Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/421

 Ch. 12. They are alo called in our law milites, becaue they formed a part, or indeed the whole, of the royal army, in virtue of their feodal tenures; one condition of which was, that every one who held a knight's fee (which in Henry the econd's time amounted to 20𝑙. per annum) was obliged to be knighted, and attend the king in his wars, or fine for his non-compliance. The exertion of this prerogative, as an expedient to raie money in the reign of Charles the firt, gave great offence; though warranted by law, and the recent example of queen Elizabeth: but it was, at the retoration, together with all other military branches of the feodal law, abolihed; and this kind of knighthood has, ince that time, fallen into great diregard.

, ir Edward Coke ays, are all the names of dignity in this kingdom, equires and gentlemen being only names of worhip. But before thee lat the heralds rank all colonels, erjeants at law, and doctors in the three learned profeions.

and gentlemen are confounded together by ir Edward Coke, who oberves, that every equire is a gentleman, and a gentleman is defined to be one qui arma gerit, who bears coat armour, the grant of which adds gentility to a man's family: in like manner as civil nobility, among the Romans, was founded in the jus imaginum, or having the image of one ancetor at leat, who had borne ome curule office. It is indeed a matter omewhat unettled, what contitutes the ditinction, or who is a real equire: for it is not an etate, however large, that confers this rank upon it's owner. Camden, who was himelf a herald, ditinguihes them the mot accurately; and he reckons up four orts of them : 1. The eldet ons of knights, and their eldet ons, in perpetual ucceion. 2. The younger ons of peers, and their eldet ons, in like perpetual ucceion: both which pecies of equires ir Henry Spelman entitles armigeri natalitii. 3. Equires Rh