Monday 4 March 1660/61

My Lord went this morning on his journey to Hinchingbroke, Mr. Parker with him; the chief business being to look over and determine how, and in what manner, his great work of building shall be done.

Before his going he did give me some jewells to keep for him, viz., that that the King of Sweden did give him, with the King’s own picture in it, most excellently done; and a brave George, all of diamonds, and this with the greatest expressions of love and confidence that I could imagine or hope for, which is a very great joy to me.

To the office all the forenoon. Then to dinner and so to Whitehall to Mr. Coventry about several businesses, and then with Mr. Moore, who went with me to drink a cup of ale, and after some good discourse then home and sat late talking with Sir W. Batten. So home and to bed.


36 Annotations

First Reading

Miguel  •  Link

What a great thing for Sam that Sir Montagu honors him so with the keeping of his jewels. Was this unusual? What did one normally do, I wonder, with treasures like these when travelling? And where, I wonder, did Sam keep them?

indoctus  •  Link

"...King of Sweden did give him, with the King's own picture in it, most excellently done…”
Charles X or Karl X Gustav (1622-1660), king of Sweden, [plus mug shot]
wars Galore; Poland, Denmark
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Char…
was succeeded by his son, Charles XI.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Char…
more bios.
http://www.bartleby.com/65/ch/Cha…
Charles X or Karl X Gustav (1622-1660), king of Sweden, son of John Casimir, Margrave of Pfalz-Zweibrücken, and Catherine, sister of Gustavus Adolphus, was born at the Castle of Nyköping on November 8, 1622.
He reigned as king of Sweden from 1654-1660. He was married to Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp (1636-1715) produced the son and successor, king Charles XI of Sweden.
with likeness

Jesse  •  Link

"jewells ... that that the King of Sweden did give him" - what for?

Perhaps Montagu was involved with Cromwell & Mazarin's mediation during Sweden's 1657 war on Denmark?

Mary House  •  Link

A brave George... does this refer to St George? is it a piece of jewelry?

dirk  •  Link

"jewells … that that the King of Sweden did give him”

Of Algernon Sidney (1622-1683), one of the three commissioners to mediate for a peace between Denmark and Sweden (“my Lord” Montagu was one of the other commissioners) it is said that he “was bringing with him from the king of Sweden a rich present in testimony of the estimation in which he was held”.

Logically the other two commissioners would have received similar “rich presents”.

These are probably the jewels Sam is talking about here.

See:
http://19.1911encyclopedia.org/S/…

Michaael Robinson  •  Link

The "George" refers to Montague's Garter Jewel; a badge of the mounted St George.

Montague, with Monk, was installed as member of the Order of the Garter in 1661 for his services at the restoration in bringing Charles back to England.

Pauline  •  Link

These jewels have bedazzled us before:

May 27 - My lord receives the Noble Order of the Garter:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

AND

http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1… :
3 September 1660 — “…the goldsmith near the new Exchange…and there, with much ado, got him to put a gold ring to the jewell, which the King of Sweden did give my Lord: out of which my Lord had now taken the King's picture, and intends to make a George of it.”

This last does not jibe with today’s report that the portrait of the King is still in the jewel.

Pauline  •  Link

Sorry, the colon I placed after the second link above prevents the linkage.

Sounds like there may not be just one "George" that a knight is entitled to. That once a knight you were free to commission elaborate (and diamond-encrusted) Georges at whim?????

indoctus  •  Link

Just a tip: in preview test the the connection[htt....hml] to see if the link works and then thee has the correct URL without those hidden "gotyers".
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

helena murphy  •  Link

I believe that the present monarch,Queen Elizabeth II may honour fellow monarchs and Commonwealth heads of state with the Order of the Garter ,but not American presidents simply because America of course is not part of the Commonwealth. If I am not mistaken Knights of the Garter have the right to reside in the grounds of Windsor Castle where there is a row of little townhouses for this purpose.
Does anybody wish to shed any light on this?

Christo  •  Link

' . . . From the eighteenth century to 1946, appointments to the Order (and to the Order of the Thistle) were made on advice from government. Today, the Order has returned to its original function as a mark of royal favour; Knights of the Garter are chosen personally by the Sovereign to honour those who have held public office, who have contributed in a particular way to national life or who have served the Sovereign personally. The number of knights is limited to 24 plus royal knights . . '

http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Pa…

Michael Robinson  •  Link

Today there are two "Georges" in the Garter regalia; the Greater George worn from the collar and the lesser worn at the end of the sash. The Greater George is the elaborate jewel. I assume the regalia were similar in Pepy's day.

George IV commisioned for himself many Garter Stars, the "everyday" emblem worn on the left brest however there would seem to be little reason to commission multiples of the jewels.

A. De Araujo  •  Link

"and a brave George" well it seems that SP dropped the Saint from the George 300 years before the Catholic Church! I wonder if he is still
recognized as a Saint by the Orthodox Church?

StewartMcI  •  Link

Several points on the "George"

"My Lord" (NOT Sir Montagu, Miguel !!!) was indeed invested with the Order of the Garter, with two pieces of insignia - the Garter itself and the George. The George is not simply a representation of St. George (as say the Thistle is of St. Andrew with his cross) but rather a depiction of St. George slaying the dragon, surrounded by a garter enameled with the Order's motto "Honi Soit qui Mal y Pense". Michael, the breast Star in this period would have been embroidered, in bullion thread, on the coat rather than being the separate metal star(s) of George the Fourth's period. Helena, Queen Elizabeth can invest anyone (usually heads of state) with the Garter, and other Orders, including U.S. citizens, and these have included Sultans of Turkey, and Emperor Hirohito (twice). Your other reference is to the Military Knights of Windsor who are distinguished retired military, naval, etc. officers, and have a ceremonial role at Garter ceremonies, but are NOT members of the Order per se.

Susanna  •  Link

The reason that Americans have never been honored with the Order of the Garter is simple: Article I Section 9 of the Constitution of the United States.

"No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State."

helena murphy  •  Link

Thank you Stewart,Susanna and all who have written on the Order of the Garter.Your annotations are much appreciated.

Wembley  •  Link


So Sam is on the ale today - can anyone see a pattern in his drinking ale/wine/etc?
Is it ale because he's with a friend who he doesn't need to impress, or is he off wine for Lent? Or is the ale just particularly good at that (unnamed) establishment? (Or doesn't he need a reason?)

vincent  •  Link

SP: he be good today: only A cup of ale and a good discourse. So the Sermon had an effect?

Emilio  •  Link

"a brave George" (small sidelight)

L&M has "a rare George", so this seals it:

'rare' in L&M = 'brave' in Wheatley's transcription, at least for now. Perhaps later John Smith will discover his small misreading of the shorthand.

Emilio  •  Link

"to Hinchingbroke, Mr. Parker with him"

L&M identify this person as being Mr. Philip 'Packer', and they provide information on him in a lengthy footnote about Montagu's renovations:

"Hinchingbrooke was mainly Elizabethan-Jacobean in date. Parts, however, survived from the original medieval nunnery. The new work consisted mostly of the addition of two storeys to the w. range, a new n.-w. corner, a kitchen in the n. wing and a new staircase. No plans of the rebuilding appear to have survived. . . . Philip Packer, Deputy-Paymaster of the King's Works and a kinsman of Sandwich by marriage, was the contractor and possibly the architect, but Sandwich himself probably had a hand in the design--certainly in that of the grounds and waterworks." (My Lord has a general interest in architectural drawings, for which L&M refer us to the Sept. 27 entry for next year.)

dirk  •  Link

St. George

Still recognised as a saint by the orthodox church *and* the catholic church - saint's day 23 April.

Check:
http://www.heiligenlexikon.de/Bio…
(in German)

A. De Araujo  •  Link

St. George- Viele Danke Dirk, aber...

Hic Retearius  •  Link

Herr Dirk! Auf Deutsch?

Heir ist keine Drache aber Heilige Kuh geschlagen und es freut mich sehr!

"…dreimal sterben und auferstehen werde. Einmal sollen ihm 60 Nägel gleichzeitig in den Kopf geschlagen worden sein."

Robust!

That must be the definitive site on Saint George, Dirk. Many thanks. He has a wider background and constituency than most of us realize.

dirk  •  Link

St. George (re - German link)

A button for an automatic English translation is available on the St. George page, bottom left. The quality of the translation is not very good however.

Second Reading

Bill  •  Link

Wheatley in his annotation of the diary for this date says that the current King of Sweden, Charles XI, is the person who gave "my Lord" the jewel with the picture in it.

Nate Lockwood  •  Link

Bill, I think your sentence needs a little restructuring. Perhaps if "the current ..." were changed to "the then current ..." my cognitive dissonance bells would quiet. :-)

Bill  •  Link

Sounds good Nate.

Wheatley in his annotation of the diary for this date says that the current (i.e., as of this date) King of Sweden, Charles XI, is the person who gave "my Lord" the jewel with the picture in it.

Bill  •  Link

"this date" in both instances above being 4 March 1660/61.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

The Order of the Garter's Great George worn suspended from the collar, is a colourfully enamelled (sometimes jewelled) three-dimensional figure of St. George the Martyr on horseback slaying a dragon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ord…

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"Wheatley in his annotation of the diary for this date says that the current (i.e., as of this date) King of Sweden, Charles XI, is the person who gave "my Lord" the jewel with the picture in it."

: Wheatley sometimes overreaches: Charles X Gustav ruled until 13 February 1660. http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo… The first mention of the gifting of "the jewel" was 3 September 1660. There L&M: "The medal [was] given by Charles X to Sandwich in August 1659 on his departure from the Sound...." http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

Third Reading

徽柔  •  Link

Sandwich must trusted Pepys so much that he let Pepys kept his george.
And I thought the knights of garter should take their george with them always...

Stephane Chenard  •  Link

A bit strange, isn't it, My Lord giving Sam his George, if that's really it, "to keep" while at sea. How are Sam's lodgings, with their street/roof accesses and creepy neighbors, any more secure than the Sandwich suite at Westminster?

And here's an odd coincidence. We have information - proofs from Mercurius Politicus, so let's keep this to ourselves, hm? - that next week, the king will "hold a chapter with those persons conserned in the order of St. George", to invite them to a grate "feast of St. George to be holden at Windsor in Aprill next (...) the 15 of Aprill by noone, that they may proceed to the installation accordinge to the statutes of the said order in the afternoone and on the 16 and 17 of the same month."

That will be something to see. All these lords and grandees... ah, but pish, My Lord will be at sea. Unless? Mr Pepys, you know, of the Naval office, in his best, as official rep for My Lord with My Lord's George and utter, utter trust on careful display on a velvet cushion? Would that be allowed?

We'll see. But as for tonight, we phant'sy that Sam, alone in front of the mirror in his dressing room, is sorely tempted to put on the George, and some airs. Aye, against law and tradition, but no one will ever know, will they. Hmm, those diamonds, how they are set off by the watered moyre of my morning wastecoate, don't ye think, honey?

徽柔  •  Link

Well if i would Pepys I would begin worrying about the safety of these jewelries.

徽柔  •  Link

I mean, If I were Pepys

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Pepys could pawn it, and make the George's security someone else's problem, which would solve his immediate want of cash.

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