continental
sovereigns, and the present collar of the Garter knights, with its
golden knots and its buckled garters enclosing white roses set on red
roses, has its origin in the Tudor age. An illustration in colours of
the Garter collar is given on Plate I. in the article KNIGHTHOOD AND
CHIVALRY, while descriptions of the collars of the other principal
orders are also given. The collar of the Thistle with the thistles and
rue-sprigs is as old as the reign of James II. The Bath collar, in its
first form of white knots linking closed crowns to roses and thistles
issuing from sceptres, dates from 1725, up to which time the knights of
the Bath had hung their medallion from a ribbon.

Founding the order of the Saint Esprit in 1578, Henry III. of France
devised a collar of enflamed fleur-de-lis and cyphers of H and L, a
fashion which was soon afterwards varied by Henry his successor.
Elephants have been always borne on the collar of the Elephant founded
in Denmark in 1478, the other links of which have taken many shapes.
Another Danish order, the Dannebrog, said to be "re-instituted" by
Christian V. in 1671, has a collar of crosses formy alternating with the
crowned letters C and W, the latter standing for Waldemar the
Victorious, whom a legend of no value described as founding the order in
1219. Of other European orders, that of St Andrew, founded by Peter of
Russia in 1698, has eagles and Andrew crosses and cyphers, while the
Black Eagle of Prussia has the Prussian eagle with thunderbolts in its
claws beside roundels charged with cyphers of the letters F.R.

Plain collars of Esses are now worn in the United Kingdom by
kings-of-arms, heralds and serjeants-at-arms. Certain legal dignitaries
have worn them since the 16th century, the collar of the lord
chief-justice having knots and roses between the letters. Henry IV.'s
parliament in his second year restricted the free use of the king's
livery collar to his sons and to all dukes, earls, barons and bannerets,
while simple knights and squires might use it when in the royal presence
or in going to and from the hostel of the king. The giving of a livery
collar by the king made a squire of a man even as the stroke of the
royal sword made him a knight. Collars of Esses are sometimes seen on
the necks of ladies. The queen of Henry IV. wears one. So do the wife of
a 16th century Knightley on her tomb at Upton, and Penelope, Lady
Spencer (d. 1667), on her Brington monument.

Since