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Passage Illustrated

Beautiful, however, as is the body of the chapel, it is not comparable​to the choir. Here, and on either side, are ranged the stalls of the​knights, formerly twenty-six in number, but now increased to thirty-two, elaborately carved in black oak, and covered by canopies of the richest tabernacle-work, supported by slender pillars. On the pedestals is represented the history of the Saviour, and on the front of the stalls at the west end of the choir is carved the legend of Saint George; while on the outside of the upper seat is cut, in old Saxon characters, the twentieth Psalm in Latin. On the canopies of the stalls are placed the mantle, helmet, coat, and sword of the knights-companions; and above them are hung their emblazoned banners. On the back of each stall are fixed small enamelled plates, graven with the titles of the knights who have occupied it. The ancient stall of the sovereign was removed in 1788, and a new seat erected. [Chapter III, "Comprising the Fourth Epoch in the History of the Castle;​ and showing how Saint George's Chapel was rebuilt by King​Edward the Fourth,"​p. 152]

Commentary

According to J. Don Vann (1985), in the serial publication, what is now Book Three appeared after book the Fourth and immediately before Book the Fifth. In other words, the reader of the magazine serial would have encountered Delamotte's image of Henry the Third's Tower after the scene in which Henry's groom relegates Wolsey to this rather modest accommodation.

Although the wood-engraving appears well into the novel, in the non-fiction antiquarian section on the history of Windsor Castle, Delamotte in all likelihood made the sketch upon which it is based in the summer of 1842. Thus, it is not technically an "illustration" since it is unlikely that Delamotte had read what would turn out to be the accompanying text when he visited the castle.

Other Views of St. George's Chapel

• Cardinal Wolsey's Tomb-House
• Cloisters near Saint George's Chapel
• South side of Saint George's Chapel
• West End of Saint George's Chapel

Other Views and Related Material on Windsor Castle

• Windsor Castle from the Long Walk, Victorian additions and alterations by Sir Jeffry Wyattville
• Early twentieth-century view of the castle from the river
• The Frogmore Mausoleum, adjacent to the Long Walk
• Statue of Queen Victoria at the foot of Castle Hill, Windsor

References

Ainsworth, William Harrison. Windsor Castle. An Historical Romance. Illustrated by George Cruikshank and Tony Johannot. With designs on wood by W. Alfred Delamotte. London: Routledge, 1880. Based on the Henry Colburn edition of 1844.

Patten, Robert L. Chapter 30, "The 'Hoc' Goes Down." George Cruikshank's Life, Times, and Art, vol. 2: 1835-1878. Rutgers, NJ: Rutgers U. P., 1991; London: The Lutterworth Press, 1996. Pp. 153-186.

Vann, J. Don. "Windsor Castle in Ainsworth's Magazine, June 1842-June 1843." Victorian Novels in Serial. New York: MLA, 1985. P. 23.

Worth, George J. William Harrison Ainsworth. New York: Twayne, 1972.

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Last modified 27 December 2017