said the Inner Temple hath lately assumed to themselves a Pegasus whereof in particular I spare to relate any more for the same is vulgarly known to all To the Inner House was also appropriated divers learned Legists from time to time which in number continuance and gifts of Nature did exceed every other of the said Innes of Court And therefore was anciently tearmed Inner Temple Boun Pleader Which continueth to this very day and it is withall much esteemed of beautified and graced with a special Garden plot famous for its situation neatnesse and nearnesse of the River The Ensign is Azure a Pegasus Argent Lincolns Inne This House owning a right to the Arms as well as name of the Lacyes Earls of Lincolne have set up over the Gate the Lyon Rampant purpure committing a great mistake in that if Sir John Fern's account of that Familie of the Lacyes be true which hath passed for authentick for he tels us that Or a Lyon Rampant purpure was his right but it was only a quartering and not the paternall Coat for his first and principall bearing was party per Crosse Gules 〈◊〉 a bend Sables over all a file or three Labels Arg. and this was the proper Coat of those Lacyes the other was the Coat of the Lord Nigeld or Neal Baron of Halton This Society of Lincolnes Inne the next for antiquity and ancient Ally to the Middle Tenple is situate in a Street or Lane known formerly by the name of New-street and now Chancery lane being once the Mansion-house of a Gentleman called William de Havershall Treasurer to King Henry the third who for disloyalty to his Soveraign was by the said King attainted of Treason so that thereby his house and lands became annext to the Crown And thereupon the King gave this house to Ralph de Nova villa vulgo Nevill Chancellor of England as appeareth by an ancient Record Who also was Bishop of Chichester and kept his habitation or place of abode in that place This House came afterwards to the hands of Henry Lacy Earl of Lincoln by reason whereof it was called Lincolns Inne and keepeth the style to this day This Earl Henry deceased in that house about the year of our Lord 1310. Neverthelesse this house did afterwards continue to the Bishops of Chichester untill the 〈◊〉 of King Henry the eighth and the interest thereof came by conveyance to Justice Gullyard and other Feoffees who during his life and after him his posterity held it untill the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth and then Sir Edw. Gullyard Knight to whom the same did successively descend by Inheritance sold the same with the Inheritance thereof to the Benchers and Society thereof There is no memory of any florishing Estates of the Students and professors of the Common Lawes resident in this Colledge until the reign of King Henry the sixth when it appeareth by the Rolls and remembrances of that house that the same became somewhat to be famous But now of late time this house hath been much enlarged and beautified with ranks of goodly Edifices and also with a fair and goodly Chappel The first of the chiefest buildings thereof was begun at the cost of Sir Thomas Lovell Knight then or before a fellow of that Society who erected that fair Gate-house into Chancery lane of brick and free stone whereupon is engraven the Arms of Lacy Earl of Lincoln together with his own The said Chancery lane is so called for that King Edward the third in the fifteenth year of his reign annexed the house of Covents by Patent to the Office of Chancery now called the Rolls Grays Inne Beareth Sables a Griffin Rampant Or. This house was sometimes the abiding Mansion of the Noble Family of Gray from whence the name of the house is deduced It is situate within the Mannor Poorpoole a Prebendary antiently belonging to the Cathedral Church of St. Paul London In the reign of King Edward the third the Gentlemen Students of that Society as is confidently affirmed took a Grant of this house from the said Baron Gray who lived in those dayes And it is held probable that the Grayes Armes have been anciently by this fellowship maintained and are still taken up and kept as the proper and peculiar Ensigne of that Colledge or house and thus the same is found portraited Barry of six Arg. Azure a bordure quarterly Or and of the second But now of late yeares this honorable Society have assumed for their proper Coat Armor or Ensign of honor A Griffin Or in a field Sables Thavies Inne Beareth Azure two Garbes Or on a bend Gules On a Chief Sable a letter T. Arg. Hereafter ensue the inferior Hostels ordained for Students that professe the practice of the Common Law of this Realm to the end they may the better obtain unto themselves the understanding of the Principles grounds of the same Laws and be thereby the better prepared for to manage the causes of the Subjects in the severall Courts of Justice within the Dominions whether at Westminster or elsewhere and also by their labour and Industry to become graduates and be the better enabled to be entred into the Innes of Court These inferior Courts being Nurseries and are entituled Inns of Chancery And first for this Thavies Inne It is probable that the house by all conjecture is the most ancient of all others of that nature and it doth in that regard challenge the precedency in this rank This house was in the raigne of King Edward the third as is by 〈◊〉 to be found the dwelling and mansion house of one John Thavye Citizen and Armourer of London and was by the then Apprentices of the Law held of him at a certain Rent annual as by a Record yet to be seen in the Husting Courts of London doth appeare and may be verified for antiquity But since that time the House hath been purchased by the Benchers or the Antients of Lincolns Inne which about the raign of King Henry the seventh to the end that there might be entertained in that place a Society of Students practisers and Professors of the Common Laws of this Realm And this house still retaineth the name of the said Thavies who was the first owner of it as is before mentioned Furnivals Inne Beareth Arg. a bend betwixt six Martlets within a bordure Azure This house was sometime the Mansion of Sir William Furnivall in the raign of King Richard the second as by Record appeareth He was afterwards Lord Furnival his heir general married to Sir John Talbot created Earl of Shrewsbury by King Henry the sixth by reason whereof this Mansion house came to the family of the 〈◊〉 Earls of Salop and afterwards of later years in the raign of Queen Elizabeth the same house was by the Benchers or the Ancients of Lincolns Inne purchased for the serting into the same a Society of Students of the Common Lawes from George Lord Talbot Earl of Salop as by sundry
Honor rediviuus or An analysis of Hono and Armory by MATT CARTER Esq London printed for Henry Herringman 1660 And Are to be Sould by Henry Herringman at the Ancker on the lowest side of the New-Exchange ANDREW COLTEE DUCAREL L.L.D. Doctor 's Commons A POSSE AD ESSE TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE WILLIAML d. Marquesse AND Earl of HERTFORD Baron SEYMOUR AND BEAUCHAMP MY LORD THat I have preferred so slender a Volume to Your Honorable Patronage is no more than the Subject of it which is Honor erects as Your Lordship is known of the first and greatest of those that challenge a concernment therein yet not more eminent by that of Your blood then of the inward Noblenesse of Your Vertues whereof the World hath received unmatchable testimonies These reasons as they oblige me to this presentment so I cannot but hope will also plead pardon for the trouble it brings a long with it and that once obtained I am assured of the preservation of this imperfect Essay under the powerfull Protection of your Lordships name Of the infinite Honorers whereof none is more ambitious to be known such than My LORD Your Honours most humbly devoted Matt. Carter TO THE READER READER THe unhappy Causes of the present neglect of this most noble knowledge are of so high nature as will not endure to be named the ill consequents in the imminent degenerateness of this Age so manifest that they need not In this declining condition of Honour nothing is more requisite then the means of its preservation amongst which this being one and that not inconsiderable gave me occasion of busying my self in this design Such bookes as have beene already publisht by persons eminent in this kinde are of large bulke and some of them too tedious to the most ingenious Student The more they comprehend the less apt for memory especially when enlarged with tedious impertinencies and doubtlesse more difficult for the apprehension of every Reader to which Method that is most discernable in brevity is the most excellent help That which I have herein followed is to treat first of the degrees of Honour and then of Armory and that although concisely yet I hope so clearly and fully that any person of ordinary capacity may hereby be able to blazon a Coat of the greatest difficulty the only care being in observing the termes given to things born and the manner of posture and position Some errors have escaped both the Press and theGraver which the Reader may at his leisure rectifie by the Errata at the end so let him peruse seriously and censure modestly and then I shal wish him Farewell Of HONOR in Generall and of its Particular Divisions THe Heraulds of former ages have many of them not onely divided the nobler sort of men into severall degrees but distinguished likewise the inferiour rank into four forms But as in some other things in that also I shall forbear to follow their method as not altogether so pertinent to the intentions of this compilement It is but an easie caution in me when I know not how few I shall 〈◊〉 by my best demerits not to stumble into the hazard of disgusting many by a rash enterprise in a weak endeavour considering especially the present temper of the world The great and wise Disposer of all Entities hath contriv'd every thing into such a Method as in every particle of the Creation is discover'd a most excellent harmony in which that of the degrees and honorary distinctions is as admirable as any and this is the intended scope of this 〈◊〉 Some he 〈◊〉 created to honor and some to dishonor 〈◊〉 a difference and variety in all things that by a rule of contraries they might the better display themselves Some men he hath richly adorn'd with Excellency and elevated them with the sublimary glories of Honor Nobility and Greatness and others again in the same light they shine hath he obscured with contraries of Meanness Ignobility and Indigency Of the latter I shall onely say that for them to Spurn at the more honorable because themselves are debased to an inferiority is to kick dirt in the face of that infinitely just and wise God of our Creation The first being the intended concernment I forbear any farther discourse of the latter Nobility saith Sir John Fern is thus defined Vir Nobilis idem est quod notus ac per omnium or a vulgatus A Gentleman or Nobleman is he which is known and through the Heroical vertues of his life talked of in every man's mouth In short amongst all men it is defined A certain eminence of some above the rest This is by the same Author distinguished into three Species Nobility supernaturall Nobility naturall and Nobility civill or politicall Supernaturall as in the heavenly Hierarchies or sacred Principalities And that there are orders and degrees amongst them we must believe or renounce our Christianity but I leave the further discovery thereof as too sublime to more mature and deliberate contemplations The second is Nobilitas physica or naturall Nobility consisting in the great variety of naturall creatures obvious to our human senses As for example Among the Planets the Sun is the most noble among the Elements Fire among the Plants the Cedar among Flowers the Rose of Metalls Gold of Jems the Diamond of Fish the Dolphin of Birds the Eagle of Beasts the Lion and amongst Men the King The last is Nobility civill or politicall which onely relates to Mankind and though some have distinguished the generality of a Common-wealth into two divisions onely the Noble and Ignoble the Gentry and Commonalty yet either part are again subdivided according to the policy of civill Government as well as the providence of divine Ordination When first this distinction came amongst us is by some thought uncertain but for my part not For doubtlesse it hath been continued from the first encrease of Mankind in the world for if there were Kings and Governors certainly other distinctions vertue being still admired and honored and some signall put upon it and Dignitas Nobilitas idem sunt dignity or preferment to power is that which makes a man noble And that there were Kings long before the Floud as Mr. Selden that excellent Master of Antiquity is of opinion is evident by those words he inserts which signifie that Adam after the propagation of Mankind was esteemed nor onely the Father but Governor in a kind of Royall or Monarchicall power during his life and Seth his son succeeded him in the like The Jews called such as were in the state of Nobiles among them Ben Ish or Filii viri or the sons of great men And the sons of men of common rank they tearmed Sons of men by filiihominis And the Scripture in many places distinguishes men thus as in that of the Psalm as well the sons of great men as of men of common rank both rich and poor together And this distinction of
King who gives it him that is created Then he returning thanks for his great honor withdraws in the same manner he came in the Trumpers sounding and so he goes to dinner Where after the second service is gone up the Garter with the rest of the Heralds cometh neer the Table where first pronouncing Largesse with a loud voyce he declareth the King's style in Latin French and English and then standing somewhat further off pronounceth Largesse again with the style of him that is newly created In which form was William Cecill created Lord Burghley 15. of Febr. 13. Elizab. Of the Viscount THis word in Latin is Vice-comes which is interpreted from the office of the person who was one cui Dominus hoc est Comes committit vices suas sive gubernationem castri saith Sir John Ferne. The Title is derived from the same Order in France which there were only first substitutes to Earls till getting themselves first in power got also to have the title honorary and hereditary between the Earl and Baron it being the same word which signifieth our Sheriffe and began not with us till about the 18. year of Henry the sixth who then created John Lord Beaumont Viscount Beaumont by Letters patent Though Sir John Fern tells us of it in the time of Henry the first and King Stephen and though the Elder sons of Dukes are styled Earls during their fathers life time so the Eldest sons of Marquesses are styled by their Fathers Vicounties and Baronies and called Lords and the younger sons saluted with Lord yet it is by 〈◊〉 only To this degree is allowed a Surcoat Mantle Hood and a Circulet without either flowers or points as in the discourse of Armory shall be seen and is created with the same ceremony those above him are Of the Count or Earl THe next precedency is an Earl called in Latin Comes and thence is an English word Count which word Comes we have from the example of the Romans amongst whom they used it for the title of sundry offices Coke defines them thus Dicuntur Comites quia à Comitatu five à societate nomen sumpserunt qui etiam dici possunt Consules a Consulendo c. But John of Salisbury who writ in the time of Henry the second says thus Comites dici à 〈◊〉 participatione And the word Earl we had from the Saxons from whence till we borrowed the word Honor we used the word Earl for gentle or noble and Ethel which was sometimes abridged to el so that of Ear-ethel it was Ear-el and by abbreviation Earl which the Dutch called Eorle Amongst the Germans they have the word Grave for it as Palsgrave Landgrave Reingrave c. from the word Gerefa by abbreviation Gereve and Grave as also Reve from whence our Shierreve or Shirriffe as some do abbreviate it Which word in the Teutonick signifies a Disposer or Director Others have That the word with the Saxons was Erlig and Ethling and used for the same office of Ealderman was before and the word Ealderman which now is writ Alderman was transferred to a lower degree who used the word also Thegon or Thaine for Baron as I said before But the word Ealderman and Ethling it seems did only signifie them according to Civill power and the word Heretoga from whence Hertshog for their Military power the former word being no more then Senior or Senator This title of Ealdermen continued for Duces Principes Comites untill Canutus reign when the word Earl was brought in and the other lost as to that Honor. What the Jurisdiction of the Ealderman in those times was and how absolute or large is to me yet uncertain though large it was doubtlesse because of the severall Offices that were under them but as it hath remained since the Conquest we find more reasonable satisfaction Their possessions were sometimes the whole Territories they derived their Title from and sometimes not but some particular 〈◊〉 or place in it We find also that both it and Thane were honorary and feudall Titles Upon the coming in of the Normans this word was turned into Comes or Count since when it hath remained And this word in the Empire was given to Quotquot è Comitatu Principis erant to all that were admitted to society of the Prince So the 〈◊〉 styled them in Warre Commilitones in the Court Comites The dignity is of divers kinds for an Earl acknowledging no Superior is equall to a Prince This Title as it continues since the Conquest is either locall or personall Locall as from the denomination of some County or other Territory and Personall that hath its being in some great Office as Earl-Marshal and the like Those locall are also simplices and Palatine which last retain the same constitution the Saxons time allowed them which is Juraeregalia or merum mixtum Imperium and could make Barons under them as those of Chester Lancaster the Bishopricks of Durham and Ely Hugh Lupus had the County Palatine of Chester given him by the Conquerour Ita liberè ad Gladium 〈◊〉 ipse Rex tenebat Angliam ad Coronam Who governed the County forty years he created eight Barons and built the Abbey of Chester Lancaster was made a Palatinate by Edward the third as says Sir William Segar and had Barons Chancery and Seal and so had the Bishopricks of Durham and Ely The office of those Barons being to sit in Councell and Judgment with the Earl To the County Palatine of Chester 〈◊〉 been Chamberlains who supplied the place of Chancellor Justices before whom the causes that should else belong to the King's Bench and Common Pleas are triable a Baron of the Exchequer a Sheriffe and other offices proportionably to those of the Crown at Westminster which being since reserved in the Crown is given to the Prince of Wales when he is created This County had this honor I conceive out of regard to the great trust was reposed in the first Earl which was to subdue and keep in order the British or Welch after the Conquest Of those that are not Palatine we find their Creation also as ancient as the Conquest William theConqueror made Alan Fergent thenDuke of Brittaign Earl of Richmond by a Patent The Creation Robe of a Marquesse Of the Marquesse THis word Marquesse at the first was used to all Earls and Barons that were Lords Marchers or Lords of Frontires and came afterward into a Title of speciall dignity between that of Duke and Earl beginning in the time of Richard the second who created Robert de Vere Earl of Oxford Marquesse of Dublin Per gladii cincturam circuli aurei suo capiti positionem The form of the Patent was then and many ages since very various but it is now regulated to one method which is the same in a manner with that of Earl only the word Marchio is put in the
Ensign of Regall Authority was the Scepter which is every where spoken of both in the Scriptures and profane Stories There is another Ensign of their Authority which is a Globe with a Cross in use amongst us ever since Edward the Confessor which is placed in the left hand as is seen in most of their Coyns the Cross denoting his Faith and the Globe his Empire both by Sea and Land as it is said of Justinian who was the first Emperor that ever had it At the Coronation of the Emperor it is carried by the Count Palatine of the Rhine where they call it Pomum Imperiale This power dignity and state hath been enjoyed by the Female sex as heirs descending by the common right of Inheritance and not onely in our parts but many others as at this day in Swethen when there is not the least punctilio of a diminution in respect of the Sex Besides for an addition to the honor of a King there is the same state allowed to a Queen during the life of her husband as to a Queen absolute almost and is allowed a Crown She is called Queen from the Saxon word Cuningine as King from Cuning onely by variation of the gender as it was their manner in such cases She is permitted to sit in State at the King 's right hand and to keep a Court distinct from the King although she be but the daughter of an Earl But this was in the time of King Edgbert prohibited and so for a long time continued by reason of Eadburgh who poysoned her husband King Brithick of the West-Saxons And if she be the daughter of a King Superior to her husband she may retain the dignity of her father's daughter and in this case the daughter hath preceded the mother And although in these latter times our Monarchy hath been reduced under the circumference of one Crown Imperiall no others having any other substitute Governors crowned Yet formerly both Scotland and Ireland had King's distinct whilst they acknowledged homage to the Crown of England as also the isles of Man and Wight The Kings of Man were first subject to the Kings of Norway then to the Crown of England and after to the Kings of Scotland and since again to the Kings of England Dominus hujus Insulae Rex vocatur cui fas est Corona aurea coronari The Lord of the Isle is called King and it is lawfull for him to be crowned with a Crown of gold Henry the second allowed with the same honor Roderig of Conaght to be King paying a homagery Tribute The Lord Beauchamp Earl of Warwick under Henry the sixth was in the like manner crowned King of the Isle of Wight Which is enough in this place as to the Dignity of a King Of the Emperor THe originall of this Title as it was long amongst the Romans denoted onely a Generall of an Army and not till the time of Julius Caesar translated to an honorary Title who being made perpetuall Dictator took also that of Imperator into his Title which hath continued in his Successors untill this day and became Superior to the Title of King that before was but substitute under it being yearly created in January and ended in September Which great change hapned upon the Victory of Caesar against Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalia This Title was onely taken up to supply that of King which had not long before been thrown out by Brutus and was supposed by the Usurper to be yet fresh in their memories and odious amongst them and it was long after before they used the Title of King though their power were as much and the Ceremonies and Ensignes of Regality the same and the Emperor's Throne at Rome was called Sedile regni But at last it grew to be as one and then the Emperor of Rome having subjected under his Jurisdiction many Kingdoms thought it however a title of more eminence and so retained it And though the title has not been so generally appropriated to our Crown yet our Kings have been styled Emperors and this Realm of England called an Empire So have the Kings of Spain and France But it is more peculiarly allowed or assumed by the Emperors of Germany who suppose that they have a right to the government of the whole world This Empire after it was divided to Constantinople and Rome and then again that Constantinople had lost it to the Turks it was removed to Germany and in the reign of Otho the third the Election granted to seven Princes of Germany the Archbishops of Mentz Trevers Cullen the Count Palatine of Rhine the Duke of Saxony the Marquesse Brandenburgh and the King of Bohemia then called Duke of Bohemia He hath had also the Superiority allowed him by all Secular Princes and whereas other Princes of Regall Authority are crowned with but one Crown he is with three the first of Iron which he receives of the Bishop of Cullen at Aquisgrane the second of Silver which he receives at Modena from the Bishop of Millan the third is of Gold wherewith he is crowned at Rome by the Pope And in latter Ages the title of King of the Romans is given to the Heir or him that is made or chosen Heir of the Empire and he is crowned and Jura Regalia given him though not so absolute as not to have a dependence on the Empire See Mr. Selden part 2. chap 1. The Ensignes of his Imperiall Dignity are a Crosse a Launce and a Sword a Scepter a Mond and a Crown and he is styled 〈◊〉 The Emperor of Russia is not Crowned but is adorned with a rich Cap of Purple neither is the Greek Sultan but vested with a mighty rich Tulipant But there though the Emperor have no Diadem yet the Sultanesse is adorned with a Rich Crown or Diadem Thus have I run through all the degrees of Honor and with as much brevity as so copious a Theam would allow of and for matter of precedency I think the method I have taken will save me the labour and I am unwilling to trouble the brains of the Ingenuous Reader with an unnecessary prolixity onely as to Offices of State because I have omitted them altogether I shall set down their places as in Princely Solemnities they are to be disposed In which those of the Crown are to precede all other of the Nobility that are not except the Blood Royall As the Lord Chancellor Lord Treasurer Lord President of the Privy Councel Lord Privy Seal These six also are placed next the Lord Privy Seal thus according to their state of dignity that is If he be a Baron to sit above all Barons if an Earl above all Earls Lord Great Chamberlain of England Lord High Constable of England Lord Marshall of England Lord Admirall of England Lord Great Master or Steward of the King's House Lord Chamberlain of the King's House So the King 's principall Secretary being a
Baron of the Parliament hath place above all Barons and if he be of a higher degree according to the former rule The Spirituall Nobility are thus placed The Archbishop of Canterbury The Archbishop of York Bishop of London Bishop of Durham Bishop of Winchester The two first are placed according to ancient dignity and the three last by act of Parliament and the rest of the Bishops to take their places according to the seniority of Consecration Segar lib. 4. cap. 24. By an Act of Parliament An. 31. Hen. 8. See the Act in Mr. Selden's Titles of Honor. So all men serving near unto the Prince's Person either Civil or Military are allowed a precedency in pari dignitate and themselves according to his seniority of place As to their precedency otherwise Dukes Marquesses Earls Viscounts and Barons are to take their places according to the antiquity of their Title and their Ancestor's creation and their Wives accordingly A Duke's eldest son takes place as a Marquesle but beneath him and his Wife beneath a Marchionesse and if she be the daughter and heir of a Duke she shall go before all Duke's eldest sons wives and however are equall to a Marchionesse but to go beneath them and the younger sons of Dukes are in equall degree with an Earl but to go beneath him and Marquesles eldest sons and their Ladies to take place accordingly So the eldest son of a Marquesse as an Earl and the younger as Viscounts and their Ladies and sisters to take place accordingly as before An Earl's eldest son takes place as a youngest Viscount and the younger as Barons their wives and sisters accordingly Viscounts eldest sons as Barons and their youngest sons to take place with Barons eldest sons above Knights Baronets by an Act of King James and above all Bannerets but those made by the King himself under the Stander and all Knights Batchelers Of Women NOw lest I should be thought malitious to a Sex I owe much honor to before I conclude I shall take some short observations more then already I have And first that although they are not allowed to sit in Parliament yet do they enjoy almost all priviledges due to the other Sex The honorable Feminine Dignities are Princesse Dutchesse Marchionesse Countesse Vicountesse and Baronesse Which are either by Creation by Descent or by Marriage This honor by Creation as it is rare amongst us so it is more rarely taken notice of though many examples have been as Richard the second created Margaret Countesse of Norfolk into the title of Dutchess of Norfolk See the Charter in Mr. Selden Anne Bullen was created Marchionesse of Pembrook by Hen. 8. limited to her and the heirs males of her body to be begotten with creation-mony of twenty five pounds per annum and the ceremony of Mantle and Coronet The Lady Finch was by King James created Vicountesse of Maidston to her and her heirs of her body with speciall clause that her heirs male should have a voice in Parliament and afterward she was likewise made Countesse of Winchester c. Of these Titles thus conferred Sir John Fern takes no notice though else he discourses largely enough By Descent we have continuall examples When any daughter of an Earl or Vicount shall continue a Virgin or marry an Esquire she shall retain that honor that springs from her father's blood take place according and be saluted by the Title of Lady Which word Lady came from Hleafdian or Leafdian by contraction in the Teutonick and so Lafdy and thence Lady as from Laford Lord. The word Laf signifying bread and Dian serve It seems from that they called those persons that for their quality could entertain others and distribute corn and bread to their neighbours by that Title And of old though in the Empire and here the word Dominus was used in generall for salutation amongst men of all sorts yet Domina onely to persons of honor amongst women as the widows of all Tenants in chief and daughters and heirs of all Knights c. The heirs females of any Count or Baron shall enjoy both the Estate divided and Titles too if they be to be divided and they shall be enjoyed by their husbands if they marry in the right of their wives So that if there be two or three or more sisters to share the estate and the honors and dignities inherent be enough they shall enjoy every one one as in the case of the Earldom of Pembrooke in the time of Edward the third and now the Lord Darcy of the North by the same right enjoys the title of the Lord Conyers But this holds not when the title is held by Jus gladii or Knight's service or if the Honor be in any Castle or place onely it cannot be divided but falls and dissolves in the Crown or left to the disposing of the King And again if the estate of honor and dignity be not descending to the heirs generall but entail'd to the heirs male it cannot be the inheritance of a daughter as many times it is But we may understand this the better by that more eminent demonstration of high Offices of the Kingdom which descending by inheritance on the heirs generall have been challenged by the husbands of heirs female in right of their wives the Descent-male failing as in the case of the Duke of Buckingham in the time of Henry the eighth challenging the Office of High-Constableship of England The Office of Lord Steward descended to Blaunch daughter of Hen. Earl of Lancaster in whose right Joh. of Gaunt her husband enjoy'd it So the Office of Earl Marshall descended to the house of Norfolk by an heir female afterward being forfeited by treason was conferred to the Lords Howards of Arundell And in this and all such Descents where there are not dignities enough to allow a partition to all the Sisters but the Honor shall be undividable it shall descend to the eldest or be disposed by the King to which he please And for ennobling by birth these rules are observed That if a Gentleman Knight or Baron do marry a wife of ignoble parents she shall enjoy the title name and dignity of her husband For saith Sir John Fern let the wife be shining and glorious with the dignities of her husband Whereas on the contrary if a Gentlewoman of blood and Coat-Armor shall marry a Francklin Yeoman or the like that is ignoble having no Coat-Armor his condition is no whit advanced by marriage in point of honor Although let him be inferior to her whom she shall marry yet she shall retain the honor state and dignity she was born to But there is this Law for them to walk by too that is Si mulier nobilis nupserit ignobili desinit esse nobilis that is If a Noble-woman marry with an ignoble her nobility is extinguished for she is under the power of her husband and ought not to be in
a condition above him For example whereof a case is cited of one Ralph Hayward Esquire and the Lady Anne Powes widow of the Lord Powes But I am of opinion that being onely an acception in Court by the Adversary of the Party this is not to be understood but in case the person such a Noble woman shall marry be no Gentleman and that she hath received the Honor she enjoyed before from the right of a former husband and not by descent of Ancestors for the words of Judge Coke run thus Si mulier nobilis nupserit ignobili desinit esse nobilis eodem modo quo quidem constituitur dissolvitur That is If a Noble-woman shall marry an ignoble husband she ceases to be Noble and in the same manner her honor was constituted it is dissolved So as by the Laws of the Nation an Adulteresse forfeiteth her Dower so also her honor of Nobility if she commit adultery either as a wife or widow or else having received honor from her deceased husband and shall so put him out of her mind as to subject her self to another by which act she wipeth both the name and memory of the former from her she hath the sentence of forfeiture against her So Sir John Fern in his Glory of Generosity fol. 62. Yet the Law is thus curious in preserving the memory of Vertue in the honor of its reward that if a woman of noble blood do marry a Churl or Clown and have issue by him she being an heir that issue shall have liberty of bearing her Coat-Armor But Sir John Fern says onely for life and that on a Lozenge Shield which is the feminine bearing with the difference of a Cinque-foile One note more I think proper in this place which is If a French Spanish or German woman be married to any Peer of this Realm or other Gentleman and be not denizoned by the Laws of the Nation she cannot claim the priviledges or titles of her husband nor have Dower or Joynter from him And thus much I think sufficient in this place as to the honor of Women and if I have said too little I wish I could have said more if too much I beg their pardons but refer my self to the Law In the next place I should proceed to the display of Armory by which the infinite number of persons are distinguisht by an innumerable variety of different Ensignes that do illustrate and appropriate their dignity and honor But by the way I have stumbled on another Theam which though it be not so much concerned in honor yet the Kingdom is much concerned in it as a Power and though I need not say much yet I cannot passe by it and say nothing Of a Parliament SOme not altogether knowing of that true constitution of a Parliament may be apt to think that its Authority is onely Supream in this Nation But let such understand that from this Argument if there were none other it is disproved That nothing can be made greater or more excellent than the thing that makes it Propter quod unumquodque tale est illud majus tale And such creatures as shall aim at a Superiority to their Creator are to be esteemed like those Angels that by the same spirit attempting the same pride precipitated themselves from everlasting liberty to eternall chains This great Council did arise from the antient custom of not onely the Saxons but all Nations in the world almost who have had examples of their King 's summoning the chief Peers and Nobles to consult in weighty affairs Which Councel among the Saxons was called 〈◊〉 which was a meeting of the chief Prelates and Peers to deliberate about and to consent to what laws the King should enact and advising in matters of State giving Judgement upon suits or Complaints in the same Court as is understood of the time of King Ine of West sexe about 711. years after Christ. And again of King Ethelbert his ordaining Decreta Judiciorum juxta exempla Romanorum cum consilio sapientum And when Edwin King of Northumberland was perswaded to be a Christian he consulted cum Principibus Consulariis suis. He called to Councell his Princes or Ealdermen and Counsellors And again King Eldred An. 948. In festo Nativitatis Beatae Mariae all the Nobility of the Kingdome were summoned by an Edict from the King as well Arch-bishops Bishops and Abbots as all of the rest of the Lords and Chief Counsellors Thanes and Ealdormen to come to London to a 〈◊〉 or great Councel to consult about affairs of the whole Kingdome As Ingulphus his words are And again in the time of Edward the Confessor the Parliament sate at London Rex omnes 〈◊〉 Magnates In which Parliament the King attaches Earl Godwin for that he had kil'd his Brother Alfred and upon his pleading and submission the King refers him to the Judgement of the Court who a long while debating it to no purpose at last Leofricus Consul Cestriae probus homo quoad Deum Seculum saith the Author spake thus Earl Godwin is a gallant Person and a man next the King of the best birth in the Land and it cannot be denied but by his Counsell or Design Alfred was slain therefore my opinion is that he with his son and all we twelve Earls that are his friends and kindred do present our selves humbly before the King loaden with as much Gold and Silver as every man can carry betwixt his arms to offer it up with supplication for an expiation of the crime Which being consented unto and done the King considering the reference he had made to the Court ratified their act and his pardon By which we see their meetings was at the Kings summons their power only deliberative in giving legall force by consenting to what he should think fit to make a Law and to advise de arduis Reipub not that this force given by them is to be understood otherwise than that because it was enacted by their consent it was the more binding over them their consent otherwise being no whit binding over the Soveraign's will in the enaction for it was his Volumus that made it and let their Consultations rise to never so powerfull votes and results be the thing what it would his Nolumus buried it in oblivion which custom 〈◊〉 ever continued as a true Prerogative of the Crown Nay avisera le Roy which is but The King will consider of it was enough to throw a Bill out of the House Nothing enacted by them though by a generall consent of both Houses of Lords Commons being of any force and that not only before but after the Commons were brought in which I find to be about the time of Edw. 1. his third year of Inauguration an Dom. 1273. Who in the 23. year of his reign confirmed the Magna Charta made by Henry the third though Mr. Selden is of opinion The first
summoning of the Commons was in the 49. year of Henry the third The style of the Statutes running after this manner The King hath Ordained and Established these Acts underwritten c. First The King willeth and commandeth that c. Signifying the power of enacting to force and penalty was derived from the Volumus of the King not the Vote of the Lords and Commons their consent only making it of more vigour against themselves If it were an Act of Indulgence or relief to the Common-wealth it run thus Our Lord the King of his speciall Grace and for the affection that he bears unto his Prelates Earls and Barons and others of his Realm hath granted that c. And sometimes Our Soveraign Lord the King hath granted and commanded at the Instance of the Nobles of this Realm c. No mention at all being made of the consent of the Lords and Commons Then afterwards thus they run Our Lord the King by the Counsel of his Prelats Earls Barons other great men Nobles of his Kingdom in his Parliament hath Ordained 〈◊〉 c. An. 33. Edward the first 1307. and so along in other Statutes the Commons not at all mentioned in the enacting any Statute but as thus in the beginning of Edward the third At the request of the Commons of this Realm by their Petition made before him and his Councel in the Parliament by the assent of the Prelates Earls and Barons c. Untill the 23. of this Kings reign in a Statute of Labourers I find the Commons not mentioned and then the power of Ordination given to the Statute still by the King as thus It is ordered by our Lord the King by the assent of the Prelates Farls Barons and other great men and all the Commons of the Realm summoned to this Parliament c. And in one Act of the same King the style runs thus The King of his own will without motion of the Great men or Commons hath granted and Ordained in ease of his people c. And then to signifie the Constitution of the Commons in Parliament See the 37. of Edward the third where the Statute runs thus The King at his Parliament c. at the request of the Commons and by the assent of the Prelates Dukes Earls and Barons and other Great men there assembled hath Ordained c. and at the prayer of the Commons c. In which style most of the Statutes run untill Henry the eight And for provision of the choyce of the Commons in a Statute of the 23. of Hen. 6. is set down the form of Writ by which they are summoned where it is also enacted That the Knights of the Shires for Parliament hereafter to be chosen shall be naturall Knights or otherwise such naturall Esquires or Gentlemen of the same County as shall be 〈◊〉 to be Knights And every Knight that is elected ought to be a resident of the place for which he is elected and every man that is an Elector ought to have forty shillings of free-hold within the said County and for the security of it the Sheriffe hath power to put them to an Oath upon the Evangelist and the Election ought to be betwixt the hours of eight and nine in the Forenoon and so of Burgesses The form of the Writ is this Rex Vic' c. Salutem Quia nostri 〈◊〉 pro quibusdam arduis ur gentibus negotiis nos statum defensionem regni nostri Angliae Ecclesiae Anglicanae concernent ' quoddam Parliamentum nostrum Westm. 12. die Novemb. proxim ' futur ' teneri Ordinavimus ibidem 〈◊〉 Magnatibus Proceribus domus regni nostri colloquium habere tractare Tibi praecipimus firmiter injungentes quod facta Proclamatione in proximo tuo post receptionem hujus literis nostris tenend ' die loco predicto duos milites gladiis cinctis magis idoneos discret ' Com' praedict ' c. electionem illam in distincte apertè sigillo tuo sub sigillis eorum qui electioni illi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bis in Cancellaria nostra locum certisices 〈◊〉 And still before they came up to the House they signed Indentures to be true and faithfull to their King and Country and the service thereof upon a penalty even to the last long Parliament of eternall infamy And in the third of Queen Elizabeth it was enacted in full Parliament for the safety of the Queen's Majesty her Heirs and Successors and the dignity of the Imperiall Crown of England for the avoiding both of such hurts perills dishonor and inconveniencies as have before time befallen that not only all persons should take the Oath of Supremacy upon divers penalties in that Act specified But also every Knight Citizen and Burgesse of the Parliament should take the said Oath before he entred into the said House or had any voyce there else he should be deemed no Knight Citizen or Burgesse for that Parliament nor have any voyce but shall be to all intents constructions and purposes as if he had never been Returned nor Elected for that Parliament and shall suffer all pains and penalties as if he had presumed to sit in the same without Election Return or Authority And by King James the Oath of Allegiance was added Yet notwithstanding all this limitation upon the Commonalty Parliaments in England were ever esteemed since Magna Charta the greatest liberty of the Subject none else indeed being dreamt of And as it is as great a flower of the Crown to summon Parliaments as foedera bellum indicere to make War and Leagues which is so absolute that it is resolved by all the Judges of the Land that the King may before he is Crowned if by descent the Crown be his right summon a Parliament or within age as was seen in King Henry the sixth who summoned divers Parliaments in his 1 2 3 4 5 6. years of his reign yet was not Crowned till the eighth He being then essentially King without any Ceremony or Act ex post facto and Coronation but a Royall Ornament So the priviledges of Parliament and of the Common-wealth by Parliament are as great for though we thus see the great Prerogative of a King yet many things there are which a King in his own Kingdome cannot do without a Parliament by the Laws by which he hath bound himself as the making any man hereditable or the altering the Common Law or Customs of the Realm though by his absolute authority he may commit any man to Prison during his pleasure Therefore every Parliament-man during the time of the Parliament is priviledged from all disturbance of arrest for debt or the like and the servants of any Parliament man as much as the Kings are And to this Parliament for the further security of the good of the Common-wealth were ever admitted certain Judges of the Land though
Argent the Arms of the Episcopall Sea of Bath and Wells The third is Gules a Saltyre Or surmounted of another Vert by the name of Andrews The fourth is Sables a Saltyre Argent in the fesse point an Inescutcheon Or charged with a Crosse Gules and this though we should allow colour upon colour and metall upon metall to be false Herauldry yet is good the last being the charge of a distinct Scutcheon it being of pretence and of another family The last of these Ordinaries is the Barre which though it is allowed the Honor of a particular Ordinary yet in my opinion is but a diminutive of the Fesse however differs only in this that it hath the liberty of the field and taketh place any where which the Fesse cannot this also hath its diminutives being subdivided into a closette and barrulet First of the barre as in the first quarter of this Scutcheon Azure three barres Wavy 〈◊〉 by the name of 〈◊〉 The second Argent three Barres and a Canton Gules by the name of Fuller The third Gules two Barres and a Chief indented O by the name of Hare The fourth is Or a closset Sanguine this is the one 〈◊〉 of the barre The fifth is Sables a Barrulet Argent this containeth the one fourth part of the Barre The sixth beareth Gules on a Cheveron Arg. three Barres gemmels Sables these are called Gemmells when they are placed in couples at a near distance and more than two in the field in even number The seventh is Ermin three Barres couped Gules charged with six Escollups shells or three in the first two in the second and one in the last by the name of Sabridge Court. The eighth is barry of ten Or and Azure in a Canton Gules a Chaplet Argent by the name of Holms of 〈◊〉 The ninth is Barry of six on a Chief between two 〈◊〉 party per bend dexter and sinister two pallets Or and Azure over all an Inescutcheon Arg. which was the 〈◊〉 of Mortimer Earl of March Thus have I run through all the Ordinaries with their varieties of Barring in their due order according to their usuall terms of proper Blazonry In the next I shall shew some other forms of Charges framed of such like lines in the Escutcheons and then proceed to shew 〈◊〉 all the parting 's counterchanges First then as in this shield there is Or an Orle Azure by the name of Bartram Lord of Bothall The second is Or an Orle of three pieces 〈◊〉 The third Argent an Orle engrayled on the inner side Gules The fourth is Or a double Tressure Flory 〈◊〉 The fifth is Sables a Fret Or by the Lord Mautravers now quartered by the Earl of Arundel The sixth Vert 〈◊〉 Or this with the distinction of a second Brother in a third House is the Coat-Armor of Sir George Whitmore late Lord Mayor of London In the three last are a 〈◊〉 a Lozenge and a Mascle The Pile is an honorable bearing though not to be reckoned among the Ordinaries as some would have it this hath divers ways of bearing and is free to any place of the field but its property is to issue from the middle chief and extend with an acute angle almost to the middle base and then is termed plainly a Pile but if otherwise you are to distinguish as this 〈◊〉 quarterings will demonstrate The first Argent a pile Gules this belonged to Sir John Candoys in the time of Edward the third The second is Or three piles meeting near in the base of the Escutcheon Azure by Sir George Brian The third is Argent three piles one issuing out of the chief between two other transposed Sables by the name of Huls The fourth is Argent a triple pile flory on the tops issuing out of the sinister base in bend Sables by the name of Wroton The fifth is Argent a pile in bend issuing out of the dexter chief in pale Sables Cottised engrayled Argent And here in the same Scutcheon for their nearnesse of form have I inserted the Gyron with its varieties As in the sixth Gules a Gyron issuing out of the dexter point Or. The seventh is Argent two Gyrons Gules These do always meet in 〈◊〉 with their points and therefore 〈◊〉 is needlesse to name the place onely naming their number and colour The eighth is Gyrony of eight pieces Or and Azure a Canton Ermin by the name of Octon The last is Gyrony of twelve Argent and Sables and so are they always to be blazoned Gyrony of so many if they be more then two These I must confesse should properly have been placed among the counter-changes But my digression is excusable since it is so near concerned as the single Gyron belonging properly to that place and then that the counter-changes are so near in a concordancy as the next discourse must bring them in which is to describe the partitions and counter-changes according to the disposition of every Ordinary and first of the partitions as in the first next example The first in this example is party per Crosse Arg. and Gules by Sir Henry Cock of Hertfordshire and here is to be noted that though the mettle be more honorable yet if the colour possesse the dexter part or chiefest part of the Field that is first to be named And by the way I must here observe that some will have this to be blazoned quarterly but certainly improperly unlesse the quarters were charged for why should this Ordinary above all the rest be denyed the priviledge of partition which all have but the chief that in its propriety is formed but of one line The second quarter bears party per pale a bend counter-changed Argent and Gules by Sir Geofry Chaucer The third party per bend Or and Vert by the name of Hawly The fourth party per Cheveron Sables and Argent by the name of Aston The fifth party per Fesse Or and Azure The sixth party per Pile in point Or and Sables Now the difference betwixt this and the Pile alone is that the lines meet at the very base of the Escutcheon and others short and sometimes this is changed by a Reverse as in the next example which is The seventh party per pile reversed Or Gules and Sables which is very rare for the distinction of the field into three colours as the last is also The eighth is party per Saltyre Ermine and Gules The ninth is party per pale and base Gules Argent and Sable The counter-changes are thus first party per pale Or and Gules three roundalls counterchanged The second is party per Cheveron unde three Panthers bends erased counter-changed Sab. and Or by the name of Smith of Norfolk The third is pally of six a bend-pally as many all counter-changed Argent and Gules which is a quartering of that honorable Gentleman the Lord Strafford The fourth is barry of six party per pale indented Argent and Gules counter-changed The fifth is barry pily
of eight pieces Gules and Or by the name of Holland The sixth is paly-bendy Or and Sables The seventh is paly of six Argent and Gules on a chief as the field as many crescents all counter-changed The eighth is barry of six Argent and Sables indented one in the other The ninth is barry bendy Arg. and Sables Thus I have run through all the bearings of the Ordinaries both plain and in their variety together with the partitions and counter-changes I shall now as concisely lay down all the Ordinary bearings as well of Natural and Celestial things as all Sublunaries of Beasts Birds Fishes Vegetables and Artificials in the best method I can according to the Blazon of Leigh 〈◊〉 Guillim and others the best I could consult in this study Of Celestialls As for Celestialls I shall skip over some of them as Angells Cherubims and the like because they are obvious enough to every man's judgment when ever they are met with as some of these examples are also The first of these quarterings shews the example of Gules an Increscent Or by the name of Descus The second Azure the Sun in its full glory by the name of St. Cleere The third is Azure the Moon decrescent proper where the difference from the first is from the contrary position of them which is the same in the Firmament And by this rule any man at the first sight may know in what state the Moon is though he never saw an Almanack The fourth is Azure a Moon in her complement proper The fifth Or the Sun eclipsed Sables The sixth is Argent the Moon in her Eclipse Sables The seventh Azure a Ray of the Sun issuing out of the dexter corner of the Escutcheon bend-wayes proper by the name of Aldham The eighth is Gules a chief Argent at the lower part thereof the Rayes of the Sun issuing out of a Clowd proper by the name of Lesone of Northamptonshire The ninth is Azure a Comet Or streaming proper And unto these I have added one more Escutcheon of the like bearings because of the rareness of them The first is Azure Jupiters Thunderbolt in Pale Or enflamed at both ends proper shafted Saltyre-wayes and winged Fesse-wayes Argent The second Argent a Rain-bowe proper issuing out of two peteet clowds in fesse Azure The third Gules a chief Argent over all an Escarbuncle of eight staves-pommette and Florette Or which saith Guillim was the Coat-Armor of the Earls of Anjou of whom was Geoffry Plantagenet The fourth is Or six fire-brands enflamed proper The fifth Sables a bend Or between six Fountains proper by the Lord Sturton The sixth Argent a Cheveron Sables between three flames of fire proper The seventh is Sables a Star of eight points Or between two Flanches Ermin and a Canton of Ulster by Sir John Hubbart of Norfolk The eighth party per bend Crenelle pointed the one in the other Argent Azure four Crescents by couples enterlaced counterchanged The ninth Ermin on a chief Sab. three Crescents arg Of Beasts NExt of Beafts as in my opinion the most proper to order as the more noble creatures though I confesse it is contrary to Mr. Guillims Method And of those in the first place Lions as the principall of them which are diversly born and from their severall postures receive a severall character of blazoning which is cautiously to be observed as well as in other things and it is not difficult for any indifferent genius without much discourse which would but make up a tedious prolixity to little or no purpose when Verbum sapienti sat est is a Proverb in every man's mouth The first example is of Azure a Lion Rampant Argent being the Coat-Armor of Roger de Montealto who was a Benefactor to Westminster-Abbey The second is Or a Lion Sayliant Gules The third is Gules a Lion passant Guardant Or which being the Coat-Armor of the Dukes of Aquitane was joyned with the Coat of the Kings of England by the 〈◊〉 of Henry the second being before two Lions the posture and colours one then indeed called Leopards as they are most properly so called where they are not of Royall bearing if they be more then one in a field and Guardant as 〈◊〉 would have it This same single Lion passant guardant onely the colours contrary as Or a Lion passant guardant Gules says the Welch petegree was the Coat-Armor of Roderick the great Prince of Wales in the year 843. By which account Coat-Armor hath gained a great Antiquity The fourth example is of Lions passant and not guardant which is Gules two barres Ermin in chief a Lion passant party per pal Or Argent by the name of Hill of Norfolk The fifth is Gules a Lion Seiant Argent The sixth is Or a Lion Couchant Gul. The seventh is Azure a Lion Dormant Or. The eighth is Or a Lion Rampant regarding Coward Sables The last is Gules a tri-corporated Lion issuing out of three corners of the field and meeting under one head in fesse Or which was the Coat-Armor of Edward Crouchback Earl of Lancaster Lions are sometimes with the tail elevated over the head sometimes with the tail forked and sometimes you shall meet with Demy-Lions which is half Lions passant and Rampant and sometimes heads erased or couped but if Cabossed then they are ever 〈◊〉 Leopards heads as in these examples The first Azure on a chief Or a Demy-Lion Rampant issuant out Gules languid and armed of the first by the name of Markham The second is Azure three Demy-Lions passant guardant Or languid and armed Gules by the name of Hammon of Acris in Kent Now the French are so severe that they will not allow the tearms of Lion to any either Whole or Demy that are guardant but I think without reason The third is Or out of the midst of a Fesse Sable a Demy-Lion Rampant Naissant Gules languid and armed Azure Where it is proper to take notice that if it be armed or languid by any other colour than the body unlesse Gules it is a blemish to it but Gules signifying blood addes to it So it is an abatement if it be without tongue teeth or claws The fourth is Verry Argent Azure on a pale Gules three Leopards heads Or by the name of Ockould The fifth is Azure three Leopards heads cooped Or. This Coat is in the Walk under Lincolns Inne Chappel and I think is very rare The sixth is Azure a Cheveron betwixt three Lions he ids erased Ermin crowned Or the Coat-Armor of 〈◊〉 worthy Benefactor of Pauls Sir Paul Pindar The seventh is Sables three Lions tails erased Argent by the name of Cork The eighth is Gules a Cheveron betwixt three Lions paws erected and erased within a bordure Argent in a chief of the second an Eagle displayed Sables by the name of Brown The ninth is Sables two Lions paws one issuing out of the Dexter the other out of the Sinister point of the Escutcheon in
And there are commonly two Pursevants extraordinary whose names I finde to have varved therefore I name them not The Office of Garter was first instituted by Henry the fifth and though the other received Ordination long before yet is honored with the precedency and hath the prehemimency in all Charters and Assemblies Creations of Nobility and honorable processions especially all concernments of the order of the Garter either in Elections or Funerals The other of Clarenceux and Norroy by 〈◊〉 have power Clarenceux over all England on this side 〈◊〉 Norry beyond to enter into all Churches Castles Houses and any other places to survey and review all Arms Recognizances and Crests to make visitations and to register the pedegrees and marriages of the Nobility and Gentry and at their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or upon suit in their Office to punish with disgrace and 〈◊〉 all such as shall intrude so much upon Honor as to usurp other mens Atchievements or phansie to themselves new against the law of Armes to reverse and 〈◊〉 them and to make infamous by 〈◊〉 at 〈◊〉 or Sessions all such as 〈◊〉 unduly take upon them the title of Esquire or Gentleman and such as shall use or wear mourning Apparell as Gown Hoods c. contrary to the Order limited in the time of Henry the seventh and to 〈◊〉 all 〈◊〉 and other Artificers in the setting 〈◊〉 of Arms. In the execution of which commission they have power to command all Justices Sheriffes Mayors Baliffs and other officers and subiects to be aiding and assisting to them And if upon summons any Knight Esquire or Gentleman do refuse to come and appear before him and give an account of their Arms and Gentility they have power in their respective Provinces to summon them by a Suppaena of what penalty they think sit before the Earl Marshal of England for their 〈◊〉 therein And they have the ordering of all Funerals of the Gentry within their respective Province from a Baron downwards taking other Heralds in their courses with them As also the ordering of all Combats Lists and Triumphs with the Fees belonging to them And they have for stipend out of the Exchequer 100 marks a piece annuity The six Heralds are all in equall degree only preceding according to the seniority of their creation their Patents being under the 〈◊〉 Seal of England and their annual stipend is forty marks besides theirs profits and Fees The 〈◊〉 have their Patents in like 〈◊〉 a stipend of twenty pound per annum out of the Exchequer but those extraordinary have neither Patent nor Fee The Arms of the Office is Arg. a Crosse 〈◊〉 between four 〈◊〉 Azure The whole Company are subordinate unto the High Constable or Earl Marshall of England and by him every of them is at his first entry commended to the King by a Bill signed with his hand Which done the King signes the same and so it passes the Privy Seal and broad Seal and that once obtained they are to be 〈◊〉 and created by the King himself or the Earl Martiall in 〈◊〉 following A King of Arms is brought into the King 〈◊〉 Lord Marshall led between a King and a Herald or two Heralds in their Coats the other Heralds 〈◊〉 Pursevants going before in their Coats carrying the severall necessary instruments to 〈◊〉 used on 〈◊〉 the Coat of Arms wherewith 〈◊〉 new King is to be invested another 〈◊〉 Crown another the Patent another he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 another the Book and Sword another the Book where his Oath is received all making severall 〈◊〉 and then he kneels down with those two that led him one of which holds the Book and 〈◊〉 whereon he swears the other speaks his Oath then his Patent is read and at the word Creamus and Investimus his Coat is put on and at non violante nomine c. the the water is poured on his head and then he is perfect There is belonging to this Office a Register Marshal and other officers and servants and amongst those Painters called Heralds-Painters every King of Arms hath power to Commission one whom he pleases as appropriate to his businesse and so much for Heralds And thus much for Heraldry The Names of the several Houses and Innes of Court Chancery and other Hostels in and about the City of LONDON Two called Serjeants Inne 1. In 〈◊〉 2. In Chancery lane The two Temples Inner Temple Middle Temple Lyncolns Inne Grays Inne Innes of Chancery Davies Inne Furnivals Inne Bernards Inne Staple Inne Cliffords Inne Clements Inne New Inne Lyons Inne Chesters or Strond Inne The six Clerks Office or Inne Cursiters Inne The Rolls Doctors Commons Gresham Colledge The Exhequer Office Osbournes Office St. Kather. by the Tower The Inns of Court and Chancery in their order FIrst it is to be understood the four Colledges or Innes of Court may be tearmed Collegia Jurisconsultorum that is Colledges of Lawyers The Romans did call such houses Diversoria ordained to entertain strangers which in our English are called Inns and have been acknowledged with us in England to be the residing houses of the Noblest Peers viz. Oxford Inn Warwick Inn Ely Inn and now called Oxford house Warwick house and Ely house Somewhat according to the French whose houses of Nobility in Paris are called Hostels in Latine Hospitium in English Inns. In London and thereabouts there are fourteen two Serjeants Innes four Innes of Court and eight Innes of Chancery The most antient Inne of Court and wherein Serjeants of Law had their first residence was sometimes over against Saint Andrews Church in Holborn and was known by the name of Serjeants Inne which afterwards came to be the Scroop's who then were have since continued Barons of this land and it was called Scroops Iune which is called by another name the possession being likewise altered out of that Family And although the Innes of the Serjeants be somwhat antient for time as also of modern age too yet it must be granted that in respect of some others they must be respected but of a noval foundation Yet forasmuch as they are receptacles and lodging places of the most reverend Judges and grave Barons of the Exchequer and other Judge in Office and Serjeants at Law they are by way of decency to be reckoned in the first rank That Hostel or Inne which now is commonly called Serjeants Inne in Fleetstreet was sometime a Messuage appertaining unto the Dean and Prebends of York And afterwards purchased by the Judges and Serjeants at Law that lived in the Reign of King Henry the eighth for a place of residence for them in Tearm time And that other called Serjeants Inne in Chancery lane was somtimes a Mesluage belonging unto the Bishops of See of Ely as appeareth by Records In these said Houses or Innes of Court commonly called Serjeants Inne the reverend Judges of this land and the Serjeants at Law have for many years lived and have been lodged within the same Being in very deed although