A string or ribbon by which the stocking is held upon the leg. The mark ofthe highest order of English knighthood, ranking next after the nobility. This militaryorder of knighthood is said to have been first instituted by Richard I., at the siege ofAcre, where he caused twenty-six knights who firmly stood by him to wear thongs ofblue leather about their legs. It is also said to have been perfected by Edward III. andto have received some alterations, which wereafterwards laid aside, from Edward VI. The badge of the order is the image of St.George, called the “George,” and the motto is “Lloni soil Qui vial y pcu.sc.” Wharton.