pardon and restore their Lands The 3. of April in the following year he and 6 other whereof he was to be one were commissionated to treat with David Brus and other Scotchmen his Adherents upon a final Peace or Truce as also upon all debates and differences whatsoever between the King and them and amicably to compose them And the same day he had power likewise given him to grant to Adam Bishop of Brechin to Patrick Earl of March Sir William de Douglas and Sir Thomas de Caruato Knights and William Bullock and other Scotch Men as he should see cause the the King 's special Letters of safe Conduct and Protection for so long time as this Earl thought fit to come into England with as many Horse as he should appoint to treat either of a Truce or Peace with this Earl and others deputed thereto by the King Having in this expedition undertaken upon certain conditions the Custody of the Marches of Scotland the King gave him in reward the 1000. Marks which Io. de Wesenham stood engaged to pay the King for Wooll He went over with the King in his Voyage into Bretagne having under his Command 5. Bannerets 50. Knights 144. Esquires and 200. Archers on Horseback The daily Wages allowed him for himself was 8 s. for each Banneret 4 s. each Knight 2 s. each Esquire 1 s. and each Archer 6 d. At the Siege of Vannes he was constituted one of the Kings Commissioners the other being the Earls of Northampton and Salisbury the Lord Stafford Burghershe Cantelowe Cobham Manneys and Berkley and Mr. Iohn Vfford Archdeacon of Ely where a Truce was concluded for three years The 24. of March an 18. E. 3. The King by his Letters Patent constituted this Noble Earl and Richard Earl of Arundel his Lieutenants in the Dukedom of Aquitaine and the Countries adjoining to govern and defend those Territories to demand and receive the possession of the Castles Places and Rights unjustly detained from him to recover and retain the same by force of Arms if need should be and to receive such as should return to their Obedience to the grace and favour of the King as also the Homage and Fidelity from whomsoever in those parts due and generally to do all things for defence and recovery of the Kings Rights and good Government of those Countries and his Subjects with Command to the Archbishops c. to yield Obedience to them And whereas the King upon false suggestions had been deceived in many of his Grants and Donations in that Dukedom He by other Letters Patents of the same date gave him power to seize into his hands all the Castles Lands Liberties and Profits formerly granted by him and those that should appear to have been obtained upon untrue suggestions to retain without Restitution but upon true to restore entirely A like Commission was given them which extended to the grants made by his Father King Edward the Second upon like pretences as well as by himself They also had a General Commission to treat and conclude with all persons of whatsoever state or condition Kingdom or Nation for the setling of Alliances and mutual Assistance between the King and them to retain men for the Kings Service and to agree about Fees Wages and Rewards to be paid unto them By other Commissions of the same date these two Earls had power to treat and conclude with Alphonsus King of Castile there stiled Alphonsus Rex Castiliae Legionis Toleti Galiciae Siviliae Cordubiae Murciae Gyennii Algarbiae Comes Molmae or his Deputies upon all differences arising between their Subjects especially Mariners and amicably to compose them as also of a perpetual League of Friendship between them c. their Subjects and to afford each other their mutual assistance with Power to make Substitutes in their stead The said Earls had like Commissions with the same Power to treat with the King of Portugal therein stiled Alphonsus Rex Portugaliae Algarbiae And with the King of Aragon stiled therein Petrus Rex Aragoniae Valenciae Majorcae Sardinii Corsicae Comes Barthon Sir Iohn Froissard tells us that some of the Gascoigne Lords came hither about this time to acquaint the King with the weak condition of that Country and City of Bordeaux and to desire relief and that in this Earls company went also the Earls of Penbroke and Oxford the Lord Stafford Sir Walter Manney the Lord Frank de la Hall and divers others of note being about 500 Knights and Esquires and 2000 Archers and having landed at Bayon the 6. of Iune 1344. went thence to Bordeaux His first attempt was upon the Town of Bergerac which surrendred to him and next Longo Castle and le Lake Mandurant he took by assault so also the Castle of Mountgyse Punache and the Castle de la Lewe Forsathe and Pondayre he won with little opposition and the great Town of Laylloyes after three days the chief Town appertaining to the Earl of Laylle who lived as King in those parts of Gascoigne was delivered to him after some dispute After this success he marched to Bonu this he assaulted and took he also took the Castle of Auberoche and the Town of Libourne yielded themselves to him Auberoche being presently after besieged by 12000 French this Earl on St. Laurence Eve assaulted the Enemy in their Tents with 300 Spears and 600 Archers and took the Earl of Laylle and 8 other Earls and Viscounts and 200 Knights and so many Esquires and other Soldiers that each Englishman had 2 or 3 Prisoners many of whom they let go upon their paroll to return to Bergerac or to Bordeaux on a certain day and others they carried with them to Bourdeaux and by this valiant Exploit having relieved the Castle he afterwards disposed of his Army into Winter Quarters and returned into England Upon these great successes the King made him his sole Lieutenant and Captain in the Dutchy of Aquitaine and the parts adjacent with power to do and execute all things that belonged to that Command and gave command to all Archbishops Earls Barons Viscounts Castellans and other persons throughout that Dukedom and adjacent Countries to yield obedience to him as the Kings Lieutenant Five days before the King gave him Commission with power to treat and conclude with all persons of whatsoever state or condition Kingdom or Nation for setling firm alliances and mutual assistance between the King and them as also to retain men for the King's Service and to agree about their Fees Wages and other Rewards The 11 of Iune following Command was sent to the Sheriff of London that forasmuch as the Earl had shipt most of his Horse at Southampton and was ready to depart to make proclamation that all the men at Arms Archers and others who were to go with him should march to Southampton with all possible
to Pope Iohn the 22. to give him his reasons why he did not These the Pope considering of as also that the Moors were very neer to Aragon gave way that these Revenues of the exauterated Templars should be applied to the Convent of Montesa where had been placed both Knights and Friars of the Order of Calatrava Hereupon this King in the year of our Lord 1317. Instituted this Order in the City of Valentia nevertheless subject to that of Calatrava as a member thereof and made choice of the Town of Montesa to give the Knights both name and habitation whom he obliged to defend his Kingdoms against the incursions of the Moors Their Colledge dedicated to the honor of St. George was built in the following year by the Pope at Montesa at the instance of King Iames Culielmus de Eril a valiant Soldier being constituted the first Master in the Convent of St Mary and St. George The Statutes of the Order almost the same with those of Calatrava were confirmed by the said Pope Iohn who gave to these Knights thâ— Cistertian Rule They vowed conjugal Chastity and the manner of their Investiture is as in the Order of Calatrava Their Habit is White and the Badge of the Order a plain Red Cross that is the Cross of St. George Patron of the Kingdoms of Navarr and Aragon This Cross was worn upon the breast by a priviledge granted to the Knights from Pope Benedict the Thirteenth To this Order of Montesa was incorporated that of St. George d' Alfama anno Dom. 1399. which union received confirmation from the Council of Constance A Catalogue of the Masters are recorded by Io. Micheli which great Office continues to this time in the King of Spain so doth the Revenue of thirteen Commanderies belonging thereunto amounting to 23000 Duckets per annum The Order of Knights of Christ in Portugal 31. As the Knights of Montesa sprung from the ruine of the Knights Templars in Valentia so did this Order of Christ or of the Warfare of Christ succeed them in the Kingdom of Portugal For the Knights Templars having been very serviceable to the Kings of Portugal in their Wars against the Moors the Kings gave unto them divers Lands and Revenues which when their Order came to be dissolved and their Estates confiscate King Don Denys surnamed Perioca sent to Pope Iohn the 22. then at Avignion to desire that the Knights Templars Lands might not be disposed of out of his Kingdom which though he did not readily grant yet he gave way for the King to render him â—he reasons of his request Hereupon King Denys sent his Embassadors to the Pope in the year 1316. not only to back his desire but withal to declare to his Holiness the great vexations and evils the neighbouring Moors in Algarves did to his Kingdom And forasmuch as the Town of Castro Marin was a Frontler of the Enemy and the site thereof very commodious for the building of a Fort to resist them he farther moved the Pope for Licence that an Order of Knights might be Instituted in that Town and withal offered to him the Rents and Jurisdiction thereof and all Dominion over it This request being thought just and the remedy so necessary the Pope did afterwards namely in the year of our Lord 1319. give Foundation to this new Order dedicating it to the honor of God and the exaltation of the Catholick Faith under the Title of the Military Order of our Lord Iesus Christ because of the miraculous apparition which this King had seen of Christ crucified when he went out to fight against the Moors He further commanded that the Knights of this Order should observe the same Rule with those of the Order of Calatrava which was Cistertian and enjoy the same Pâ—iviledges and Indulgences formerly granted to their Great Master and Knights In which respect he nominated Don Gil. Martinez for their first Master because he was a Knight profest and Master of the Order of St. Benedict d' Avis and appointed for their Visitor the Abbot of Alcobaza of the Cistertian Order This Abbot or his Lieutenant in succession was impowred to receive of the Master of this Order in the name of the Pope and Church of Rome the Oath of fidelity it being directed to be taken in the presence of the Kings of Portugal before he should enter upon the administration of his Mastership and the King was obliged to receive this Oath within ten days after the Master should tender it to him and in case the King did not in that time receive it from the Master then he might take on him the administration of his Office without it and further that each Knight before his admittance should take the same Oath of Fidelity before the Master of this Order All the Goods and Possessions formerly belonging to the Knights Templars within the Kingdom of Portugal were hereupon granted unto this Order and the Knights thereof particularly obliged to make War against the Moors in Baetica next neighbour to Portugal They had appointed to them for their chief Seat Castro Marin where their first Convent was erected but afterwards it was removed into the City of Tomar They went clothed in Black wearing upon their breasts a Cross Patâ—e of Red Silk and upon that another of White This Order as that d'Avis became at length annexed to the Crown of Portugal whose Kings have ever since taken upon them the title of perpetual Administrators of both The Order of Knights of the Passion of Jesus Christ. 32. Some years after the Institution of the precedent Order and towards the latter end of the thirteenth Century there was erected a religious Order of Knighthood by Charles King of France and our King Richard the Second which bore the Title of the Order of the Passion of Iesus Christ. And though we do not find any further progress thereof after it had received its Foundation yet considering the grounds whereon it was instituted and the nobleness and largeness of the design exceeding all other Religious Orders of Knighthood except those of the Knights of St. Iohn of Ierusalem and Knights Templars as also because one of our English Kings was a Co-founder thereof we conceived it worthy our pains to make an extract particularly relating to the causes why it was erected the frame of its Constitution its principal Structures and the Habit and Ensigns thereof out of an old French Manuscript written by Philip de Maisiere Chancellor of Cyprus wherein it is thus prefaced Forasmuch as by reason of the three deadly sins which began to reign among the Christians namely Pride Covetousness and Luxury God permitted the Saracens Enemies of the Faith to overcome Ierusalem and the Holy Land to the shame and disgrace of Christendom therefore to renew the memory of the Passion of Christ thereby to extirpate those deadly sins and to make
Order of St. Maurice anno 1572. and constituted this Duke Grand Master of both shortly after by his Bull dated the 13. of November in the same year he united the Order of St. Lazarus to that of St. Maurice for their greater honor and thereby ordained that this new Institution should be thenceforth called the Order of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus He also constituted the said Duke and his Successors Dukes of Savoy Grand Masters thereof and obliged them to furnish out two Gallies for the service of the Papal See to be imployed against Pyrats Upon this Union permission being given by the last mentioned Bull to assume a new Habit the Knights of this Order had assigned them a Gown of Crimson Tabby with wide sleeves a long train and edg'd about with White Taffaty as also a Cordon having a Tassel of White and Green fixed to the Collar thereof The Badge of this Order is agreeable to the form engraved in the Plate set before this Chapter to wit the Green Cross of St. Lazarus charged in the heart with the White Cross of St. Maurice which the Knights wear either in a Gold Chain or Silk Ribbon the Colour being at their own choice This double Cross was granted to be the Ensign of this new Order by another Bull of the said Pope Gregory given at Rome the 15. of Ianuary 1573. In which year to wit in the Month of April Duke Emanuel in pursuance of this Union and new Foundation assembled all the Knights in the City of Nice where meeting he was by them received and acknowledged for their Grand Master and took the Oath recorded by Sam. Guichenon Afterwards this Duke did erect two fair Houses or Convents for the Knights of this new Order to inhabit in the one at Nice and the other at Turin and with the Popes approbation bestowed all the Lands and Revenues formerly belonging to the Order of St. Lazarus lying within his Territories upon them So that at this day both the Orders of St. Lazarus and St. Maurice being united rest under the Patronage of one Grand Master and chief of the Order namely the Duke of Savoy whose title used in all Affairs relating to this new instituted Order is as followeth Totius Religionis Militiae Sanctorum Mauritii Lazari Betleem Nazareth Hierosolymitan Ordinis Sancti Augustini Conventuum Hospitalium Domorum Praeceptoriarum atque piorum locorum omnium citra ultra Mare cis trans Alpes per universum Orbem Humilis Generalis Magnus Magister Knights of Loretto 43. Sixtus Quintus instituted this Order anno Dom. 1587. but Ios. Micheli placeth it in the year before for which he erected the Church of our Lady at Loretto into a Cathedral and a Bishops See and gave the Knights for Ensign the Image of our Lady of Loretto hung in a golden Chain The splendor of this Order continued but a while yet is it not quite extinguished The Order of Knights of the blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel 44. Though the Grand Mastership of St. Lazarus and the Commanderies thereunto belonging lying within the Dominions of all Christian Princes were conferr'd upon Emanuel Philebert Duke of Savoy by Pope Gregory the Thirteenth as hath been before remembred yet the Duke did not gain the investiture of the Commanderies lying in France being opposed by King Henry the Third whereupon some Knights of that Order refusing to join with their Fellows under the obedience of the Duke maintained themselves in that Kingdom until the Reign of King Henry the Fourth who being desirous to have a new Order of Knighthood instituted under the Rule and denomination of the blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel applied himself to Pope Paul the Fifth for that purpose Hereupon the Pope the 7. of February 1608. confirmed the same and prescribed several things necessary to the Institution according to the mind of the King ordaining also Pensions to the Great Master and Knights of this Order out of certain Ecclesiastical Benefices in several places within the Kingdom of France After this the Commanderies and Hospitals of St. Lazarus lying in France were disposed of likewise for the support of the Knights of this new Order and the Knights of St. Lazarus that remained in that Kingdom were joined to these of the new Institution thus they became acknowledged to be one Body under two Titles which we find inscribed round the Seal of their Order viz. Sigillum Ordinis Militiae beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmeli Sancti Lazari in Hierusalem So that at this time we find the Order of St. Lazarus to be divided between two other Societies namely the Order of St. Maurice in Savoy and of St. Mary of Mount Carmel in France This Order consists of one hundred choice Gentlemen of France and all appointed to attend on the Kings person upon every warlike Expedition They vow Obedience and Chastity and profess to fight against the Enemies of the Roman Church The Feast of their Patroness is annually celebrated on the 16. of Iuly Their first Master was Philibert Nerestang sometimes one of the Knights of St. Lazarus a valiant Gentleman and famous in all military Discipline for which cause he was thought worthy to be prefer'd to this Dignity and accordingly nominated by Henry the Fourth in April 1608. The 30. of October following he took the Oath as Great Master and of Fidelity to the French King The Badge of this Order is a Cross of eight points of Tawney Velvet or Satin but some say of a Violet colour with a white Bordure sewed on the left side of their Cloaks and the Image of the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel placed in the middle within a Rundle encompassed with beams or rays of Gold all wrought in curious Imbrodery besides this the Knights wear about their necks in a Tawny Silk Ribbon the like Cross of Gold but the Image of the said Virgin is enameled on both sides The Statutes of this Order are exhibited by A. Favin and the solemn Rites used at the investiture of these Knights are much after the manner of those of Malta Knights of the Order of the most glorious Virgin Mary of Rome 45. It was but of late years viz. 1618. that three Brethren of Spella in Italy namely Pedro Iohn Baptista and Bernardo surnamed Petrignanoes invented this Order of Knighthood to which was given the Rule of St. Francis d' Assise and whereof the Pope and his Successors are Great Masters Paul the Fifth approved this Order and gave these Knights the Palace of St. Iohn de Laterane for their Convent the City and Port of Civita Vechia to make their Arsenal of Gallies as also an Island adjacent to that Port together with the Government of his Gallies The cause of its Institution was for the exaltation of the
being present gilded at both ends and at the top a Scutcheon of the Arms of the Order impaled with the Soveraign's Arms. In the fore-mentioned Plate the Figure of this Scepter hath these Arms crowned but no directions for it given in the Constitutions nor for the Crown on his head wherewith he is there represented which at these Solemnities of the Order neither is nor hath been used that we can discover There was assigned him by Queen Elizabeth a Badge of Gold to be worn daily by him and his Successors before the Breast in a Gold Chain or Ribband and â—hereon enamelled the Soveraign's Arms crowned with an Imperial Crown and both surrounded with the Princely Garter but Sir Edward Walker when made Garter obtained the Soveraign's License to impale therein St. George's Arms with those of the Soveraign's of the Order of which Badge the foreside and backside are both alike There is a House appointed for his habitation within Windesor Castle and is the middle West Tower in the lower Ward which thereupon hath gain'd the name of Garter's Tower It was by a Decree in Chapter annexed for ever to the Office of Garter and restored to Sir Segar's possession the 2. of May 1630. By the Constitutions of his Office he is to be allowed Baron Service in the Soveraign's Court and his Table served next after the Dean of the Chappel with such Liveries as of old were accustomed It appears that King Henry the Fifth after his instituting this Office died before he had setled any Pension upon Sir William Brugges for supportation of his little Estate which the Knights-Companions taking into consideration and desiring that for the honor of the Order he should receive a reasonable subsistence among themselves by which he might more honorably comport himself to the service of the Order till the Infant King should come to age and be more largely provided for They being present in Chapter with the consent of the Prelate did assign and ordain the said Sir William to receive of each of them annually at the Feast of St. George the Pensions following viz. Of the Bishop of Winchester Prelate 5 Marks Of every Duke 5 Marks Of every Earl 6 Nobles Of every Baron or Baneret 4 Nobles Of every Knight Batchelor 2 Nobles The first payment was agreed on to be made in hand and so to continue yearly without failings with request to the absent Knights that for the honor of the Order and causes in the Instrument express they would consent to and approve of their Ordinance and Agreement which pass'd under the Seal of the Order and bears date in the Chapter-house at Windesor in the Feast of St. George an 1422. but there is a mistake in the date for at that time King Henry the Fifth was alive and died not till the 31. of August following St. George's day in that year Afterwards King Henry the Sixth in consideration of the good services performed by Sir William Brugges to his Father and Himself with consent of his Council granted him by Letters Patent an annual Pension of 20 l. out of the Fee Farm of the City of Winchester during pleasure which Pension upon surrender of this Patent He granted a new to him and Agnes his Wife for their lives and the longer liver of them And when this Office upon Sir William Brugges death was given to Iohn Smert Guyenne Herald 3. April an 28. H. 6. he had the yearly Pension of 20 l. granted him therewith for life out of the Exchequer But his Successor Iohn Wrythe Norroy obtained an increase of Pension to 40 l. per annum made payable out of the small Customs of the City of London This annual sum was after confirmed to Garter by the Constitutions of his Office and an augmentation from the then Knights-Companions also made to the Pensions granted by their Predecessors upon the death of King Henry the Fifth viz. Of A Duke 4 Pounds Of A Marquess 5 Marks Of An Earl 4 Marks Of A Baron 6 Nobles Of A Knight-Batchellor 4 Nobles In succeeding times the Soveraign thought fit to increase his Pension to 50 l. per ann now paid out of the Revenue setled upon the Order and the Knights-Companions yet to augment their Annuities which they did by the following Decree AT a Chapter holden at Windesor the Feast of St. George being there solemnized the xiii xiv and xv days of September Anno Domini 1617. It was Ordained and Decreed by the mutual consent of the Knights and Companions of the most Noble Order of the Garter then present the Soveraign thereto assenting That their officer Sir William Segar Garter Knight King of Arms of that Order should then and from thenceforth have renewed and paid unto him certain Annual Fees and Pensions anciently due to his Place and Predecessors with an increase of ten pounds per annum which his Majesty forth of his Royal Bounty hath given unto his said Servant for his better maintenance and support As also of Prince Charles Prince of Wales the sum of eight pounds and of every Duke of the blood six pounds all other Estates viz. a Duke not of the Blood four pounds a Marquess five Marks an Earl four Marks a Viscount seven Nobles a Baron forty shillings and a Knight Batchelor that shall be of the Order twenty six shillings and eight pence All which said sums of money according to the several degrees of their Estates are to be paid unto the said Garter or his Assigns yearly at St. George's Feast or immediately after as well by the Knights then present as by those that shall be absent or hereafter are to succeed in the said Order And after the decease of the said Garter to his Successors for ever Prince Charles Prince of Wales viii l. The Earl of Nottingham liii s. iv d. The Earl of Northumberland lviii s. iv d. The Earl of Worcester liii s. iv d. The Lord Sheffeild xl s. The Earl of Suffolk liii s. iv d. The Earl of Sussex liii s. iv d. The Earl of Derby liii s. iv d. The Earl of Exceter liii s. iv d. The Duke of Lenox iv l. The Earl of Southampton liii s. iv d. The Earl of Marr liii s. iv d. The Earl of Penbroke liii s. iv d. The Earl of Montgomery liii s. iv d. The Earl of Arundel liii s. iv d. The Earl of Somerset liii s. iv d. The Earl of Kelly liii s. iv d. The Viscount Wallingford xlvi s. viii d. The Earl of Rutland liii s. iv d. The Marquess of Buckingham iii l. vi s. viii d. The Earl of Leicester liii s. iv d. Charles P. Nottingham E. Worcester T. Suffolk Will. Derby Lenox Penbroke T. Arundell Fenton J. Rutland Northumberland E. Sheffeild Ro. Sussex Exceter H. Southampton Montgomery R. Somerset W. Walingford G. Buckingham Last of all at St. Georges Feast held at Windesor the 22.23 and 24.
Ierusalem then remaining in the Isle of Rhodes since more commonly known by the Title of Knights of Malta as being under the same Vow and Rule But it was not long e're his Successor Pope Alexander the Sixth anno 1496. transferr'd to the Papal See all power of conferring this Order of Knighthood publishing himself and his Successors to be the Great Masters thereof He further empowred the Guardian of the Holy Sepulchre his Vicar-general to bestow the same upon Pilgrims and Travellers to the Holy Land the Formulary for receiving of which is set down at large by Mennenius and Favin Afterwards Philip the Second King of Spain used his endeavours to restore this Order in some of his Dominions to which end several of these Knights assembled in the Church of St. Catharine at Hochstraten in Brabant in Cameracensi Diocesi and by their Diploma dated the 26. of March 1558. exhibited by Mennenius elected the said King Grand Master of the Order but this design took no effect Of latter times there was another attempt to the like purpose made by Charles Gonzâ—go of Cleve Duke of Nevers in the year 1615. and this also upon the application of the Great Master of Malta to Lewis the Thirteenth of France came to nothing The Order of Hospitalars of St. Iohn Baptist in Ierusalem 2. Before the Latin Christians had taken the City of Ierusalem from the Saracens certain Christian Merchants of the Kingdom of Naples who traded into Syria and the Holy Land with Commodities most acceptable because most rare and strange to the Inhabitants of those Countries obtained leave from the Caliph of Aegypt who then had the Dominion thereof to erect a small and convenient House for the entertainment of themselves and their Country-men which they built before the Patriarchal Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Ierusalem together with as small an Oratory dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary To them repaired certain Canons of the Order of St. Augustine conducted by an Abbot from Naples who in a short time built another Oratory in honor of St. Mary Magdalen that of the Virgin Mary being appointed for the entertainment of Men and that other of St. Mary Magdalen for the reception of Women And not long after to wit in the year of our Lord 1048. they restored the Church of the Holy Sepulchre But the confluence of Pilgrims and Travellers growing very great and these places already built too narrow for their reception they erected a large Hospital in that very place where our Saviour celebrated the last Supper with his Disciples for the better entertainment of Strangers that travelled thither upon the account of Devotion who for want of a place to lodge in did usually in the night time fall into the hands of the Saracens that rob'd and murder'd them as also to relieve and cure the diseased among them So that at length in regard of their great Charity and friendly Hospitality as also for that these religious persons took St. Iohn Baptist for their Patron to the honor of whose Name a Chappel or Oratory was built there also they obtained the Title of Brethren Hospitalars of St. Iohn Baptist of Ierusalem But some are of opinion that this Hospital was dedicated to the memory of St. Iohn of Cyprus who in the Reign of Phocas the Emperor was Bishop of Alexandria and so charitable and liberal in bestowing Alms that he obtained the name of Iohannes Eleemosynarius Calvisius in his Chronology sets down the Institution of this Order to be in the year 1092. Others refer it to the year 1099. when one Gerard a Native of the Province of Tholouse and a man of holy life and piety came to Ierusalem in the time of Godfrey of Bouillon and out of zeal upon sight of the places trodden by the feet of our Saviour and sprinkled with his blood built this Hospital which became the first and chief Seat of this ancient Order and devoutly ministred to the necessities of the poor After a while he adjoined to himself some honest and religious men and received the regular Habit of Black wearing on the outside thereof a White Cross. King Baldwin the First conferr'd on them large Priviledges and Franchises permitting them to manage Arms as did the Canons Regulars Guardians of the Holy Sepulchre and anno 1104. instituted them to be Knights So that they who before were pious and liberal towards Pilgrims and diseased persons became at length the examples of true and Christian generosity Their duty now engaging them personally to fight against the Saraâ—ens and Insidels in defence of the Christian Faith These Knights then acknowledged obedience to the Patriarch of Ierusalem who first approved their Order but afterwards when their Revenues increased it begat a neglect of their former religious and humble carriage and forthwith they laboured with the Pope to be absolved from their obedience to the Patriarch which they obtain'd though he and several other Bishops of Palestine travelled to Rome to oppose them and manifest the injuries they sustained from the Knights This Order had its second approbation and rule of living confirmed from Pope Gelasius the Second but Andr. Mendo saith from Calixtus the Second anno 1120. and was by Adrian the Fourth received under the protection of the Papal See being likewise endowed with ample Priviledges and exemption from payment of Tythes by succeeding Popes chiefly by Pius the Fourth The Knights of this Order then took the black Habit of Hermits of St. Augustine and lived under his rule by the grant of Honorius the Second anno 1125. vowing Obedience Poverty and Chastity and on the Breast of this Habit wore at first a plain Cross of white Cloth since changed to one with eight points but in the time of War they used a Red Cassock bearing the White Cross upon it After the death of Gerard the Founder of this Hospital having increased in Men and Revenues elected out of their own Body another Governor or Head namely Raimund de Podio or Poggio a Florentine who digested and enlarged their Laws and Institutions and divided the Body of the Order into three Classes viz. Knights Servants and Ecclesiasticks which hath since received from the succeeeding Great Masters many additions This Body of Laws was confirmed by Pope Boniface the Ninth 7. Idus Apr. in the sixth year of his Popedom the Composers style in it runs thus Ego Ramundus Dei gratia servus pauperum Iesu Christi Custos Hospitalis Ierusolymitani But afterwards he had the Title of Great Master of the Order given him which continued to his Successors the Adjective Great being added to denote his power and authority the Government and Administration of the whole Militia being lodged in him for the time being This great Master is a free
the Third who brought into use the great Mantle of Crimson Velvet his own being fur'd with Ermins but the rest of the Knights with Miniver fringed and bordered with Knots to wit of the fashion of those that adorn the Collar in fine Gold Under this Mantle is worn a Surcoat of white Damask Duke Emanuel Philibert his Son changed afterwards the colour of the Mantle to Azure and lined it with White Taffaty of which Silk he also made the Surcoats But Charles Emanuel altered the Mantle unto an Amaranthus or Purple Colour seeded with Roses and Flames in embroidery of Gold and Silver bordered throughout with the Symbols of the Order fringed with Gold and lined with Cloth of Silver tissued Blue which continues hitherto in use Under which instead of the White Taffaty Surcoat is now worn a White Satin suit embroidered with Silk the Hose gathered upwards in the fashion of Trouses Concerning the Statutes of this Order the most ancient are those of Ame the Eighth for there are none of the Founders extant made at Chastilion the 30. of May in the year of our Lord 1410. the original whereof is lodg'd in the Archives at Turin which he augmented in the year 1434. and both are printed by Sansovin Duke Charles the Third made new Statutes at Chambery the 11. of Sept. anno 1518. these were enlarged by Duke Emanuel Philibert anno 1568. and published in the year 1577. The Order of the Thistle of Bourbon in France 24. At the solemnity of the marriage of Lewis the Second Duke of Bourbon with Anne Daughter to the Count Daulphine of Auvergne celebrated in the Town of Arde on New-years day 1370. this Duke instituted the Order of Knights of our Lady otherwise called the Thistle and the first solemnities thereof were performed at Nostre Dame de Maulins in Bourbonnois where he founded a Colledge of twelve Canons in honor of the blessed Virgin The ground of the Institution was to strengthen this Dukes power and interest for the aid of Charles Duke of Orleans and of his two Brothers Philip and Iohn against the Faction of the House of Burgundy And by joining of Flowers de Lis and Thistles the Symbols of hope and courage emblematically to express the nobleness of his Spirit against all power of Fortune He ordained a set number of Knights of this Society to wit 26 therein comprehending himself and Successors Dukes of Bourbon as Chiefs and obliged these to wear daily a Belt or Girdle made of watchet colour Velvet lined with Crimson Sattin embroidered with Gold in the midst of which embroidery was curiously wrought the word ESPERANCE This Girdle was fastned with a Buckle and a Tongue of Gold bearded and checquered with green enamel in form like to the head of a Thistle On the Anniversary of the Festival namely the day of the Conception of our Lady in December the Knights wore Cassocks or Surcâ—ats of Carnation Damask with wide sleeves girded with the Girdle before described The Mantle of this Order was of Skie-coloured Damask having broad weltâ— of Gold embroidered on the Collar and lined with red Sattin but the Mantlet of green Velvet The Bonnet was also of green Velvet at the point of the band hung a saiâ— Tassel of Crimson Silk and threds of Gold the lining of Crimson Tassaty and turned up after the antique manner whereon they had embroidered the Golden Shield with the word Allen. Whoso considers in this Constitution the number of Knights the principal colours of the Mantle Surcoat and Girdle with the injunction for wearing thereof shall plainly see that this Founder took an exact pattern from the Order of the Garter which he had observed in England and acquainted himself with its Constitutions while he was Prisoner in Windsor Castle for here is little change or alteration and only a Belt or Girdle made the chief Ensign of this as the Garter was of that Order The great Collar was of Gold of the weight of ten Marks enamelled with Green opened like Network which was fill'd with Flowers de Lis of Gold and each of them together with the Letters of the Impress placed in a Lozenge of red enamel At the bottom of the Collar in an Oval of Gold the Circle whereof was enamelled with Green and Red appeared the Figure of the Patroness the blessed Virgin Mary surrounded with rays of the Sun crowned with twelve Silver Stars a Crescent of the same under her feet enamelled with Purple and Skie colour lastly at the end of the Oval depended the head of a Thistle enamelled Green but bearded White Some little difference is put by others in the fashion and composition of this Collar namely that it was made either of Gold or Silver and framed of Flowers de Lis and four leaves or Flowers of a Thistle set in the form of a Cross. The Order of the Dove in Castile 25. Was instituted by Iohn the First of that name King of Castile in the City of Segovia Anno Dom. 1390. so saith Mennenius and Miraeus but Favin placeth it 1379. and proposed to his Nobles as a reward to encourage them to prosecute the noble acts of his Grandfather King Henry the Second The Collar of this Order was linked or enchained with the resplendent beams of the Sun both waved and pointed at which hung a golden Dove enamelled White and encompassed with rays the Eyes and Beak Red. Herewith the Founder saith Favin adorned himself on Whitsonday yet Mennenius and Miraeus will have it the Feast-day of St. Iames and at the Altar of the great Church in Segovia distributed other the like Collars to his intimate Favourites together with a Book containing the Statutes of the Order But he dying the very same year before the Order had taken sufficient root it became of small continuance The Order of the Argonautes of St. Nicholas in Naples 26. Charles the Third King of Naples instituted this Order in the year of our Lord 1382. and with the Ensign thereof invested several of the Nobility of that Kingdom with which as by a Bond he designed to tye them one to another in a brotherly obligation The end of its Institution was to preserve amity among the Nobles to compose enmities and suppress seditions Insomuch as if any of the Knights of this Order were at variance one with another and refused to be reconciled the Ensigns were then to be taken from him but some say the ground and cause was to advance Navigation which the Neopolitans stood in need of To which the principal Ensign of this Order seems rather to allude it being a Ship floating upon the waters in the midst of a storm having this Motto Non credo tempori In the Convent of that sumptuous Church which St. Nicholas Bishop of Smyrna caused to be built was the grand Feast held on the Anniversary of
more than one Order at a time if it be of a religious Constitution and whensoever he obtains leave to change that Order he cannot be received into another without relinquishing the former Ordo Disciplinarum in Austria 32. Bohemia saith Micheli finding it self very much endangered by Turks and Hereticks the Kings thereof instituted this Order to suppress or at least to keep them under and to secure the Confines of that Kingdom But I suppose this Author means Austria in regard it appears immediately before to have been conferr'd by the Dukes of that Country The Collar of the Order had a White Eagle hanging thereat This and the former Order together with that of the Dragon in Hungary are said to have flourished in Germany in the Reigns of the Emperors Sigismund and Albert. Ordo de la Scama in Castile 33. This Order received Institution from Iohn the Second King of Castile about the year of our Lord 1420. to perswade and stir up his Nobility to fight against the Moors For he being overcharged with War designed this Order chiefly to awaken their courage for the defence of his and their own Estates which afterwards upon all occasions they performed so well and gave so great demonstrations of their Valour that in a short time the Moors were vanquished What their symbol or Ensign was or the reason of the Title de la Scama hapned to be so far worn out that Hieronymus Romanus who wrote the life of this King Iohn professeth he knew not what was meant or intended by it though he had been very diligent in the search thereof Yet Ios. Micheli informs us that their Ensign was a Cross composed of Scales of Fishes which does plainly enough demonstrate it to be derived from the Latin word Squama from whence comes the Spanish word Scama that signifies the Scale of a Fish Some that speak of this Order say nothing as to its beginning being ignorant of the Founder but it is generally believed to be Instituted by the foresaid King Iohn in whose time it flourished insomuch as there were few of his Nobility but were also Knights thereof The duty to which they were obliged was to defend the Kingdom of Castile against the Moors and to dye in defence of the Christian Faith besides which upon every occasion when the King went out to War they march'd before him Their Priviledges were given them by King Iohn as also Statutes and Rules to be governed by Upon whose death the splendor of this Order was eclipsed as many times it hath fared with other Foundations in the like case the Successors wanting the zeal and love for their continuance equal to that of the Founders for their Institution The Order of Knights of the Golden Fleece in Flanders 34. Philip the Second Duke of Burgundy of the second and last Line issuing out of the House of France surnamed the Good instituted this Order under the Title of the Golden Fleece in memory of the great Revenues he raised by the traffick of Woolls with the Low Countries Some will have it erected in commemoration of valiant Gideon who with 300 men vanquished a numerous Army of Midianites Or else according to others the Founder followed the example of Iason and his Argonautes whose Expedition to Colchus against Actes he perhaps might intend to imitate by a Voyage into Syria against the Turk Whatsoever the occasion was 't is certain from the preamble of the Statutes of Institution that this Duke out of the perfect love he bore to the noble estate of Knighthood founded this Order to the glory of the Almighty Creator and Redeemer in reverence of the Virgin Mary and honor of St. Andrew the Apostle and Martyr whom he made Patron thereunto to the advancement of the holy Faith the service of the Catholick Church and promoting of Virtue For the maintaining and upholding of which and for the increase of honor and fair renown no less than the correction of Vice several good orders set down in the Institution are appointed to be observed at the Chapter held on the last day of every Annual Feast of the Order The day of Institution was the 10. of Ianuary anno Dom. 1429. on which very day the Founder solemnized his Marriage with Elizabeth Daughter to Iohn King of Portugal in the City of Bruges in Flanders The number of Knights first chosen were 24. beside the Duke Chief and Supream who reserved to himself the nomination of six more at the next Chapter But Charles the Fifth anno 1516. encreased them to fifty And though the Founder at first resolved upon the Feast of St. Andrew annually for holding the solemnities of the Order nevertheless in consideration of the shortness of the days at that time of the year and how troublesome it would prove especially to aged Knights who lived at great distance to take a Journey in so cold a season it was afterwards ordained that the Grand Feast and General Assembly should be kept from three years to three years on the first of May in such place as the Sovereign of the Order should beforehand give competent notice of As to the Habit it was at first ordained that at the Grand Solemnity the Knights should wear three different Mantles to wit the first day of the Feast of Scarlet Cloth richly embroidered about the lower end with Flints struck into sparks of Fire and Fleeces with Chaperons of the same and the same day after Dinner to proceed to Vespers in Mantles of Black and black Chaperons The day following the Knights were to hear the grand Mass of our Lady clad as should seem good to themselves But Duke Charles Son to the Founder appointed them Mantles of White Damask for that days Ceremony and changed their Cloth Mantles into Velvet The great Collar is composed of double Fusils interwoven of equal bigness in form of the Letter B. with Flint-stones seeming to strike fire and sparkles of fire between them at the end whereof doth hang the resemblance of a Fleece of Gold enamelled in its proper Colours These Fusils are placed back to back two and two together thereby representing the Letter B both ways intending to signifie Bourgoigne they are also intermingled with Flint-stones in reference to the Arms of the ancient Kings of Bourgoigne but it was the devise of the Founder to ingirt them with sparkles and flames of fire To the Flint Paradine in his Heroical Devises ascribes this Motto Ante Ferit quam Flamma micet and to the Fleece this Pretium non vile laboris The Iewel is ordinarily worn in a double Chainet or Males of Gold linked together at convenient distances between which runs a small Red Ribbon and so is Philip the Fourth King of Spain representeâ— wearing his Jewel in a Picture at full length hanging in his Majesty's Gallery at Whitehall or otherwise it is worn
into England P. Priest Cardinal of St. Praxid and B. Deacon Cardinal of St. Mary in Aquiro to use their best endeavours to compose the differences now growing high between the two Kings Upon whose mediation with King Edward though Peace could not be obtained yet that things relating to Peace might the better be effected a Truce was agreed on to the Morrow after Candlemas day an 12. E. 3. and thence prorogued to the first of March and lastly a further enlargement of it to Midsummer following in case the King of France should consent to it and give Security that it should be observed but he it seems refusing the King was advised to revoke this later cessation which he did the 6. of May and to take a Journey into Flanders personally to confer with his Allies in pursuance of his design against France and thereupon he took shipping at the Port of Orewell the 16. of Iuly and went to Antwerp But before he went upon the Cardinals further importunity a Commission issued to I. Archbishop of Canterbury R. Bishop of Durham R. de Vfford Earl of Suffolk Sir Geoffry le Scrop Knight and Mr. Iohn Vfford Archdeacon of Ely with power to treat and agree touching all things in difference between them in reference to a full and final Peace And by another Commission bearing the same date the Duke of Brabant Earl of Hanow and Gueldres the Marquess of Iuliers and Sir William Dunort Lord of Oustrehout Knight are added to them These Commissions were double and of two several Stiles in the one the King calls Philip de Valoys Consanguineus noster Franciae only and in the other Excellentissimus Princeps Dominus Philippus Rex Franciae illustris Consanguineus noster charissimus At Antwerp the confederate Princes gave the King a meeting and here he expresly revoked all the powers he had given the forementioned Commissioners to treat with Philip de Valois as King of France At length it was resolved that the Duke of Iuliers should be sent Ambassador from the King to the Emperor which Embassy obtained a promise to the King of the Vicar-generalship of the Empire whereupon about the beginning of September he took a Journey to Colen where the Emperor publickly defied the King of France and constituted King Edward his Vicar-General who at his return into Flanders entred upon the execution of that Office In the 13. year of this Kings Reign at the instance of the foresaid Cardinals Iohn Archbishop of Canterbury Richard Bishop of Durham Henry Bishop of Lincolne the Earls of Derby Salisbury and Suffolk and some others were impowered to treat with Philip de Valois or his Deputies upon the Dignities Honors Lands and Rights belonging to King Edward and all other controversies whatsoever The Deputies on the other part were the Archbishop of Rouen the Bishops of Langres and Beauvais and the place for treaty Arras but nothing of Peace being thereby effected the King prepared effectually for War having some time before made an alliance with Albert and Otho Dukes of Austria Stiria and Karinthia and received Homage as King of France from Reiginald Duke of Gueldres and Earl of Zutphen for which he afterwards granted him 1000 l. sterling per Annum for his life He likewise made alliances with other Princes who were to furnish him with men to be imployed in his intended expedition into France as also with Lewis the Emperour after which he sent a Letter from Antwerp to the Pope asserting his claim to the Crown of France which is to be seen in Walsingham's History of England All things for War being now in readiness the King with the assistance of his Allies first besieged Cambray an Imperial City and then in the hands of the French but it being too well fortified and provided to be suddenly taken he raised his Siege and passed into France first sending his defiance to Philip de Valois then at Paris by the Bishop of Lincoln Sir Walter Many was the first who after the defiance made entred France with 40. Horse burnt Mortaigne took the Castle of Thyne garrisoned it and returned to the King at Mechlin The King having passed the River Skell entred France upon St. Matthews Day and burnt the Country before him And not long after at the request of the Duke of Brabant to admit of a Treaty of Peace the King at Markoyne grants the said Duke power in his name to give safe conduct to such persons as he should think fit to meet at any place within two or three Leagues from his Camp to treat of Peace the same to continue till Friday following and all that day but nothing was effected The Saturday before St. Lukes Day the King with his Army passed the River Oyze and marching forward till he came between Vyronfoss and Flamengery the two Armies drew near each other where the Day of Battel was agreed on to be the Friday after But in the interim a Letter of advice was brought to the French King from Robert King of Sicily a famous Astrologer to disswade him from fighting since he had by his Science found that if he fought with the King of England he should be vanquished and loose the day This Letter so prevailed with the King of France that though he had the greater power and that both Armies stood ranged for Battel yet was there not a blow struck on the appointed Day The Munday following intelligence was brought to the King that the French were dispersed and returning homewards whereupon he withdrew his Army and marched back into Brabant At his return to Antwerp he issued out another Commission to Iohn Archbishop of Canterbury R. Bishop of Durham H. Bishop of Lincoln W. Earl of Salisbury Sir Bartholomew Burghersh and Sir Geoffry le Scrop Knights and Iohn de Offord Archdeacon of Ely to treat of Peace with Philip de Valois or with Commissioners from him and a month after this Commission was renued upon adding Robert de Vfford Earl of Suffolk to the before-named Commissioners Here also the King was advised to ingage the Flemmings to his further Assistance who were willing enough for by the means of Iaques D'artuell he had gained a great influence upon them but considering they stood ingaged in the Pope's Chamber in two Millions of Florens not to make War against the King of France they proposed that the King would quarter the Arms of France with those of England and call himself King of France as he ought of right to do and then they would take him to be the rightful King of France and receive from him a discharge of that Obligation and afford him their assistance To this proposal the King agreed and solemnly assumed both the Arms of the Kingdom and Title of King of France He also caused his Great Seal to be changed and brought it with him at his return to
in Bretagne past through that Country to Angoulesme where the Prince lay with 3000 men and entred the Country of Piergort and over-ran it He sent also a Letter to the Nobility of Gascoigne wherein he acquainted them with the reasons why he re-assumed the Name and Title to the Kingdom of France as he used it before the Treaty of Peace to which he condescended not without a manifest diminution of his right Iohn Duke of Lancaster and several others of the English Nobility were sent with another Army into France about Midsummer who landed at Calais of which the French King receiving advertisement called back his Forces designed for the Sea to invade England to meet with whom as also to secure Southampton the Isle of Wight and Garnsey King Edward had set forth a considerable Fleet and sent them under the Command of the Duke of Burgoigne to oppose the Duke of Lancaster but upon report of the Earl of Warwick's coming by Sea to the Duke of Lancaster's assistance the French withdrew The following year the French King raised two Armies and sent them into Aquitaine one under the Command of the Duke of Anjou to enter Guyen by Reol and Bergerac and the other under the Duke of Berry to enter that Country by Lymoges and Quercy and both Armies to meet at Angoulisme to besiege the Prince then in those parts King Edward considering the unsetledness of these Countries raised likewise two Armies That for Aquitaine was Commanded by the Duke of Lancaster of which we shall make further mention when we speak of the Prince and the other designed for Picardie by Sir Robert Knowles In relation to which latter expedition Proclamation was sent forth That all Souldiers designed for Normandy and other parts of France under Sir Robert's Command being constituted the Kings Lieutenant in those parts of France should be at Southampton in the Octaves of St. Iohn Baptist following ready fitted to take Shiping there with him Nor was the King slack in strengthning himself by Allies from abroad and therefore Sir Iohn atte Wode and Mr. Robert de Wykford Archdeacon of Winchester and Doctor of Laws were sent beyond Sea having power to treat with Wenceslaus Duke Brabant and Lorraine Marquess of the Empire about furnishing the King with Men and Arms to serve him in these Wars He also secured the back Door to wit Scotland by a Treaty of Peace for 9. years in which nevertheless the Scots were at liberty to serve either English or French without breaking the Peace and lastly confirmed the Treaty with the Earl of Flanders and the Towns of Gaunt Bruges and Ipres Sir Robert Knowles with 12000. Men being landed at Calais and resting there 7. days forthwith took the Field and marching through the Country of Guynes and Fauconbridge came to Turwin and thence into Artois drawing near Arras and so to Vermandois wasting the Country all the way he went He thence marched to the City of Noyen and into Champaigne and turned to Bry and so on the 24. of September to Paris before which he stayed a day and two Nights After this Sir Bertrand de Guesclin having defeated a stragling party of his he marched to Dorvel Castle in Bretagne This Army so long as it submitted to their General prospered but towards Winter some of them growing disobedient and slighting his Commands became a prey to the French whilst his policy and prudence preserved those safe who stuck to him in his march into Bretagne This year the Flemmings set upon part of the Kings Navy under the Command of Sir Guy de Bryen at la Bay in Bretagne but he got the Victory and took 25. of their Ships with their Captain Sir Iohn Peterson and many other Prisoners whom he brought with him into England which caused the King to set forth a Navy against the Flemmings but the Towns of Bruges Ipres and Gaunt hearing of his preparations made such applications to the King that they obtained Peace The Fortune of the War in Aquitaine at this time standing fair on the English side the following Winter the King designed two fresh Armies to enter France yet indeavoured before upon the Popes request both by Letters and Messages to lay hold of an honourable Peace to which end power was given to treat thereon to Simon Bishop of London Guy de Bryene Roger de Beauchamp Bannerets Sir Arnold Savage Knight Iohn Appleby Dean of London and Iohn de Branketre Treasurer of York and the next day he granted Letters of safe conduct for the Ambassadors of France to come and treat about that Affair One of the foresaid Armies were designed for the defence of Aquitaine and the other to land at Calais whence the Duke of Lancaster and Earl of Cambridge were appointed to enter France by the Plains of Picardy But Iohn Earl of Penbroke constituted the Kings Lieutenant in Aquitaine was ordered to go into Poictou and in pursuance of that design took Sea and arrived at Rochell the 22. of Iune 1372. where he found the Spanish Fleet who fought him two days and at last took him Prisoner the Rochellers having refused to assist him and in that ingagement the Ship which carried a great Treasure to pay the English Army was unfortunately sunk The King designing also the relief of Thoâ—ars raised an Army of 3000. Men of Arms and 1000. Archers and with the Prince took Shipping at Sandwich on Monday the 30. of August about nine a Clock in a Ship called the Grace de Dieu directions having been given for making publick Prayers in all Churches for good success in this Voyage and so sailing towards Rochell the Winds and Tempests kept him at Sea 9. Weeks and when he saw he could not arrive in France by Michaelmas being the time limitted for relief or otherwise surrender of the Town he returned to England and had the Wind at will The consequence of this improsperous Voyage with the miscarriage of the Earl of Penbroke was the loss of all the Country of Poictou Xantoigne and Rochell After these misfortunes a Treaty of Peace was again set on foot and Simon Bishop of London Edmond Earl of March Richard de Stafford Roger de Beauchamp Rauf de Ferrieres Bannerets Simon de Molton Doctor of Law and Ioâ—n de Branketre Treasurer of York were constituted the Kings Commissioners for the management of this Affair and Letters of safe conduct granted the same day to the Cardinal of Beauvez and other Agents from France who with the Cardinal of Canterbury were by the Pope commissionated to be the chief managers of this Treaty The Duke of Lancaster publick Prayers having been made also for his good success arrived at Calais in Iuly an 47. E. 3. with 3000 men of Arms and 10000 Archers which he divided into three Battels and marched by Land
Santonge repaired doing him Fealty and Homage then he departed for Bordeaux thither the Nobility and Knights of Gascoigne came to wait on him after which he setled English Officers in all places of his Principality and there kept his Court with great state and magnificence Immediately after the Election of Pope Vrban the Fifth Peter of Lusignan King of Cyprus and Ierusalem came to Avignon and there engaged Iohn King of France in a Crusade he thence went to the Emperor at Prague and afterwards into Flanders and England whence after he had been nobly entertained he returned to King Iohn then at Amiens and thinking he had not yet seen any thing till he had seen the Prince of Wales took a Journey to Poicters and so to Augoulesme where the Prince held a Royal Justs of 40 Knights and as many Esquires in honor of the birth of his Son Edward and here the King of Cyprus was received with great honor and nobly feasted while he stayed Not long after this Noble Prince was induced to re-establish Don Peter King of Castile who had made a personal application to him in so great distress being driven out of his Kingdom by his Bastard Brother Henry with the assistance of some part of the late disbanded Army called the late Comers or Companions under the command of Sir Bertrand de Guesclin and some English and Bretagn Forces that went along with them commanded by Sir Eustace Dabrichecourt and other Knights Hereupon the Prince first sent his Letters to remand them back and after which strengthened his undertaking he received aid from the King his Father commanded by Iohn of Gaunt his Brother Iames Son of Ferdinand King of Mojorca whom the King of Aragon had imprisoned at Barcelona and there put to death made also address to the Prince for assistance in the recovery of his Realm which the Prince promised after his return out of Spain whither he was then engaged and towards which he began his Voyage the Sunday after Epiphany an Dom. 1366. Upon his entry into Castile with 30000 Horse and Foot Don Henry prepared to give him Battel with 86000 the Armies joined between Navarr and Naveret on Saturday the 3. of April an 40. E. 3. and here the Prince got a Victory which re-established Don Pedro in his Kingdom thereupon Don Pedro went to Sevill and promised to return the Prince money to pay his Army but after four Months stay and expectation the Prince was constrained to return into Aquitane without any so forgetful was Don Pedro of the courtesies he had received from him This Victory got the Prince great renown throughout the Empire and the repute of being the valiantest Prince in that Age even worthy to govern all the World but in this Voyage he contracted a sickness he never recovered which his Physicians and Surgeons judged to be an incurable Dropsie others that he was poysoned In an Instrument dated about this time to wit 8. October 1366. whereby he granted to his Brother Iohn of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster the Village and Castellaine of Roche sur Ion to him and his Heirs males I find him thus stiled Edward ainsne filz du Roy de France d' Engleterre Prince d' Aquitaine de Gales Duke de Cornwall Conte de Cestre Seigneur de Biscaie de Castre de Dordiales but after he had resigned the Principality of Aquitaine his Titles were these only Edwardus Regis Angliae Franciae primogenitus Princeps Walliae Dux Cornubiae Comes Cestriae 6. Feb. 49. E. 3. so an 47. E. 3. vide Lib. Miscell R. Glover Somerset p. 111. Some time after his return into Aquitaine the discontented Gascoigners and French taking occasion to rebel upon raising a Subsidy called Fouage for 5 years consented to by most of his Subjects viz. the Poictouins and they of Xanctonge Limosin Rouergue and Rochell but other parts of Guine refused entred in a hostile manner the Princes Territories whereupon Sir Hugh Caurel coming out of Aragon to the Prince was made Captain of the Companions whom he had sent for out of Normandy and ordered to march with them into the Country of the Earl of Armaignac and the Lord d' Albret two of the great Ring-Leaders of the Rebellion new begun to wast those parts He also had sent before a body Commanded by Sir Iohn Chandos to Montauban and a third under the Command of the Earl of Cambridge and Penbroke into Perigort and which took Bourdeilles after 11. Weeks Siege After this the Prince receiving Intelligence that two Armies under the conduct of the Dukes of Anjou and Berry were design'd to enter Aquitaine and besiege him in Angoulesme resolved his Enemies should not find him there and therefore summond in the Nobility and appointed a Rendevouz at Cognac leaving his Princess at Angoulesme but taking his young Son Richard with him The King of England having upon this great rupture of the Peace concluded at Bretigny resumed his Name and Title to the Crown of France sent forthwith to the Prince to give him notice that the Parliament at Westminster had Ordained that all his Subjects of what Nation or condition soever should maintain his Interest against his Enemies in the Realm of France to recover and conquer the same And likewise directed his Letters to the Nobility of Gascoigne desiring their assistance herein The year following he sent over Iohn Duke of Lancaster his third Son to the assistance of this Prince and gave him Commission to receive into favour and wholly pardon such of his Cities Castles Towns and Inhabitants aswell in Aquitaine as other parts of France as should return to his Obedience and to do and exercise all powers given in his said Commission with the consent of the Prince if present and in his absence what the King could do in his assistance if personally there And that care might be taken in Civil Affairs the King having reserved to himself the Soveraignty and resort in those Territories sent a blank Commission for the Prince to insert the names of such as he should think fit to appoint for Judges or Delegate to hear all Causes as well Criminal as Civil upon Appeals from the Princes Courts The Duke of Lancaster shortly after arrived at Bordeaux and came to the Prince at Cognac but the Duke of Anjou thought better to withdraw his Forces into Garrisons than to fall into action The Duke of Berry took Limoges which the Prince retaking put the Inhabitants to the Sword and burnt the Town But the Prince's disease growing daily upon him he was advised by his Physicians and Chirurgeons to return into England for the recovery of his health which caused him to assemble the Nobility of Aquitaine Gascoigne Poictou and Santonge at Bordeux to whom he communicated his intentions and withal that he would leave the Duke of
elsewhere in the Kingdom of France and therein power was given him to treat and agree with any of the Kings Adversaries or their Adherents or other persons whatsoever And after by a particular Commission he and William Bishop of Norwich the Earls of Suffolk and Huntington and others were impowred to Treat and agree with the Earl of Flanders and his Allies touching any difference between the King and them and it seems their Endeavours took so good effect that an Agreement was made with that Earl the 10. of December following whereupon he was sent to Denemere and there received the said Earls Fealty and Homage As to his transactions relating to France He with the Bishop of Norwich the Earl of Suffolk and Sir Walter Many agreed to the Prorogation of the Truce from the 18. of November to the first of September following Upon the Death of his Father which fell out an 19. E. 3. he succeeded him in the Titles of the Earldoms of Lancaster and Leicester and for that a great part of the Lands sometimes the Earl of Lincolns were come to his possession the King Created him also Earl of Lincoln He had by his Charter of Creation granted unto him the Creation annuity of 20 l. to be paid him by the Sheriff of Lincolnshire for the time being in lieu of the third penny of that County for ever as Thomas late Earl of Lincoln his Uncle had to enjoy whilst he lived About 8. days after the King renued his Commission for being his Captain and Lieutenant in Aquitain and the parts adjacent with all Powers requisite for the better Government of those Dominions whether he shortly after pass'd And by other Letters Patent he constituted him his Captain and Lieutenant in Poicters with full power to exercise all things which appertained to that Command But for further increase of Honor the King Created him Duke of Lancaster and granted that during life he should have within that Country his Chancellor and Iustice as well to the Pleas of the Crown as other Pleas whatsoever to be held according to Law and the Executions of them and likewise all other Liberties and Royal Jurisdiction to a County Palatine appertaining as freely and wholly as the Earl of Chester was known to enjoy in the County of Chester the tenths and fifteenths and all other payments granted by the Clergy or Canons and pardons for life and members to the King excepted The 8. of March ensuing he was constituted Admiral of the Fleet from the mouth of the River Thames Westward and two days after the King Assigned him several Lieutenants namely Reginald de Ferers on the River Thames and Medway Robert Ledred Serjeant at Arms within the Cinque-Ports Philip de Wetton and Walter de Harewell Serjeants at Arms in the Port of Seford and in every part and place thence by the Sea-Coast to Fowy Richard Lengles in the Port of Fowy and thence to Bristol and there and in the Port of Chepstow and River of Severn and Ralph de Lullebrock in all places and Ports from Chepstow to Chester and there and in all Parts and Maritine places in Wales Upon a Rumor that the French had provided an Army and Navy to invade England among the Maritine Counties on the South of England Hants Wilts Somerset and Dorset were committed to this Duke to secure and to resist the Enemy So also was the Maritine parts of Lancashire And because the King had occasion to raise men for Land Service he gave him Commission to array 300. Archers within that Dutchy before the Quindena of the Holy Trinity then next following to be ready to march in the Kings Service The Scots also designing to invade England the following year this Duke had Commission to array all able men in Lancashire between the Age of 1â— and 60 to march against them in case they should presume to enter the Kingdom The like Commission was given him the 26. of February an 29. â— 3. The 14. of September an 29. E. 3. this noble Duke was constituted Lieutenant for the King and Iohn Duke of Bretagne then under age And by other Letters Patent of the same date Command was given to Sir Thomas Holland the Kings late Lieutenant to deliver up to him all the Castles Forts Cities Towns and other Places Lands Tenements and Rents in the said Dukedom under his custody with all the Corn Victuals Money and Issues of the said Dukedom as also all Victuals Engines Arms and other Ammunition in the said Castles c. which belonged to the King in Bretagne The 8. of August an 30. E. 6. he was by the Kings Letters Patent constituted Lieutenant and Captain in the Dukedom of Bretagne and parts adjacent for the good Government thereof both for the King and the said Iohn de Montford Duke of Bretagne then under age and in the King's custody from Michaelmas following for one year Froissard saith this Duke was in Normandy and with him the Lord Philip of Navarre and the Lord Godfrey of Harecourt carrying on the War in that Country under the Title of the King of Navar at such time as the Prince was foraging of Berry and used all endeavour to have joined his Forces with the Prince at Poicters but the passages being so well kept on the River Loire he could not pass and having heard that the Prince had got the Victory there he returned into England In this Voyage being 4000 strong they marched to Lisieux to Orbeâ— to Ponteau and relieved that Castle besieged above two Months but the Enemy hearing of the approach of the English raised their Siege in such hast that they left behind them their Ensigns and Artillery This Duke then marched to Breteuil which he relieved next to Verneuil in Perche took both Castle and Town and burnt a great part of it Upon the information of which the French King raised a mighty Army with design to fight him but he withdrawing to Laigle and the King being come within two Leagues of it found the Forest so thick and hazardous that he thought it not safe to pass further and in his return took from the Navarrois the Castles of Tilliers and Breteuil and so marched forward towards the Prince then harrasing Berry About the middle of May an 31. E. 3. he took the Field in Bretagne with 1000 men at Arms and 500 Archers and laid Siege to Rennes which though well defended was at length surrendred and the 25. of Iuly his Commission of Lieutenancy both for the King and Duke of Bretagne was renued for another year to commence at Michaelmas following but the 8. of August before the expiration thereof Sir Robert Herle and Iohn de Buckenham Clerk were appointed to succeed him being jointly and severally constituted Captains and Lieutenants both to the King and Duke for the following year from Michaelmas then next ensuing
Viscount Benanges mentioned in the following Pedigree be the same person is some question For first in all those Records where he is remembred the Title of Capitow de la Bouch is not given him Secondly we cannot trace him beyond the 22. year of the Reign of King Edward the Third and the Order of the Garter was not Instituted till the following year Thirdly Iohn his Son is called Capitan de Bouâ—h an 5. E. 3. and so till he died And if he should prove the persoâ— as some do take him to be it is a strange mistake committed in the Engravement of the Plate which seems to be as ancient as any of the rest set up in the Chappel at Windesor Of this Iohn Capitan de Buch there are many things noted by Sir Iohn Froissard relating to both his taking King Edward's side against the French and his valiant actions in those Wars But in regard we doubt of his being one of the first Knights-Companions of the Garter we have thought fit for the present to wave the Historical account of him and intreat the Reader in lieu of it to content himself with that of some part of the descent whereby he may guess at the greatness yet unsuccessfulness of our pains in endeavouring to ascertain the person Iohannes de Greilly dominus Benanges Senescallus totius Aquitaniae Rot. Vasc. 6. 7. E. 1. m. 9. Claramonda filia haeres Galliardi de Mota domini de Laudirons Rot. Vasc. 6. 7. E. 1. m. 9. Petrus de Greilly miles Rot. Vasc. 14. E. 3. m. 2. Katherina de Greilly Domina Locorum St Blasii de Laudiron Rot. Vasc. 14. E. 3. m. 2. Petrus de Greilly Vicecom Benangiarum Castellionis Rot. Vasc. 14. E. 3. m. 2. 16. E. 3. m. 13. 22. E. 3. m. 25. Assalita soror haeres Petri de Burdegal Rot. Vasc. 5. E. 3. m. 24. Petrus de Burdegal dominus de Puypaulini Iohannes de Greilly ac Capitaneus de Buch. Rot. Vasc. 5. E. 3. m. 24.14 E. 3. m. 2.16 E. 3. m. 13. 29. E. 3. m. 6. Blanch de Loup Archambaud de Greilly Capitalis de Bogio ac Vicecomes Benangiarum Castillionis ac dominus de Podiopaulini Castri novi in Medulco Rot. Vasc. 7. R. 2. m. 10. 6. Ralph Earl of Stafford THis Noble Earl was Son unto Edmund Lord Stafford first summoned to Parliament an 27. E. 1. and Margaret Daughter to Ralph Lord Basset of Draiton His Father dyed an 2. E. 2. and and an 17. E. 2. being of full age he did his Homage and had Livery of his Fathers Lands The first military imployment that he undertook was an 1. E. 3. being summoned to be at Newcastle upon Tine on Monday next before Ascension day to go against the Scots The 12. of February an 10. E. 3. the King sent his Writ directed to him Philip Chetwynde and Philip Somervill to raise in Staffordshire Lichfield excepted 60 Hobelars and 200 Archers and to bring them to Berwick upon Tweed before the following Octaves of Easter In his absence it seems there was some attempts made to seize upon his Lady and carry her away but making his complaint to the King he received her under his protection and directed his Writ to the Sheriff to protect her so long as her Lord remained in his service I find this noble Lord was an 15. E. 3. Steward of the Kings House and one of those who went over into Bretagne an 16. E. 3. with Robert d' Artous to the assistance of the Countess of Montfort He behaved himself bravely in the Sea-fight near the Isle of Gernsey with the French and Genoeses who endeavoured to interrupt their passage thither but after they had been a while engaged a violent storm parted the two Navies and the English landed safely the first Town taken by them being Vannes and that by assault Soon after this Town was re-taken by Sir Henry de Leon and the Lord Clisson but the latter end of the Summer King Edward landed with an Army and laid a new Siege to it and perceiving the Country was much wasted he left the Earl of Arundel with this Lord before it and went to Rennes It hapned that one day upon an assault this Lord ventured so far that he was got between the City Gate and the Bars and there taken Prisoner but at another side of the Town Sir Henry de Leon and the Lord Clisson were both taken Prisoners by the English and so he was afterwards exchanged for the Lord Clisson In this Expedition he had Wages allowed him for 50 men at Arms viz. himself two Bannerets 16 Knights 31 Esquires and 50 Archers on Horseback An. 17. E. 3. was a year of much action for first this Earl with the Earl of Lancaster and other Noblemen went into Scotland to raise the Siege laid by the Scots to the Castle of Louhmaban and being returned was joined in Commission with Hugh le Despenser Lord of Glamorgan William de Norwich Dean of Lincolne Sir William Trussell and Andrew de Offord to treat in the Pope's presence with the Agents of Philip de Valois concerning the Kings right to the Crown of France but we suppose he went not on that Embassy for the 19. of August there was another Commission for that Affair made out to Henry of Lancaster Earl of Derby and others wherein he and Sir William Trussell were omitted and they the first of Iuly preceding with Philip de Weston Canon of York and Iohn Wawayn were sent to treat with the Noblemen Burgomasters c. in Flanders about the setlement of the Staple of Wool there and touching the Coyning of Gold and Silver such as might be current both in England and Flanders and whatsoever by any 3 or 2 of them should be agreed on this Ralph Earl of Stafford being one the King promised to ratifie They had another Commission wherein power was granted them to treat with the Princes Nobles and People of Almaine upon Alliances between the King and them and to gain their assistance for him The following year he went in the Expedition intâ— Gascoigne with the Earl of Derby and commanded the Party that assaulted Bergerac by Water who behaved themselves so valiantly that through their Valour the Town was forced to surrender to the Earl He was very active in this Gascoigne War and almost in continual Service and in sealing the Walls of Mountpesat Castle Richard Pennenort an English Gentleman that bare his Banner was slain For his Great Services in this War after his return into England he was made Seneschal of Gascoigne and had the Kings Letter sent to the Prelates and Nobility of that Country to obey and submit to his Authority while he continued in that Office Within a few days after the King directed his Writ
to pay into the Exchequer for the Fee Farm of the Mannor of Bollestrade Next he granted him a Pension of 20 Marks per annum for his life out of his Exchequer until Lands of the yearly value of 10 l. should be setled on him The following year he granted him all the Lands and Tenements belonging to Iohn the Son of Henry de Morff in Alnetheley in Shropshire which by forfeiture of the said Iohn Escheated to the King to hold to him and his Heirs for ever Besides these the Prince having retained him in his service as well in Peace as for War granted to him for life a Pension of 50 l. per annum and that it might be more certainly paid he after granted to him his Mannors of Neuyn and Purchely in North Wales for life which the King confirmed Afterwards Henry Earl of Lancaster the Kings Lieutenant in Aquitaine for the good service this Knight had formerly done the King in England Scotland and elsewhere and also to himself in Gascoigne by Letters Patent dated the 12. of November an Dom. 1346. gave him for his life Pedalium Sancti Macharii with all the profits thereto belonging which grant the King confirmed to him an 22. E. 3. This noble Knight was Son and Heir of Roger Loring and Cassandrae Daughter of Reginald Perot He married Margaret Daughter and Heir of Sir Ralph Beauple of Cnubeston in Devonshire by Elizabeth his Wife Daughter and Heir of Alan Bloyho the relict of Stephen Tinterne Esq by whom he had Issue two Daughters and Heirs namely Isabel Wife to Robert Lord Harington and Margaret Wife to Iohn Peyvre of Tuddington in the County of Bedford He died an 9. R. 2. and was buried in the Priory of Dunstable to which he had been a great Benefactor 21. Sir Iohn Chandos THE first Martial Action of his was at St. Quintins for while King Edward in the 13. year of his Reign lay at siege before Cambray being the first Town he sate down before upon his first entrance into France the Earl of Henault made an assault upon St. Quintins where this Esquire so then called by Sir Iohn Froissard fought valiantly with Iohn de St. Dager an Esquire of Vermandois between the Bars and the Gate both manifesting great Courage and Gallantry And in this Expedition he was ranged in the third Battel led by the King which was pitch'd between Vironfosse and Flamengery to encounter the French For his Valour shewn in this Expedition the King bestowed on him the honor of Knighthood and at his return to Antwerpe granted him 20 Marks per annum out of his Exchequer to support that Dignity till he should settle on him Lands to that yearly value for his life When the King led another Army into Flanders designed also against the French he attended him and fought valiantly in the Naval Engagement before Sluce He was in the Voyage Royal made into Normandy an 20. E. 3. and in its march at Poisy he and Sir Basset preserved two of the Lord of Poisy's Daughters from violation and brought them to the King who caused them to be safely conducted to Corbe whither they desired to go At the Battel of Cressy he commanded in the Van led by the Prince of Wales and when this Prince was constituted the Kings Lieutenant in Aquitaine he attended him in that Expedition and by his command summon'd the Castle of Romorentine which held out a while but was at length forced to surrender Marching on with the Prince the Battel of Poictiers approached and on the day before a Truce for that day being obtained by the endeavours of the Cardinal of Piergort this valiant Knight coasted about to make discovery of the French Army as did also the Lord Clerèmont one of the French Marshals and as they returned they met and observed that both of them bore the same device to wit a Lady in blue irradiated with the Sun-beams Cleremont demanded how long he had born his device Chandos answered you bear mine I deny that replied Cleremont and did not the Truce hinder I would make it good To morrow said Chandos you shall find me ready to justifie it to be mine as well as yours and so they parted The next day the Fight begun during which St. Iohn never parted from the Princes side and when he perceived that the French Marshals was discomfited he advised the Prince to advance towards the Kings Battel telling him there was all the hazard and the glory which he accordingly did At the end of this famous Battel when no more French Banners were left in the field he prevailed with the Prince to set up his Standard in a Bush near him to give a signal to his dispersed Army to rally while he took some refreshment An. 33. E. 3. he attended the King in his Expedition into France and being at the siege of Rheyms he and Sir Iames Audeley and the Lord Mucident a Gascoigne with their Troops rode near to Chalons in Champaigne and drawing near to Chargny in Dormois where was a strong Castle they gave an assault to it at which the Lord Mucident being slain they in revenge made a resolution to take it ere they went away which they did putting all to the Sword and demolishing the Castle He was constituted Captain and the Kings Lieutenant in the Dukedom of Normandy and the parts of France and had power given him to grant Pardons for Treason Murder c. and whatsoever he did in this case the King promised to ratifie under his Great Seal After the Peace near Chartres Sir Iohn Chandos was constituted one of King Edward's Commissioners to take possession of the Dutchy of Aquitaine where Sir Iames de Bourbon delivered him the possession of divers Lands Towns Cities Castles and Fortresses whereupon he received the Fealty and Homage of all the Nobility and others Shortly after he was made Captain and Commander in chief of the Castle and Town of Rochel and all the Country of Xâ—ntonge and a command was therewithall sent to Iohn de Monte Ferandi Custos of the said Castle and Town to deliver them up to him with all the Arms Provisions and other the King's Stores in his possession And the following year when the Prince of Wales now created Prince of Guyenne took a Voyage thither he was made Constable of Aquitaine and Sir Guischard d' Angle Marshal When the King of Cyprus came into Aquitaine upon a visit to the Prince he was sent to receive and conduct him to Angolesme where the Prince kept his Court He also waited on him through Xantonge and Poictou to Rochell to view the Country whence he returned to Angolesme where having taken leave of the Prince he yet attended him to the confines of the Principality Charles de Bloys having gained new strength from