Hi all,
This time I have a strange query:–what is the origin of the order of the garter…is the story i heard that some king rescued the garter of some princess in the middle ages & thus the order got started true???
thanx to all those who take time to reply, in advance,
Quizzer.
From the Queen’s Own Website:
Bravo to Northern Piper for finding an accurate translation of the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense.
I was afraid that when I opened this thread I would find the more common, incorrect translation, “Evil to him who thinks evil”, which loses the whole connection with the garter itself.
The reason why historians now reject the story about the dropped garter is that it is a rather late addition to the Garter traditions. It first appears in a garbled form in the late fifteenth century in (of all places) a Catalan romance. The standard version only dates from Polydore Vergil in the early sixteenth century. That the woman was the Countess of Salisbury - and which Countess of Salisbury it was has always been a bit vague - is an even later addition.
The symbolism of the Garter is still the subject of much debate. No one knows for sure what it was supposed to mean. The theory that the garters in question were ones used to attach armour was largely based on the argument that this was the only type of garter that existed in the fourteenth century. That would obviously disprove the ‘Countess of Salisbury’ story. That premise has however since been called into question. Various costume historians have uncovered evidence to show that garters were also used to hold up hose and that they could indeed be worn by either sex. So back to square one…
The further complication is that it is now clear that Edward III was using a garter as his badge and ‘Honi soit qui mal y pense’ as a motto before he founded the Order. Particularly suggestive is some evidence which seems to indicate that he was using this badge and motto during the Crecy campaign, as this fits very neatly with the idea that the motto referred to his claim to the French throne. The most likely explanation is that the Garter (whatever it was meant to represent) began as Edward’s personal tournament badge, was then used by him as his badge more generally and only later became the badge of his new order of chivalry.
The possible connection with tournaments raises another unresolved issue, which is whether the Order was originally conceived of as a club for those involved in the royal tournaments. Historians have long pointed to the tournament which Edward may have held at Windsor in 1344 at which he is said to have announced that he would refound the Round Table as a possible origin of the Order. Tournaments may thus have been there at the beginning. However, not all historians accept this connection. Some argue that the plans for the Round Table were soon abandoned and that the Order of the Garter was the result of some second thoughts several years later.
And then there are the alternative explanations. Margaret Murray’s theory that Edward was recognising the Countess as a fellow witch still gets trotted out in some quarters but was completely discredited long ago. More recently, the architectural historian, Dan Cruickshank, used a BBC documentary about Windsor Castle to suggest that the Garter is a secret symbol for the Virgin Mary’s vagina and that St. George’s Chapel is a giant symbolic representation of her genitalia. And, no, I’m not making this up.