THE ANTIQUARIAN: Edward III & the Legend of the Garter

The Order of the Garter is the most senior and the oldest British Order of Chivalry and was founded by Edward III in 1348.  The Order, consisting of the King and twenty-five knights, honours those who have held public office,  who have contributed in a particular way to national life or who have served the Sovereign personally.

                                                                                                  -The British Monarchy

As an expression of Edward III’s commitment to Arthuriana and the special significance of its legendary Round Table, the garter was “aimed very consciously to promote the martial values displayed by [Edward’s] great men on the fields of Crecy and Calais” (Ormrod, 303).

A legend surrounding the symbol chosen to represent this order relates both to speculation about the “notorious immorality of the Plantagenet court,” as well as the close relationships formed between Edward and his wife, Queen Phillipa, with William Montagu, first earl of Salisbury, and his wife, Catherine (Ormrod, 302 & 135).

After the death of his great friend William, first earl of Salisbury, in 1344, sources from the continent claimed that Edward developed an uncontrollable passion for his friend’s wife, Catherine.  A variation of the story, having also been adopted by English writers, recorded that in response to critics of this extramarital affair, Edward chose an intimate item from his lover’s underwear to represent the chivalry of England: Catherine’s garter.

The Order's enigmatic motto, it could be argued, in this way, takes on a double and rather humorous meaning: "Shame on him who thinks ill of it."

"No...Use the garter, Eddy!  I don't think The Order of Catherine's Panties will go over too well!"

Ormrod, Mark W.  Edward III.  New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2011.

“Order of the Garter.” The Official Website of the British Monarchy.  The Royal Household, n.d.  Web. 25 Oct 2013.

THE ANTIQUARIAN: The Scholar King, Alfred the Great

When Alfred, fifth son of Aethulwolf, became king, Wessex stood alone against the Vikings. In early 878, the kingdom submitted to the Danes and Alfred took refuge in the tidal marshes of Somerset, carrying on the defence of his realm with guerilla warfare and making plans to reform his army at Athelney.

In May 878, Alfred attacked and defeated the Danes at Eddington.  With this achievement, he became the first king of all the English.

At heart a scholar, Alfred dedicated his rule to the improvement of his kingdom.  He drew up a single legal code, organized the country’s finances, established protected towns and, most astonishingly, began a program aimed at providing education for all the people in his kingdom.

While continuing to defend his borders from Danish attacks, he supervised the translation, from Latin to English, of Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People and Orosius’ Seven Books of Histories Against the Pagans (Cawthorne, 18).  He established art and culture in Anglo Saxon Britain by inviting scholars from all over the continent to his court and patronized such works as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.  In addition, Alfred personally translated Saint Gregory’s Pastoral Care and the Soliloquies of Saint Augustine of Hippo (Cawthorne, 18).

He is the only English king to have the honorific “the Great” and at the age of 55, near the end of his life in 899, he made the following reflection:

            What I set out to do, was to virtuously and justly administer the

            authority given to me, and to do it with wisdom.  For without wisdom,

            nothing is worthwhile…It has always been my desire to live honourably

            and to leave my descendants my memory in good works.  For each

            man, according to the measure of his intelligence, must speak what

            he can speak and do what he can do.

Alfred the Great's statue at Winchester

Cawthorne, Nigel.   Kings & Queens of England: From the Saxon Kings to the House Of Windsor.  Arcturus: London, 2010.