The
Feast of the Swans was a
chivalric celebration of the
knighting of 267 men at
Westminster Abbey on 22 May 1306. It followed a proclamation by
Edward I that all esquires eligible for knighthood should come to Westminster to be knighted in turn by their future king, and to march with him against the Scots. The
King first knighted his son
Edward II who in turn knighted the 266 others.