be admitted into the Oath taken by his Proctor, Anno 19 Hen. VIII. viz. To observe the Statutes of the Order of the Garter so far as they were consistent with, and not contrary or prejudicial to the Statutes of the Order of St. Michael, and other Orders which his Principal had before taken of other Princes.
Such like exceptions have been generally allowed to Kings and Sovereign Princes; but as to the Proxies of such Strangers, not Sovereign Princes, but Subjects, the Form of their Oath is usually framed (by the indulgence of the Sovereign,) with just limitations, not only to their obligation of the Statutes of any other Order they had accepted, or any Oath formerly taken, but sometimes to the Fidelity and Allegiance which they owe their Sovereign Lord and Prince.
After the Oath hath been administred to a Stranger’s Proxy, (with such or the like exceptions before set down,) the two Knights-Commissioners pass up with him into the higher Row of Stalls, and so to that assign’d to his Principal, where being arrived, they take the Mantle from Garter, and lay it upon the Proctor’s left Arm, with the Escutcheon of St. George uppermost, according to an Order in a Chapter held, Anno 23 Car. II. which was to be a standing Rule for the future, and is now observ’d.
In the Act and Ceremony of Installation, the Commissioners who first conducted the Proxy into the Choir, jointly embrace him; then the Proxy makes his double Reverence, and lastly the Commissioners, according to the Custom of Installations, set him down in his Principal’s Stall, where he hath used to remain during Divine Service; but by the aforesaid Order in Chapter, Anno 23 Car. II. the Proxies are prohibited sitting in their Stalls, but directed to stand before them uncovered, with their Mantles on their right Arms, until Divine Service be ended.
The two Knights (between whom the Proxy proceeded to Installation,) descend into the Choir, and stand before their own Stalls, and after a while, first the Senior Commissioners, and then the other, ascend into them with usual Reverences, and then Divine Service begins.
The Proctor’s Offering.
§ 12. The Proctor having receiv’d Possession of his Principal’s Stall, stays in the Choir, and performs the following Ceremonies, the chief of which is the Offering of Gold and Silver, according to the Degree and Seniority of his Principal’s Stall, in case the Installation be in the Morning; but if it be celebrated when St. George’s Feast is held by the Sovereign’s Lieutenant, the Proxy ought not to Offer till the Lieutenant hath first Offered for the Sovereign; and the Lieutenant also Offereth for himself before the Proctor, if his Stall be higher than the Stranger’s, for whom the Proctor is installed.
The Proctor in Offering doth it with all the Ceremony as if his Lord were present; when the Knights-Companions descend from their Stalls, (which Ceremony begins with the Junior Knight,) he also descends in his turn, and placeth himself below in the Choir before the Stall of his Principal, and if he have an opposite Knight-Companion, he joins himself to him, and proceeds towards the Altar to the Offering, with the Officers of Arms before him; but if no Knight-Companion be opposite, he then proceeds alone, having his Train born, and a Knight-Companion, or some other great Personage, suitable to his Degree, attending on his left Hand, to give him the Offering, which he Offers kneeling on a Cushion, and after him the rest of the Knights-Companions present Offer, every one according to the Seniority of their Stalls.
After the Offering, the Proctor taking his way by the East-end of the Stalls, returns back to the Stall of his Principal, and Divine Service being finish’d, and like Honour in all respects shewed to his Proxy as if his Principal had been present, he ought to remain in his Master’s Stall till his next Junior Knight hath left his Stall, and then descend after him, and stand below before his Stall, till his turn come to join himself again to the Proceeding, and so to pass out of the Choir.
Sometimes the Proctor hath been receiv’d at his coming down from his Lord’s Stall by the two Knights-Commissioners who installed him, as were the Proctors of Frederick II. King of Denmark, and John, Count Palatine of the Rhine, between whom they also proceeded to the Chapter-House Door, in the same manner they were conducted into the Choir; but notwithstanding this, the Proctor ought rather to take in his return the Place of his Principal, (as he did at the Offering, and which is indeed his right,) and so the Proctor of Francis I. went behind alone in his Principal’s place, and followed the Knights-Commissioners from the Choir to the place where he lodged; and this Method is since followed.
The Dinner.
§ 13. When the Installation hath past in the Morning, there hath usually been prepared a great Dinner at the Sovereign’s Charge; we need here only mention what is different in this particular from the Personal Installation of a Knight-Companion.
The Proxy washes alone, sits at the chief Place of the Table alone, and is serv’d alone, but the other Knights-Companions sit at the end of the Table; but if the Sovereign’s Lieutenant be present, the Proctor dines at the same Table with him, and then a little before the second Course is brought in, the Sovereign’s Stile is proclaimed with the usual Ceremony, in Latin, French, and English; but otherwise only the Stile of the new installed Prince, and but once. The Stile and Titles of Christian IV. King of Denmark, were proclaimed in Latin; and of Maurice, Prince of Orange, in French.
Dinner being ended, all rise in Order and Wash; first, the Proxy alone, and after him the Knights-Commissioners; and accompanying the Proctor to his Chamber, where leaving him, they retire to their own Lodgings, and there put off their Habits.
When the Solemnity of Installation is over, the Proctor is to take care, that Garter forthwith set up the Atchievements of his Principal over his Stall, and fix the Plate of his Arms on the back thereof; in Memorial of the Ceremony of Inauguration; to which end also Medals have frequently been struck, to perpetuate the Honour so received.