Garter of Ioane Countess of Salisbury falling casually off as she danced in a solemn Ball King Edward hastily stooping took it up from the ground whereupon some of his Nobles and Courtiers smiling as at an amorous action and he observing their sportive humour turn'd it off with this reply in French Honi soit Qui mal y Pense but withal added in disdain of their laughter That in a short time they should see that Garter advanced to so high honor and estimation as to account themselves happy to wear it But taking leave to examine this Tradition we shall only make two or three Remarques and then refer it to the judgment of others what credit ought to be given thereto First Sir Iohn Froissart who only among the Writers of that Age speaks of this Institution assigns it no such original as that of the falling of a Ladies Garter Nor is there found any thing to that purpose in our other Historians for the space of two hundred years till Polydor Virgil took occasion to say something of it whose grounds we shall examine immediately Besides it might be expected that some Historian among the French who were so forward to jeer at our King Henry the Fifth's design of invading them with a return of Tennis Balls would not have forborn to register some where or other a scoff at the Ladies Garter especially in a time when the fury of War had dissolv'd all obligations of friendship and civility and opened the mouth of slander Whereto we must add that there is not the least appearance in the original Statutes of this most noble Order to countenance the conceit of such a Feminine Institution no not so much as obliging the Knights-Companions to defend the quarrels of Ladies as the Rules of some Orders then in being enjoin'd nor doth the Author of that piece intituled Institutio clarissimi Ordinis Militaris à prenobili Subligaculo nuncupati written by way of Preface to the Black Book of the Garter let fall the least touch to that purpose As to what Polydor says it is even thence to be noted that he himself is not so confident as to ascertain the person whose Garter it was but warily declining that says it was either the Queens or the Kings Mistress and if it were the later yet doth he with the same caution omit her name and title of dignity both which hath since been supplied but on what authority we find not by some of our modern Historians who call her Ioane Countess of Salisbury and there is as little reason why she should be supposed to be Ioane called also the Fair Maid of Kent whom Edward the black Prince afterwards married inasmuch as no Historian takes the least notice that King Edward the Third ever courted her as a Mistress We suppose our learned Selden points at her when he calls the Lady from whom the Garter slipt Countess of Kent and Salisbury but about the time of the Foundation of the Order of the Garter she in truth was neither for albeit she was Daughter to Edmund of Woodstock Earl of Kent and had been sometime the reputed Wife of William Mountagu second Earl of Salisbury of that Family yet then she could not properly be accounted Countess of Salisbury because she was actually Wife to Sir Thomas Holland one of the first Founders of that Order and so adjudged to be by Pope Clement the Sixth in a controversie depending before him between Sir Thomas and the Earl and for this reason not taken notice of either by Brooke or Vincent in the title of Salisbury to have been his Wife Nor was she yet though afterwards Countess of Kent because her Brother Iohn Earl of Kent at the Institution of this Order was alive and died not till anno 26. E. 3. But that there was a Countess of Salisbury of whom King Edward the Third became greatly enamoured is reported by Sir Iohn Froissart after this manner That this King having relieved a Castle belonging to the Earl of Salisbury in the North of England wherein his Countess had been besieged by the Scots the Earl himself being at that time Prisoner in France upon sight of her extraordinary beauty fell in love with her but she so virtuously demeaned her self towards the King during his short stay there that he declined further sollicitation Howbeit some time after the King out of desire to see her saith the same Author proclaimed a solemn Justs in London whither this Countess and many other Ladies being invited came Froissart names not the Castle wherein this Countess lay when the Scots besieged it but only gives this note upon it That the King gave the same Castle to her Husband for his good service past when he first married her being then but a Knight The name of the place being left thus by him in the dark those who hitherto sought after it have but roved at it with uncertain guesses But upon more diligent search we have hit the mark and find it was the Castle of Wark upon Tweed in the County of Northumberland upon the Borders of England towards Scotland which King Edward had so bestowed upon Sir William Mountague afterwards created Earl of Salisbury for his life together with the Mannor Lands and Tenements within the Liberty of the said Mannor This Castle being grown very ruinous and the said Sir William undertaking the charge of the repair which hapned to be very great the King thereupon granted the same anew to him for life by the service of one Knights Fee the remainder after his death to his Son Iohn and the Heirs of his body lawfully begotten to hold by the foresaid service and if he dyed without such issue then to the right Heirs of Sir William for ever Though then it should be admitted that this Countess of Salisbury was the Kings Mistress yet must it be noted that she was Wife to William Mountague created Earl of Salisbury anno 11. E. 3. Mother to William the before mentioned second Earl that her Christian name was Katherine not Alice as Froissart nor Ioane as others call her and Daughter to William Lord Granston a Nobleman of Burgundy and that she died anno 28. Ed. 3. and lies buried at Bysham Abbey in Berkeshire But that the whole story may appear no otherwise than indeed it is a Fable we shall here insert the opinion of a late learned Writer who hath taken no small pains to satisfie himself and the world in this particular This saith Doctor Heylin I take to be a vain and idle Romance derogatory both to the Founder and the Order first published by Polydor Virgil a Stranger to the Affairs of England and by him taken upon no better ground than Fama vulgi the tradition of the common people too trifling a foundation to so great a building common bruit being so infamous an Historian that wise men neither report after it
intimation that where any reasonable cause could be made appear at the time of Knighthood to impede the receiving of the Order the person might be admitted to make Fine for the respite thereof Yet was not this Fine constant or certain but estimated and set according to the nature of the excuse or length of time given for instance Robert de Menevil of Northumberland having obtained respite for two years was set at five Marks and Peter Founden at forty eight Shillings and eight Pence for three years respite but Iohn de Drokensford paid ten Pounds for a suspension of his Knighthood only for the same time And in these cases the Kings Writ usually issued to the Sheriff with command to permit the person to have that respite and to forbear taking any distress till the time compounded for should be expired and if nevertheless the person happened to be impleaded for not having received Knighthood the Kings Letters Patents granting him the time of respite being produced have been allowed If any person had been distrained by the Sheriff and a retorn thereof made to the King and did not appear at the time and place in the Writ nominated to receive the Honor of Knighthood in such case we sometimes find that a Writ hath issued giving command to the Sheriff forthwith to seize all his Lands and Tenements into the Kings hands and answer the profits thereof into the Exchequer The Fines and Amerciaments set upon such contempt seem to have been arbitrary and the Court swayed according as the nature of the default appeared William the Son of Gilbert de Alton paid twenty shillings for not appearing and receiving Knighthood according to the command of the Kings Proclamation Thomas Pauncefoot paid four Nobles Iohn de Lodbroke forty shillings the like Fine was set upon Simon de Bradeney and Thomas Trivet both of Somersetshire and Iohn de Neirvote in the County of Bucks and lastly William Lassels paid four pounds for that he had not received Knighthood before Michaelmas Anno 30. E. 3. and for obtaining respite for three years from thence But albeit in the promiscuous course of bestowing of Knighthood where the men of Wealth and Estate whether otherwise worthy or not became dignified yet was not the gate of Honor then shut against those who wanting Riches sought her out by the paths of Virtue and Merit For where men of low Fortunes deserved well of their Country and that for their good services the King had judged them worthy of Honor He was accordingly pleas'd to bestow such annual Pension or Lands upon them as He esteemed sufficient to maintain that degree of Dignity whatsoever it was so conferr'd And this is agreeable to the judgment of the Author of the Division du Monde who saith That the Honor of Knighthood is not to be given to any person who hath not a considerable Estate unless sufficient means to support the Honor of that Order be also given with it Hence it is that the Kings of England have allowed Pensions and frequent mention of them is made in the Rolls sometimes during pleasure and then again during the lives of those on whom they have thought fit to confer the Honor for their better support as for instance King Edward the Third granted by Letters Patents forty Pounds per annum out of his Exchequer to Iohn atte Lee Queen Isabel's Steward in auxilium status sui manutenendi first during pleasure and afterwards for his life But the case is more remarkable of Sir Nele Loring who afterwards attained the Honor to be one of the first Founders of the most noble Order of the Garter for whose valiant performances in the Naval Fight against the French at Sluce the King conferr'd the Dignity of Knighthood upon him and immediately after granted to him and his Heirs Males twenty Pounds per annum that he might better maintain that Honor until he could settle on him and them so much in value of Lands or yearly Rents in Fee And here the following Grant made by King Richard the Second to Sir Iohn Walssh of forty Marks per annum for life to support that Dignity of Knighthood he had given him may very well be inserted Rex omnibus ad quos c. salutem Sciatis quod cum nos pro eo quod dilectus fidelis noster Johannes Walssh nuper in praesentia nostra pro defensione suâ— multum strenue fecit prout satis est notorium ipsum Ordinem Militarem suscipere facerimus Ordinem illum ei de manibus nostris dederimus eum penes nos ipsos retinuerimus Et quia ipse sufficienter non habet unde Onus cum honore valeat supportare Dedimus Concessimus ei Quadraginta Marcas per annum ad terminum vitae suae percipiend per manus Vicecomitis nostri Lincolniensis qui pro tempore fuerit de exitibus balivae suae ad terminos Paschae Sancti Michaelis per aequales portiones In cujus c. Teste R. apud Westminst quinto die Decembris The Kings of England upon the same account did usually bestow like annual rewards on such whose merit raised them to the Degree of Baneret and in the Letters Patents whereby such Pensions are granted we observe it usually exprest ad manutenendum statum Baneretti or words to the like effect Hereupon King Edward the Third gave to Sir Reginald Cobbâ—m four hundred Marks per annum during his life to be paid him out of the Exchequer afterwards the Mannor of Tippenham in Buckinghamshire for life and a Mill under Oxford Castle with a Meadow there called Kings Meade We find moreover that Thomas de Rokeley who in the service of this King had received the Degree of Baneret had two hundred Marks per annum granted unto him pro sustentatione sua during life To Sir Iohn Lysle one other of the Founders of the said most noble Order ut ipse statum Baneretti which the King had before conferr'd on him melius manutenere possit he gave two hundred pounds a year during life and upon Roger de Swynerton Baneret He bestowed for life pro statu suo manutenendo all the Mannors Lands c. which lying in the Counties of Stafford and Chester came to the Kings hands by the forfeiture of Hugh le Despenser as likewise the Mannor of Barew in the County Palatine of Chester to him and his Heirs And it is worthy of note that some times such like Grants have been made by the consent of Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament for so were the two hundred Marks per annum given to Geoffry le Scroop Baneret in the Reign of King Henry the Sixth Thus far we have spoken of the Qualifications which capacitate him who receives the Degree of Knighthood it will not now be amiss to touch upon one particular relating to the Person
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.
Order and the ancient Practice Thus stands the Law for setlement of Stalls at this day And whereas the Stall commonly called the Prince's Stall was and had been long void the Soveraign by the advice of the most Noble Companions present in Chapter the said 19. of November was pleased to order That the present King of Sweden should by his Proxie be placed in that Stall and his Atchievements hung up thereon accordingly in convenient time All which being done as this Order directed the Stalls at the Feast of St. George celebrated an 23. Car. 2. were ordered in the following manner 1. The Soveraign 1. The King of Sweden 2. King of Denmark 2. Duke of York 3. Prince Elector Palatine 3. Prince Rupert 4. Prince of Orange 4. Prince Elector of Brandenburgh 5. Prince Elector of Saxony 5. Duke of Ormond 6. Duke of Buckingham 6. Duke of Newcastle 7. Earl of Bristol 7. Prince of Tarente 8. Count Marshin 8. Earl of Sandwich 9. Earl of Oxford 9. Duke of Richmond 10. Earl of Strafford 10. Duke of Monmouth 11. Duke of Albemarle 11. Void 12. Void 12. Void 13. Void 13. Void SECT VII Preparations made by the Knight Elect. HAving in the preceding Section laid down the ancient Law of succession into void Stalls and of Translation from one Stall to another with several instances both while such removals were at the Soveraign's pleasure and after when they became confin'd to the regular course now observed and having also discourt concerning those things which are to be prepared for the Installation of a Knight Subject on the Soveraign's part and for which his Warrants and Letters issue forth as is before shewed at large we come now to consider what is further to be prepared for the Knight Elect at his own charge against the day of this great Solemnity and they are chiefly these which follow 1. A Mantle or upper Robe with its appurtenances 2. A Collar of the Garter and Great George 3. A Cap of black Velvet adorn'd with Plumes 4. An Helm Crest Mantlings and Sword 5. A Banner of his Arms. 6. A Plate of his Arms and Stile 7. A Cushen to carry his Robes and Collar upon 8. Lodging Scutcheons We do not find that the Mantle of the Order was anciently bestowed by the Soveraign upon Knights Subjects as was the Kirtle or Surcoat nor indeed of late unless now and then as a peculiar favour for seeing the Injunction for returning the Mantle upon the death of a Knight-Companion is restrained to such only on whom the Soveraign should vouchsafe to bestow them it is thence evident that the Soveraign is not obliged to give the Mantle at all nor to all but only where himself pleaseth But it appears that the Soveraign always bestowed the Mantle together with the rest of the Habit upon Strangers after he had Elected any of them into the Society of the Order And when the whole Habit was sent over by Garter to the King of Portugal an 13. H. 6. the Mantle Surcoat and Hood were accompted for together in the Accompts of the Great Wardrobe and the like hath been done in all such cases since Howbeit of late times the Soveraign as an especial mark of favour hath been pleased now and then to give a Knight-Subject the Mantle also as did King Iames to Iames Marquess Hamilton an 21. Iac. R. and King Charles the First to Theophilus Earl of Suffolk an 4. Car. 1. to William Earl of Northampton an 5. Car. 1. and an 14. Car. 1. Sir Iames Palmer by this Soveraign's direction paid for the Velvet and Taffety of the Earl of Kelly's Mantle and Surcoat to Sir Peter Richaut and put it upon the Accompt of extraordinary charges of the Order Besides which the present Soveraign as a mark of like favour caused 17 Mantles with the usual Liveries of Surcoat and Hood to be provided against the Grand Feast of St. George an 13. Car. 2. which were bestowed not only among the new Elect Knights but the three senior Knights-Companions also namely the Earls of Salisbury Berkshire and Northumberland for which see the Warrant in the Appendix But the Elect Knight being otherwise to provide the Mantle at his own charge directions may be had in the Chapter of the Habit and Ensigns of the Order as to all the materials for making thereof The Collar of the Order with the Great George is to be provided by the Elect Knight unless where the Soveraign is pleased to bestow the Mantle and in such case he also bestows the Collar and then a like Warrant issues to the Master of the Iewel-house as did for providing the 17. Collars an 13. Car. 2. The Black Velvet Cap mentioned and described before and therefore needless to speak of it here is also to be provided at the charge of the Knight Elect. Likewise the Helm and Crest with Mantlings thereunto belonging also a Sword and Girdle usually called within the verge of this Order the Atchievements of a Knight-Companion are to be got in readiness by the care and direction of Garter but at the Elect Knights cost all which are to be set over his Stall assoon as his Installation Fees are paid This honor that every Knight-Companion should have his Helme Crest and Sword hung up over his Stall in the Chappel of St. George at Windesor is particularly provided for in all the several Bodies of Statutes and are ordained to remain there during the lives of the possessors in memory or as a Token or Mark of Honor of him that bears them and a testimony of the defence of the Church as the Oaths of Military Orders require The Helms used for this purpose and upon this occasion are made of Steel large and fair and of a more than ordinary proportion they are likewise for the most part of two sorts the one appointed for Soveraign Princes and framed open with large Bailes or Bars the other for Knights Subjects whose Vizors are made close About King Henry the Eighth's Reign the Knights Subjects Helms were parcel gilt with fine Gold in Oyle wrought with Rabeskys and other works and burnished with fine Gold But in Queen Elizabeth's Reign and since it hath been the Custom to gild their Helms all over placing St. George's Arms in the middle before the Vizors The Mantlings that hang down on either side the Helm which with the Wreath are in some places called Appendixes are all of Tissue or Cloth of Gold and heretofore lined with Sarcenet but in Queen Mary's Reign they began to make use of White Satin for of such were the Linings to the Mantlings of Anthony Brown Viscount Montague and William Howard Lord Admiral At the bottom of these Mantlings hang a pair of gilt knobs burnished with Gold from which issue Tassels of either Gold or Silver according as is the metal in the Knights Coat Armour mixed
deserved He married Ioane the Daughter and Heir of Oliver de Ingham and Relict of Roger le Strange and dyed on Wednesday next before the Feast of St. Nicholas an 38. E. 3. leaving his Son Miles then about 20 years of age The Custody of his Lands was granted to the Queen who granted it to Bryan Stapleton Knight Iohn de Boys and Roger de Boys till his said Son came of age which Grant the King confirmed the same day by his Letters Patent He and his Wife were both buried at the House of Ingham founded by his Mothers Ancestors 18. Sir Thomas Wale HE was the Son of Sir Thomas Wale and Lucy his Wife which Lucy held the Mannor of Wedon-Pinkney in the County of Northampton with its appurtenances in her Demesne as of Fee of the King in Capite as of the Fee Pinkney by the service of one Knights Fee and long before her death she setled the said Mannor on this Sir Thomas and his Heirs as appears by the Inquisition taken after her death wherein the said Sir Thomas is found to be her next Heir and then about 40 years of age He attended the King into Flanders an 12. E. 3. and had command under William de Bohun Earl of Northampton in the Expedition which the King made into Bretagne an 16. E. 3. so also beyond Sea in the Kings service with Richard Earl of Arundel an 18. E. 3. We find not that he had any issue by his Wife Nichola who out-lived him but that his three Sisters were his Heirs namely Margaret the Wife of Malorre Alice of Thomas Chamberlain and Iulian. He dyed in Gascoigne on Tuesday next after the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel an 26. E. 3. being a Knight of great vertue and worthiness so that of all the Stalls of the first Founders his first became void into which succeeded Reginald Lord Cobham of Sterborough 19. Sir Hugh Wrottesley SIR Hugh Wrottesley was Son to Sir William Wrottesley of Wrottesley in the County of Stafford Knight It appears that an 8. E. 3. he designed a Voyage to the Holy-Land and to that end had obtained the Kings Letters for appointing Peter de Hoe and Thomas de Chency his Attornies during his absence to prosecute his Suits in any Court of England An. 12. E. 3. he went in the Kings Service into Flanders when the King went over thither to confer with his Allies And at the Siege of Calais he had the Kings Licence to inclose his Wood at Wrottesley and make a Park Two years after for his good service he granted to him the Custody of the Lands and Tenements which were William de Pilateâ—hall deceased till his Heirs came of age with the marriages of them without rendring any thing theretofore An. 24. E. 3. the King granted him a Pension of 40 l. per annum out of his Exchequer for his life upon the surrender of which Letters Patent he granted him 40 l. per annum to be thus received viz. 16 l. 4 s. 4 d. out of the Farm of the Villages of Mere and Clent 11 l. 10 s. out of the Farm of the Village of Swinford 11 l. out of the Farm of the Village of Kinefare and Tetenhale and 1 l. 6 s. 8 d. out of the Farm of the Foresters Fee of Tedesley to hold for life or till he had 40 l. per annum in Lands or Rents setled on him for life yet to be answerable for the overplus being 1 s. 8 d. These last Letters Patent were confirmed to him by King Richard the Second in the first year of his Reign He married Mabill the Daughter of Sir Philip ap Rees and Ioane his Wife by whom he had issue Iohn whose heir male in a direct line is Sir Walter Wrottesley of Wrottesley in the County of Stafford Baronet now living He also had to his second Wife Isabel Daughter of Iohn Arderne of Aldeford Aderlegh and Edds. And dyed the Monday after the Feast of St. Vincent an 4. R. 2. 20. Sir Nele Loring AT the Naval Fight before Sluce his Valour was so remarkable that it gained him the Honor of Knighthood to which the King immediately added a Donation of 20 l. per annum to him and his Heirs males for the better support of that Dignity till Lands of the like annual value were provided for him and them These Letters Patent bear Teste at Sluce 26. of Iune in the 14. year of the Kings Reign over England and his first of France In the Kings Expedition into Bretagne he attended him thither and an 18. E. 3. went beyond Sea in his Service In the beginning of the following year he and Michael Northburgh Canon of Liâ—hfeild and Hereford were sent to the Pope's Court with the Kings Letter dated 23. Feb. an 19. E. 3. to obtain a Dispensation for the marriage of the Prince of Wales with the Daughter of the Duke of Brabant At his return he went with Henry de Lancaster Earl of Derby into Gascoigne where he stayed the following year After which coming over into England he within a short time returned to his Commands in Gascoigne An. 29. E. 3. he attended the Prince of Wales in his Expedition into Gascoigne and being specially assigned to attend his person in the Battel at Poictiers he performed his duty so well that he received both acknowledgments and rewards from the Prince for that days service He was afterwards appointed by King Edward to be one of his Commissioners for receiving the possession of all Countries Cities Forts c. that by the Treaty of Peace near Chartres were to be delivered to him When the Prince of Wales was created Prince of Guyenne he attended him thither again and there continued four years whence returning into England he stayed not long but went back again and remained there three years After which coming into England and being again sent into Aquitaine Writs were directed to Robert de Ashton Admiral towards the West for the passage of him and Sir Iohn de la Haye their Soldiers and Retinue and this year he was one of those Knights of the Prince's Retinue sent to meet Sir Robert Knolls at his coming out of Bretagne whom they met at Quercy and assisted at the Sieges of Durmel and Domme both which though they thought fit to break up yet marching further into the Country they took Gauaches Freins Rochmador and Ville Franche upon the marches of Tholouze He was an active man and did King Edward great services which induced him to confer many favours on him in recompence thereof as first he granted him a Pension of 5 l. a year during his life to be paid him by the Abbess of Burnham out of the 15 l. per annum she was