Wikipedia:Today's featured article/April 29, 2005

The Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the ancient ceremony wherein individuals participated in a vigil of fasting, prayer, and bathing on the day before being knighted. Apart from the Sovereign and the Great Master, before 1815 there were a maximum of thirty six 'Knights of the Bath' (K.B.). After 1815 the number of classes and members were increased several times; the Order now includes three classes in civil and military divisions. The Order's motto is Tria juncta in uno (Latin for "Three joined in one"), a reference to either the union of England, Scotland and Ireland, or to the Holy Trinity. The Order is the fourth-most senior in the British honours system, after Order of the Garter, Order of the Thistle, and Order of St Patrick. The last of the aformentioned Orders—which relates to Ireland, which, except for Northern Ireland, is no longer a part of the United Kingdom—still exists but is in disuse; no appointments have been made to it since 1934. (more...)

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