Draft Knights of the body

John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk. Rose under Henry VI, knight of the body to Edward IV in 1467, supported Richard III against Edward V, and died with Richard at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485

NB Some information in this early draft may be wrong. The Latin terms for the various squires and knights seem to be the most accurate guide to their proper titles in English, and only a few sources quote them. The original royal charters, rolls or letters patent may have the required info. Try Medieval source material on the internet: Chancery rolls

In English/British history between c1400 to c1600, the term Knight of the body (Latin: miles (pl. milites) de corpore regis) refers to an honorary title generally given to prominent or powerful landed/land-owning knights by the kings of both England and perhaps Scotland (hmm, check again). They were retained by the king, with fees and robes appropriate to their status. As (hopefully) loyal retainers of the monarch in shires throughout the kingdom, they often held responsible and powerful positions in local government around the country.

Although they were retained servants of the king, the knights of the body were not part of the royal household itself. Despite a similar-sounding title, their responsibilities were very different from those of the squires of the body: the latter were the most personal servants of the king, dressing him, personally serving him at table, etc. The duties of the knights of the chamber lay entirely outside the regal domestic bustle (familia regis) and its pecking order of valet of the bedchamber, squire of the household, groom of the stool, etc. See also Order of precedence.

They also took part in ceremonial royal or state occasions such as weddings and funerals: e.g. Edward VI's christening, perhaps has led to confusion with squires of the body because of the similar-sounding title.

On receiving a knighthood, a squire of the body did not automatically become a knight of the body, etc. etc. Grab Talk:Esquire of the Body. Neither was there any inherent right to the position or title: it was given by the reigning monarch (or their representative), and there was no automatic continuation of the title from one reign to another. E.g. see below Perient, Sir Henry Retford, et al. After Henry VIII's time it appears that neither Mary I of England nor Elizabeth I chose to retain knights of the body left over from previous reigns, and by around 1600 it seems that the title had fallen into disuse. One of the last surviving knights of the body to Henry VIII was Sir James Boleyn (Bullen), of Blickling, Norfolk, who died in 1561. See below, and Template:Look again

Function, etc.

The knights of the body were often influential local knighted landowners who reinforced the status both of the king, and of the crown as the final arbiter of justice in the kingdom. They were essentially paid local retainers of the king, who received fees (often/usually/up to 40 marks a year) and robes twice a year (summer and winter). The title often went along with a more prominent position in the shires, where the knights acted as county sheriffs (mainly as tax collectors), sitting on commissions of oyer and terminer, delivering prisons of accused persons, or as constable#UK or steward of a town or castle, Warden (or Keeper) of the Forest of Dean, or Lieutenant of Calais.

They were in some ways like the earlier knights of the shire (since Simon de Montfort's Parliament in 1265), or the king's knights of Richard II. The original knights of the shire (temp. Edward III?) held similar responsible local positions, but were also knighted MPs returned by their county constituency. They were liable to be called to Parliament, although they weren't always called to every session. By the mid-14th century it became more of an honorary title as more men without knighthoods were given the title.

Knights of the body, although they seem to have filled similar local positions, didn't usually sit in Parliament. Richard II attempted to have some of his king's knights returned as knights of the shire (i.e. MPs), which wasn't too popular.

Background

Nomenclature

Men became squires and knights in various ways, e.g. by royal letters patent, or by heredity, or by the status of their office (refs needed - e.g. Esquire of the Body). Their titles in Latin remain a fairly exact guide to establishing their correct title in English: some of them are given here.

milites familiae regis - knights of the household (since at least John c1200 and Edward I c1270)

milites comitatus - knights of the shire (from 1265, 2 MPs were returned to represent county constituencies)

milites de camere regis - knights of the chamber (since mid-reign of Edward III c1345/60?)

milites pro corpore regis or milites pro corpore domine regis - knights of the body (temp. Henry IV c.1400)

scutiferi pro corpore regis - squires of the body (since at least Edward I and probably much earlier)

armigeri pro corpore regis - king's squires (?)

equites de? corpore regis - knights of the king's bodyguard (temp. Henry V)

sagittarii pro corpore regis - archers of the body - with the archers of the guard they made up the king's bodyguard

Outline of previous titles

• Growth of size of king's hall, retreat into the chamber - somewhat smaller circle - retreat into the privy chamber (the king's personal apartments)
• Seem to be descended from certain of the military household knights from at least the time of Edward I.

• After c1360-1385, when Edward III fought less and less on the battlefield in person. The essentially military household knights (some 50 in number), seem to have disappeared fairly swiftly since they only went to war with the king. They seem to have been replaced by the knights of the chamber. Also, Parliament stepped in around this time and forced a reduction of Edward's expenses. eng. parliament?

• The knights of the body were not like the knights of the chamber (milites de camere regis, temp. Edward III?) who were somewhat closer and more trusted representatives of the king, more like diplomats who discussed and settled foreign international treaties.

The charter rolls of Edward III have hundreds of references to 'king's squires' & 'king's knights', but none to 'knights of the body'. Calendar of the patent rolls preserved in the Public Record Office : Edward III, 1327-1377

• After 1377 (Richard II's ascension) the term 'the king's knight' began to be used increasingly in the patent rolls. In Richard II's reign there were 149 such knights. They were men of considerable standing within their local community. (Ingamells 1992, vol 1, pp. 10-11) LATIN PLS.

• Richard II had 170? knights of the body, some of whom were retained under Henry IV, e.g. Sir Henry Retford (c.1354-1409), of Castlethorpe and Carlton

• August 1484 (2 Richard III): Thomas Mon[t]gomery, knight of the body and of the Garter was commissioned (with others) to make a peace and trade treaty with Maximilian, duke of Austria and Burgundy.

History

Include &/or expand Esquire of the Body#Knights of the Body and Talk:Esquire of the Body by Noswall59 & others.

Not many, but no searchable text Calendar of the Patent Rolls preserved in the Public Record Office ... Henry IV. A.D. 1401-1405. https://archive.org/details/calendarpatentr00britgoog/page/n4

51 hits for 'king's knight', nothing 'of the body' or 'for the body' Calendar of the Patent Rolls preserved in the Public Record Office ... Henry V. A.D. 1413-1416. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031079596;view=1up;seq=5

Calendar of the Patent Rolls preserved in the Public Record Office ... Henry VI. A.D. 1429-1436. (1907) https://archive.org/details/calendarpatentr01blacgoog/page/n4

"Nov. 21. Grant in survivorship to Ralph Botiller, knight for the body, lord of Westminster." https://archive.org/stream/calendarpatentr00blacgoog/calendarpatentr00blacgoog_djvu.txt p. 27 Calendar of the Patent Rolls preserved in the Public Record Office ... Henry VI. A.D. 1441-1446.

73 hits for 'king's knight', no knights either of or for the body, approx 45 'esquire for the body' Calendar of the Patent Rolls preserved in the Public Record Office, Henry VI. Vol. 5 A.D. 1446-1452. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031079539;view=1up;seq=5

40 hits for 'king's knight, 12 for 'esquire of the body', none for 'knight of the body' Calendar of the Patent Rolls preserved in the Public Record Office ... Edward IV. A.D. 1461-1467. (1897) https://archive.org/stream/calendarpatentr14offigoog/calendarpatentr14offigoog_djvu.txt

This seems to be well-documented, c1467, Edward IV (long reign): Approx 12 refs to about 8 knights of the body: Grey, Montgomery, Stanley, Talbot, Ralph Hastings, Trussell, Chamberlain. Calendar of the Patent Rolls preserved in the Public Record Office ... Edward IV. A.D. 1467-1477. (1900) https://archive.org/stream/calendarpatentr05blacgoog/calendarpatentr05blacgoog_djvu.txt

50 hits for 'knight of the body', 13 hits for 'knights of the body'. Calendar of the Patent Rolls preserved in the Public Record Office Edward IV (Ed. V), Richard III A.D. 1476-1485. (1901) https://archive.org/stream/calendarpatentr12offigoog/calendarpatentr12offigoog_djvu.txt

Knight for the body - 11 June 1488 - Reynold Bray Calender of the patent rolls, preserved in the Public Record Office 1485-1494. (Henry VII pt 1) https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=msu.31293027026362;view=1up;seq=240

30 hits 'knight of the body': Calendar of the patent rolls, preserved in the Public Record Office 1494-1509 (Henry VII pt 2) https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=YWlQAQAAMAAJ&dq=Calender+of+the+patent+rolls%2C+preserved+in+the+Public+Record+Office%2C+%221494-1509%22&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22knight+for+the+body%22

I think the patent rolls for Henry VIII are missing, thus many ("knight of the body by 1533" etc.) Nope, "Letters & Papers of Henry VIII", but only abstracts or calendars...

1548 (m. 17) One hit, Richard Jerm[n]yngham, & his wife Anne now Lady Russell (married to the 1st Earl), but R.J. was left over from Henry VIII and apparently deceased? Yes, Richard J. d. 1525. Calendar of the Patent Rolls preserved in the Public Record Office, Edward VI, A.D. 1549-1551. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=msu.31293102388695;view=1up;seq=16

19 July 1550: John Russell Earl of Bedford (8th or 9th?) Ha! the 1st: John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford 'knight for the body' left over from Henry VIII Calendar of the patent rolls. Edward VI vol. 4 1550-1553. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=msu.31293027026404;view=1up;seq=18

Summary?

So, first proper mention of knights of the body is in 1467, temp. Edward IV; but what about Richard III? Then Henrys VII & VIII, who created lots, Henry VIII d. 1547; then aargh Edward VI (1547-1553) with Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset as Lord Protector during Edward VI's minority, + 16 executors: out of whom John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland rose to the fore & had Somerset executed on trumped-up charges.

Dudley had apparently failed to prepare (either at court or in the shires) for Mary's revival, and lost his head in 1553 after surrendering to Mary when the Privy Council of England declared for her against Lady Jane Grey, Dudley's granddaughter...

And since there may not have been any more knights of the body created after the possible combining of certain squires and certain knights into the Gentlemen of the Bedchamber in 15xx. (although the wiki article fails utterly to provide any history before 1660....................... what?)

And since Mary was unlikely (I imagine) to favour her dad's supporters after the Dissolution 1536-1541, I suppose the entire "knight of the body" idea was cast into a pit of religious snakes. (NB just a draft, it may get better).

Thus, although there are a number of references to the knights of the body before 1460, they generally seem to have come into existence from c1470 (temp. Edward IV?): and the last ones appear to have been created in the earlier years of Henry VIII (r. 1509-1547). They seem to be 'descended' from or have performed a similar role to certain of Richard II's Knights of the household, king's knights? LATIN PLS. or Knights of the shire.

Henry VII and VIII greatly expanded the number of squires & knights of the body, so that 'the household' == 'the affinity', apparently to consolidate their rule in the shires, during a time of relative national & international peace & stability after the French wars.

[Earlier thoughts]: Since the knights were paid a royal retainer consisting of yearly fees and two sets of robes per year (summer and winter), they appear in the accounts of the royal wardrobe [Maybe in chamber rolls as well?]. These accounts are distinct from those of the Royal chamber, whose Chamberlain oversaw the king's personal household Royal household, and also distinct from those of the Exchequer, which kept the accounts for the king's government.

Following points mostly covered elsewhere:

The knights of the body (milites pro corpore regis) seem to have been much more like the milites comitatus knights of the shire.

As loyal retainers of the monarch throughout his kingdom, they held responsible and powerful positions around the country, acting as sheriffs (mainly tax collectors), sitting on commissions of oyer and terminer, delivering prisons of accused persons, or stewards of a town or castle.

By the 1400's, the requirement for knights of the shire to be military knights (milites simplicius?) (or Knights banneret? - I think part of the household?) had lessened with the rise of landed gentry (armigeri)(i.e. people entitled to use an heraldic device) country, Gentleman with letters patent.

Find if any knights of the body were retained or created by Edward VI, or Mary (Protestant martyrs etc.) or Elizabeth I..... Apparently not. Because reasons.

Squires of the body

Although knights and squires of the body shared a similar title, their functions were quite different. The squires of the body (scutiferi pro corpore regis) were part of the royal household, and had always been the most personal servants of the king since at least the time of Alfred?find ref insert talk page stuff

Esquires are those with royal letters patent allowing them to use the title Esquire: they should not be confused with courtesy titles such as squire of the chamber, squire of the body, etc. used within the royal household. Current historians use the term 'squire of the body', not 'esquire', and without capitals.

Also update Esquire of the Body with other stuff in notes, e.g.

• household esquires (scutarii hospicii regis) squires of the king's guests? hospitality?

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

• Beltz, George Frederick (1841). Memorials of the Order of the Garter: From Its Foundation to the Present Time; with Biographical Notices of the Knights in the Reigns of Edward III and Richard II. London: William Pickering. Search this book on

• Church, Stephen David (1999). The Household Knights of King John. Cambridge studies in medieval life and thought. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521553193. ISSN 0950-6314. Search this book on  (Complete intro)

• Given-Wilson, Chris (1987). "The king and the gentry in fourteenth-century England". Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. 37. doi:10.2307/3679152. JSTOR 3679152. (Subscription required (help)).

• Gunn, S. J. (January 1993). "The Courtiers of Henry VII". The English Historical Review. OUP. 108 (426). JSTOR 573548. (Subscription required (help)).

• Heal, Felicity (1994). The Gentry in England and Wales, 1500-1700. Macmillan International Higher Education. ISBN 9781349236404. Search this book on

• Hefferan, Matthew (2019). "Household knights, chamber knights and king's knights: the development of the royal knight in fourteenth-century England". Journal of Medieval History. 45 (1). doi:10.1080/03044181.2018.1551811.

• Hewerdine, Anita Rosamund (1998). The Yeomen of the King's Guard 1485-1547 (PDF) (PhD thesis). London: LSE.

• Ingamells, Ruth (1992). The Household Knights of Edward I (PhD dissertation). University of Durham. p. (2 vols.). (NB the pdf labels are wrong, vol. 2=vol. 1)

• Kisby, Fiona (1999). "Officers and Office-Holding at the English Court: A Study of the Chapel Royal, 1485-1547". Royal Musical Association Research Chronicle. Taylor & Francis, Ltd. for the RMA. 32. JSTOR 25099466. (Subscription required (help)).

• Mercer, Malcolm (2010). The Medieval Gentry: Power, Leadership and Choice During the Wars of the Roses. Continuum. ISBN 9781441190642. Search this book on

• Morgan, D. A. L. (1973). "The King's Affinity in the Polity of Yorkist England". Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. Vol. 23. JSTOR 3678870. (Subscription required (help)).

• Myers, Alec Reginald, ed. (1959). The Household of Edward IV: the Black Book and the Ordnance of 1478. Manchester University Press. Search this book on

• Patterson, Lee (1991). Chaucer and the Subject of History. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 9780299128340. Search this book on

• Pegge, Samuel (1782). Curialia: Or, An Historical Account of Some Branches of the Royal Household, Pts. 1-3. London: Printed by J. Nichols. pp. 7–19. Search this book on  (See also Pts. IV & V)

• Robertson, Craig A. (1977). "Local Government and the King's "affinity" in fifteenth-century Leicestershire and Warwickshire". Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological & Historical Society. Leicestershire Archaeological & Historical Society. 52.

• Sil, Narasingha P. (2001). Tudor Placemen and Statesmen: Select Case Histories. Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. Search this book on

• Tout, Thomas Frederick (1920). Chapters in the administrative history of mediaeval England; the wardrobe, the chamber, and the small seals, Vol. II. Manchester University Press. Search this book on

• Wedgwood, Josiah Clement; Holt, Anne (1936). History of Parliament: Biographies of the Members of the Commons House 1439-1509. London: HMSO. Search this book on

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