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HERALDRY.] -- ARMS OF THE KNIGHTS OF THE GARTER. ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM
HERALDRY.] -- ARMS OF THE KNIGHTS OF THE GARTER. ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM [England], 1585 255 x 195mm. 27 leaves plus 5 blanks. ILLUMINATED COATS OF ARMS OF THE GARTER HOLDERS WITHIN GARTER BORDER ON 25 LEAVES. 18th-century calf, spine tooled in gilt in 6 compartments (worn and cracked, some restoration). PROVENANCE: 1. A heraldic manuscript of such high standard would almost certainly have been produced by a member of the College of Heralds: the manuscript has been attributed to the quarrelsome York Herald, Ralph Brooke, although comparison with the more firmly attributed manuscript in lot 208 suggests that this is unlikely. A manuscript of such high finish would undoubtedly have been produced either as a commission or as a speculative offering either to a member of the Order or to a prominent aristocrat who might aspire to join its ranks. The manuscript must date from the first half of 1585, before the death of Francis, 2nd Earl of Bedford on 28 July. 2. Sir John Eden Bart (18th-century armorial bookplate to front pastedown) 3. George G. Napier, 10 April 1933 (ownership inscription to front free endpaper). CONTENT: Title, 'Les noms, tiltres et Armoiries des Empereur, Roys, Princes et grands Seigneurs, Chevaliers de l'Order tresnoble et tresancienne de la Jartiere d'auiourdhuy. 1585' [The names, titles and arms of the emperor, kings, princes and great lords, the knights of the most noble and ancient order of the Garter today. 1585], f.1v; Titles in French (on verso) and arms encircled by the Garter band (on recto) of the 25 knights of the Garter, f.2v-27. The arms begin with those of Elizabeth I, sovereign of the order, and proceed with some of the most glittering names in European royalty and English nobility: among the former are the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II, Henri III, King of France, Philip II of Spain, Frederick II of Denmark, Prince Adolph, heir of Norway and John Casimir, Count Palatine of the Rhine; the latter comprise, besides Elizabeth's favourite Robert, 1st Earl of Leicester, and her chief councillor William Cecil, Lord Burghley, Edward, 1st Earl of Lincoln, Anthony, 1st Viscount Montagu, George, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, Ambrose, 3rd Earl of Warwick, Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, Francis, 2nd Earl of Bedford, Sir Henry Sidney [father of the poet Sir Philip Sidney], William, 3rd Earl of Worcester, Henry, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, Arthur, 14th Baron Grey of Wilton, Henry, 4th Earl of Derby, Henry, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, Charles, 2nd Baron Howard of Effingham [later 1st Earl of Nottingham], Edward, 3rd Earl of Rutland, William, 10th Baron Cobham and Henry, 9th Baron Scrope of Bolton. The Order of the Garter, the premier English order of chivalry, consists of the sovereign and not more than 25 Knights of the Garter (the present volume was compiled when there was a single vacancy) -- it was therefore more exclusive than the peerage, which comprised around 65 families at this date (cf. lot 208). The members were chosen by the monarch at the nomination of the existing knights, and the Order therefore represented those of the aristocracy who were particularly favoured both by Queen Elizabeth and by their fellows.