\paperw5085 \margr0\margl0\ATXph16380 \plain \fs20 \pard\tx3255\tx6525\tx9780\ATXts240\ATXbrdr0 \f1 \fs22 During the late \ATXnt901 Middle Ages\ATXnt0 , construction labourers we
re usually recruited from the vicinity of the new building, whereas master masons, stone-cutters and carvers would travel from one site to the next, and indeed from one country to the next, taking decorative themes and building techniques with them. As
early as the late 12th century there were Sicilian-trained artists at work in Winchester, and there was considerable \ATXnt902 continental inspiration\ATXnt0 in English military architecture, particularly in the north Welsh castles of Edward I (1278-130
7). One of the most frequent decorative and artistic motifs to be found in castle and palace architecture was chivalry. \ATXnt903 The term \ATXnt0 refers to the institution of knighthood and the qualities that it idealised, such as bravery, courtesy, h
onesty and readiness to help the weak. In 1348, when jousting, pageantry, lavish entertainment and courtly chivalric behaviour preoccupied the aristocracy, Edward IIIÆs Windsor was to become the home of his innovatory Order of the Garter. Influenced by
the tales of \b \cf4 \ATXht10041000 King Arthur\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 , Edward elected 26 members to his Order and adopted the blue garter as its symbol. The Order stood for the mutual commitment of the king and his knights to search for justice and fame thr
ough valorous deeds. Membership was soon regarded as a great honour, and Garter symbolism would thus have been prominent in buildings of the time.
