Knights of the BATH, a military order in England, supposed to have been instituted by Richard II. who limited their number to four: However, his successor, Henry IV. increased them to forty-six. Their motto was tres in uno, signifying the three theological virtues.
This order received this denomination from a custom of bathing, before they received the golden spur. It is seldom ever conferred but at the coronation of kings, or the inauguration of a prince of Wales or Duke of York. They wear a red ribbon beltwise.
The order of the bath, after remaining many years extinct, was revived under George I. by a solemn creation of a great number of knights.