A Study Of The Social Ranks Of The Members Of The Garter Order During The Hundred Years' War

The Order of the Garter was established in the Hundred Years' War between 1337 and 1453.It was an order of secular knighthood,which was founded by King Edward? in 1348.At that time,in the eyes of the British peerages,it was a supreme honor to obtain the Order of the Garter and become a Knight-Companion.During the Hundred Years' War,members of the Order of the Garter continued to replenish and update.The social hierarchies of these members were not the same,thus changing the structure of the social rank of the Knights-Companions.Exploring this process of change not only helps us understand and grasp the historical position and role of the Order of the Garter,but also helps us to understand the historical chanses of the Kingdom of England in this period,and thus fuither understand the origin of the modem English honor system.There are many research results about the social hierarchies of the Order of the Garter during the Hundred Years' War,but domestic academic circles pay little attention to this issue.Based on the interpretation of the original literature,this paper attempts to study the social rank of the Knights-Companions on the basis of the official records of the Garter and their members5 biographies.This paper is mainly composed of three parts:the introduction,the main body of the thesis and the conclusion.Among them,the introduction part mainly explains the main questions of this paper,including the social rank of the Knights-Companions during the Hundred Years' War and its changes.At the same time,the keywords of the Order of the Garter(Knighthood),the Order of the Garter(Order)and the Medal of the Gaiter are involved in this article,the core terms are also defined.After combing the relevant research status at home and abroad,this article will be based on the original Statute of the Order of the Garter and related original documents,plus the literature on the Order of the Garter published in the 17th and 18th centuries,the Knights-Companions during the Hundred Years War,to systematically analyzed the social rank and their changes of the Order of the Garter during the Hundred Years' War.The main part of the thesis is divided into four chapters.The first chapter mainly expounds the historical background of the establishment of the Order of the Garter,and briefly introduces the establishment process and organization system of it.When the Order of the Garter was founded,it was at the beginning of the Hundred Years'War between England and France.It was also the period when the power of the British aristocracy expanded and the kingship became weak.The threat of aristocratic power expansion to the British monarchy and the victory of the Battle of Crecy are the opportunities for the Order of the Garter to be established.The second chapter and the third chapter are based on the original documentary records and biographies of the Knights-Companions.Through the comprehensive analysis of the social ranks recorded in the member biography,the process of the social rank of the Knights-Companions and its changes are expounded from two aspects:domestic members and foreigners.Although the process of completing the transformation of domestic members and foreigners are not the same,but the general trend of the changes in the social rank of the Knights-Companions can be mainly described from the "Bachelor Order" to the "Aristocratic Order".The proportion of the nobility in the Order continued to increase,which also prompted the Order of the Garter to change from the pure Order organization to the carrier of the honor system.The fourth chapter explains the significance of the changes in the social rank of the members of the Order of the Garter.The establishment of the Order of the Garter reaffirmed the feudal relationship between the King and the peerages,and also absorbed some European aristocrats into England's feudal system.It was a positive attempt by the King to strengthen the kingship during the Hundred Years' War.At the same time,the Trinity relationship between the Order of the Garter had also changed,from the"Knight's Medal" to the "Noble's Order",which preliminarily established the honor system in England.The conclusion part of this paper summarizes on udes the changes of the social hierarchies of the Order of the Garter.It is believed that the establishment of the Order of the Garter is closely related to the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War.The initial stage is mainly to stimulate the "Chivalry".After the signing of the Treaty of Bretigny,the political and diplomatic functions of the Order of the Gaiter became increasingly apparent.On the whole,the trend of social rank changes in the members of the Order of the Garter during the Hundred Years War was a transformation from the "Bachelor Order" to the“Aristocratic Order,.This transformation not only consolidated the political status of the king of England,but also gave birth to the honor system of modern England and produced an important international influence.