{"id":1773,"date":"2016-02-24T15:56:43","date_gmt":"2016-02-24T15:56:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/?p=1773"},"modified":"2016-11-30T09:52:53","modified_gmt":"2016-11-30T09:52:53","slug":"knights-of-the-bath-behaving-badly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/?p=1773","title":{"rendered":"Knights of the Bath Behaving Badly"},"content":{"rendered":"

[This month’s ‘Flower’ is provided by the editor of the Percy Papers <\/em>volume, Bob Alexander]:<\/p>\n

In November 1616, newly created Knights of the Bath may have engaged in very unceremonious activities, in spite of high-minded exhortations they had heard during their KB inauguration. So says John Chamberlain in letters to Dudley Carleton available at the National Archives in Kew and published by Norman E. McClure. The Knights\u2019 behavior, according to Chamberlain, was so bad that a play and banquet scheduled for them had to be cancelled. I have not been able to verify these statements completely, but some elements in Chamberlain\u2019s story are corroborated by documents that could be of interest to readers of the REED N-E website. Taken as a whole, these materials indicate the expenditure of time and money required by a small aspect of membership in the 17th<\/sup> c. British aristocracy.<\/p>\n

Chamberlain names some of these Knights in his letter of 9 November 1616:<\/p>\n

I have not the list of the 24 Knights of the Bath that were made at this time, [1] but yt may suffice that they were all of noble houses, and that the Lord<\/em>s Matravers, [2] Percie, [3] and wriothesly [4] were the ring-leaders, and younge Seymor [5] that maried the Lady Arbella [6] did claudere agmen and was the last.<\/p>\n

[The Letters of John Chamberlain<\/em>, ed. Norman E. McClure, Vol. II, No. 251, p. 31; SP Dom Jac. 1, 14\/89, # 17, 44r; London 9 November 1616]<\/p>\n

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++<\/p>\n

Chamberlain\u2019s next letter, dated 14 November, describes subsequent events:<\/p>\n

on Saterday night [7] the Knights \u032d\u02f9of the Bath\u02fa were entertained by the Lord <\/em>Mayor at Drapers hall wi<\/em>th a supper and a play, where some of them were so rude and unruly and caried themselves so insolently divers wayes but specially in putting citizens wifes to the squeake, so far forth that one of the sheriffs brake open a doore upon Si<\/em>r Edward Sackvile, whic<\/em>h gave such occasion of scan-dall, that they went away wi<\/em>thout the banket though yt were redy and prepared for them – neither did they forbeare these disorders among themselves, for there [50v] were divers picques and quarrells at their severall meetings, but specially at the miter in Fleetstreet, insomuch that younge Parker [8] sonne to the Lord <\/em>Mountegle, and wille Howard the Lord<\/em> Treasurers youngest sonne [9] went into the field, but were there prevented and reconciled.<\/p>\n

[McClure, II, No. 252, p. 35; SP Dom Jac. 1, 14\/89, # 21, 50r-50v; London 14 November 1616]<\/p>\n

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++<\/p>\n

Drapers\u2019 Hall was the site of other events, and is mentioned frequently in the 2015 REED volume Civic London to 1558<\/em>, ed. Anne Lancashire with David J. Parkinson. The 17th<\/sup> century hall has been torn down and rebuilt, but a plan of the original building is available at the Drapers Hall archives, as well as a print of the original frontage. Miss Penelope Fussell, Drapers Hall archivist, very kindly allowed me to see these documents.<\/p>\n

Some kind of sexual harassment at the Hall is implied in Chamberlain\u2019s letter; for the curious, \u201cto put to the squeak\u201d probably means \u201cto cause to squeak [or shriek].\u201d This meaning is given by the OED under \u201cSqueak,\u201d sb. 1. The dictionary quotes George Etheredge, 1664, Comical Revenge, <\/em>IV. iii: \u201c(The women shriek within) hark! He puts them to the squeak.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Anthony

Anthony van Dyck (1599\u20131641), Portrait of Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland (1602-1668), oil on canvass, Alnwick Castle<\/p><\/div>\n

I have not found accounts by other witnesses to support these charges. However, aspects of Chamberlain\u2019s story are confirmed elsewhere in SP Dom volume 89. For instance, a list of the Knights of the Bath (3r) includes the names mentioned by Chamberlain. \u201cLord<\/em> Percy\u201d is listed second.<\/p>\n

A detailed report (10r-18v) on the Knight of the Bath ceremonies provides some cover for Algernon Percy, who was ill during at least part of the inauguration and so perhaps was not present at Drapers\u2019 Hall. A note in the left margin of 15r states that \u201cThe lord Percy having taken a cold the night before in the Bath, went not to the<\/em> Chapell as the rest did.\u201d A second hand advises a copyist to \u201cLeaue this out.\u201d<\/p>\n

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++<\/p>\n

Ironically, parts of the KB ceremony focus on the duties of the Knights to act honorably and protect the oppressed, obligations that some of the participants forgot, if Chamberlain is to be believed. They took an oath to \u201chonour God above all thinges<\/em>\u201d and \u201cbe stedfast in the faith of God.\u201d The same oath also required them to \u201csuffer no extortion so far forth as you may, nor sit in place where any wrongful Judgmen<\/em>t be given to your knowledge\u201d (15r).<\/p>\n

We also learn that music was important in the KB ceremony, and that all honorees had to contribute to the musicians\u2019 fees. A document titled \u201cffees to be paid by every Knight of the Bath\u201d lists a total of 33 pounds 6 shillings, including 30 shillings for \u201cMusicians\u201d and 40 shillings for \u2018Trumpeters\u201d (13r). Music accompanied the Knights\u2019 processions at various points (15r, 16r).<\/p>\n

Further expenses of 340 pounds, 14 shillings, 2 pence for \u201capparel, fees, and gifts\u201d were disbursed by Earl Percy \u201con the occasion of Lord Percy\u2019s being created Knight of the Bath\u201d (Historical Manuscripts Commission Third Report<\/em>, 1872, p. 63). Becoming Knight of the Bath, in other words, required significant resources, and, on one occasion, was associated with damage to some reputations.<\/p>\n

Notes<\/p>\n

[1] Saturday, 2 November 1616, SP Dom 14\/89, 14r.<\/p>\n

[2] McClure identifies all full names in his edition. \u201cMatravers\u201d was James Howard, Lord Maltravers, second Earl of Arundel and Surrey.<\/p>\n

[3] Algernon Percy, created tenth Earl of Northumberland in 1632<\/p>\n

[4] Thomas Wriothesley, created fourth Earl of Southampton in 1624<\/p>\n

[5] William Seymour<\/p>\n

[6] Lady Arabella Stuart<\/p>\n

[7] 2 November 1616 or 9 November 1616<\/p>\n

[8] Henry (fifth Lord Monteagle, 1622), son of William Parker, fourth Lord Monteagle<\/p>\n

[9] son of Thomas Howard, first Earl of Suffolk<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Provided by Robert Alexander, 02\/2016. Research support was very kindly supported by a 2015 Franklin Research Grant from the\u00a0American Philosophical Society.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This month’s ‘Flower’ is provided by the editor of the Percy Papers volume, Bob Alexander]: In November 1616, newly created Knights of the Bath may have engaged in very unceremonious activities, in spite of high-minded exhortations they had heard during their KB inauguration. So says John Chamberlain in letters to Dudley Carleton available at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[25],"tags":[206,204,205,103,207,203,8,18],"class_list":["post-1773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flower-of-the-month-2","tag-algernon-percy","tag-civic-london-to-1558","tag-drapers-hall","tag-earl-of-northumberland","tag-earl-percy","tag-knights-of-bath","tag-records-of-early-english-drama","tag-reed"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Algernon_Percy.jpeg?fit=577%2C960&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p67HiV-sB","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}