Foundation

William Bruges, the first Garter King of Arms, held the office by 1417. The exact date of his appointment is not known and no record of it survives. John Anstis discovered a royal warrant under the Privy Seal dated 22 May in the fifth year of the reign of King Henry V (1417) wherein Bruges is called by his previous title, Guyenne King of Arms; the warrant orders that another be passed under the Great Seal of the Realm protecting Bruges while he travelled abroad with the king.^[3] Anstis then outlines two further pieces of evidence: (1) an instrument of 1422 or 1423 by which Bruges settled pension arrangements with the knights in which it is stated that he was appointed Garter at a previous full chapter meeting, and (2) a decree by the Duke of Clarence dated either 3 or 13 September 1417 which mentions "Garretier Roy d'armes des Anghis"^[4] As Henry V left for France on 27 July 1417, it can be deduced that Bruges must have been appointed in late July of that year.^[5]

This was accepted until Hugh Stanford London published evidence which appeared to date Bruges' appointment two years earlier than Anstis suggested.^[6] William Bruges' father, Richard, left a will dated 4 July 1415 and split into two parts: a testament dealing with his burial, charitable bequests and legacies to his wife, and a voluntas, which dealt with personal bequests. Although the testament (recorded in the London registry) makes no mention of anyone other than Richard's wife, the voluntas (copied in Archbishop Henry Chichele's registers) makes mention of his children. Reference is made to his son William, variously called "Gien", "Gyen" and "Gartere", and William's wife, called "Agnes Garter".^[7] The other register entries around the voluntas date to 1418 and 1419, so E. F. Jacob, the editor of a printed version of the register, suggests that the references to Garter may be a later gloss.^[8] But, Stanford London argued that later annotations would be consistent and refer to him as either Garter and Guyenne or simply Garter throughout, while Agnes would not have been called just Garter if it were a gloss. Instead, he suggests that Richard forgot to call his newly appointed son Garter at first and later included it alongside his old title in the will.^[9]

Criticising this point, Peter Begent finds no reference to Bruges being called anything but Guyenne or the equivalent title of Aquitaine King of Arms in records between 1415 and 1417, which is problematic for Stanford London's position. He argues that it is entirely possible that, if not a gloss, the voluntas was edited after 1415 as Richard Bruges included more bequests to his family.^[10]

Later history

The Garter Principal King of Arms was placed by King Henry V over all the whole body of heralds.^[11]

He may be said to have two distinct capacities united in his person, one relative to the Order of the Garter, the other as head of the College of Arms, and on this account he not only takes an oath in a chapter of the Garter, before the Sovereign and Knights, but as king at arms another oath before the Earl Marshal, and therefore he is styled both principal officer of arms of the most noble order of the Garter and principal king of English arms.^[11]

He has power to appoint a herald for his deputy: he must be a native of England and a gentleman bearing arms.^[11] It was anciently held that he was to be neither a knight nor a clergyman; but there has been one instance of a Garter having been a foreigner; and since the reign of Henry VII many of them have received knighthood: one was created a knight of the Bath.^[11] The office entitles him to the privilege of correcting errors or usurpations in all armorial bearings, to grant arms to such who deserve them, to present to the House of Lords a genealogy of every new peer, to assign his place in the chamber of parliament and to give him and the knights of the Bath supporters.^[11]

Portraits

• Garter King of Arms throughout the ages
• An illuminated manuscript from around 1430 showing William Bruges, the first Garter King of Arms, kneeling before St George. He was appointed in 1415 or 1417.
• Sir Edward Walker, who was Garter during the interregnum.
• Sir William Dugdale, one of England's leading antiquaries, was Garter between 1677 and his death in 1686. As a King of Arms, he conducted visitations to 10 English counties.
• John Anstis, Garter from 1719 to 1744
• Stephen Martin Leake, a noted numismatist, served as Garter for over 18 years (1754–73). Interested in heralds' privileges, he unsuccessfully campaigned for a revival of their visitations.
• Although briefly Garter between 1780 and 1784, Ralph Bigland was a late starter and quick riser, beginning his adult life as a cheesemonger. He is best remembered for his enormous collection of Gloucestershire memorial inscriptions.
• Sir Albert Woods served as Garter for nearly 35 years, between 1869 and 1904, but old age forced him to delegate many of his Coronation duties to other heralds in 1902.

List