KNIGHTS OF THE BATH.  An ancient and honourable military order of knighthood.  The date of its origin is too remote to be traced with certainty:  by some authors it is said to have been instituted in Normandy before the Conquest; it was re-established in England by Henry IV., and revived by George I. The chapel of this order is Henry VII.’s chapel in Westminster Abbey:  the Dean of Westminster for the time being is always dean of the order of the Bath.  The number of the knights is according to the pleasure of the sovereign.  At the close of the late war the Prince Regent, afterwards George IV., remodelled this order of knighthood; and to enable himself to bestow marks of honour upon the naval and military officers that had distinguished themselves on the ocean and in the field, he divided the order into three classes:  first, all the noblemen that were Knights of the Bath were henceforth to be called Knights Grand Crosses of the Bath, which was also the title of the commanders of fleets and armies that were rewarded by being admitted into the highest class of this noble order.

The second class are called Knights Commanders of the Bath; a great number of naval and military officers above the rank of captains in the navy and majors in the army are admitted into this class.

The third class is styled Companions of the Order of the Bath, and is open to officers of inferior rank.

The Knights Grand Crosses of the Bath attach the initials K.G.C.B. to their names and titles.

The Knights Commanders use the initials K.C.B.

The Companions are known by the initials C.B.

[Illustration:  Label]

LABEL.  The noblest of abatements serving as a difference between the eldest and the junior sons.  See DIFFERENCE.

LANGUED. A term derived from the French word langue, tongue.  It signifies in Heraldry that the tongue of a bird or beast is of a different tincture from the body.

LION.  The strength, courage, and majestic deportment of this noble animal, has gained him the regal titles of monarch of the forest and king of beasts.  Ancient heralds selected the figure of the lion as symbolic of command, strength, power, courage, and other qualities attributed to that animal.  Armorists have introduced lions to denote the attributes of majesty, might, and clemency, subduing those that resist, and sparing those that yield to authority.  The lion has been depicted in every attitude which could by any means be construed into a compliment to the person the sovereign delighted to honour, by raising him to a rank that enabled him to bear arms.  Was it a warrior, who, though victorious, was still engaged in struggling with the foes of his sovereign, the lion rampant was considered a proper emblem of the hero.  The warrior having overcome his enemies in the field, yet retaining his military command for the safety and honour of his country, was typified by the lion statant gardant.  We might easily find examples to show the propriety of the emblem for all the positions of the lion introduced as charges in coats of arms; but the two given will be sufficient:  the rest may easily be imagined by the intelligent reader.  The following are the most usual positions in which the lion appears in shields of arms:—­