Order of the Garter
order of chivalry in England
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by King Edward III in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, it is outranked in precedence only by the decorations of the Victoria Cross and the George Cross. The Order of the Garter is dedicated to the image and arms of Saint George, England's patron saint.
Appointments are at the Sovereign's sole discretion, typically made in recognition of national contribution, service to the Crown, or for distinguished personal service to the Monarch. Membership of the order is limited to the sovereign, the Prince of Wales, and no more than 24 living members, or Companions. The order also includes Supernumerary Knights and Ladies (e.g., members of the British royal family and foreign monarchs).
The order's emblem is a garter circlet with the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense (Anglo-Norman for "shamed be (the person) who thinks evil of it", in older translations "evil be to him who thinks of evil") in gold script. Members of the order wear it on ceremonial occasions.
History
King Edward III founded the Order of the Garter around the time of his claim to the French throne. The traditional year of foundation is usually given as 1348 (when it was formally proclaimed).
The public source identifies “Order of the Garter” as order of chivalry in England. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Order, Garter and order.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q215248. VIAF identifies the subject as 168089114. The Library of Congress control number is n50003915. 5 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1348.
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This entry incorporates text from “Order of the Garter” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.