Here's a story about a wardrobe malfunction that created the most exclusive club in history. It's the year 1348. England's King Edward III — a warrior-king who'd just crushed the French at the Battle of Crécy — is throwing a massive ball at his castle. The court is packed with knights, nobles, and the most powerful people in England. The wine is flowing. The music is playing. And then something happens that changes everything.
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Crowns & Conquests·2/2·1′
The place
Windsor Castle
The Origin of the Order of the Garter
A lady's fallen garter that forged the oldest and most prestigious order of chivalry in the world
1348 AD — PresentWindsor Castle
Moral of the Story
“True chivalry lies in the defense of honor and the transformation of mockery into virtue — a single act of grace can create an institution that endures for centuries”
Characters
E
Edward III — King of England, founder of the Order of the GarterJ
Joan, Countess of Salisbury ("The Fair Maid of Kent") — The lady whose fallen garter inspired the OrderE
Edward the Black Prince — Founding Knight and the most feared warrior in EuropeH
Henry of Grosmont, Duke of Lancaster — Founding KnightS
Sir John Chandos — Founding Knight and master tacticianK
King Arthur — The mythic model upon whose Round Table the Order was consciously basedSource
Jean Froissart's "Chroniques" (c. 1370s), Elias Ashmole's "The Institution, Laws and Ceremonies of the Most Noble Order of the Garter" (1672), Lisa Jefferson's scholarly research on the Order's founding, Historic Royal Palaces archives