A livery collar or chain of office is a collar or heavy chain, usually of gold, worn as insignia of office or a mark of fealty or other association in Europe from the Middle Ages onwards.
One of the best-known livery collars is the Collar of Esses, which has been in continuous use in the United Kingdom since the 15th century.
Various forms of livery were used in the Middle Ages to denote attachment to a great person by friends, servants, and poli...
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A livery collar or chain of office is a collar or heavy chain, usually of gold, worn as insignia of office or a mark of fealty or other association in Europe from the Middle Ages onwards.
One of the best-known livery collars is the Collar of Esses, which has been in continuous use in the United Kingdom since the 15th century.
Various forms of livery were used in the Middle Ages to denote attachment to a great person by friends, servants, and political supporters. The collar, usually of precious metal, was the grandest form of these, usually given by the person the livery denoted to his closest or most important associates, but should not, in the early period, be seen as separate from the wider phenomenon of livery badges, clothes and other forms. From the collar hung a badge or device indicating the person the livery related to; the most important part of the ensemble for contemporaries. Equally gold collars that had no livery connotations were worn.
Livery collars seem to be first...
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