A celebrated order of knighthood instituted in 1344 by King Edward III.; the original number of the knights was 26, of whom the sovereign was head; but this number has been increased by extending the honour to descendants of George I., II., and III., and also to distinguished foreigners; it is the highest order of knighthood, and is designated K.G.; the insignia of the order includes surcoat, mantle, star, &c., but the knights are chiefly distinguished by a garter of blue velvet worn on the left leg below the knee, and bearing the inscription in gold letters Honi soit qui mal y pense , "Evil be to him that evil thinks"; election to the order lies with the sovereign.
The Nuttall Encyclopædia: Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge[1] is a late 19th-century encyclopedia, edited by Rev. James Wood, first published in London in 1900 by Frederick Warne & Co Ltd.
WikipediaEditions were recorded for 1920, 1930, 1938 and 1956 and was still being sold in 1966. Editors included G. Elgie Christ and A. L. Hayden for 1930, Lawrence Hawkins Dawson for 1938 and C. M. Prior for 1956.[2]
Read More