A Tale of a Garter, by William Harrison

By Sydney Prior Hall (1842–1922), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

‘The investiture of Haakon VII of Norway with the Order of the Garter in the Throne Room, Windsor Castle, November 1906’ by Sydney Prior Hall (1842–1922) shows King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, himself clad in the ceremonial robes of the Order of the Garter, pinning the star of the Order of the Garter on the breast of the Norwegian King. Edward’s consort Queen Alexandra, daughter of Christian IX of Denmark, watches on. See The Peacemaker.

A Tale of a Garter

❰

1 2

❱

SO when he had received the garter, he said to such as stood about him: “You, my masters, do make small account of this blue garter here,” and therewith held it out, “but, if God lend me life for a few months, I will make the proudest of you all to reverence the like.”

And even upon this slender occasion he gave himself to the devising of this order. Certes,* I have not read of anything that having had so simple a beginning hath grown in the end to so great honour and estimation. After he had studied awhile about the performance of his device, and had set down such orders as he himself invented concerning the same, he proclaimed a royal feast to be held at Windsor, whither all his nobility resorted with their ladies, where he published his institution, and forthwith invested an appointed number into the aforesaid fellowship.

by William Harrison 1534-1593

abridged

Abridged from ‘Chronicle and romance: Froissart, Malory, Holinshed’ (1910), series editor by Charles W. Elliot. William Harrison’s Description of England (1577, rev. 1587) was originally published as part of Holinshed’s Chronicles.

* Certes (pronounced ser-tiz) is an archaic word meaning ‘certainly, without a doubt.’

Précis

Despite his interest, Edward’s courtiers still dismissed the garter as worthless, so the King vowed to make them hold a blue garter in honour one day. From that moment, he began to devise the Order of the Garter, and in due course threw a royal feast at Windsor at which he invested twenty-six handpicked men with a blue Garter.

Questions for Critics

1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?

2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?

3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?

Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.

Sevens

Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.

What promise did Edward make to the courtiers who dismissed the blue garter as a trifle?

Suggestion

That one day they would prize one.

Jigsaws

Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.

Edward held up a blue garter. His courtiers said blue garters were unimportant. He said he would make them prize a blue garter.

Donate

Buy Me a Coffee is a crowdfunding website, used by over a million people. It is designed to help content creators like me make a living from their work. ‘Buy Me a Coffee’ prides itself on its security, and there is no need to register.