Devisee

“ Connected with this ceremony, the serjeant had to give a great dinner, “like to the feast of a king’s coronation,” and which continued seven days, and he had to present gold rings, bearing some loyal motto, to every prince, duke and archbishop present, and to every earl and bishop, lord privy seal, lords chief justices, lord chief baron, every lord baron of Parliament, abbot and notable prelate, worshipful knight, master of the rolls, every justice, baron of exchequer, chamberlain, officer and clerk of the courts, each receiving a ring, convenient for his degree. ”

“ At this they were afraid and said, “O king of the age, a jewel is soon spoilt and there are few who can pierce them without injury, for most of them have a flaw. So do not thou impose upon us a task to which we are unable; for we cannot avail to pierce this jewel. However, the syndic of our guild is more experienced than we.” “And who is your syndic?” asked the king. “Master Ubeid,” answered they. “He is more versed than we in this art and hath wealth galore and exceeding skill. So do thou send for him and bid him pierce thee this jewel.” ”

“ Before we proceed farther, draw lots, and let him who draws the shortest, begin.'
'Sir Knight,' said he, 'my lord and master, be pleased to draw: and come you near, my Lady Prioress: and you, Sir Clerk, oblige us by laying aside your bashfulness and your studying: so—every man lay hand.'
After each had drawn, the lot fell upon the Knight, to the satisfaction of the whole company. When this worthy man found he must abide by the general covenant, he said:—'Since I am fated to begin this sport, in Heaven's name welcome be the lot. ”

“ The Tailor.
That's not good style.
The Duke.
Yes; something—nothing—merely little eagles.
The Tailor.
Eagles!
The Duke.
Well? What are you afraid of, sir?
And wherefore does your hand shake, master tailor?
What is there strange about the suit of clothes?
Do you no longer boast your skill to make it?
The Fitter.
Coalscuttle bonnet neatly trimmed with poppies.
The Duke.
Take home your latest fashions and your patterns;
That little suit's the only one I want.
The Tailor.
But I—
The Duke.
'Tis well. Begone, and be discreet.
The Tailor.
Yet—
The Duke. ”

“ The Offering of Atchievements. § 3. A third Honour paid to the defunct Knight, is a most solemn Offering up his Atchievements at the High Altar; namely, the Banner of his Arms, his Sword, Helmet, and Crest, with its Mantlings; all which had been set up over his Stall at his Installation. The Ceremony of Offering these Ensigns does not appear to have been regulated at the Institution of the Order, but rather added as an additional Honour, by King Henry V. and the manner thereof set down in the fourteenth Article of his Body of Statutes. ”

“ Knights used to wear in their helmets a ribbon or a glove that some lady had given them, and it was supposed that, while they had the precious gift of a good lady in their possession, they would do nothing base or disloyal that should dishonour the gift they carried. ”

“ An Ensign is the boy of the colours—the page to regimental victory, whose chin should never bear a beard while he holds the post—a youthful soldier,—a Mars of fifteen, with the staff of his country’s flag fixed firmly in the earth, supporting and supported by him, while the rough mustachioed band like rocks surround and shield him from the tempest of the fight. ”

“ We may not regard the precise form and fashion of a warrior’s scarf, or care to enquire whether the embroidery were worked with gold or silver, but the general fact itself involves the state of manners and feelings among our ancestors: it carries us to the lady’s bower where she was working this token of love; our fancy paints the time and mode of bestowing it; and we follow it through all the subsequent career of the knight as his silent monitor to courage and loyalty. ”

“ He simply took the favour—the colours, a ribbon, or a handkerchief of the lady, as the case might be—and twisted it in and out or over and over the fillet which surrounded the joining-place of crest and helmet. To put her favour on his helmet was the work of a moment. The wearing of a lady's sleeve, which must have been an honour greatly prized, is of course the origin of the well-known "maunch," the solitary charge in the arms of Conyers, Hastings, and Wharton. ”

“ Saith the knight, "Rather am I of hers. But we are going to an assembly of knights that is to be under the White Tower to the intent to prove which knight is most worth, and to him that shall have the prize of the assembly shall be delivered this golden cup."
"By my head," saith Perceval, "That will be fair to see!" ”

“ A Grand Cross of the Bath wears a robe of red silk with the badge of the Order embroidered on the left side, and the collar of the Order. He also alone wears the broad riband across his chest with 204the badge at the tie, and a special Star. A Knight Commander wears a smaller star on the left side of his coat, and the insignia of the Order round his neck. A Companion wears only the insignia, of a smaller size, round his neck. ”

“ Our lord the king wills, therefore, that the order of knighthood, by the which thou received all the honour and worship upon thy body, be brought to nought, and thy state undone, that other knights of lower degree may after thee beware, and take example truly to serve.’ Then commanded he to hew his spurs from his heels, then to break his sword over his head, which the king had given him to keep and defend his land therewith, when he made him earl. ”

“ This, however, is a point upon which there is no definite warrant of instruction, and is not the conclusion justifiable that on this matter the officers of arms have been led into a mistake in their general practice by an oversight and possible unfamiliarity with the actual star? A Knight Grand Commander is entitled to claim a grant of supporters on payment of the fees. A Knight Commander encircles his shield with the circlet of the order and hangs his badge from a ribbon below, a Companion of the Order simply hangs the badge he wears below his shield. ”

“ The duke stood regarding the necklace for a moment, as it lay gleaming and glittering on the wooden table in the bare inn parlor. Then he stepped up to the table, but at the moment I cried:
“You won’t steal her away before—before——”
“Before we fight? I will not, on my honor.” He paused and added: “For there is one thing I want more even than her.” ”

“ The recipients eligible for the various classes are graded, from the first grade of the first class for reigning sovereigns down to the fifth class for merchants and manufacturers. The insignia of the order are unique in shape and decoration. Of the three grades of the first class the badge is a rectangular gold and yellow enamel plaque, decorated with two upright blue dragons, with details in green and white, between the heads for the first grade a pearl, for the second a ruby, for the third a coral, set in green, white and gold circles. ”

“ The adoption of Badges of this peculiar character is exactly in keeping with the sentiment which prompted men of exalted rank and eminent distinction to appear in public, on occasions of high festivity, bearing the arms of some friend, kinsman, or ally, instead of their own. A mark of especial favour and of peculiar distinction would be conferred, when a Sovereign or a Prince thus would display upon his own person the armory of some honoured subject or comrade. ”

“ Then the hero betook himself to the King, who was obliged now, whether he liked it or not, to keep his promise, and hand him over his daughter and half his kingdom. Had he known that no hero-warrior, but only a little tailor stood before him, it would have gone even more to his heart. So the wedding was celebrated with much splendor and little joy, and the tailor became a king.
After a time the Queen heard her husband saying one night in his sleep: “My lad, make that waistcoat and patch these trousers, or I’ll box your ears.” ”

“ The clerk appears much concerned." "Look in the glass once more" said the master, "and observe what he does." "He now goes nearer to the image, and refixes the arrow in the string in order to strike it."
"As you value your life, do as before."
Again the knight plunged his body into the water as the arrow flew; and then at the command of the master, resumed his inspection of the glass.
"The clerk makes great lamentation, and says to my wife, 'If the third time I do not strike the effigy, I shall lose my life.' Now he approaches it so near, that I think he cannot miss it." ”

“ Medals are seldom so shown. Knights Commanders of Orders of Knighthood usually, in addition, surround their coats-of-arms with the ribbon and motto of their senior Order. From this ribbon may depend the badges of all the Orders to which the Knight belongs. Knights Grand Cross may further surround their coats-of-arms with the collars of any or all the Orders having collars to which they belong, the badge of each depending from its proper collar. When several collars are shown they are sometimes halved, each badge always being so arranged as to hang from a link of its own collar. ”

“ Knights Grand Cross and Knights Commanders, as also Knights Bachelors, use the open affronté helmet of a knight. Companions of any order, and members of those orders which do not confer any precedence or title of knighthood, use only the close profile helmet of a gentleman. A Knight Bachelor, of course, is at liberty to impale the arms of his wife upon his escutcheon without employing the double form. ”

“ But if the husband be a knight of any order, the ensigns of that order are personal to himself, and cannot be shared with his wife, and consequently two shields are employed. On the dexter shield are the arms of the husband with the circle of his order of knighthood, and on the sinister shield are the arms of the husband impaling the arms of the wife. ”

“ It happened to be at Supper, and the Gentleman had drank to his Lady with a kind of a snear and a bow, and My Service to your Ladyship (for she was a Lady) . Ay, ay, says she, Service! Service! repeating the Word two or three times; it's well where there is no Love there can be a little good Manners; and so the Battle was begun.
⁠Knight.⁠Love! Love! nay, the D. . .l take your Ladyship, you know I never lov'd you in my life. ”

“ I had saved her life, as the General knows, at considerable peril, and so there grew a tender tie between us; but all shall be ended now," he continued in a tone of emotion. "I see that it must be so, sir. I see also the necessity for not compromising your just title to the rank and place you hold by attaching myself in any way to the fortunes of the Devereaux. ”

“ In order to win his spurs (of gold) —an expression become proverbial—it was indispensable that one who aspired to the honour should perform some valiant deed, proving him worthy of being “dubbed,” or armed as a knight. The ceremony of admission commenced by presenting the spurs; and who{112}soever conferred the order of chivalry, were he king or prince, condescended to put on and fasten the spurs for the recipient. ”

“ To descend to the lesser nobility, Knight is synonymous with servant, a servant in a threefold sense, first to religion, next to his sovereign, and thirdly to his ‘ladye;’ while an Esquire was in antient times ecuyer or scutifer, the knight’s shield-bearer. Among the Orientals official duties are still attached [Pg 200] to every title of honour; and it is worthy of remark that the highest of all titles, that of king, has never, in any country, been merely honorary; the responsible duties of government having always been connected with it. ”

“ In ancient times dying persons gave their rings to some one, declaring thereby who was their heir. [89]
§ 16. We do not find in any work on orders of knighthood, any association having direct reference to a ring; but in a volume of the Imperial Magazine there is a reference to the Order of the Ring, said to have been copied from a beautifully illuminated MS., on vellum. [90] The sovereign of the order was to wear upon the fifth finger a blue enamelled ring, set round with diamonds, with the motto, Sans changer. ”

“ The Consul was seated, while on one side of him stood the chevalier, and on the other the duchesse and the Comtesse de Baloit; and that any man should remain seated in the presence of the comtesse filled me at once with a blind rage that ill prepared me to play my part in what was about to follow. The attitude of the three struck me at once as significant: the duchesse complacent, with almost a smile upon her haughty features, and to the best of her ability beaming upon the First Consul; the chevalier eager, obsequious, fawning ”

“ My first act on reaching home after leaving mademoiselle had been to tear off my gorgeous uniform, [Pg 398] with such a mingling of loathing and regret as rarely comes to a man. If my suspicions of the contents of mademoiselle's note were correct, then I could not quickly enough rid myself of every emblem of the allegiance I had once owed to the First Consul. ”

“ Do ye therefore, both knights and serving brethren, assiduously pay attention to your profession, and in accordance with the saying of the apostle, ‘Let each one of you stedfastly remain in the vocation to which you have been called.’ We therefore ordain, that when your brethren have once taken the vows, and have been received in your sacred college, and have taken upon themselves your warfare, and the habit of your religion, they shall no longer have the power of returning again to the world ”