diff options
Diffstat (limited to '40022-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 40022-0.txt | 9727 |
1 files changed, 9727 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/40022-0.txt b/40022-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d339695 --- /dev/null +++ b/40022-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9727 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40022 *** + + The History of Chivalry + or + Knighthood and its times. + + + By CHARLES MILLS, Esqr. + Author of the History of the Crusades + + + IN TWO VOLUMES + + Vol: II. + + + [Illustration: Engraved by A. Le Petit + from a sketch by R. H. Sievier.] + + + London. + Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green. + MDCCCXXV. + + + + +CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. + + + Page + + CHAP. I. STATE OF CHIVALRY IN ENGLAND DURING THE REIGN OF + EDWARD THE THIRD. + + Tournaments ... The Round Table ... Order of the Garter ... + Courtesy of Edward ... Prevalence of chivalric taste among all + classes ... English archers ... The Black Prince ... Story of the + king's chivalry ... England regarded as the seat of honour ... + Instance of this ... Chivalric heroes in this reign ... The + gestes and prowesses of Sir Walter Manny ... Chivalric vow of Sir + Walter ... He fights for the love of his lady ... His rescue of + two brother knights ... Instance of his joyous adventurousness + ... His gallantry before Auberoche ... His filial piety ... Story + of chivalric manners ... The gentle disposition of Manny ... His + importance at Edward's court ... His remarkable sagacity ... His + liberality ... His death in 1372 ... Buried in the Charter-House + ... Heroism of Sir James Audley ... His generosity ... Memoir of + Sir John Chandos ... His gallantry to ladies ... Amusing instance + of the pride of knighthood ... The importance of his counsel at + Poictiers ... His exploits in Brittany ... And in Spain ... Is + made a knight banneret ... Quits the Black Prince ... But returns + ... The remarkable generousness of his conduct to Lord Pembroke + ... The last circumstance of his life ... General grief at his + death 1 + + + CHAP. II. PROGRESS OF CHIVALRY IN GREAT BRITAIN, FROM THE REIGN + OF RICHARD II. TO THAT OF HENRY VIII. + + Complaints of the unchivalric state of Richard's court ... + Influence of chivalry on the national character ... Scottish + chivalry ... Chivalric kindness of Robert Bruce ... Mutual + chivalry between the Scotch and English courts ... French + knights' opinions of Scottish chivalry ... Courtesies between + English and Scottish knights ... Chivalric battle of Otterbourn + ... Hotspur and the Douglas ... A cavaleresque story ... Reign of + Henry IV. ... Chivalric parley between him and the Duke of + Orleans ... Henry's unchivalric conduct at Shrewsbury ... Henry + V. ... Knights of the Bath ... Henry's love of chivalric books + ... His chivalric bearing ... Commencement of the decline of + chivalry ... The civil wars injured chivalry ... Caxton's + lamentation ... He exaggerates the evil ... Many gallant English + knights ... Character of Henry VIII. with reference to chivalry + ... Tournaments in his reign ... Field of the cloth of gold ... + Introduction of Italian literature favoured romance ... + Popularity of chivalric literature ... English knights continued + to break lances for ladies' love ... State of Scottish chivalry + at this period ... James IV. ... Chivalric circumstances at + Flodden Field 64 + + + CHAP. III. THE LAST YEARS OF CHIVALRY IN ENGLAND. + + The chivalric feelings of the nation supported by Spenser ... and + by Sir Philip Sidney ... Allusions to Sidney's life ... + particularly his kindly consideration ... Chivalric politeness of + the age of Elizabeth ... The Earl of Oxford ... Tilts in + Greenwich Park ... Sir Henry Lee ... Chivalry reflected in the + popular amusements ... Change of manners ... Reign of James the + First ... Tournaments ceased on Prince Henry's death ... Life of + Lord Herbert of Cherbury ... Chivalric fame of his family ... His + character ... His inferiority to the knights of yore ... Decline + of chivalric education ... Important change in knighthood by the + parliament of Charles the First ... Application of chivalric + honours to men of civil station ... Knights made in the field ... + Carpet knights ... Knights of the Bath ... Full account of the + ancient ceremonies of creating knights of the Bath 125 + + + CHAP. IV. PROGRESS OF CHIVALRY IN FRANCE. + + Chivalry in baronial castles ... Chivalry injured by religious + wars ... Beneficial influence of poetry and romance ... Chivalric + brilliancy of the fourteenth century ... Brittany ... Du Guesclin + ... Romantic character of his early years ... His knightly + conduct at Rennes ... Gallantry at Cochetel ... Political + consequences of his chivalry ... He leads an army into Spain ... + And changes the fortunes of that kingdom ... Battle of Navaret + ... Du Guesclin prisoner ... Treatment of him by the Black Prince + ... Ransomed ... Is made Constable of France ... Recovers the + power of the French monarchy ... Companionship in arms between Du + Guesclin and Olivier De Clisson ... Du Guesclin's death before + Randon ... His character ... Decline of chivalry ... Proof of it + ... Little chivalry in the second series of French and English + wars ... Combats of pages ... Further Decay of chivalry ... + Abuses in conferring knighthood ... Burgundy ... Its chivalry ... + The romantic nature of the Burgundian tournaments ... Last gleams + of chivalry in France ... Life of Bayard ... Francis I. ... + Extinction of chivalry 168 + + + CHAP. V. PROGRESS OF CHIVALRY IN SPAIN. + + General nature of Spanish chivalry ... Religion and heroism ... + Gallantry ... Blending of Spanish and Oriental manners ... Its + beneficial tendencies ... Peculiarities of Spanish chivalry ... + Forms of knighthood ... Various ranks of knights ... Spanish + poetry ... Heroes of chivalry ... Pelayo ... Bernardo del Carpio + ... And incidentally of Charlemagne's expedition into Spain ... + The life of the Cid ... His early ferocious heroism ... Singular + marriage ... Enters the service of King Ferdinand ... The Cid's + chivalric gallantry ... He is knighted ... Death of King + Ferdinand ... The Cid becomes the knight of Sancho, king of + Castile ... Mixture of evil and good in the Cid's character ... + Supports the king in his injustice ... The Cid's romantic heroism + ... Sancho's further injustice opposed by him ... Death of Sancho + ... Instance of the Cid's virtuous boldness ... Character of + Alfonso, successor of Sancho ... Story of his chivalric bearing + ... The Cid's second marriage ... Is banished from Alfonso's + court ... Becomes the ally of the Moors ... But recalled ... Is + banished again ... Singular story of the Cid's unknightly + meanness ... Fortunes of the Cid during his exile ... The Cid's + chivalric nobleness and generosity ... Is recalled by Alfonso ... + The Cid captures Toledo ... and Valentia ... Story of Spanish + manners ... The Cid's unjust conduct to the Moors ... The + unchivalric character of the Cid's wife and daughters ... The Cid + recalled by Alfonso ... The marriages of his daughters ... Basely + treated by their husbands ... Cortez at Toledo to decide the + cause ... Picture of ancient manners ... Death of the Cid ... His + character ... Fate of his good horse ... Spanish chivalry after + his death ... Gallantry of a knight ... The merits of missals + decided by battle ... Passage of arms at Orbigo ... Knights + travel and joust for ladies' love ... Extinction of Spanish + chivalry 230 + + + CHAP. VI. PROGRESS OF CHIVALRY IN GERMANY AND ITALY. + + Chivalry did not affect the public history of Germany ... Its + influence on Imperial manners ... Intolerance and cruelty of + German knights ... Their harshness to their squires ... Avarice + of the Germans ... Little influence of German chivalry ... A + remarkable exception to this ... A female tournament ... + Maximilian, the only chivalric emperor of Germany ... Joust + between him and a French knight ... Edict of Frederic III. + destroyed chivalry ... CHIVALRY IN ITALY: ... Lombards carried + chivalry thither ... Stories of chivalric gallantry ... But + little martial chivalry in Italy ... Condottieri ... Chivalry in + the north ... Italians excellent armourers but bad knights ... + Chivalry in the south ... Curious circumstances attending + knighthood at Naples ... Mode of creating knights in Italy + generally ... Political use of knighthood ... Chivalric + literature ... Chivalric sports 303 + + + CHAP. VII. ON THE MERITS AND EFFECTS OF CHIVALRY 341 + + + + +THE HISTORY OF CHIVALRY. + + + + +CHAP. I. + +STATE OF CHIVALRY IN ENGLAND DURING THE REIGN OF EDWARD THE THIRD. + + _Tournaments ... The Round Table ... Order of the Garter ... Courtesy + of Edward ... Prevalence of chivalric Taste among all Classes ... + English Archers ... The Black Prince ... Story of the King's Chivalry + ... England regarded as the Seat of Honour ... Instance of this ... + Chivalric Heroes in this Reign ... The Gestes and Prowesses of Sir + Walter Manny ... Chivalric Vow of Sir Walter ... He fights for the + Love of his Lady ... His Rescue of Two Brother Knights ... Instance of + his joyous Adventurousness ... His Gallantry before Auberoche ... His + filial Piety ... Story of chivalric Manners ... The Gentle Disposition + of Manny ... His Importance at Edward's Court ... His remarkable + Sagacity ... His Liberality ... His Death in 1372 ... Buried in the + Charter-House ... Heroism of Sir James Audley ... His Generosity ... + Memoir of Sir John Chandos ... His Gallantry to Ladies ... Amusing + Instance of the Pride of Knighthood ... The Importance of his Counsel + at Poictiers ... His Exploits in Brittany ... And in Spain ... Is made + a Knight Banneret ... Quits the Black Prince ... But returns ... The + remarkable Generousness of his Conduct to Lord Pembroke ... The last + Circumstance of his Life ... General Grief at his Death._ + + +[Sidenote: Tournaments.] + +The sun of English chivalry reached its meridian in the reign of Edward +III., for the King and the nobles all were knightly, and the image of +their character was reflected in the minds of the people.[1] Tournaments +and jousts, for the amusement and in honour of the ladies, were the +universal fashion of the time. In little more than one year, chivalric +solemnities were held with unparalleled magnificence at Litchfield, Bury, +Guildford, Eltham, Canterbury, and twice at Windsor.[2] The gay character +of Edward and his court was pleasingly displayed in the spring of the year +1359, three years after the battle of Poictiers. A solemn tournament of +three days' duration was proclaimed in London, and the lord mayor, +sheriffs, and aldermen, proposed to keep the field against all comers. The +time arrived, the martial games were held, and all the honor of arms +appeared to be of right due to the officers of the city. The victors then +threw aside their shields and surcoats impressed with the city's bearings, +removed their beavers, and King Edward, the Black Prince, the Princes +Lionel, John, and Edmund, and nineteen noble barons, were recognised.[3] + +[Sidenote: The round table.] + +[Sidenote: Order of the Garter.] + +The round table at Kenilworth already mentioned was not a solitary +instance of the love of romantic grandeur and gallantry among the people +of England. Mortimer kept a round table of knights in Wales professedly in +imitation of Arthur,[4] And afterwards Edward III. endeavoured to realise +the golden imaginations of fable which had assigned one hundred and fifty +knights as the complement of Arthur's chivalry.[5] We are assured that the +round table which Edward established at Windsor in 1344 described a +circumference of six hundred feet: but it is more interesting to know, +that the nobility and knighthood of France, Germany, Spain, and other +countries flocked to England on the invitation of the King, and that the +chivalric bands at Windsor were graced by the presence of Queen Philippa +and three hundred English ladies, who, in honour of the friendly union of +knights, were all arrayed in splendid dresses of one form and fashion, and +looked like the sisters of a military order. Policy was mixed with +chivalric pride in Edward's plan; for he wished to retain in his service +some of the foreign knights who repaired to the tournament at Windsor. But +his intention to strengthen his chivalry was defeated by his rival Philip +of Valois, who established also a round table, to which the cavaliers of +the Continent could more easily repair than to that of Edward.[6] The +knights of France were expressly forbidden by their king to attend the +festivities of the round table at Windsor. The English monarch found, too, +that he could not secure the attachment of stranger knights. That great +chivalric principle, the companionship in weal or woe of men forming one +society, was never regarded by them. Edward's table at Windsor was +surrounded by gay cavaliers, who talked and sang of war and love, and then +merrily returned to their own country full of courtesy to their royal host +for his gallant bearing, but not disposed to renounce the chivalric +associations of their native land. Edward then changed his design, and +wished to establish an order of merit, that so "true nobility, after long +and hazardous adventures, should not enviously be deprived of that honour, +which it hath really deserved, and that active and hardy youth might not +want a spur in the profession of virtue, which is to be esteemed glorious +and eternal."[7] He accordingly assembled the nobility and knighthood of +his realm, and showed them his intention of forming an especial +brotherhood of knights, to be called Knights of the blue Garter, and of +ordaining that a feast should be kept yearly at Windsor, on Saint George's +day. The barons and cavaliers of England joyously agreed to his pleasure; +for they were animated by this encouragement to military feats, and they +saw that great amity and love would grow and increase among them. +Twenty-five of the most valiant men of the kingdom were then chosen.[8] + +The most noble order of Saint George, named the Garter, had, therefore, +its origin in romance, in the wish to restore the chivalric dignity and +splendour of ancient Britain. That view was afterwards blended with +objects of policy which also were soon abandoned, and a fraternity of +companions in arms was established for the promotion of chivalric honour. +But though gallantry did not, as is commonly thought, actually found the +order, yet perhaps it caused the union to receive the last clause of its +title. Froissart describes the passion of Edward for the Countess of +Salisbury, but is altogether silent on the story of her garter, a silence +decisive of the incorrectness of the vulgar tale; for Froissart was +intimately acquainted with the court of the English king, and his +attention was always awake to circumstances of a gallant and romantic +nature. It was quite in the spirit of those days for a band to be regarded +as an excellent symbol of the friendly union which ought to exist between +the knights companions; and if love had not been a chief feature in +chivalry, the order might have been only called the Order of the Band. +But gallantly came in, and claimed some share of chivalric honours. Ages +of fastidious delicacy would have thought of a zone or girdle, but our +simple minded ancestors regarded the garter as the wished for symbol. The +well known motto of the Garter (_Honi soit qui mal y pense_) seems to +apply, as Sir Walter Scott conjectures, to the misrepresentations which +the French monarch might throw out respecting the order of the Garter, as +he had already done concerning the festival of the round table.[9] + +On the collar of the order something should be said. Warton appears to +think that the earliest collar worn by the knights of the Garter was a +duplication of the letter S, in allusion to the initial letter of the fair +lady's name who, he supposes, gave rise to the fraternity of the most +noble order of the Garter. But in truth no evidence exists that originally +the members of the order wore any collar at all as knights of the Garter, +though they certainly wore golden collars in their character of knights +bachelors and knights banneret. + +The favourite badge of the Lancastrian family was the letter S. sometimes +single, and sometimes double, and the golden collar of esses became in +time the general collar of English knights, and the silver collar of esses +was worn by squires. The letter S. was the initial letter of the sentence, +"_Soveigne vous de moy_." This was a very favourite motto in the +fourteenth century, and was afterwards frequently introduced into collars +which were formed of the fleur-de-souvenance, the forget-me-not of modern +times. Whether at any period the golden collar of esses distinguished the +knights of the Garter we know not. The collar worn in the present days, +composed of garters with the image of Saint George dependent thereon, +cannot be traced higher than the reign of Henry VIII. + +The order was founded in honour of God, the Virgin Mary, Saint George the +Martyr, and Saint Edward, king and confessor. The two saints were regarded +as the particular patrons of the knights companions. The person that our +ancestors understood by the name Saint George is a point of doubt. Some +modern writers have called him a sufferer in the persecutions of +Diocletian, and others the flagitious George of Cappadocia, the Arian +successor of Athanasius in the archbishoprick of Alexandria.[10] It is +equally difficult to discover how the saint became invested with military +glory. But, leaving such questions to martyrologists and legend-makers, it +is sufficient for our purpose to observe that a person called Saint George +was in very early ages regarded as the tutelary saint of England, and +became therefore very naturally one of the heads of the new military +order. His brother-protector Saint Edward soon fell from his lofty +station: but at the time concerning which I am writing he was high in +fame, for Edward III. was wont to invoke both him and the other +patron-saint with perfect impartiality; and when he was cutting his way +through a press of knights, one stroke of his sword was accompanied by the +exclamation, "Ha, Saint Edward," and another by the cry, "Ha, Saint +George." + +[Sidenote: Courtesy of Edward.] + +To pursue, however, the general course of the chivalry of our Edward III. +Nothing could be more beautiful than his courtesy on all occasions. It was +particularly shown in his treatment of the hostages of the French king for +the due performance of the treaty of Bretigny. He commanded his officers +to deport themselves to those lords and their company courteously and +favourably; and, accordingly, the French strangers sported without peril +in London at their pleasure, and the great lords went hunting and hawking, +and rode over the country, and visited ladies and damsels, without any +control, so courteous and amiable was the King of England to them.[11] +During all the tournaments that were held in his reign, he permitted his +French, Scotch, and other prisoners, to share in the games, and sometimes +he even furnished them with tourneying harness out of the royal +armoury.[12] + +[Sidenote: Prevalence of chivalric taste among all classes.] + +The taste for chivalry among classes of people apparently little +susceptible of its influence may be learned from the masquerading +tournament of Edward; for knightly games must have been well known to the +citizens of London, or the proclamation would not have been issued, that +the lord mayor, aided by the court of aldermen and the sheriffs, would, on +a certain day, hold a solemn tournament. The same taste was proved some +years before, when the Black Prince entered London, with King John of +France as his prisoner. The outsides of the houses were covered with +hangings, wrought over with battles in tapestry, and the citizens exposed, +in their shops, windows, and balconies, an incredible quantity of bows and +arrows, shields, helmets, corselets, breast and back pieces, coats of +mail, gauntlets, umbraces, swords, spears, battle-axes, armour for horses, +and other armour.[13] It is also curious to notice, that on the evening +preceding Candlemas-day, in the year 1377, one hundred and thirty citizens +of London, for the entertainment of the young prince, Richard, son of the +nation's idol, the Black Prince, rode, disguised as knights, from Newgate +to Kennington, where the court resided, attended with an innumerable +multitude, bearing waxen torches, and playing various instruments of +music.[14] + +As the principal wars of Edward's time were waged with a chivalric people, +the circumstances which surrounded them favoured the developement of the +chivalric qualities of the English character. I shall not repeat the +political events of our glorious contests with France, nor describe, for +the thousandth time, the battles of Cressy and Poictiers: but it may be +mentioned, that the admirable marshalling of Edward's force on the field +of Cressy was a high proof of his chivalric sageness, and mainly +contributed to his victory over the forces of the King of France. + +[Sidenote: English archers.] + +The battles of Cressy and Poictiers, however, were not entirely gained by +the chivalry of England: the bow was a most important weapon in the +English army. It had characterised the Normans, and been mainly +instrumental in winning for them the battle of Hastings. It was afterwards +used by the small landholder, the tenant in soccage, and the general mass +of the people, while the lance was the weapon of the lord and the knight. +The bow was the emblem of freedom, and the pre-eminence of our archers +shows that the political condition of England was superior, in the +fourteenth century, to that of any continental nation.[15] + +The arrow was of the remarkable length of a cloth-yard. The expression in +the old ballad of Chevy-Chase, + + "An arrow of a cloth-yard long + Up to the head drew he," + +marks the usage of our early ancestors; and that sentence of Lear, in +Shakspeare's play, "Draw me a clothier's yard," shows that in the +sixteenth century the national character had not been lost. It was +fostered by every proper means: by royal command archery was practised in +towns on holidays, after church; while coits, cock-fighting, and +amusements with the ball, were strictly prohibited. Other nations drew the +bow with strength of arm, but Englishmen with their whole vigour: they +laid their body in the bow[16], as an old writer has forcibly expressed +the usage; and when in amusement they were exercising their skill, +eleven-score yards was the least distance at which the mark was set up. No +one could better shoot an arrow than a yeoman in the days of Edward III.: +they were the most powerful attendants which our knights could boast of. + + "A yeoman had he, and servants no mo, + At that time, for him lust to ride so; + And he was clad in coat and hood of green. + A sheaf of peacocks' arwes bright and keen + Under his belt he bare full thriftily. + Well coude he dress his takel yemanly. + His arwes drooped not with feathers lowe, + And in his hand he bare a mighty bowe. + A not-hed[17] had he with a brown visage. + Of wood-craft coude he well all the usage. + Upon his arm he bare a gay bracer, + And by his side a sword and a bokeler; + And on that other side a gay dagger, + Harnessed well, and sharp as point of spere; + A Cristofere on his breast of silver shene; + An horn he bare, the baudrick was of green. + A forster was he, soothly as I guess."[18] + +The reader scarcely needs to be informed that the loss of the battle of +Cressy by the French began with the confusion among the Genoese cross-bow +men. The English archers then stepped forth one pace, and, as Froissart +says, let fly their arrows so wholly, and so thick, that it seemed snow +was piercing through heads, arms, and breasts. The French cavaliers rushed +in to slay the Genoese for their cowardice, but the sharp arrows of the +English slew them, and their horses too. The chivalry of the Black Prince +decided the victory: the Earls of Flanders and Alençon broke through his +archers, but deeper they could not penetrate; and in the personal conflict +of the chivalries of the two nations, the English were conquerors.[19] + +At the battle of Poictiers the English archers threw the French cavalry +into confusion, by slaying the unmailed horses. True to say, as Froissart +observes, the archers did their company that day great advantage; for when +the Black Prince descended the hill on which he had posted himself, the +archers were mingled with his chivalry, in true knightly fashion, and shot +so closely together, that none durst come within danger.[20] + +[Sidenote: The Black Prince.] + +The well-known conduct of the Black Prince to his prisoner, King John, +after the battle,--his waiting on him at table, saying that he was not +sufficient to sit at the board with so great a man as the King,--his +riding through London to the Savoy, the French monarch mounted on a white +and superbly-equipped war-horse, while the Prince rode by his side on a +little black palfrey,--all this beautiful deportment proceeded from the +modesty, the self-abasement of true chivalry, and from that kindly +consideration which one knight always showed to his brother in arms.[21] + +There were many circumstances in Edward's wars amply deserving of notice, +as illustrative of national and personal character, but which have been +passed over altogether, or but slightly regarded, by the general +historians of England; some of whom, in their anxiety for chronological +exactness, and others in their desire to make the matter in hand merely +illustrative of a few political principles, have very ingeniously +contrived to strip their subject of all its splendor, interest, and +variety. + +[Sidenote: Story of the king's chivalry.] + +Three years after the battle of Cressy had given the town of Calais to the +English, the Lord Geffray Charney, of France, endeavoured to regain it, by +bribing the governor, Amery de Puy, a Lombard. Edward, hearing of the +treaty, sent for his officer from Calais to Westminster. When the King saw +him, he took him apart, and said, "Thou knowest well I have given thee in +keeping the thing in the world I love best next my wife and children, +namely, the town and castle of Calais; and thou hast sold it to the +Frenchmen; wherefore thou deservest to die." + +Then the Lombard kneeled down, and said, "Noble King, I cry you mercy: it +is true what you say; but, Sir, the bargain may well be broken, for as yet +I have received never a penny." + +The King, who had warmly loved the governor, replied, "Amery, I will that +thou goest forward in thy bargain, and the day that thou appointest to +deliver the town, let me have knowledge thereof before; and on this +condition I forgive thee thy trespass." + +Accordingly Amery returned to Calais, and continued the negotiation with +Lord Geffray Charney. It was finally agreed between them that the +surrender of Calais should take place on the night of the new year; and +the governor, faithful to his allegiance, communicated the progress of the +plot to Edward. The King immediately rode from London to Dover, with three +hundred men-at-arms, and six hundred archers, and, crossing the sea, he +reached Calais in the evening, and secretly lodged his men in the chambers +and towers of the castle. He did not wish to head the emprise himself; and +selecting Sir Walter Manny from his gallant band, as the prowest +chevalier, he told him that he and his son, the Prince, would fight under +his banner. + +When the time for surrendering Calais approached, the Lord Geffray, having +heard from Amery that matters were ripe, advanced from Arras, and sent +before him twelve knights, and an hundred men-at-arms, to take possession +of the castle. Amery admitted them over the bridge of the postern, +receiving, at the same time, a bag containing twenty thousand crowns, the +price of his treachery. He led the soldiers towards the donjon of the +castle; and immediately King Edward and an hundred men, with swords and +axes, furiously poured from it, shouting the war-cry, "Manny, Manny, to +the rescue!" The Frenchmen were panic-struck by this wild sweep of war, +and incontinently yielded themselves prisoners. Edward advanced to the +Boulogne gate, where he found the Lord Geffray, who was anxiously +expecting it to be opened; and his companions were driving away the +tedious moments, by supposing that Amery, like a subtle and suspicious +Lombard, was busy in counting his crowns. + +The cry, "Manny to the rescue!" disturbed their jocularity, and grasping +their swords they saw a band of armed men issuing from the gate. In an +instant the King, the Black Prince, the Staffords, the Suffolks, the +Salisburys, the Beauchamps, the Berkeleys, all the pride and flower of +English chivalry stood before them. The Frenchmen did not decline the +combat; and it was chivalrously maintained till a winter's return of morn. +The English were finally victors. Of the single combats in which the +cavaliers signalised their valiancy, the fiercest occurred between the +King and the Lord Eustace of Rybamount, a strong and hardy knight. Twice +was Edward struck on his knees; but at last Eustace was worsted; and he +yielded his sword to the King, saying, not knowing his royal quality, "Sir +Knight, I yield me your prisoner." + +The King treated his captives like brethren in arms, giving them a noble +entertainment, and sitting at the table with them, while the Prince, the +lords, and the knights of England, acted as attendants. After supper, and +when the tables were removed, the King talked a while with his own +knights, and then conversed with the Frenchmen. He gently reproved the +Lord Geffray of Charney for an enterprise so unworthy of nobility and +knighthood; and then going to Sir Eustace of Rybamont, he said to him, +with all the fine frank joyousness of chivalry, "Sir Eustace, you are the +knight in the world that I have seen most valiantly assail his enemies and +defend himself; and I have never found a knight that ever gave me so much +ado body to body as you have done this day, and therefore I give you the +prize above all the knights of my own court." The King thereupon took from +his head a chaplet of pearls, fair, goodly, and rich, and presented it to +the knight, with the remark, "Sir Eustace, I give you this chaplet, for +the best doer in arms this day of either party, and I desire you to wear +it this year for the love of me. I know that you are fresh and amorous, +and oftentimes among ladies and damsels. Say wheresoever you go that I +gave it you; and I free you from prison, and renounce your ransom. +To-morrow, if it so please you, you shall depart."[22] + +Here chivalry appeared in all its generousness, elegance, and refinement. +How beautifully contrasted is Edward's deportment to Sir Eustace de +Rybamont with his feelings towards Eustace de St. Pierre and his five +fellow-burgesses, three years before, at the surrender of Calais to the +English. Edward had no sympathy with their magnanimous devotion of +themselves to save the lives of their fellow-citizens; no consideration of +knightly mercy softened his mind; and it was only the supplication of his +queen, who was in a state to move the sternest soul to grant her wishes, +that restored his better nature. Before Edward's chivalry, however, be +generally and finally condemned, let it be remembered that his severe +losses of his own men had sorely grieved his mind against the people of +Calais, and that at the commencement of the siege, when the captain of the +town had driven from its gates all the poor and impotent, Edward not only +granted them a free passage through his army, but gave them meat and drink +and money.[23] + + * * * * * + +[Sidenote: England regarded as the seat of honor.] + +The court of the English king was regarded as the very judgment-seat of +honour; an opinion of which a very curious proof exists. In the year 1350, +a fierce war raged between the Soldan of Babylon and Constantine, King of +Armenia; the former invading the dominions of the Armenian prince with +vast and numerous armies, and the latter endeavouring, by the united +strength of his own subjects, and the Cypriots and Rhodians, to repel the +violence of the heathen invaders, or at least to arrest their progress, +which then began to threaten all Christendom. Among the many great men +who, together with the Christian princes, were engaged in this holy war, +were a Cypriot knight named John de Visconti, a relation of the King of +Cyprus, and a knight of France called Thomas de la Marche, bastard-brother +to John de Valois, the French king. Both these knights held high commands +in the Christian army. From certain information, or from jealousy, John +de Visconti charged the bastard of France with treason; with having +agreed, in consideration of a certain sum of gold to be paid unto him +beforehand, in part of a greater sum to be paid afterwards, to betray the +Christian army to the Turk. Thomas de la Marche, with all the confidence +of virtue, boldly denied the charge; it was repeated, and again flung back +in the accuser's face; opprobrious epithets were interchanged, and a +challenge to mortal combat was given and accepted. The friends of the two +knights, dreading the displeasure of the King of Cyprus and the King of +France, and fearing that the consequences of a duel might be felt among +themselves, compelled John de Visconti and Thomas de la Marche to agree to +stand to the award which should be determined by the confederates in +council. The judgment was, that they should carry letters importing their +cause fully and clearly from the said Christian princes unto King Edward +of England, and to submit themselves to be tried by combat before him, as +the most worthy and honorable prince in all Christendom; they swearing to +remain as perfect friends until that time. + +Soon afterwards, they set sail for England, where they arrived in the +beginning of September, and forthwith presented unto King Edward, in the +names of the kings of Armenia and Cyprus and the rest of the princes and +captains of the Christians, their letters, which contained a narrative of +the whole dispute, and the conclusion, that the matter should be +determined by combat before him as their judge. In the presence of the +King and his court, Sir John de Visconti accused Sir Thomas de la Marche +of his treasonable intent and purpose, challenging to prove it upon his +body, and thereupon flinging down his gauntlet. Sir Thomas boldly took it +up, and accepted the challenge in proof of his innocency. King Edward +having read the letters, and seriously considered the whole matter, +appointed a day for the decision of their quarrel in close field within +the lists at his palace of Westminster. + +On the day appointed they met accordingly, armed at all points, on +horseback, the King, the Prince of Wales, and the whole court of England +being spectators. Presently, upon sound of trumpet, a most gallant combat +commenced between the two stranger knights. Both their spears were broken +into splinters upon each other's shield, yet neither of them was cast from +his saddle. Instantaneously, and, as it were, by mutual consent, they +alighted, and drawing their good swords, renewed the combat on foot, till +having with equal valour and discretion fought a considerable while, both +their weapons became useless, and they were obliged to come to close +grapple, and at length by wrestling both fell locked together, still +contending for the victory. It was gained by Sir Thomas de la Marche, by +means which, though lawful in the duel, would not have been permitted in +the courtly joust and tournament. He had armed the joints of his gauntlet +with sharp pricks of steel called gadlings, and he struck them with such +force and frequency through the small distant bars of his antagonist's +visor, that Visconti was compelled to call for mercy. The King thereupon +threw down his warder, the marshal cried Ho! and the combat ceased. Edward +adjudged the victory to the Frenchman, declaring that the vanquished was +at his mercy, agreeably to the laws of arms.[24] + + * * * * * + +[Sidenote: Chivalric heroes of Edward's time.] + +The court of Edward and his son was as chivalric as that of Arthur, and of +much more interesting contemplation, from the pleasure of finding that the +beauties of the chivalric character were not imaginary. If the Round Table +boasted its Sir Tristram and its Sir Launcelot of the Lake, the order of +the Garter possessed its Sir Walter Manny and its Sir John Chandos, whose +lives were so brilliant and glorious that the golden age of chivalry seems +not like the golden age of nations, a poet's dream. + +[Sidenote: The gestes and prowesses of Sir Walter Manny.] + +[Sidenote: Chivalric vow of Sir Walter.] + +In the suite of Philippa, daughter of the Count of Hainault, when in the +year 1327 she came to England to be married to Edward III., was a +gentleman of baronial rank, named Walter of Manny[25]; and it was not +thought that he lost any quality of his birth by serving at her table as +her carver.[26] He had been educated as a cavalier, and his military +accomplishments were soon noticed by Edward.[27] He was knighted, and the +ceremony was splendid, the dresses being selected from the royal +wardrobe.[28] When the chance of a war with France was freely talked of in +London, and every man's mind was filled with hopes of honor, Sir Walter +vowed before dames and lords of the court, that he would be the first +knight to enter the enemy's territory[29], and win either town or castle, +and do some deeds of arms. He then went to Flanders, and on the defiances +being declared between the French and English nations, he got together +about forty spears, and, by riding through Brabant night and day, he soon +reached Hainault. Mortaigne was, he heard, in the realm of France; and +passing with the utmost speed through the wood of Blaton, he arrived at +the wished for town before the sun arose, and by good chance he found the +wicket of the gate open. Leaving a few of his company to keep the +entrance, he went into the high street with his pennon before him, and +reached the castle. He was then espied by the watch, who blew his horn, +and shouted "Treason, treason!" It would have been the extreme of rashness +for such a little troop as that of Sir Walter to have attempted to storm +the castle. They therefore contented themselves with setting fire to some +houses, and then quitted the town; and thus that noble and gentle knight +Sir Walter Manny performed the vow which he had made to the dames and +lords of England.[30] + +[Sidenote: He fights for the love of his lady.] + +Afterwards, (in the year 1342,) being high in favour with Edward, he was +sent into Brittany, with a proud display of knights and archers, to aid +the Countess of Mountfort, at that time besieged in her castle by the +French. He was not long before he made a sally on the enemy, and with such +effect, that he destroyed all their great engines of assault. The French +knights, not anticipating so bold a measure, lay at some distance from +their machines; but they soon advanced in formidable numbers. The English +and Bretons retreated, however, fairly and easily, though the French +pursued them with infuriate violence. It would not have been knightly for +Sir Walter to have left the field without having right valiantly acquitted +himself; and he exclaimed, "Let me never be beloved by my lady, unless I +have a course with one of these followers."[31] He then set his spear in +its rest, and so did many of his companions. They ran at the first comers. +Then legs were seen turned upwards, knights were taken and rescued, and +many rare deeds of arms were done by both parties. Afterwards the English +slowly retired to the castle, and the French to their tents.[32] + +[Sidenote: His rescue of two brother-knights.] + +Sir Walter, in all his measures of succour to the Countess of Brittany, +showed himself one of the prowest knights of the age; but no act of his +valor was so interesting as his rescue of two brother-knights, whom an +uncourteous cavalier, called Sir Loyes of Spain, had condemned to +death.[33] Sir Walter said to his companions, "It would be great honor for +us if we could deliver out of danger yonder two knights; and even if we +should fail when we put it in adventure, yet King Edward, our master, will +thank us, and so will all other noble men. At least, it shall be said, how +we did our utmost. A man should peril his body to save the lives of two +such valiant knights." + +So generous an emprise was willingly undertaken: the greatest part of his +force attacked the enemy's camp, while Sir Walter himself, with a chosen +band, went round to the quarter where, by the custom of war, the prisoners +were kept. He found there the two knights, and he immediately set them +upon good steeds, which he had brought with him for their use, and, +shaking them by the hand, he made them gallop to a place of +safety.[34]--The object of his expedition into France, namely, the succour +of the Countess of Montfort, being accomplished[35], Sir Walter recrossed +the seas, and went to London. + +[Sidenote: Instance of his joyous adventurousness.] + +In the year 1344 he was dispatched into Gascony with the Earl of Derby and +Lancaster, the Earl of Pembroke, and other noble peers of England, as one +of the marshals of the host. Manny inspired and directed every enterprise. +From the reports of his spies regarding Bergerac, he thought the place was +pregnable. Being one day at dinner with the Earl of Derby, he exclaimed, +with a cup of rich Gascon wine in his hand, "If we were good men-of-arms, +we should drink this evening with the French lords in Bergerac." This bold +and manly sentiment was loudly applauded by his brother-knights: tables +and benches were overthrown in their haste to quit the hall and don their +harness, and in a few moments they bestrode their noble steeds. The Earl +of Derby was right joyous at the sight of the gallant assemblage, and +crying, "Let us ride to our enemies in the name of God and Saint George," +banners were displayed, and the English cavaliers urged their horses to +speed. They soon reached the fortress of Bergerac. The pleasant wish of +Sir Walter was not realised; for night closed upon the combatants, without +their drinking the wines of Gascony together. All the next day was spent, +likewise, in manoeuvres, and in jousts _à l'outrance_, and in the evening +the French men-at-arms stole away from Bergerac. The common people sent +their submissions to the Earl of Derby, who saying, "He that mercy +desireth mercy ought to have," made them swear faith and homage to the +King of England.[36] + +[Sidenote: His gallantry before Auberoche.] + +No circumstance in this war was of more importance than the relief of the +castle of Auberoche, then beleaguered by the French. The Earl of Derby had +with him only three hundred spears, and six hundred archers, the rest of +his force being dispersed over the country. The French could count about +ten or twelve thousand; but the English, undismayed by numbers, thought it +was a great disgrace to abandon their friends in Auberoche. The Earl of +Derby and his knights were then in a wood, two little leagues from +Auberoche; and while waiting for the Earl of Pembroke, they left their +horses to pasture. + +While they were loitering in the fields, in this state of restlessness, +Sir Walter Manny said to his companions, "Let us leap on our horses, and +wend our way under the covert of this wood till we arrive at the side +which joins the Frenchmen's host; and then let us put our spurs into our +horses, and cry our cries. Our enemy will then be at supper, and, not +expecting us, you shall see them so discomfited, that they shall not be +able to preserve any array." A scheme so adventurous was readily embraced: +every man mounted his horse; and the troop coasted the wood till they came +near the French, who were going to supper, and some, indeed, were already +seated at the tables. The scene of festivity was broken up when the +English displayed their banners and pennons, and dashed their spurs into +their horses, and raising the cry, "A Derby, a Derby!" rushed among them, +overthrowing tents and pavilions. When the French recovered from their +astonishment, they mounted their steeds, and rode into the field in +military array; but there they found the English archers ready to receive +them, and those bold yeomen shot so fiercely that they slew many men and +horses. On the other side of the castle there was a noble display of +French chivalry; and the Englishmen, having overcome those who were near +the tents, dashed boldly among them. Many noble deeds of arms were done, +knights were taken and rescued, and the English cause triumphed; for the +knights of the castle had armed themselves, and now issued forth, and +rushed into the thickest of the press. Then the Englishmen entered into +Auberoche; and the Earl of Derby gave a supper to the earls and viscounts +who were prisoners, and to many of the knights and squires, lauding God, +at the same time, that a thousand of his own nation had overcome many +thousands of their enemies, and had rescued the town of Auberoche, and +saved their companions that were within, who, in all likelihood, would +have been taken within two days. + +The next morning, at sunrise, the Earl of Pembroke reached the castle with +his company of three hundred spears, and four thousand archers; and his +personal chivalry was mortified that so fine a deed of knighthood had +been done without him; and he said to the Earl of Derby, "Certainly, +cousin, you have shown me great uncourtesy to fight with our enemies +without me. You sent for me, and might have been sure I would not fail to +come." + +"Fair cousin," quoth the Earl of Derby, "we greatly desired to have had +you with us: we tarried all day till it was far past noon, and when we saw +that you did not come, we did not dare to abide any longer; for if our +enemies had known of our coming, they would have had great advantage over +us, but now we have the advantage over them." The Earl of Pembroke was +well contented with this fair reply, and gallantly fought with his brother +noble during the remainder of the war.[37] + +[Sidenote: His filial piety.] + +We need not describe Sir Walter's feats of arms before La Reole, besieged +by the Earl of Derby; but when the town surrendered, a little circumstance +occurred beautifully illustrative of the character of our knight. His +father had been murdered near that place, as he was making a pilgrimage to +the shrine of St. James, in Spain, and had been buried in a little chapel +in the field which then was without the town of La Reole, but was inclosed +within the walls when the Earl of Derby conquered it. Sir Walter enquired +if there was any one who could show him his father's tomb, offering an +hundred crowns for his knowlege and labour. A man, grey and bent with age, +went to the knight and declared, "Sir, I think I can bring you near the +place where your father was buried." Manny then, in his joy at the +promise, answered, "If your words be true, I will keep covenant, and +more." + +The townsman led him to the place of sepulture; and they found a little +tomb of marble which the servants of the deceased pilgrim had respectfully +lain over him. The old man, pointing to it, exclaimed, "Sir, under that +tomb lies your father." Then the Lord of Manny read the scripture on the +tomb, which was in Latin[38]; and finding that his guide had declared the +truth, he gave him his reward. He afterwards caused the bones of his +father to be taken up, and removed to Valenciennes, in the county of +Hainault. There his obsequies were right sacredly performed: the helmet, +the sword, the gauntlet, the spurs, and the tabard, were hung over his +grave, and as long as the family of Manny lived in that country, sad and +solemn priests yearly chanted masses for his soul.[39] + +[Sidenote: Story of chivalric manners.] + +Sir Walter so manfully defended the castle of Aguillon, that the Duke of +Normandy was compelled to raise the siege. The battle of Cressy had just +been fought, and our knight was anxious to visit his sovereign, Edward. He +fell into communication with a cavalier of Normandy, who was his prisoner, +and demanded of him what money he would pay for his ransom. The knight +answered, he would gladly give three thousand crowns. + +"Well," quoth Sir Walter, "I surely know that you are a kinsman to the +Duke of Normandy, and so warmly beloved by him, that, were I to press you, +I wot in sooth he would gladly pay ten thousand crowns; but I shall deal +otherwise with you. You shall go to the Duke, your lord, upon your faith +and promise, and get a safe-conduct for myself and twenty of my companions +to ride through France to Calais, paying courteously for all our expences; +and if you can procure this from the Duke, or the King, I will willingly +remit your ransom, for I greatly desire to see the King my master. If you +cannot do this, return hither in a month, and consider yourself as my +prisoner." + +The knight was well contented, and went to Paris to the Duke, his lord; +and having obtained the passport, he returned with it to Sir Walter, who +acquitted him of his ransom. Manny commenced his journey, and proceeded +safely till he reached Orleans, where he was seized by the officers of the +King of France and taken to Paris. + +This circumstance was reported to the Duke of Normandy, who went to the +King, his father, and entreated him, for the honour of chivalry, to +release Sir Walter. He was for a long while inexorable, for he wished to +destroy him whom he called his greatest foe; but, at last, good counsel +prevailed with him, and Manny was delivered out of prison. He dined with +the French monarch, who deported himself with knightly generosity. He +entertained the Englishman right nobly, and gave him a distinguished seat +on the dais. He also presented to him jewels to the value of a thousand +florins; which Sir Walter received, only upon the condition of having +liberty to return them, if his master, the King of England, did not +approve of his retaining them; and the French king declared that he spoke +like a noble knight. + +Sir Walter then recommenced his journey, and soon reached Calais. Edward +welcomed him; but when he heard of the presents, he said, "Sir Walter, you +have hitherto truly served us, and shall continue to do so, we trust. +Return the gifts to King Philip; you have no cause to keep them: thank +God! we have enough for ourselves and for you; and we intend to do much +good to you for the service you have rendered us." + +Sir Walter immediately gave those jewels to a cousin of his, named Sir +Mansac, and said, "Ride into France, to the King, and commend me to him, +and say, that I thank him a thousand times for his gift; but as it is not +the pleasure of the King my master that I should keep it, I send it to him +again." + +Sir Mansac, therefore, rode to Paris, and had his royal audience. The King +would not accept the jewels, but pressed them upon the knight, who, less +conscientious than his cousin, thanked His Grace, and was not disposed to +say nay.[40] + +[Sidenote: The gentle disposition of Manny.] + +Sir Walter remained with his sovereign during the memorable siege of +Calais; and when the inhabitants proposed to capitulate, it was his +counsel that swayed with Edward to offer mercy to the town, on the +surrender of six of its chief burgesses, instead of requiring general +submission. Though Eustace de St. Pierre and his noble companions were +saved by the tears and entreaties of Philippa, yet it was that gentle +knight, Sir Walter Manny, who first endeavoured to turn aside the fierce +wrath of the King. "Noble Sir," said he, "refrain your courage. You have +the reputation of nobleness; therefore do not any thing that can blemish +your renown. Every man will say it is great cruelty to put to death such +honest persons, who, from their own noble feelings, to save their +companions, have placed themselves in your power."[41] + +[Sidenote: His importance at Edward's court.] + +Sir Walter lost nothing of Edward's consideration by this contradiction of +his humour. But he continued in such favour, that he was permitted to +marry a lady related to the royal family[42]: he was invested with the +Garter; and was summoned to parliament among the barons of England, from +the twenty-first to the forty-fourth year of Edward's reign.[43] He was +among the English lords who signed the treaty of Bretigny in the year +1360; and I regret that he was one of Edward's council who advised the +sending of succours to the Black Prince, when he was about to assist +Peter the Cruel. It is more pleasing to contemplate our cavalier on the +battle-plain than in the hall of deliberation. He was, to the height, a +sage and imaginative soldier; skilful as well as brave in battle. + +[Sidenote: His remarkable sagacity.] + +When the war between England and France was renewed, in the year 1369, the +Duke of Lancaster (late Earl of Derby) prevented the Duke of Burgundy's +descent upon the English shores, by landing a small army at Calais, and +ravaging the country near Boulogne. The Duke of Burgundy commanded the +heights of Tournehem: the English were in the neighbourhood, and a battle +was daily expected. It was feared, rather than desired, by the English; +for their handful of men were opposed by more than four thousand French +knights. The Duke of Burgundy could not engage without the King's +permission; but the policy of Charles forbad a battle, and the Duke then +desired leave to retire: the King consented. One night, fires were +lighted, and there was an unwonted stir amidst the French camp. Such of +the English as were near it were rouzed from sleep. They awoke the Lord +Robert Namur, who immediately armed himself, and, preceded by a man +bearing his banner, went to the tent of the Duke of Lancaster, who had +been already disturbed. The English lords, one by one, drew about the +Duke, ranging themselves, from the force of habit, fair and softly in +battle-order, without any noise or light, and placing the archers in such +a form as to be ready to receive an attack by the French. No attack was, +however, made; and, after waiting two hours, the Duke consulted with his +lords. It was the sage opinion of Manny that the French had fled, and he +advised Lancaster to pursue them. But the Duke declined this course; for +he said he never could believe that so many valiant men-of-arms and noble +knights would so shamefully depart. As soon as morning arose, it was +discovered, however, that the French camp was deserted; and the Duke of +Lancaster repented that he had not followed the counsel of his experienced +friend. + +[Sidenote: His liberality.] + +Such was Sir Walter Manny; gallant, hardy, adventurous, and sage. +Something still was wanting to the beautiful perfection of his character; +for courtesy to the ladies, and bravery and skill in the field, did not of +themselves constitute the preux chevalier. Liberality was the graceful +ornament of the knightly character; and the charitable annals of the city +of London place this crown on the brow of our noble representative of +English chivalry. + +During a plague in England, in the year 1348, London and its vicinity were +the chief places of suffering; and as no church-yard could contain the +victims, the Bishop of London bought a piece of ground called _No Man's +Land_[44], and consecrated it for burials. In the next year, Sir Walter +Manny materially added to the charities of the bishop; for he purchased, +and caused to be consecrated to the same object, thirteen acres and one +rod of ground adjoining to No Man's Land, and lying in a place called +Spittle Croft, because it belonged to St. Bartholomew's hospital. In the +very year of the purchase, the purpose seemed accomplished, for (according +to certain charters of Edward III. and an inscription on the cross +remaining in Stow's time,) fifty thousand people were buried there. Sir +Walter built a chapel in the cemetery; and, in the year 1371, he founded +an house of Carthusian monks, by the appellation of the Salutation of the +Mother of God, to advance charity, and administer the consolations of +religion.[45] + +[Sidenote: His death in 1372.] + +[Sidenote: Buried in the Charter-house.] + +The last circumstance of his tale shall be told in the fitting strain of +Froissart. "That same season (1372) died the gentle knight, Sir Walter +Manny, in the city of London, whereof all the barons of England were right +sorry, for the truth and good counsel that they had always seen and heard +in him. He was buried, with great solemnity, in the monastery of the +Charter-house, near London; and at the day of his obsequy there were +present the King and all his children, and all the prelates, barons, and +knights of England. His possessions, both in England and beyond the sea, +fell to the Earl of Pembroke, who had married the Lady Anne, his daughter +and heir."[46] + + * * * * * + +[Sidenote: Heroism of Sir James Audley.] + +Among the flower of Edward's chivalry, Sir James Audley must be mentioned; +not, indeed, that a detailed history of his exploits would be interesting; +but there was one series of circumstances in his life honourable to his +name and the chivalric character, and distinct and peculiar from every +thing else in the manners of other ages. + +Immediately before the battle of Poictiers Sir James said to the Black +Prince, "Sir, I have always truly served my Lord your father, and you +also, and I shall do so as long as I live; and, to prove my disposition, I +once made a vow that the first battle wherein either the King, your +father, or any of his sons, should be engaged, I would be one of the first +setters on, or I would die in the endeavour. Therefore, I request your +Grace, in reward for any service that ever I did to the King your father, +or to you, that you would give me licence to depart from you, in order +that I may accomplish my vow." + +The Prince accorded to his desire; and, taking him by the hand, exclaimed, +"Sir James, may God give you this day grace to be the prowest knight of +all my host." + +Audley then departed, and set himself in front of the English battles, +accompanied only by four squires, who had sworn never to desert him. + +He was anticipated in his gallant purpose by the Lord Eustace +Damberticourt, whose chivalry was inspired by the lady Juliana[47], but he +continued in the front of the battle, performing marvels of arms. He lost +no valuable moments in taking prisoners, but when he had disarmed one +adversary he pressed forwards to another. He was severely hurt, both in +the body and in the face; and, at the conclusion of the mêlèe, his four +squires took him out of the battle, and, laying him under a hedge, they +bound up his wounds. + +Edward soon enquired after the fate of his gallant friend; and Sir James, +expressing his joy that his Prince should think of so poor a knight as he +was, called eight of his servants, and made them bear him in a litter to +the royal tent. + +The Prince took him in his arms, and, embracing him with true fraternal +affection, said, "Sir James, I ought greatly to honour you, for your +valiantness this day has passed the renown of us all." + +"Sir," answered the knight, with true chivalric modesty, "you say as it +pleaseth you. I would it were so; but if I have this day advanced myself +to serve you, and to accomplish my vow, no prowess ought to be reputed to +me." + +"Sir James," replied the Prince, "I and all my knights consider you as the +best doer in arms this day; and, in order that you may the better pursue +these wars, I retain you for ever as my knight, with five hundred marks of +yearly revenue." + +[Sidenote: His generosity.] + +Sir James, after expressing his thanks, was taken back to his tent. He +then called the four squires before him, and resigned to them the +Prince's gift, saying, it was to their valiantness that he owed it. The +Prince soon heard of this noble action, and, sending for him, enquired why +he renounced his kindness. Sir James craved pardon for his conduct, but +affirmed he could do no otherwise; for his squires had that day several +times saved his life, and enabled him to accomplish his vow. Edward's +nobleness disdained any feeling of personal offence; and, in generous +emulation of his friend's liberality, he made in his favour a new grant, +more valuable than the former one.[48] + + * * * * * + +[Sidenote: Memoir of Sir John Chandos.] + +[Sidenote: His gallantry to ladies.] + +But of all the bold and protruding characters of the court of Edward III., +none was more distinguished for the greatness and variety of his exploits +than that sage and valiant knight, Sir John Chandos. He was the descendant +of a Norman family, attached to William the Conqueror, and which had been +renowned in every age of its history.[49] While only a squire, he +accompanied Edward III. in his first war in France; and, at the siege of +Cambray, he amazed the prowest knights by the goodly feats of arms done +between him and a squire of Vermandois. At the battle of Vironfosse, +immediately afterwards, he was stationed near the person of his sovereign, +and, for his valour on that occasion, he received knighthood from the +royal sword.[50] Like his friend, Sir Walter Manny, he was gentle, as well +as valiant; and it was Chandos that, with another cavalier, saved the +ladies of the castle of Poys from the brutal assaults of the rabble.[51] +He was in the van, with the Black Prince, at the battle of Cressy; and, at +the battle of Poictiers, he never quitted his side. + +[Sidenote: Amusing instance of the pride of knighthood.] + +On the day that preceded this last great event an amusing proof occurred +of the pride of knighthood, regarding armorial bearings. Sir John Chandos, +on the part of the English, and the Lord of Claremont for the French, had +been reconnoitering the other's forces; and, as they returned to their +respective hosts, they met, and were mutually astonished that each bore +the same armorial emblem. + +The Lord of Claremont exclaimed, "Chandos, how long have you taken on you +to bear my device?" + +"Nay, you bear mine," replied the English knight; "for it is mine as well +as yours." + +"I deny that" observed the Lord of Claremont; "and were it not for the +truce that this day is between us, I would prove immediately that you have +no right to bear my device." + +"Sir," rejoined Chandos, with the calmness of truth and bravery, "you +shall find me to-morrow ready to prove it is mine, as well as yours." + +Claremont passionately closed the conference by saying, "these are common +words of you Englishmen; for you can invent nothing new; but you take for +your own whatever you see handsome belonging to others."[52] + +[Sidenote: The importance of his counsel at Poictiers.] + +At the battle of Poictiers the counsel of Chandos was important to the +fate of the day: for when the English archers had thrown the French into +confusion, he said to the Black Prince, "Sir, take your horse and ride +forth; this day is yours. Let us press forwards to the French king's +battle, for there lies the stress of the matter. I think, verily, by his +valiantness, he will not fly. I trust, by the grace of God and St. +George, that we shall take him; and, Sir, I heard you say that this day I +should see you a good knight." It was this advice which guided the courage +of Edward, and the victory was England's. + +[Sidenote: His exploits in Brittany,] + +Nothing remarkable is related of Chandos for nine years after the battle +of Poictiers. In 1365 he was the hero and counsellor of the Earl of +Mountfort in his war with the Earl of Blois. Mountfort took no measures +which were not of his suggestion, or met not with his judgment. Chandos +was a valiant as well as a sage knight; for at the battle of Auray his +mighty curtal-axe battered many a helm of the French. The fate of this +battle fixed his friend of Mountfort in the dukedom of Britany; and in the +opinion of the French lords, knights, and squires, the victory had been +gained by the skill and high prowess of Chandos.[53] + +[Sidenote: and in Spain.] + +He was seneschal of Aquitain, and of all those countries secured to the +English by the treaty of Bretigny. Together with Sir Thomas Phelton, he +was summoned into Angouleme to advise the Black Prince regarding the +affairs of Spain. The deposed king had arrived at Bourdeaux; and Edward, +resolving to assist him, sought to fortify his determination by the +judgment of his friends. Chandos and his counsel earnestly endeavoured to +change his resolve. When, indeed, no considerations could shake the +purpose of the Black Prince, our knight accompanied him into Spain, his +duties to his liege lord demanding his military service. + +[Sidenote: Is made a knight banneret.] + +Before the battle of Navaret he took the rank and title of knight +banneret. When the sun arose on that memorable day, it was a great beauty +to behold the battles or divisions of the Black Prince's army and their +brilliant harness glittering with its beams. The hostile forces slowly +approached each other. Edward with a brief train of knights ascended a +small hill, and clearly saw their enemy marching straight towards them. +The Prince was then followed by his army; and when they had reached the +other side of the hill they formed themselves in dense array, and each man +buckled on anew his armour and dressed his spear. + +Sir John Chandos advanced in front of the battles with his banner uncased +in his hand. He presented it to the Prince, saying, "Sir, behold, here is +my banner. I require you to display it abroad, and give me leave this day +to raise it, for, Sir, I thank God and you, I possess land and heritage +sufficient to maintain it withal." + +The Prince and King Peter took between their hands the banner, which was +blazoned with a sharp stake gules, on a field argent, and after having +cut off the end to make it square they spread it abroad; and the Prince +delivered it to Chandos, saying, "Sir John, behold your banner, and God +send you joy, and honor, and strength, to preserve it!" + +Chandos bowed, and after thanking the Prince, he went back to his own +company, and said, "Sirs, behold my banner and yours, keep it as your +own." + +They took it and were right joyful thereof, declaring that, by the +pleasure of God and St. George, they would keep and defend it to the +utmost of their power. + +The banner was then placed in the hands of a worthy English squire, called +William Allestry, who bore it that day, and acquitted himself right nobly. + +In that battle, Chandos counselled the Duke of Lancaster as sagely as at +the battle of Poictiers he had counselled Edward. He performed also +wonders in arms, for he was a great and mighty knight, and well formed of +all his limbs; but he adventured himself so far that he was closed in +among his enemies, and at length pressed to the earth. A Spaniard of +gigantic stature fell upon him with dreadful force; but Sir John drew a +knife from his bosom, which he recollected he had about him, and struck +his foeman so fiercely in the back and on the sides, that he wounded him +to death as he lay on him. Sir John turned him over, and rose quickly on +his feet, and his men-at-arms at that time joined him, they having with +much difficulty broken through the press when they saw him felled.[54] + +[Sidenote: Quits the Black Prince;] + +[Sidenote: but returns.] + +Chandos had not succeeded in dissuading the Prince of Wales from his +Spanish war, and he failed also in withdrawing him from the more fatal +project of taxing, beyond usage, his French dominions. Finding him +resolved in his purpose, and not wishing to bear any blame or reproach +about the matter, Sir John took his leave of the Prince, and made his +excuse to go into Normandy to visit the land of St. Saviour le Viscount, +whereof he was lord, for he had not been there for several years. When the +war so fatal to England's power in France broke out, the Black Prince +wrote to Chandos to join him without delay. Sir John immediately went to +Angouleme, and his liege lord joyfully received him. He was made Seneschal +of Poictou at the request of the barons and knights of that country. + +[Sidenote: The remarkable generousness of his conduct to Lord Pembroke.] + +His deeds of arms equalled his former fame; but it was his chivalric +generosity that was most striking, and the circumstances which accompanied +the appearance of that feature of his character are very interesting. He +wished the Earl of Pembroke, who was in garrison at Mortaygne, to +accompany him in an enterprise into the French territory. The Earl was +well content to have ridden forth; but some of the knights of his counsel +broke his purpose, and said, "Sir, you are but young, and your nobleness +is to come; and if you put yourself into the company of Sir John Chandos, +he shall have the reputation and voice of it, for you will be regarded +only as his companion; therefore, Sir, it is better for you, since you are +a great lord, that you perform your enterprises by yourself, and let Sir +John Chandos perform his; for in comparison with your estate, he is but a +knight bachelor." + +The Earl of Pembroke accordingly excused himself; and Sir John Chandos, +unaided by him, went into Anjou, accompanied by three hundred spears of +knights and squires, and two hundred archers. He achieved all his +emprises; and hearing at last that Sir Louis of Sancerre, the Marshal of +France, with a great number of men of war, was at Hay in Touraine, he +wished to cope with him; but as his own force was inadequate to so great +an exploit, he sent word of his intention to the Earl of Pembroke, +desiring him to repair with his soldiers to Chatelterault. + +Chandos the herald took the message; but the Earl by counsel of his +knights again refused. The herald repaired to Sir John at Chatelterault, +and the enterprise was broken up in consequence of the presumption and +pride of the Earl of Pembroke: Chandos gave leave to most of his company +to depart, and he himself went to Poictiers. Some of his men joined the +Earl of Pembroke; who, at the head of three hundred knights and squires, +committed great destruction in Anjou, and returned with immense booty into +Poictou. + +The Frenchmen, thinking it a more easy chevisance to discomfit him than +Sir John Chandos, assembled seven hundred soldiers from all the garrisons +in the country, and Sir Louis of Sancerre took the command. The Earl of +Pembroke heard nothing of the enemy, and not having the vigilance of Sir +John Chandos he took no pains to enquire. The English were one day +reposing in a village called Puirenon, in the territory of Poictou, when +suddenly the Frenchmen came into the town, their spears in their rests, +crying their cry, "Our Lady of Sancerre, for the Marshal of France." The +English were dressing their horses, and preparing their suppers, when they +were thus unexpectedly assailed. Several were killed, all the plunder was +retaken, many prisoners were made, and the Earl of Pembroke and some of +his knights and archers saved themselves in a preceptory of the Templars. +The Frenchmen assaulted it gallantly, and it was as gallantly defended, +till night put an end to the assault. + +The English were so severely straitened for provisions, that they knew +they must speedily surrender, unless Chandos came to their succour. A +squire, who professed to know the country, offered to go to Sir John, and +he accordingly left the fortress when the French had retired to rest. But +he soon lost his road, and did not recover it till morning. + +At day-break the French renewed their assaults, and mounted the walls with +pavesses to defend their heads from the missiles of the English. The Earl +of Pembroke and his little band fought so bravely, from morning until +noon, that the French were obliged to desist, and to resort to the +uncavalierlike mode of worsting their gallant foes by sending to the +neighbouring villages for pikes and mattocks, that they might undermine +and break down the wall. + +Then the Earl of Pembroke called a squire to him, and said, "Friend, take +my courser, and issue out at the back postern, and ride straight to +Poictiers, and show Sir John Chandos the state and danger we are in; and +recommend me to him by this token," added the Earl, taking a ring from his +finger: "deliver it to him, for Sir John knows it well." + +The squire took the ring, and immediately mounting his courser, fled +through the postern, thinking he should achieve great honor if he could +reach Sir John Chandos. + +The first squire having lost so much time in the confusion of the night +did not arrive at Poictiers till nine in the morning. He found Sir John at +mass; and, in consequence of the importance of his message, he disturbed +his devotions. + +Chandos's feelings had been severely offended by the pride and presumption +of the Earl of Pembroke, and he was in no great haste to relieve him. He +heard the mass out. The tables were then arranged for the noon repast. + +The servants, among whom the message of the squire had been bruited, +enquired of Sir John if he would go to dinner. He replied, "Yes; if it +were ready." + +He went into the hall, and knights and squires brought him water. While he +was washing, the second squire from the Earl of Pembroke, pale, weary, and +travel-soiled, entered the hall, and knelt before him, and took the ring +out of his purse, and said, "Right dear Sir, the Earl of Pembroke +recommends himself to you by this token, and heartily desires your +assistance in relieving him from his present danger at Puirenon." + +Chandos took the ring; but instead of calling his friends to arm, he +coldly observed, that it would be difficult to assist the Earl if the +affair were such as the squire had represented it. "Let us go to dinner," +said he; and accordingly the knights sat down. + +The first course was eaten in silence, for Chandos was thoughtful, and the +minds of his friends were not idle. + +In the middle of the second course, when the generous wine of France had +roused his better nature, he started from a reverie, and with a smile of +pride and generousness exclaimed, "Sirs, the Earl of Pembroke is a noble +man, and of great lineage: he is son of my natural lord the King of +England, for he hath married his daughter, and in every thing he is +companion to the Earl of Cambridge. He hath required me to come, to him, +and I ought to consent to his desire." + +Then thrusting the table from him, and rising to the full height of his +fine martial figure, he cried, "Gallant knights, I will ride to Puirenon." + +This noble and generous resolve found an echo in the heart of every one +that was present. The trumpets sounded, the knights hastily donned their +armour, and saddled the first horses they could meet with; and in a few +moments the court-yard glittered with more than two hundred spears. They +rode apace towards Puirenon; but news of their approach reached the +vigilant French in sufficient time for them to abandon the siege, and +effect their retreat with their prisoners and booty. + +The Earl of Pembroke soon found that the terror of the name of Chandos had +scared the foe, and he proposed to his companions to ride towards +Poictiers and meet their deliverers. They accordingly left the village in +a right pleasant mood, some on foot, others on horses, and many a gallant +steed carried double that day. They had not ridden a league before they +met Sir John Chandos and his company, who much to their regret heard of +the retreat of the French. The two parties rode in company for the space +of three leagues, holding merry converse on deeds of arms. They then +departed, Chandos returning to Poictiers, and the Earl of Pembroke to +Mortaygne.[55] + +[Sidenote: The last curious circumstances of his life.] + +Our knight's career of glory approached its close. By the treachery of a +monk, the abbey of St. Salvyn, seven leagues from Poictiers, fell into the +possession of the French, who all that year, 1371, had been harassing the +English territories. Chandos was deeply mortified at the loss of the +abbey, it being within the scope of his seneschalship. To recover it by +chivalric skill, or to bring his enemies to fair and manly battle, seemed +equally impossible, and his high spirit was wounded at these insults to +his military abilities. On the last day of December he made an +unsuccessful attempt to recover the abbey; and when he returned to the +town of Chauvigny, he dismissed two-thirds of his troops, knights of +Poictou and England. Sir Thomas Percy, with thirty spears, had his leave +to go in quest of adventures. His own mind was too ill at rest for him to +indulge in mere chivalric exercises; and after he had wished them good +speed he went back into the house full of melancholy thoughts. He would +not retire to rest though the night was far advanced; but he remained in +the kitchen warming himself by the fire, his servants endeavouring by +their jests and tales to banish his uneasiness. + +Before daylight a man with the haste and anxiety of the bearer of news of +import came into the house. + +"The Frenchmen are riding abroad," said he to Sir John. + +"How knowest thou that?" + +"I left St. Salvyn with them," was the answer. + +"Which way did they ride?" demanded Chandos. + +"Their exact course I wot not," replied his informant; "but I saw them on +the high road to Poictiers." + +"What Frenchmen?" required Sir John. + +"Sir Louis of St. Julian, and Carnot the Breton." + +"Well," quoth Chandos, "I care not: I have no mind to ride forth to-night: +it may happen that they may be encountered, though I am not there." + +The conversation closed here, but Chandos could not dismiss the subject +from his mind. He mused upon what he had heard, and hope gradually broke +through the gloom of his disappointment. + +He then told his knights he would ride to Poictiers, and they joyfully +caparisoned their horses. + +Chandos and forty spears left Chauvigny before daylight, and getting into +the Frenchmen's course, they soon overtook them near the bridge of Lusac. +They were on foot, preparing to attack Sir Thomas Percy and his little +band, who had posted themselves on the other side of the bridge. + +Before the Frenchmen and Bretons had arranged their plan of assault, they +heard the trampling of Chandos's war-horses, and turning round they saw +his dreadful banner displayed. He approached within three furlongs of the +bridge and had a parley with them. He reproached them for their robberies +and acts of violence in the country whereof he was seneschal. + +"It is more than a year and a half," he continued, "that I have set all my +aim to find and encounter you, and now, I thank God, I see you and speak +to you. It shall soon be known who is prowest, you or I. You have often +vaunted your desire to meet me; now you may see me before you.--I am John +Chandos: regard me well," he thundered in their ears, his countenance +darkening as he spoke. + +At that moment an English squire was struck to the earth by the lance of a +Breton. The generous nature of Chandos was rouzed at this ungallant act; +and, in a tone of mingled expostulation and reproof, he cried to his own +company, "Sirs, how is it that you suffer this squire thus to be slain? A +foot, a foot!" + +He dismounted, and so did all his band, and they advanced against the +French. His banner, with the escutcheon above his arms, was carried before +him, and some of his men-at-arms surrounded it. Chandos missed his steps, +for the ground was slippery from the hoar-frost of the morning, and in his +impatience for battle he entangled his feet in the folds of his surcoat. +He fell just as he reached his enemy; and as he was rising, the lance of a +French squire entered his flesh, under the left eye, between the nose and +the forehead. Chandos could not see to ward off the stroke; for, some +years before, he had lost the sight of that eye, while hunting the hart in +the country round Bourdeaux: unhappily, too, his helmet was without the +defence of its vizor. + +He fell upon the earth, and rolled over two or three times, from the pain +of the wound, but he never spoke again. + +The French endeavoured to seize him; but his uncle, Sir Edward Clifford, +bestrode the body, and defended it so valorously, that soon none dared to +approach him. + +[Sidenote: Grief at his death.] + +The barons and knights of Poictou were conquerors, and when the confusion +was hushed, they flocked round their outstretched friend and seneschal. +They wept, they wrung their hands, they tore their hair, and gave way to +every violent expression of grief. They called him the flower of chivalry, +and lamented the hour when the lance was forged which had brought him into +peril of death. + +He heard and understood them well, but was unable to reply. His servants +then unarmed him; and, laying him upon a pavesse, or large shield, they +bore him gently to the neighbouring fortress of Mortimer. + +He died on the following day; and a cavalier more courteous, and more +worthily adorned with noble virtues and high qualities, never adorned the +English chivalry. He was, in sooth, as gallant a knight as ever laid lance +in rest. + +The Prince of Wales, the Earl of Cambridge, the Earl of Pembroke, and, +indeed, all the English barons and knights then in Guienne, lamented his +fate, as the loss of all the English dominions in France; and many right +noble and valiant knights of France mourned the death of a generous foe, +and they wished he had been made prisoner; for they said he was so sage +and imaginative that he would have planned a peace between the two +nations.[56] + +Chandos was never married. All the estates which he had won by his valour +went to his three sisters. + + + + +CHAP. II. + +PROGRESS OF CHIVALRY IN GREAT BRITAIN, + +FROM THE REIGN OF RICHARD II. TO THAT OF HENRY VIII. + + _Complaints of the unchivalric State of Richard's Court ... Influence + of Chivalry on the national Character ... Scottish Chivalry ... + Chivalric Kindness of Robert Bruce ... Mutual Chivalry between the + Scotch and English Courts ... French Knights' Opinions of Scottish + Chivalry ... Courtesies between English and Scottish Knights ... + Chivalric Battle of Otterbourn ... Hotspur and the Douglas ... A + cavaleresque Story ... Reign of Henry IV. ... Chivalric Parley between + him and the Duke of Orleans ... Henry's unchivalric Conduct at + Shrewsbury ... Henry V. ... Knights of the Bath ... Henry's Love of + chivalric Books ... His chivalric Bearing ... Commencement of the + Decline of Chivalry ... The Civil Wars injured Chivalry ... Caxton's + Lamentation ... He exaggerates the Evil ... Many gallant English + Knights ... Character of Henry VIII. with Reference to Chivalry ... + Tournaments in his Reign ... Field of the Cloth of Gold ... + Introduction of Italian Literature favoured Romance ... Popularity of + Chivalric Literature ... English Knights continued to break Lances for + Ladies' Love ... State of Scottish Chivalry at this Period ... James + IV. ... Chivalric Circumstances at Flodden Field._ + + +In the reign of Richard II. the splendor of England's chivalry was +clouded. That monarch had neither spirit nor ambition to recover the +possessions which had been wrested from the crown during the illness of +his father, the Black Prince, and the imbecility of his grandfather, +Edward III.; for though the war with France nominally continued, yet he +gave few occasions for his knights to break their lances with the French. +Not that England enjoyed a state of perfect peace, but the wars in France +and Portugal had no brilliant results, for the English knights were no +longer guided by the sageness of Chandos, or the gallantry of Prince +Edward. + +[Sidenote: Complaints of the unchivalric state of Richard's court.] + +England was menaced with invasion by Charles VI. of France; but the +project died away, and nothing gave greater offence to the people than the +want of spirit in the court, in not revenging itself for the insult. A +comparison was immediately instituted between the present and the +preceding reign. Where were those great enterprises, it was asked, which +distinguished the days of King Edward III.? where could be found the +valiant men who had fought with the Prince, his son? In those days England +was feared, and was reputed as possessing the flower of Christian +chivalry; but now no man speaks of her, now there are no wars but such as +are made on poor men's purses, and thereto every one is inclined.[57] + +[Sidenote: Influence of chivalry on the national character.] + +The expensive wars of England with France were productive of mighty +consequences to the English constitution. An application for redress of +grievances always met the demand of supplies, and public liberty +benefitted by the costly ambition of the crown. The wars did not spring +from chivalry, and we cannot, therefore, ascribe to that bright source any +general political advantages which resulted from them: but chivalry gave +the tone to the manner in which they were waged; hers were all the +humanities of the contest; hers was, at least, half the distinction (for +we must remember the bow was as formidable as the lance) of establishing +the glory of the country; of giving her that proud character for martial +prowess, which has outlived her brief and feeble tenure of the territorial +consequences of victory. + +Richard II. did not emulate the martial fame of his father. His neglect of +the warriors of the former reign was not among the slightest causes of +that disaffection which ultimately ruined him. One of the public +grievances, as stated to the throne by the House of Commons, was that the +chivalry of the country had been discountenanced and disgraced, and that +the growth of vice had consequently increased.[58] + +Richard was a voluptuous prince; the splendour of chivalry hung over his +court; his tilts and tournaments were unusually magnificent; but the +martial and, therefore, the chief spring of knighthood was wanting. A +warlike sovereign could have found rich materials among his people for +ambitious enterprises. The increasing wealth of the nation, arising from +its improving commerce, displayed itself in luxuries; and the aspiring +commonalty imitated the chivalric courtesies of the great. It marks the +state of manners, that the splendid tapestries of the citizens represented +the martial achievements of Edward III.[59] + + * * * * * + +[Sidenote: Scottish chivalry.] + +The names of the Douglas and the Percy were so highly distinguished in the +fourteenth century, that the reign of Richard II. is a fit place for some +notices of northern chivalry. The battle of Bannockburn proved that, in +gallantry and generosity, the essentials of knighthood, the Scots were as +noble as the cavaliers of the south; and there was a fine wildness of +imagination among the people which was suitable to the romantic genius of +chivalry.[60] But those of Scotland's heroes whose lives are known to us +were patriots rather than cavaliers, the circumstances of the times in +which they lived inflaming them with different passions than those which +knighthood could inspire. + +[Sidenote: Chivalric kindness of Robert Bruce.] + +Sometimes, however, the stern virtues of patriotism were graced and +softened by chivalric courtesy. Perhaps the most pleasing instance of this +occurred in the conduct of Robert Bruce, in the year 1317, when he was +assisting his brother, Edward Bruce, to subjugate Ireland; and I will not +injure the story by telling it in any other way than in the simple and +beautiful strain of the poet: + + "The king has heard a woman cry, + He asked, what that was in hy?[61] + It is the layndar[62], Sir, said ane, + That her child-ill[63] right now has ta'en, + And must leave now behind us here, + Therefore she makes an evil cheer.[64] + The king said, "Certes, it were pity + That she in that point left should be, + For certes, I trow there is no man + That he no will rue[65] a woman than." + His hosts all then arrested he, + And gert a tent soon stintit[66] be; + And gert her gang in hastily, + And other women to be her by. + While she was delivered he bade, + And syne forth on his ways rade. + And how she forth should carried be, + Or he forth fure[67] ordained he. + This was a full great courtesy, + That swilk a king and so mighty, + Gert his men dwell on this manner, + But for a poor lavender."[68] + The Bruce, book xi. l. 270. + +At the court of the Scottish kings, knighthood was always regarded as a +distinction worthy of the highest ambition. Its objects were the same as +in other countries,--the defence of the church, protection of the +helpless, and generosity to woman. The form of the chivalric oath has been +preserved, and it presents us with a curious picture of ancient manners: + + 1. I shall fortify and defend the Christian religion to the uttermost + of my power. + + 2. I shall be loyal and true to my sovereign lord the king; to all + orders of chivalry, and to the noble office of arms. + + 3. I shall fortify and defend justice at my power; and that without + favour or enmity. + + 4. I shall never flee from my sovereign lord the king; nor from his + lieutenants, in time of affray or battle. + + 5. I shall defend my native land from all aliens and strangers. + + 6. I shall defend the just action and quarrel of all ladies of honour, + of all true and friendless widows, of orphans, and of maidens of good + fame. + + 7. I shall do diligence, wheresoever I hear that there are any + murderers, traitors, or masterful robbers, who oppress the king's + lieges and poor people, to bring them to the law at my power. + + 8. I shall maintain and uphold the noble state of chivalry, with + horse, armour, and other knightly habiliments, and shall help and + succour those of the same order, at my power, if they have need. + + 9. I shall enquire and seek to have the knowledge and understanding of + all the articles and points contained in the book of chivalry. All + these promises to observe, keep, and fulfil, I oblige myself: so help + me God by my own hand, and by God himself.[69] + +[Sidenote: Mutual chivalry between the Scotch and English courts.] + +Chivalric honours formed sometimes a bond of connection between the +Scottish and the English sovereigns. When Prince Henry (afterwards King +Henry II.) arrived at the age of sixteen years, his father Geoffry sent +him through England with a numerous and splendid retinue into Scotland, to +receive the honour of knighthood from his mother's uncle, King David. The +ceremony was performed with great pomp, in the midst of a prodigious +concourse of the English, Scottish, and Norman nobility; and the Prince +spent about eight months in the court of Scotland, perfecting himself in +military exercises.[70] + +A few years afterwards chivalric honors were conferred by Henry II. of +England upon Malcolm II. But the granting of knighthood was not regarded +as a matter of mere courtesy. When the kings met at Carlisle, in 1158, the +previous cession of the northern provinces by Malcolm to Henry gave rise +to such heats and feuds, that the Scottish monarch departed without +receiving the honour he desired. In the next year, however, Henry, by +excellent address, persuaded Malcolm to accompany him to France for the +recovery of Tholouse, which he claimed as part of the inheritance of +Eleanor his queen; and the honor which Henry had refused in the last year +to give him at Carlisle, he now conferred upon him at Tours in France, in +the course of his return from the Tholouse expedition.[71] + +In 1249 when King Alexander III. repaired from Scotland to York to be +married to the Princess Margaret, daughter of Henry III. of England, the +ceremonies of chivalry preceded those of marriage. Alexander received the +ensigns of knighthood from the King of England on Christmas day, and the +hand of his bride on the following morning.[72] Tournaments were +occasionally held at the Scottish court, and strangers were courteously +received.[73] Knights from Scotland are frequently mentioned in the old +chronicles as having won the prize in the chivalric festivals in France +and England. In the wars of the Scots with Edward III. no circumstances of +a character peculiarly knightly can be selected; and in the intervals of +truce chivalry could not, as in the wars between England and France, give +the guise of friendship to occasional intercourse. In the year 1341, a +time of peace, Edward passed some time in Scotland. Tournaments and jousts +formed the occupation of the strangers and the natives; but neither party +regarded the gentle rules of the tourney, and two Scottish knights and one +English knight were killed.[74] + +[Sidenote: French knights' opinions of Scottish chivalry.] + +Nothing could contribute more powerfully to the advancement of chivalry in +the north than the frequent intercourse between the Scots and the French. +The latter people, however, would not always acknowlege the chivalric +character of their allies. In the year 1385, a troop of French knights +joined the Scottish king; and they soon were grieved that they had ever +left their own country. They complained to their leader Sir John of +Vienne of their unhappy lot. They had no tapestried halls and goodly +castles as in France; and instead of soft beds their couches were as hard +as the ground. + +Sir John was a true son of chivalry; and he said to them, "Sirs, it +behoves us to suffer a little, and to speak fair since we are in the +perils of war. Let us take in cheerfulness that which we find. We cannot +always be at Paris, Dijon, Beaune, or at Chalons. It behoveth them that +live in the world thinking to have honour, to suffer poverty as well as to +enjoy wealth." + +The reader of English history remembers that Richard II. invaded Scotland; +that at the same time the Scots ravaged Cumberland and Westmorland; and +that each army boasted that the destruction it had committed was fully as +dreadful as the havoc made by the other. It is more curious to notice the +trait of manners which general historians have altogether omitted, that +when the French knights returned home, they complained that they had never +passed through so painful an enterprise. Not that they regarded the +perilous mêlée, but it was because they returned without horse or harness, +poor and feeble. They wished that the French king, would unite with the +English king, and go into Scotland and destroy that realm for ever. The +Scots were an evil people, traitors, and altogether foolish in feats of +war.[75] + +English knights always more rejoiced when the trumpet summoned them to +France than to Scotland. The rich wines, the fine country, the superior +chivalry of the French were preferred before the poverty and bleakness of +the north. When the English knights went to Scotland they were obliged to +carry provisions with them; and also horses' shoes and harness, the +country not furnishing iron or leather.[76] + +[Sidenote: Courtesies between English and Scottish knights.] + +The wars between England and Scotland, though fierce and sanguinary, +admitted the display of the liberal feelings of chivalry. "Englishmen on +the one party, and Scots on the other," says Froissart, "are good men of +war; for when they meet there is a hard fight without sparing. There is +no pause between them as long as spears, swords, axes, or daggers will +endure. When one party hath obtained the victory, they then glorify so in +their deeds of arms and are so joyful, that such as are taken are ransomed +ere they go out of the field; so that shortly each of them is so content +with the other, that at their departing they will say courteously, God +thank you."[77] + +[Sidenote: Chivalric battle of Otterbourn, 21st July, 1388.] + +These remarks of Froissart, so interesting because so characteristic of +manners, prelude the most chivalric battle that ever was fought between +Scotland and England. Other battles were decided either by the bow or by +that general military skill which was not peculiar to chivalry; but the +battle of Otterbourn was a knightly mêlée, and was as truly chivalric as +an encounter of cavaliers in the tournament. In the reign of Richard II. +of England, and a few years after the circumstances in his time already +alluded to, the Scots commanded by James Earl Douglas, taking advantage of +the troubles between the King and his parliament, poured upon the south. +When they were sated with plunder and destruction, they rested at +Newcastle, near the English force which the Earl of Northumberland and +other border-chieftains had hastily levied. + +[Sidenote: Hotspur and the Douglas.] + +The Earl's two sons were young and lusty knights, and ever foremost at the +barriers to skirmish. Many proper feats of arms were done and achieved. +The fighting was hand to hand. The noblest encounter was that which +occurred between the Earl Douglas and Sir Henry Percy, surnamed +Hotspur.[78] The Scot won the pennon of his foeman; and in the triumph of +his victory he exclaimed that he would carry it to Scotland, and set it on +high on his castle of Dalkeith, that it might be seen afar off. + +Percy indignantly replied, that Douglas should not pass the border without +being met in a manner which would give him no cause for boasting. + +With equal spirit the Earl Douglas invited him that night to his lodging +to seek for his pennon. + +The Scots then retired, and kept careful watch, lest the taunts of their +leader should urge the Englishmen to make an attack. Percy's spirit burned +to efface his reproach, but he was counselled into calmness. + +The Scots then dislodged, seemingly resolved to return with all haste to +their own country. But Otterbourn arrested their steps. The castle +resisted the assault; and the capture of it would have been of such little +value to them that most of the Scotch knights wished that the enterprise +should be abandoned. + +Douglas commanded, however, that the assault should be persevered in, and +he was entirely influenced by his chivalric feelings. He contended that +the very difficulty of the enterprise was the reason of undertaking it; +and he wished not to be too far from Sir Henry Percy, lest that gallant +knight should not be able to do his devoir in redeeming his pledge of +winning the pennon of his arms again. + +Hotspur was not altogether that impatient spirit which poetry has +described him. He longed, indeed, to follow the Douglas, and redeem his +badge of honor; but the sage knights of the country, and such as were well +expert in arms, spoke against his opinion, and said to him, "Sir, there +fortuneth in war oftentimes many losses. If the Earl of Douglas has won +your pennon, he bought it dear, for he came to the gate to seek it, and +was well beaten: another day you shall win as much of him and more. Sir, +we say this because we know well that all the power of Scotland is abroad +in the fields; and if we issue forth and are not strong enough to fight +with them, (and perchance they have made this skirmish with us to draw us +out of the town,) they may soon enclose us, and do with us what they will. +It is better to lose a pennon than two or three hundred knights and +squires, and put all the country to adventure." + +By such words as these Hotspur and his brother were refrained from their +purpose; for like sage and imaginative knights they would do nothing +against counsel. + +Soon afterwards it was discovered that the whole amount of the Scottish +force did not exceed three thousand men. Hotspur's heart leapt for joy at +the prospect of glory which this news opened to him; and, like a true son +of chivalry, he cried to his friends; "Sirs, let us spring upon our +horses, for by the faith I owe unto God, and to my lord my father, I will +go and seek my pennon, and dislodge the Scots this same night." + +Incontinently knights and squires donned their helms and cuirasses, and +vaulted on their war-steeds. They rode more than apace to Otterbourn, and +reached the Scottish camp by night. They far outnumbered their foemen, but +the numerical was not the physical strength, for the English were +forespent with travel, while the Scots were fresh and well rested. + +The hostile banners waved in the night-breeze, and the bright moon, which +had been more wont to look upon the loves than the wars of chivalry, +lighted up the Scottish camp. A battle ensued of as valiant a character as +any recorded in the pages of history; for there was neither knight nor +squire but that did his devoir and fought hand to hand. The English dashed +upon their foemen with such spirit, that their charge would have been +irresistible, if Douglas, who was of great heart and high of enterprise, +had not taken his axe in both his hands, and supported his retreating +band. At length he was encountered by three spears at once, and borne +perforce to the earth. One of his companions, a gallant knight, and a +chaplain who fought on that occasion like a valiant man of arms with a +good axe in his hands, skirmished about the Earl as he lay, and kept the +press from him.[79] + +When it was known that Douglas had fallen, some of his knights ran with +breathless anxiety to the spot and asked him how he sped. "Right evil, +cousins," quoth the Earl; "but, thank God, very few of my ancestors have +died in their beds. But I require you to avenge my death, for I feel my +heart fainting within me. Raise my banner, but do not declare my case to +any one; for my enemies would rejoice, and my friends be discomforted, to +hear that I had been wounded to death." + +In a moment the proud ensign of his chivalry waved once again over the +Scottish knights, and each gallant man-at-arms cheered his companion's +heart by crying the war-cry of the Douglas. The Percys were made +prisoners, Hotspur[80] by the Earl Montgomery, and Sir Ralph by Sir John +Maxwell. Finally, the Scottish chivalry prevailed, and they remained +masters of the field.[81] + +Nothing could be more gallant than the demeanor of the Scots. They wished +to take alive Thomas Felton, an English squire, whose valour excited their +admiration; but, like a true hero, he submitted to be slain rather than to +be vanquished. + +The Scots, when the Englishmen yielded, were courteous, and set them to +their ransom; and every man said to his prisoner, "Sir, go and unarm you, +and take your ease;" and they lived together as if they had been brethren. + +[Sidenote: A chivalric story.] + +Among the circumstances connected with the battle, none is more +interesting than this:--When the fate of the night was decided, Sir +Matthew Redman, an Englishman, and governor of Berwick, spurred his horse +from the field, but was hotly pursued by the Scottish knight, Sir James +Lindsay, and he could not escape, for his panting charger fell under him. +Lindsay dismounted, and the two knights fought well and chivalrously, the +Scotsman with his axe (the favorite weapon of the nation), and the English +knight with his sword. The axe prevailed, and Redman surrendered himself, +rescue or no rescue. He wished to go to Newcastle, and his master (for +such, as we have often seen, was the title of a knight who held another +captive,) permitted him to depart, on his pledging his word of chivalry, +that within three weeks he would meet him at Edinburgh. The knights then +separated; but as Lindsay was returning to the Scottish host, priding +himself on his success, he was surrounded by the Bishop of Durham and a +numerous troop. Some hours before, they had marched purposely to the +succour of Percy; but the clangour of the mêlée had terrified them into a +retreat. They possessed sufficient bravery, however, to take a single and +battle-worn knight. He was led to Newcastle, where he met Sir Matthew +Redman; and these two gallant cavaliers dined right merrily together, and, +after quaffing many a cup of rich wine, to the honour and health of their +mistresses, they arranged with the bishop the conditions of each other's +liberation.[82] + + * * * * * + +[Sidenote: Reign of Henry IV. Chivalric parley between him and the Duke of +Orleans.] + +The reign of Henry IV. of England was not altogether void of chivalric +interest. While Duke of Lancaster he had chosen Louis, Duke of Orleans, +for his brother in chivalry. Each had promised to the other that they +would live in the warmest affection of true friendship. Each vowed to be a +friend and well-wisher to the friends and well-wishers of the other, and +an enemy to his enemies, as became the honour and reputation of both; and +that at all times, and in all places, they would by words and deeds assist +each other in the defence of his person, honour, and estate. These +chivalric engagements between the two Dukes had been made known to the +world in an instrument called a letter of alliance, dated the 17th of +June, 1396. + +The friendship lasted during the remainder of the reign of Richard II.; +but the deposition of that monarch was so odious a circumstance, in the +eyes of the court of France, the daughter of whose sovereign Richard had +married, that although no open rupture of the existing truce between the +two nations took place, yet many high-spirited French noblemen made +private war upon the English king. + +The Duke of Orleans, his sworn brother in arms, challenged Henry IV. to +meet him at any place he chose in France, each of them being accompanied +by one hundred knights and squires, of name and arms without reproach, and +to combat together till one of the parties should surrender. + +Henry declined the challenge, alleging, as his reasons, the public truce +between the two countries, to which the Duke of Orleans was a party, and +the particular treaty of alliance between themselves. That treaty, +however, he now annulled, and threw aside thenceforth all love and +affection towards the Duke. He declared that it would be unworthy of his +high rank to accept the challenge of any one of inferior dignity to +himself, nor had any of his royal progenitors ever employed his arms with +one hundred or more persons, in such a cause: but whenever he should think +it convenient to visit his possessions on the French side of the sea, +accompanied by such numbers of persons as he thought proper, the Duke of +Orleans might assemble as many persons as he should judge expedient, to +acquire honour in the accomplishing of all his courageous desires; and he +should not depart without being satisfied in a combat between themselves; +which mode of terminating their dispute was preferable to any other that +might occasion the effusion of more Christian blood. + +The Duke of Orleans replied that the public truce had been violated by +Henry himself, when he made war upon Richard the ally of France. With +respect to the articles of friendship between themselves, the allies of +the king of France had been excepted from their provisions, and therefore +either party was left to his choice of conduct regarding the deportment of +the other to any of their allies. On the subject of a remark of Henry that +no knight of whatever rank he might be, ought to request a deed of arms, +until he should have returned any articles of alliance that might exist +between himself and the challenged person, Louis satirically enquired +whether Henry had rendered to his lord, King Richard, the oath of fidelity +he had made to him, before he had proceeded in the manner he had done +against his person. The Duke insinuated that Richard's death had been +compassed by Henry, and then enquired how the King could suffer that noble +lady, the Queen of England, to return to France so desolate after the +death of her husband, despoiled of her portion and dower. The man who +sought to gain honour was always the defender and guardian of the rights +of widows and damsels of virtuous life, such as the niece of the Duke of +Orleans was known to lead; and as he was so nearly related to her, +acquitting himself towards God and towards her as a relation, he replied, +that to avoid effusion of blood he would cheerfully meet him in single +combat. + +In reply to this letter Henry observed, that when public affairs had +called him from France to England, Louis had promised him aid, and that +therefore the Duke could not in justice comment on the late revolution: +but that with respect to Richard personally, he, Henry, now king, denied +most warmly and solemnly that his death had been occasioned by his order +or consent. He declared it to be false, and said it would be false each +time that Louis uttered it; and this he was ready to prove, through the +grace of God, in personal combat. He repelled the charge of cruelty to +Isabella; contending that, on the contrary, he had ever shown kindness and +friendship to her, and wishing that Louis had never acted with greater +rigour, unkindness, or cruelty towards any lady or damsel than he had done +to her. + +But the proposed combat never took place; nor can it be inferred that +either party was very sincere in his challenge, for the ambassadors of +Henry at the court of France often complained of the conduct of Louis, but +Louis never reiterated his challenge, and no satisfaction was rendered, +the King and council waiving the matter entirely, and coldly stating that +they would always continue firm to the engagements which they had made +with England.[83] + +[Sidenote: Henry's unchivalric conduct at Shrewsbury.] + +In another event, the most important event of his reign, the conduct of +Henry was most decidedly unchivalric. When at the battle of Shrewsbury +(July 21. 1403,) the banners advanced, and the air was rent with the +war-cries "Saint George!" and "Esperance Percy!" the archers on either +side drew their tough bow-strings with such murderous energy, that the +several lines of knights and men-at-arms with difficulty maintained their +ground. + +In this moment of peril, when the stoutest hearts quailed, the gallant +Hotspur, and Archibald Earl Douglas[84], with a small band of brothers in +arms, started from their host, and throwing their warlike shields before +them, rushed, amidst an iron shower, into the very centre, the best +defended part, of the royal army. Their battle-axes and good swords made +fearful havoc among the King's guards, the standard of England was trodden +under foot, and the Earl of Stafford and that "dear and true industrious +friend" of the King, Sir Robert Blunt, who were armed in the royal guise, +were slain.[85] Hotspur sought in vain for the King; for when His Grace +observed the Percies sweeping across the field, he had followed the +prudent counsel of the Earl of Dunbar, and changing his armour for that of +a common knight, he repaired to another part of the plain. + +The Prince of Wales displayed more bravery than his father, and he was +wounded while maintaining his position. + +Hotspur now formed his little band into a dense array, and endeavoured to +retire to his line of knights. But while he was fighting with all the +courage of his high chivalry, a random arrow brought him to the earth. His +death was almost instantaneous; and the event was viewed through either +army with the various feelings of joy and woe. He had been the inspiring +soul of his own host, and his fall was the signal for their dispersion. + +The character of courage can scarcely be denied to Henry IV., but it was +not graced by any of the lofty daring of chivalry. An Edward would have +braved the fiercest danger, he would never have thrown aside the insignia +of his rank, and clothing some noble friends in the royal habiliments have +left them to perish in his stead. The conduct of Henry might have been +royal, but it certainly was not chivalric.[86] + + * * * * * + +[Sidenote: Henry V.] + +[Sidenote: Knights of the Bath.] + +The glories of chivalry seemed to be revived in the reign of Harry +Monmouth. His coronation was accompanied by a large creation of a class of +knights, whose peculiar nature I have not yet expressed. In early ages of +English history there seems to have been two descriptions of cavaliers, +the Knights of the Sword, and the Knights of the Bath. The former were +made both in times of war and peace, the latter only at coronations, royal +marriages, and other festive occasions. The dubbing with the sword was the +simple ceremony of creating knights of the one class; but most of the +forms of chivalry were used in the investiture of those of the other: and +as the Bath was a very remarkable part of the ceremony, and the +exhortation to the performance of chivalric duties was delivered to the +knight while he was in it, the knights so created were reputed knights of +the Bath. + +The Knights of the Sword, or Knights Bachelors, were created by the +sheriffs of counties, by virtue of letters from the king commanding his +officers to knight those persons, who, in consequence of their landed +estates, were worthy of the honour; but when the other class was to be +enlarged, the king selected a certain number of the young nobility and +gentry, and he himself assisted at the ceremony. + +Knights of the Bath always took precedence of knights bachelors; and as +the superiority of knights of the Garter was shown by the circumstance, +that on the installation of a knight there was a creation of knights of +the Bath, so on any other occasion when knights of the Bath were made, +there was, in honor of the circumstance, a creation of knights of the +Sword. + +The exact time when this distinction was first made between knights of the +Bath and knights of the Sword has eluded the investigation of antiquaries, +nor does it deserve a lengthened enquiry. It may be marked in the reign of +Henry IV.[87], and was probably of earlier origin; and at the coronation +of his son this feature of our ancient manners was fully displayed. + +The King, with a noble and numerous train of lords spiritual and temporal, +left his palace at Kingston-upon-Thames, and rode at a soft pace towards +London. He was met and greeted by a countless throng of earls, barons, +knights, squires, and other men of landed estate and consideration; and as +he approached the city, a solemn procession of its clergy, and a gorgeous +train of its merchants and tradesmen, hailed his approach. The King was +conducted with every mark of honour to the Tower, where about fifty +gallant young gentlemen of noble birth were waiting in expectation of +receiving the honour of knighthood from the King, on occasion of the +august ceremony of his coronation. The sovereign feasted his lords in the +Tower; and these young candidates for chivalry, in testimony that they +should not be compellable at any future time to perform the like service +in the habit of esquires, served up the dishes at this royal festival +according to the usage of chivalry in England; and immediately after the +entertainment they retired to an apartment where dukes, earls, barons, and +honourable knights, as their counsellors or directors, instructed them +upon their behaviour, when they should become knights of the venerable +order of the Bath. + +The young candidates, according to custom, went into the baths prepared +severally for them, performing their vigils and the other rites and +exercises of chivalric practice. Much of the night was passed in watching +and prayer, the rest they slept away in rich golden beds. They arose on +the first appearance of the next morning's dawn; and, after giving their +beds to the domestic servants of the King's household, as their customary +fee, they proceeded to hear mass. Their devotions concluded, they clad +themselves in rich silk mantles, to whose left shoulders were attached a +double cordon or strings of white silk, from which white tassels were +pendent. This addition to the mantle was not regarded as a decoration, but +a badge of gentle shame, which the knight was obliged to wear until some +high emprise had been achieved by him. The proud calls of his knighthood +were remissible, however, by his lady-love; for a fair and noble damsel +could remove this stigma from his shoulder, at her own sweet will; for +there were no limits to woman's power in the glorious days of +chivalry.[88] + +The young soldiers mounted noble war-steeds and rode to the gate of the +royal palace, where, dismounting, each of them was supported by two +knights, and conducted with all proper marks of honour and respect into +the presence of the King, who, sitting in royal magnificence, the throne +being surrounded with the great officers of state, promoted them severally +to the honour of knighthood. A great festival was then given in their +honour, and they were permitted to sit down in their rich silk mantles in +the King's presence; but they were not allowed to taste any part of the +entertainment; for it was a feature in the simple manners of our +ancestors, that new made knights like new made wives ought to be +scrupulously modest and abstemious.[89] + +After the royal feast was done, the young cavaliers, divesting themselves +of their mantles, put on rich robes ornamented with ensigns of dependence +on the King. The next day, when the King rode to Westminster in much state +and solemn order, all these young knights whom he had just honoured with +the order of chivalry preceded him, riding with noble chevisance through +the middle of the city; and so splendid was their appearance that the +spectators (observes the old chronicler) seemed inebriated with joy.[90] + + * * * * * + +[Sidenote: Henry's love of chivalric books.] + +It is a pleasing and convincing proof of the chivalric spirit of Harry +Monmouth, that he commanded Lydgate to translate into English the +Destruction of Troy, in order that the public mind might be restored to +its ancient military tone. He wished that the remembrance of the valiant +dead should live, that the worthiness and prowess of the old chivalry and +true knighthood should be remembered again.[91] Accordingly, the youth of +England were on fire, and honour's thought reigned solely in the breast of +every man. + + "They sell the pasture now to buy the horse; + Following the mirror of all Christian kings, + With winged heels, as English Mercuries. + For now sits Expectation in the air, + And hides a sword, from heels unto the point, + With crowns imperial, crowns and coronets, + Promis'd to Harry and his followers."[92] + +[Sidenote: His chivalric bearing.] + +Certainly the march to Calais (after the taking of Harfleur) was never +exceeded in heroic bravery by any imaginary exploit in romance. The +attenuated condition of his army forbad all immediate prosecution of his +ambitious aspirations for the French crown; but a direct return to England +did not accord with his high and courageous spirit; and, treating the soil +of France as if it were his own, he resolved to march to Calais. He +professed neither desire nor fear to meet his enemies; and he pursued his +march with firm and grave steps, openly declaring to the French heralds +the destination of his course. Political objects were suspended, but he +secretly wished to raise the chivalric character of his people; and he had +numbers and vigour yet remaining to have a joust to the utterance with his +enemies. As at Poictiers so at Agincourt, the yeomen divided with the +knights of England the glory of the conquest: but the battle of Agincourt +was in itself more heroic, for the English themselves were the assailants, +instead of, as in the former battle, waiting the attack. + +Henry's disdain of the wish of having more men from England,--his noble +cry, "Banners, advance!" when his few thousands were ranged against all +the proud chivalry of France,--his rendering himself conspicuous by his +crown, his armour, and his splendid tunic,--his knighting some brave Welsh +soldiers, his personal defenders, even as they lay expiring;--these +circumstances, vouched for, as they are, by the most faithful chroniclers, +apparently belong to the romance rather than to the history of chivalry. + +After the battle he was as courteous[93] to his noble prisoners as the +Black Prince had been on a similar occasion; and there was something very +beautiful in his not permitting his battered helmet, with its royal crown, +to be exhibited, during the customary show at his public entrance into +London.[94] + +[Sidenote: Commencement of the decline of chivalry.] + +Henry V. was the last of our chivalric kings. Though he revived the fame +of Edward III. and the Black Prince, yet immediately after his reign the +glories of English chivalry began to wane. + +In our subsequent wars in France, indeed, there were among our nobility +many knightly spirits,--the Warwicks, the Talbots, the Suffolks, the +Salisburys, all worthy to have been the paladins of Charlemagne, the +knights of Arthur's Round Table. But they went not with the character of +the age; they opposed, rather than reflected it. Chivalry was no longer a +national feature in our wars when there was no sovereign to fan the flame. + +[Sidenote: The civil wars.] + +[Sidenote: Caxton's lamentation.] + +Henry VI. was a devotee, and Edward IV. a voluptuary. The civil wars in +England operated as fatally upon the noble order of knighthood as the +civil wars in France had done in that country. In those contests, far +fiercer than national hostilities, there was a ruthlessness of spirit that +mocked the gentle influences of chivalry. Accordingly it was asked, in the +time of Edward IV., "How many knights are there now in England that have +the use and exercise of a knight? that is to say, that he knoweth his +horse, and his horse him, ready to a point to have all things that +belongeth to a knight; a horse that is according and broken after its +kind, his armour and harness meet and fitting."[95] "I would," continues +the father of English printing, "it pleased our sovereign lord that twice +or thrice in a year he would cry jousts of peace, to the end that every +knight should have horse and harness, and also the use and craft of a +knight; and also to tourney, one against one, or two against two, and the +best to have a prize, a diamond or jewel. The exercises of chivalry are +not used and honoured as they were in ancient time, when the noble acts of +the knights of England that used chivalry were renowned through the +universal world. O ye knights of England, where is the custom and usage of +noble chivalry? What do ye now but go to the bains and play at dice? Alas! +what do ye but sleep and take ease, and are all disordered from chivalry? +Leave this, leave it, and read the noble volumes of St. Graal, of +Launcelot, of Tristrem, of Galaod, of Perceval, of Perceforest, of Gawayn, +and many more. There shall ye see manhood, courtesy, and gentilness."[96] + +To this testimony of the decline of chivalry must be added the important +fact that in 1439 people petitioned parliament for liberty to commute by +a pecuniary fine the obligation to receive knighthood. This change of +manners did not occur, as is generally supposed, in consequence of the use +of gunpowder; for during the civil wars in England artillery was seldom +and but partially used in the field, and, except at the great battle of +Tewkesbury, in the year 1471, that arm of power had no effect on the +general issue of battles. The cavalry and infantry were arranged in the +old system: the lance was the weapon of those of gentle birth, while the +bow and the bill were used by people of inferior state. Comines, who wrote +about the close of the fifteenth century, says, that the archers formed +the main strength of a battle.[97] + +[Sidenote: He exaggerates the evil.] + +Though the civil wars had injured, they had not altogether destroyed the +spirit of chivalry. There was yet enough of it remaining among the people +to have borne its old shape and appearance, if England had once more been +possessed of a Black Prince or a Harry Monmouth. But we had no such +sovereign; and the increasing use of gunpowder effectually prevented the +return of chivalric customs in battle. The feelings of a nation are +reflected in its literature; and we find that the taste of the English +people was altogether in favour of romances and histories of chivalry, as +Caxton's various publications prove. The declamation of Caxton against the +degeneracy of the age, which has been already cited, must not be +interpreted literally in all its points. Romance writers, like moralists, +had before praised the past at the expence of the present times. So early +as the thirteenth century, Thomas of Erceldoune, called the Rhymer, had +bewailed the depravity of his contemporaries, and had likened the +degeneracy of his age to the change which the approaching winter must +produce upon the appearance of the fields and groves. + + "This semly somers day, + In winter it is nought sen: + This greves (groves), waxen al gray, + That in her time were grene; + So dos this world I say, + Y wis and nought at wene; + The gode bene al oway, + That our elders have bene + To abide."[98] + +Caxton's mind was full of the high interest of chivalry, and it was very +natural of him to lament that the same enthusiasm did not warm the hearts +of others. But he must have considered the feelings of chivalry as +dormant, and not extinct, or he would never have addressed the public in +the manner he did at the close of his preface to his edition of the +romances relating to Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. He printed +the work, he says, "to the intent that noble men may see and learn the +noble acts of chivalry, the gentle and virtuous deeds that some knights +used in those days, by which they came to honour, and how they that were +vicious were punished, and oft put to shame and rebuke, humbly beseeching +all noble lords and ladies, with all other estates of what estate or +degree they be of, that shall see and read in this said book and work, +that they take the good and honest acts in their remembrance, and to +follow the same. Wherein they shall find many joyous and pleasant +histories, and many noble and renowned acts of humanity, gentleness, and +chivalry. For herein may be seen noble chivalry, courtesy, humanity, +friendliness, hardiness, love, friendship, cowardice, murder, hate, +virtue, and sin. Do after the good and leave the evil, and it shall bring +you to good fame and renommée." + +[Sidenote: Many gallant English knights.] + +His question, how many knights of England were there in England that had +the use and exercise of chivalry, could have been answered by many +accomplished cavaliers. The King, at the very time when Caxton wrote, was +giving licences to his subjects to progress into foreign countries, and +perform feats of arms; and foreign princes, barons, and knights, came into +England, under royal protection, to grace our tilts and tournaments.[99] +Every marriage, and other interesting circumstances in the lives of the +nobility, was celebrated by knightly shows in honour of arms and of the +ladies. + +[Sidenote: Character of Henry VIII. with reference to chivalry.] + +The forms of chivalry appeared more splendid than before, as chivalry +approached its downfall. Henry VII., the least warlike of our sovereigns, +created knights with remarkable brilliancy of ceremony; and the jousts and +tournaments in the days of his son and successor would have graced the +best ages of chivalry. But Henry VIII. had none of the virtues of a true +knight, and his conduct to his wives was any thing but chivalric.[100] He +displayed his great strength and activity of person in the tournament, +because that amusement was one of English custom, but he would as readily +have engaged in any other exercise more strictly gymnastic. He affected, +however, to joust from true feelings of knighthood; for he used on these +occasions to wear on his head a lady's sleeve full of diamonds. He was as +famous for his tournaments as Edward III. had been for his battles. In +many of the early years of his reign he was perpetually breaking spears, +or fighting at barriers with a two-handed sword, and to his rank, if not +to his skill, the prize was generally adjudged. But his skill was +sometimes undoubted; for, like the knights of old, he occasionally fought +in disguise[101], and yet conquered; and he encountered, with similar +success, men of other countries who, for various reasons of affairs or +pleasure, travelled to England. + +The jousts and tournaments in the days of Henry VIII. are extremely +interesting, as reflecting a state of manners different from those of +earlier times. Tournaments were no longer simple representations of +chivalry, but splendid pageants were united to them. + +[Sidenote: Tournaments in his reign.] + +In June, 1512 a solemn tournament was kept at Greenwich, the King and Sir +Charles Brandon undertaking to abide all comers. To this goodly show the +ladies were the first that approached, dressed in white and red silk, and +seated upon horses, the colours of whose trappings corresponded with those +of the ladies' dresses. A fountain curiously made of russet satin, having +eight mouths spouting water, then followed. Within this piece of splendour +and ingenuity sat a knight armed at all points. The next person in the +procession was a lady covered with black silk dropped with fine silver, +riding on a courser barded in a similar manner. A knight in a horse-litter +then followed. When the fountain arrived at the tilting ground, the ladies +rode round the lists, and so did the fountain, and the knight within the +litter. Two goodly coursers caparisoned for the jousts then were +introduced. The two knights left the fountain and the litter and mounted +them, the surprised spectators beholding the King and Sir Charles Brandon. + +The challenge to all comers was then proclaimed by the heralds; and while +the trumpets were sounding all the inspiring notes of chivalry, at one end +of the lists entered Sir Thomas Knevet in a castle of coal black, and over +the castle was written 'The dolorous Castle.' The Earl of Essex, the Lord +Howard, and other knights splendidly attired, then pricked into the +lists, and with Sir Thomas encountered the King and Sir Charles Brandon. +The details of the tournament have not been recorded; the chronicler +contenting himself with observing, that the King broke most spears, and +that the prize fell to his lot.[102] + +Henry displayed his joy at the birth of his son, Prince Arthur, by a +solemn tournament. The court removed from Richmond to Westminster. The +King himself determined to tourney, and he selected four knights to aid +him. He styled himself "Cure Loial," the Lord William Earl of Devonshire +was called "Bon Voloire," Sir Thomas Knevet, "Bon Espoir," and Sir Edward +Nevill chose for his tourneying name "Valiant Desire." These four noble +spirits were called "Les quatre chevaliers de la forrest Salvigne." Their +names were written upon a goodly table, which was suspended from a tree, +curiously wrought, the knights engaging to run at the tilt against all +comers. Accordingly, by the prescribed time, a court in the palace was +prepared for the games, and the Queen and her ladies were conducted to a +gallery richly hung inside with cloth of gold, and on the outside with +cloth of arras. A pageant preceded the sports of chivalry. It is +described as representing a forest, with rocks, hills, and vales, with +trees, herbs, and flowers, made of green velvet, damask and silk. Six men +clad as foresters stood at different parts; and in the midst of the forest +was a castle apparently made of gold, and before the gate sat a gentleman +splendidly apparelled, weaving a garland of roses for the prize. The +spectators imagined that the pageant was drawn into the court by a lion +and an antelope, who were led by men in the guise of savages. When the +pageant rested before the Queen, the foresters blew their horns, and from +different parts of the forest the four knights issued armed at all points +and mounted on their war-steeds. Each knight carried his lance, a plume of +feathers surmounted his crest, and his name was embroidered on the bases +of gold which covered his horse. At the moment of these knights starting +from the forest, and the court resounding with the noise of drums and +trumpets, the Earl of Essex, the Lord Thomas Howard, and many other +nobles, entered the court, and then the jousts commenced. But who deserved +best that day the historian has not mentioned. The next afternoon the +Queen repaired to her gallery; and instead of the King and his aids being +introduced in a pageant, they entered the court under splendid pavilions +of cloths of gold and velvet. On the other side of the lists Sir Charles +Brandon entered in the guise of a recluse or religious person, his horse +being also caparisoned in the simplest form. No drum or other sound of +minstrelsy ushered his approach; but he slowly and silently advanced to +the Queen, and presented to her a writing, whose effect was, that if she +pleased he would tourney in her presence, but if it suited her not, he +would depart as he came. The Queen smiled and bowed assent; and Sir +Charles, retiring to one end of the lists, threw aside the disguise of his +splendid armour. The young Henry Guilford, enclosed in a device or a +pageant made like a castle or turret, then approached the Queen, and +obtained her leave to engage in the tilt. Next appeared the Marquis Dorset +and Sir Thomas Bullen, like two pilgrims from Saint James, in tabards of +black velvet, with palmers' hats on their helmets, with long Jacobs' +staves in their hands, their horse-trappings of black velvet, the harness +of men and steeds being set with scallop shells of fine gold and strips of +black velvet, every strip being also adorned with golden scallop shells. +Next came the Lord Henry of Buckingham, Sir Giles Capell, and many other +knights. The sports then commenced, and as on the preceding day the King +won the prize. In the evening the ambassadors and the nobility supped with +the royal family, and after the banquet the King with the Queen and lords +and ladies entered the white-hall of the palace. Songs, dancing, and +minstrels, succeeded, and in the midst of the merriment the King retired +unseen. Soon afterwards the trumpets at the end of the hall began to +sound, and a pageant upon wheels was brought in. A gentleman richly +attired descended from it, and approaching the Queen in a supplicatory +attitude, told her that in a garden of pleasure there was an arbour of +gold wherein were lords and ladies much desirous to show pastime to the +Queen and court, if they might be permitted so to do. The Queen replied, +that she was very desirous to see them and their pastime. A cloth of arras +was therefore drawn from the front of the pageant, and rich +representations of nature saluted the eye. Six ladies, dressed with more +bravery than the dull chronicler can describe, were seen in the arbour, +supported by the King and five gallant knights. The whole scene appeared +one blaze of gold. After the applause which this splendour elicited had +subsided, the lords and ladies descended from the pageant, the minstrels +sounded their music of gaiety, and the whole court mixed in the dance. And +the people, too, had their amusement; for some portion of the simplicity +of ancient times remained, and royalty was not thought to lose any thing +of its dignity by being presented to the public eye. The pageant was +conveyed to the end of the palace, there to tarry till the dances were +finished, and so to have received the lords and ladies again; but suddenly +the rude and joyous people ran to it, and tore and rent and spoilt it; and +the Lord Steward and his officers, seeing that they could not drive them +away without a conflict and disturbance, suffered the pageant to be +destroyed.[103] + + * * * * * + +[Sidenote: Field of the cloth of gold.] + +The field of the cloth of gold has been so often described in works of +ready access, that I should not be warranted in attempting to picture +again its gay and sparkling scene. But some of its circumstances have not +been sufficiently noticed; and they are so expressive of the chivalric +feelings of the time that a history of chivalry would be imperfect without +a description of them. + +The whole ceremonial of the meeting between Henry VIII. and Francis I. was +regulated by Cardinal Wolsey, + + "One certes, that promised no element + In such a business." + +And the principle which guided this right reverend cardinal of York was +political subtlety, and not knightly liberality. The English sojourned at +Guisnes, the French at Ardres. On the morning of the first royal +interview, the two kings and their numerous followers left their +respective pavilions at the signal of a gun fired at Guisnes, and returned +from Ardres. They slowly measured the way to the intermediate plain in the +silence of apprehension; for the cardinal's ungenerous suspicions had +spread through either host. Once each party halted, expecting an attack; +and when the noise which occasioned the alarm died away, the procession +recommenced its course, confident that the fears of the other side were +greater than their own. The kings met, and so anxious were they to display +their feelings of friendship that they embraced on horseback. They then +dismounted, and having renewed their caresses, they went into a pavilion +of golden cloth; nor did they separate till dinner and familiar +conversation had frozen the etiquette imposed on their manners by the +cardinal. + +The next morning the two Queens interchanged visits, and spent some hours +in dancing and other amusements. These interchanges of courtesies warmed +the minds of the two sovereigns to chivalric generousness. One morning +Francis rode to Guisnes with scarcely any attendance. He walked through +the English guard, who drew back in astonishment, and he did not stop +till he reached the chamber where his brother-monarch lay asleep. Francis +soon awoke him; and Henry, immediately comprehending his motives, +declared, in the spirit and language of chivalry, that he yielded himself +his prisoner, and plighted his faith. He then threw round Francis's neck a +collar of great value, and Francis gave him a bracelet of superior worth, +each king entreating the other to wear the gift for his sake. The two +monarchs then became brothers in arms; and with twelve companions +undertook to deliver all persons at jousts, tourney, and barriers. + +The chivalric exercises continued for five days, in the presence of the +two queens and the nobility of England and France. French and English +knights were the only part of the chivalry of Europe who answered the +challenge: for chivalry could not then, as in former days, smooth down +personal heats and feuds; and therefore no subject of the wide extended +empire of Charles V. appeared on the field of the cloth of gold. The only +weapons used were spears; but they were impelled with such vigour, as to +be so often broken, that the spectators' eyes were scared with splinters. +Each day the challengers varied their harness and devices, and each day +the two kings ran together so valiantly that the beholders had great +joy.[104] + + "Each following day + Became the last day's master, till the next + Made former wonders it's. * * * + * * * * * * * The two kings, + Equal in lustre, were now best, now worst, + As presence did present them; him in eye, + Still him in praise: and, being present both, + 'Twas said, they saw but one; and no discerner + Durst wag his tongue in censure. When these suns + (For so they phrase 'em) by their heralds challenged + The noble spirits to arms, they did perform + Beyond thought's compass; that former fabulous story, + Being now seen possible enough, got credit, + That Bevis was believed."[105] + +[Sidenote: Introduction of Italian literature favoured romance.] + +There was a considerable portion of chivalry among the nobility of Henry +VIII. In some respects, however, it partook more of the romance of the +Troubadour than the genuine character of knighthood: for the tale that +Lord Surrey travelled from court to court proclaiming the peerless beauty +of his lady-love, and challenging all gainsayers to a joust _à l'outrance_ +is totally void of truth[106]; and it only appears that his Lordship +fostered for the fair Geraldine a sentimental affection without distinct +views. It was altogether a poet's dream; and the Italian muse, who was at +that time worshipped in England, favoured such fond imaginings. + +[Sidenote: Popularity of chivalric literature.] + +Much of the literature of the time was chivalric. Every noble spirit loved +the Knight's Tale of Chaucer. The French and Spanish stories of warriors +and dames were transfused into English; as was the fine Chronicle of +Froissart by Lord Berners at the command of the King; and the vigorous, +rich, and picturesque style of our language in those days was admirably +adapted for a history of the most brilliant age of knighthood. That the +spirit of chivalry was not extinct in the reign of Henry VIII. is evident +from this work of Lord Berners, for the ordinary diction of the day was +used; and it was to the full as expressive of the gallantry and grace of +the olden time as the original work itself. + +[Sidenote: Chivalric education of nobility.] + +The education of our English gentry was nearly as chivalric then as at any +previous period of our history. Boys were sent to school to learn to read +at four years of age. At six they were taught languages and the first +principles of manners: from ten to twelve dancing and music were added to +their accomplishments, and politeness was particularly encouraged. At +fourteen they were initiated into the sports of the field which prepared +them for the ruder exercise of arms. At sixteen they were taught to joust, +to fight at the barriers, to manage the war-horse, to assail castles, to +support the weight of armour, and to contend in feats of arms with their +companions. And there their education terminated.[107] When they went to +battle they demeaned themselves worthy of their education. + +[Sidenote: English knights continued to break lances for ladies' love.] + +In all the military expeditions of the English on the Continent, the +soldiers of either army were continually challenging each other to break a +lance for their ladies' sake. Sir John Wallop, in his march with a British +army to Landrecy, in the year 1543, went to the town of Terouenne, and, +recollecting that the commandant was an old acquaintance, he addressed him +in the true spirit of chivalry, that if there were any gentlemen under his +charge willing to break a lance for their ladies' sake, six gentlemen +should be sent from the English army to meet them. The challenge was +accepted, the jousts were held, and, after this fine old chivalric mode of +displaying his friendship, Sir John Wallop held on his course to +Landrecy.[108] + +[Sidenote: State of Scottish chivalry at this period.] + +[Sidenote: James IV.] + +The early part of the sixteenth century forms a very interesting æra of +British chivalry; for it introduces to our notice James IV. of Scotland, a +hero both of knighthood and romance. He was as expert and graceful in +tournaments and jousts as any cavalier who was the theme of history or +poetry. On occasion of his marriage with Margaret of England, his +chivalric shows were splendid beyond example. He was wont to personate +King Arthur, or to take the title and appearance of an imaginary +creature, called the Savage Knight. His tilt-yards reflected the glories +of the last king of the Britons, and the knights of the Round Table, or +represented a wild and romantic country, with Highlanders clad in savage +dresses guarding the barriers. Like a knight of the bye-gone time, he was +a pilgrim as well as a soldier, and we will hope, for the purity of +earlier days of chivalry, that his heroic predecessors did not often, like +himself, turn aside from their pious peregrinations to wander amidst the +bowers of castles, with ladies fair. + +The romantic gallantry of his disposition was so well known, that cooler +politicians used it to the purposes of their ambition. The French king, +Louis XII., was abandoned by most of his allies, and was anxious to renew +the ancient alliance of France with Scotland: yet England and Scotland +were at that time at peace, and the two countries appeared to be united in +friendship by the marriage of James with Margaret, the King of England's +sister. But Louis knew the character of the man whose aid he required, and +he played upon it with admirable dexterity. In 1504, he sent, as his +ambassador to the Scottish court, Bernard Stuart, Lord of Aubigny, one of +the most distinguished cavaliers of France. This envoy admirably supported +the objects of his master: he soon won the affections of James, and his +discourses on wars and tournaments disposed the King to love the chivalric +French. + +A few years afterwards Louis, still continuing to play on his chivalric +feelings, made his wife, Anne of Britanny, choose James for her knight and +champion, to protect her from all her enemies. The idea of winning by this +scheme the Scottish King to the purposes of France originated with Andrew +Forman, Bishop of Moray, the Scottish ambassador at Paris, who, to promote +his own aggrandisement, would have sacrificed king and country.[109] The +agent of the scheme was La Motte, the French ambassador at Edinburgh, who +was as skilful as his martial predecessor, the Lord of Aubigny, in +flattering James to his ruin. He presented him letters from the French +Queen, wherein, taking the style of a high-born damsel in distress, she +termed him her knight, and, assuring him she had suffered much blame in +defence of his honor, she beseeched him to advance but three steps into +the English territory with his army, for the sake of his mistress. These +letters were accompanied by a present of 14,000 crowns, and a ring from +her own finger.[110] The chivalry and vanity of James were rouzed by +these appeals, and he became the willing tool of French ambition. + +The circumstances which succeeded his allying himself with France fall not +within my province to detail. The battle of Flodden Field was their crown +and conclusion; and although there was nothing chivalric in the battle +itself, yet a few matters which preceded it come within my subject. +Indeed, in the times regarding which I am writing, chivalry was no longer +a national distinction, and therefore cannot be marked in public affairs; +its lights fell only upon a few individuals. + +[Sidenote: Chivalric circumstances at Flodden.] + +On the fifth of September, the Earl of Surrey[111], who commanded the +English forces, dispatched a herald from Alnwick to the Scottish camp, +offering James battle on a particular day, (Friday, the 9th of September, +1513,) and James, like a gallant knight, accepted the challenge. He then +removed his camp from Ford[112], and took a strong position on the ridge +of Flodden hill, "one of the last and lowest eminences detached from the +ridge of Cheviot." On the sixth the English reached Wooller-haugh, a place +within three miles of the Scottish camp, and, observing the admirable +position of the foe, the Earl of Surrey formed a scheme which, he hoped, +would make them relinquish their advantage. Knowing the King's undaunted +courage, and high sense of honour, he wrote a letter, subscribed by +himself and all the great men in his army, reproaching him for having +changed his ground, after he had accepted the offer of battle, and +challenging him to descend, like a brave and honourable prince, into the +spacious vale of Millfield, that lay between the two armies, and there +decide the quarrel on fair and equal terms.[113] This scheme failed; for +James was not at that moment so ridiculously romantic as to forego an +advantage which his skill had obtained; and he only replied that he should +expect the English on the day appointed for battle. Surrey would have been +mad to have attacked him in his present position; and he, therefore, on +the morning of the 8th of September, formed his army into marching order, +crossed the Till near Wooller, progressed towards Berwick, and rested at +Barmore wood. The Scottish nobles apprehended that it was the intention of +the English to plunder the fertile country of the Merse; and they +therefore importuned James to march to the defence of his own dominions: +but the King declined, alleging that his honour was engaged to remain in +his present station until the morrow, which was the appointed time for +battle. On that morrow Surrey directed his course to the Tweed; but, +suddenly changing his line of march, he repassed the Till at the bridge of +Twissel. Before the army had entirely passed, Robert Borthwick, the +commander of James's artillery, entreated the permission of his sovereign +to destroy the bridge, and thus break the enemy's force; but the King gave +a stern denial, declaring that he wished to have all his enemies before +him, and to fight them fairly.[114] By this fatal folly James lost all the +advantages of his position; for the English formed behind him, and Flodden +was open and accessible to them. If personal bravery, independent of +sageness, had been the character of a knight, James deserved all chivalric +honours; for, disdaining the counsel to behold the battle afar off, he +mingled boldly in the thickest of the press. The field was won by the +English archers; but James did not live to repent the enthusiasm of his +chivalry, which had cost his country so much blood, for he was killed +within a lance's length of Lord Surrey. The romantic chivalry of James was +deeply injurious to Scotland. She had, in his reign, attained a +considerable eminence of national prosperity, but the defeat at Flodden +hurled her from her station. The country was "left a prey to foreign +influence and intrigue, which continued till it ceased to form a separate +kingdom: her finances were exhausted, her leaders corrupted, her dignity +degraded, her commerce and her agriculture neglected."[115] + + + + +CHAP. III. + +THE LAST YEARS OF CHIVALRY IN ENGLAND. + + _The Chivalric Feelings of the Nation supported by Spenser ... and by + Sir Philip Sidney ... Allusions to Sidney's Life ... particularly his + kindly Consideration ... Chivalric Politeness of the Age of Elizabeth + ... The Earl of Oxford ... Tilts in Greenwich Park ... Sir Henry Lee + ... Chivalry reflected in the popular Amusements ... Change of Manners + ... Reign of James the First ... Tournaments ceased, on Prince Henry's + Death ... Life of Lord Herbert of Cherbury ... Chivalric Fame of his + Family ... His Character ... His Inferiority to the Knights of yore + ... Decline of Chivalric Education ... Important Change in Knighthood + by the Parliament of Charles the First ... Application of Chivalric + Honors to Men of civil Station ... Knights made in the Field ... + Carpet Knights ... Knights of the Bath ... Full Account of the Ancient + Ceremonies of creating Knights of the Bath._ + + +[Sidenote: The chivalric feelings of the nation supported by Spenser,] + +The reigns of Edward VI. and Mary present nothing to our purpose; but the +Elizabethan age is fraught with interest. Our continued intercourse with +Italy promoted anew the love for romance and allegory which religious +controversy had for some years been gradually stifling. Though classical +literature had revived in Italy, the muse of chivalry was most fondly +worshipped, and the mind delighted to wander amidst the enchanted garden +of Armida. Our well-travelled ancestors brought home with them the love +for romantic poetry and allegory; and Spenser's genius, influenced by the +prevailing taste of his day, chose Ariosto for his model, and painted the +wild adventures of heroes and ladies. Chivalry was the supposed perfection +of man's moral nature; and the English poet, therefore, described the +chief private virtues exemplified in the conduct of knights: it being his +wish, as he expressed his mind to Sir Walter Raleigh, to fashion a +gentleman or noble person in valorous and gentle discipline. His principal +hero, he in whom the image of a brave knight was perfected in the twelve +moral virtues, was King Arthur; and the poet freely used the circumstances +and sentiments in the romances relating to that British hero, and also the +other popular tales of chivalry. + +[Sidenote: and Sir Philip Sidney.] + +If poetry nourished the love of valorous knighthood, learning was equally +its friend; and when Spenser addressed Sidney as the noble and virtuous +gentleman, and most worthy of all titles of learning and chivalry, he +spoke the feeling of his age, that the accomplishments of the mind were +best displayed in martial demeanour. At the birth of Sidney, as Ben +Jonson says, all the muses met. In reading the Arcadia, it is impossible +to separate the author from the work, or to think that he has not poured +forth all those imaginings of his fancy which his heart had marked for its +own. He has pourtrayed knights and damsels valiant and gentle, placing all +their fond aspirations of happiness in a rural life, and despising the +pageantry of courts for the deep harmonies of nature. But Sidney's mind +was chivalric as well as romantic; and he was so fond of reverting to the +fabled ages of his country, that it was his intention to turn all the +stories of the Arcadia into the admired legends of Arthur and his +knights.[116] To modern taste the Arcadia of Sir Philip Sidney presents no +charms: yet, by a singular contradiction, the author, who was the +personification of his book, is regarded as the model of perfection. + + "The plume of war! with early laurels crown'd, + The lover's myrtle, and the poet's bay."[117] + +The popularity, however, of the Arcadia, in the Elizabethan age[118], and +the high reputation of the author, showed the sympathy of the world in +those days for the romance of chivalry. + +[Sidenote: Allusions to his life.] + +The few circumstances in the brief life of Sidney are too well known for +me to be justified in detailing them: but I may remind my readers that he +was born at Penshurst in Kent, in the year 1544; that he was accomplished +in literature and chivalry by study and travel; that he was a courtier of +Elizabeth, and yet could oppose her dearest fancies, if they were hostile +to the interests of his country; that his opposition to her projected +union with Anjou was spirited and well reasoned; that his love for his +sister and his wife was the softening grace of that desire for chivalric +valour which carried him with his uncle the Earl of Leicester to the +plains of Flanders, in the year 1586; and when he received his mortal +wound before the town of Zutphen, that he resigned a cup of water to the +poor soldier whose lot he thought was more distressing than his own. His +courage, his gallantry, and grace were his best known qualities, and +those for which England and, indeed, Europe, lamented his death. His +funeral in St. Paul's was a national one, the first instance in our +history of honours of that description; and for many months afterwards not +an individual in the court or city appeared in public, except in a garment +of black:--in such high account were chivalric virtues held in the days of +Elizabeth. + +[Sidenote: Particularly his kindly consideration.] + +One feature of his character but little noticed by modern writers was very +remarkable in those days, and will be better valued now than it was then. +All who enjoyed the hospitality of Penshurst were equal in the +consideration of the host: there were no odious distinctions of rank or +fortune; "the dishes did not grow coarser as they receded from the head of +the table," and no huge salt-cellar divided the noble from the ignoble +guests.[119] + +[Sidenote: Chivalric politeness of the age of Elizabeth.] + +[Sidenote: The Earl of Oxford.] + +The polite gracefulness of Sidney was not rare in his time; and there was +not a courtier, who, if placed in similar circumstances to those of Sir +Walter Raleigh, that would not have cast his handsome plush cloak in the +mire to serve for the Queen, as a foot-cloth. Tournaments as well masks +were the amusements of the age. The prize was always delivered by +Elizabeth who never thought that age could deprive her of the privileges +of beauty. Edward Vere Earl of Oxford was more skilful in these manly +exercises of chivalry than all the other courtiers, even than Sidney, who, +like a magnanimous knight, was eloquent in his praise. + + "Having this day my horse, my hand, my lance, + Guided so well that I obtained the prize, + Both by the judgment of the English eyes, + And of some sent from that sweet en'my France: + Horsemen my skill in horsemanship advance, + Townsfolks my strength; a daintier judge applies + His praise to sleight, which from good use doth rise: + Some lucky wits impute it but to chance, + Others, because of both sides I do take + My blood from them who did excel in this, + Think nature me a man of arms did make. + How far they shoot awry! The true cause is, + STELLA look'd on, and from her heavenly face + Sent forth the beams which made so fair my race." + Astrophel and Stella, st. 41. + +The friendship of Sidney for him for awhile was the only circumstance +which we know to his honour, and it implies the possession of virtuous +qualities in the Earl. A considerable portion of coxcombry belonged to +most of Elizabeth's courtiers; and the noble Lord in question was +distinguished according to Stow, for introducing into this country +embroidered and perfumed gloves. + +[Sidenote: Tilts in Greenwich Park.] + +The Queen's band of gentlemen-pensioners formed a perfect illustration of +the chivalric principle of the dignity of obedience, for it was the +highest ambition of the nobility to be enrolled among them. Their tilts in +Greenwich Park would have done honour to the brightest days of chivalry. +But still more select were the knights-tilters, a fraternity founded on +the gallant resolve of Sir Henry Lee to appear in the royal tilt-yard on +the anniversary of the Queen's birth in honour of Her Majesty. Some of +these knights were preux chevaliers indeed. The Queen's glove accidentally +dropped from her hand during a tournament, and the Earl of Cumberland had +the good fortune to recover it. Fancying herself some dame of chivalry, +she desired the Earl to retain it; and he with a gallant spirit, regarding +it as the favour of a lady, had it set in diamonds, and always wore it on +festival occasions in the high crowned hats which had superseded the +helmet. For so polite was the court of Elizabeth, that + + 'Ne any there doth brave or valiant seem, + Unless that same gay mistress' badge he wear.'[120] + +[Sidenote: Sir Henry Lee.] + +From 1571 to 1590 Sir Henry Lee was the Queen's champion; and being then +worn down with age and infirmity, he resigned his office to the Earl of +Cumberland. The ceremony is admirably expressive of the romantic feeling +of the time and the vanity of Elizabeth. It was partly a mask and partly a +chivalric show. On the 17th of November, 1590, Sir Henry Lee and the Earl, +having performed their services in arms, presented themselves to the Queen +at the foot of the stairs under her gallery-window in the tilt-yard, +Westminster, where Her Majesty was seated, surrounded by the French +ambassador, her ladies, and the chief nobility. Soft music then saluted +the ears of the Queen, and one of the royal singers chaunted these lines: + + "My golden locks time hath to silver turn'd, + (Oh time too swift, and swiftness never ceasing!) + My youth 'gainst age, and age at youth hath spurn'd; + But spurn'd in vain, youth waneth by increasing: + Beauty, strength, and youth, flowers fading been, + Duty, faith, and love, are roots, and evergreen. + + "My helmet now shall make a hive for bees; + And lovers' songs shall turn to holy psalms: + A man at arms must now sit on his knees, + And feed on prayers that are old age's alms. + And so from court to cottage I depart: + My saint is sure of mine unspotted heart. + + "And when I sadly sit in homely cell, + I'll teach my swains this carol for a song: + 'Blest be the hearts that think my sovereign well: + Curs'd be the souls that think to do her wrong.' + Goddess! vouchsafe this aged man his right, + To be your beadsman now that was your knight." + +A pageant of a temple of the vestal virgins rose out of the earth. Certain +rich gifts were taken from the altar by the attending virgins, and with a +votive tablet, inscribed "To Eliza," was presented to the Queen. Sir Henry +Lee offered his armour before a crowned pillar at the temple-gate, and +then presented the Earl of Cumberland to the Queen, humbly beseeching her +to accept him as her knight to continue the yearly exercises. Her Majesty +having accepted this offer, the aged knight armed the Earl and mounted him +on his horse. He threw over his own person a gown of black velvet, and +covered his head in lieu of a helmet with a bonnet of the country +fashion.[121] + +[Sidenote: Chivalry reflected in the popular amusements.] + +The popular amusements of England corresponded with those of the court. "I +remember at Mile-end-Green, when I lay at Clement's Inn, I was Sir Dagonet +in Arthur's show," is the avowal of Master Shallow; and thus while +tournaments were held by the court and nobility, other classes of society +diverted themselves with scenic representations of the ancient chivalry. +The recreations of the common people at Christmas and bridals, an author +of the time assures us, consisted in hearing minstrels sing or recite +stories of old times, as the tale of Sir Topas, the Reportes of Bevis of +Southampton, Guy of Warwick, Adam Bell, and Clymme of the Clough, and +other old romances or historical rhymes. And in another place the same +author speaks of companies that were desirous to hear of old adventures, +and valiances of noble knights in times past.[122] The domestic amusements +of the age are thus enumerated by Burton: "The ordinary recreations which +we have in winter are cards, tables and dice, shovel-board, chess-play, +the philosopher's game, small trunks, balliards, music, masks, singing, +dancing, ule games, catches, purposes, questions; _merry tales of errant +knights_, kings, queens, lovers, lords, ladies, giants, dwarfs, thieves, +fairies, goblins, friars, witches, and the rest."[123] + +[Sidenote: Change of manners.] + +In one respect, however, manners underwent a great and distinct change. In +a former chapter, it was mentioned that the Italians invented the long and +pointed sword; and it seems from many scattered allusions to customs in +works of continental history, that it gradually superseded the use of the +broader weapons of knighthood. In Elizabeth's reign the foreign or Italian +rapier was a very favorite weapon. "Sword-and-buckler fight begins to grow +out of use," is the lament of a character in an old comedy. "I am sorry +for it. I shall never see good manhood again. If it be once gone, this +poking fight of rapier and dagger will come up, then a tall man, and a +good sword-and-buckler man will be spitted like a cat or rabbit."[124] The +allusions to this state of manners are more marked and numerous in Ben +Jonson's "Every Man in his Humour," but with that comedy my readers are of +course familiar. + +[Sidenote: Reign of James I.] + +[Sidenote: Tournaments ceased on Prince Henry's death.] + +For some of the early years of James I, tournaments divided with masks the +favour of the court. As soon as Prince Henry reached his sixteenth year, +he put himself forth in a more heroic manner than was usual with princes +of his time, by tiltings, barriers, and other exercises on horseback, the +martial discipline of gentle peace.[125] After his death chivalric sports +fell quite out of fashion. + + "Shields and swords + Cobwebb'd and rusty; not a helm affords + A spark of lustre, which were wont to give + Light to the world, and make the nation live."[126] + +This was the lamentation of Ben Jonson; and another poet thus describes, +in the person of Britannia, the feelings of the nation: + + "Alas! who now shall grace my tournaments, + Or honour me with deeds of chivalry? + What shall become of all my merriments, + My ceremonies, shows of heraldry, + And other rites?"[127] + +Military exercises being entirely disused, the mask, with its enchantments +of music, poetry, painting, and dancing, was the only amusement of the +court and nobility. + +[Sidenote: Life of Lord Cherbury.] + +And now in these last days of chivalry in England a very singular +character appeared upon the scene. This was Edward Herbert, afterwards +Lord Herbert of Cherbury, who was born at Eaton, in Shropshire, in the +year 1581. His family were of the class of gentry, and had for many years +executed various royal offices of military trust. His grandfather was a +staunch royalist in the days of Edward VI., and Queen Mary; and he gained +fortune, as well as fame: for it appears that his share of plunder in the +wars in the north, and of the forfeited estates of rebels, was the +foundation of the family wealth. + +[Sidenote: Chivalric fame of his family.] + +The valour of the Herberts rivalled that of the romantic heroes of +chivalry. Edward has proudly reverted to his great-great grandfather, Sir +Richard Herbert of Colebrook, as an incomparable hero, who twice passed +through a great army of northern men alone, with his pole-axe in his hand, +and returned without any mortal hurt. The courage which had been formerly +displayed in the battle-field was, as times degenerated, reserved for +private wrongs, and the patriot sank into the duellist. At the close of +his life, Edward recollected, with pleasure, that one of his brothers had +carried with him to the grave the scars of twenty-four wounds, many of +them the results of private brawls. Another brother was gentleman of the +King's chamber, and the famous master of the revels; and he, too, had +given several proofs of his courage in duels. + +The infancy of Edward was so sickly that his friends did not think fit to +teach him his alphabet till he was seven years old. He would have us +believe, however, that he was wise though not early schooled; for when an +infant he understood what was said by others, yet he forebore to speak, +lest he should utter something that was imperfect or impertinent. When he +began to talk, one of the first enquiries he made was how he had come into +the world. He told his nurse, keeper, and others, that he found himself +here indeed, but from what cause or beginning, or by what means, he could +not imagine. The nurse stared, and other people wondered at this +precocious wisdom; and when he reflected upon the matter in after life he +was happy in the thought, that as he found himself in possession of this +life, without knowing any thing of the pangs and throes his mother +suffered, when doubtless they no less afflicted him than her, so he hoped +that his soul would pass to a better life than this, without being +sensible of the anguish his body would feel in death.[128] + +He won the acquaintance of the learned languages, and other branches of +juvenile literature, with great ease; and when at the age of twelve he +was sent to Oxford, he tells us that he disputed at his first coming in +logic, and made in Greek the exercises required in his college oftener +than in Latin. He married at the age of fifteen, and then applied himself +more vigorously than ever to study, particularly the continental +languages: but to fence and to ride the great horse were his principal +ambition, for such were the exercises in which the chivalry of his time +were educated,--and he aspired to fame in every pursuit. From the same +feeling of vanity that urged him to publish his deistical dogmas, he +complacently says of himself that no man understood the use of his weapon +better than himself, or had more dexterously availed himself thereof on +all occasions.[129] + +In the year 1600, he removed with his wife and mother from +Montgomery-castle (the seat of his ancestors) to London, and, prompted by +curiosity rather than ambition, he went to court; and as it was the manner +of those times for all men to kneel down before the Queen, he was likewise +upon his knees in the Presence Chamber, when she passed by to the chapel +at Whitehall. As soon as she saw him, she stopped, and, swearing her usual +oath, demanded, "Who is this?" Upon being made acquainted with his name +and circumstances, the Queen looked attentively upon him, and again +giving emphasis to her feelings by an oath, she said that it was a pity he +was married so young, and thereupon gave him her hand twice to kiss, both +times patting him on the cheek. He was made knight of the Bath by James +I.; and with his usual vanity declares that his person was amazingly +commended by the lords and ladies who attended the ceremony. The most +handsome lady of the court pledged her honour for his, and then the +strings of silk and gold were taken from his arm. These strings, as I have +already mentioned, were worn by all the knights till they had achieved +some high deed of arms, or till some lady of honour took them off, and +fastened them on her sleeve, saying that she would answer her friend would +prove a good knight. Like all other knights of the Bath he swore to do +justice to the uttermost of his power, particularly to ladies and +gentlewomen wronged in their honour, if they demanded assistance. + +Soon after this circumstance, he was wearied both of literary and domestic +pursuits, and he resolved to travel in foreign countries. His skill in +fencing was now to be brought into play; for he tells us that in France, +in his time, there was scarcely any man thought worthy regard who had not +killed another in a duel.[130] He went to Paris, and was hospitably +entertained at the neighbouring castle of Merlon, by Henry de Montmorenci, +second son of the great Constable Anne de Montmorenci. + +An occasion for exercising his fantastic chivalry soon presented itself. A +French cavalier snatched a riband from the bonnet of a young lady, and +fastened it to his own hat-band. He refused to return it, and the injured +damsel asked the English knight to get it restored to her. He accordingly +advanced to the Frenchman, courteously, with his hat in his hand, and +desired him to restore the riband. Meeting only with a rude denial, he +replied he would make him restore it by force. The Frenchman ran away; but +finding himself closely pursued, he turned round to the young lady, and +was about to restore her the top-knot, when Sir Edward seized his arm, and +said to her, "It was I that gave it."--"Pardon me," quoth she, "it is he +that gives it me." Sir Edward observed, "I will not contradict you; but if +he presumes to say that I did not constrain him to give it, I will fight +with him." No reply was made, and the French gentleman conducted the lady +back to the castle. Sir Edward was very anxious for a duel, but none took +place; and he was obliged to please his conscience with the reflection, +that he had acted agreeably to the oath which he took when inaugurated a +knight of the Bath.[131] + +On three other occasions, he sported his chivalry in the cause of the +ladies; but the stories of these affairs are poor and uninteresting after +his most delectable behaviour in the Montmorenci garden. + +For many years Sir Edward lived in the court or the camp, in France or +England, seldom visiting his wife in Montgomeryshire, and more frequently +busied in private brawls (but his challenges never ripened into duels) +than engaged in philosophical meditation. + +In the year 1614, while he was in the service of the Prince of Orange, a +trumpeter came from the hostile (the Spanish) army to his with a +challenge,--that if any cavalier would fight a single combat for the sake +of his mistress, a Spanish knight would meet him. The Prince allowed Sir +Edward to accept the challenge. Accordingly a trumpeter was sent to the +Spanish army with the answer, that if the challenger were a knight without +reproach, Sir Edward Herbert would answer him with such weapons as they +should agree upon. But before this herald could deliver his charge, +another Spanish trumpeter reached the camp of the Prince of Orange, +declaring that the challenge had been given without the consent of the +Marquis of Spinola (the commander), who would not permit it. This appeared +strange to the Prince and Sir Edward; and on their thinking that the +Spaniards might object to the duel taking place in the camp of the +challenged, as it was originally proposed, Sir Edward resolved to go to +the enemy, and give him his choice of place. He accordingly went; but +Spinola would not suffer the duel to be fought. A noble entertainment +greeted the Englishman, the Marquis condescending to present to his guest +the best of the meat which his carver offered to himself. He expressed no +anger that the challenges had been given; for he politely asked his guest +of what disease Sir Francis Vere had died. Sir Edward told him, because he +had nothing to do. Spinola replied, in allusion to the idleness of the +campaign, "And it is enough to kill a General;" and thus impliedly +excused any impatient sallies of his young soldiers. + +Sir Henry Wotton, the ambassador of the King of England, having mediated a +peace between the Prince of Orange and the Spaniards, our knight proceeded +on his travels through Germany and Italy. He complimented a nun upon her +singing, while all the other Englishmen present were delighted into +silence: but he was always ready to speak as well as to fight for the +honour of the knighthood of the Bath. "Die whensoever you will," said he +to the young lady, "you need change neither voice nor face to be an +angel!" These words, he assures us, were fatal, for she died shortly +afterwards. + +He went to Florence, and was more pleased with a nail, which was at one +end iron and the other gold, than by all the glories of painting and +sculpture with which the Etrurian Athens was then fresh and redolent. He +sojourned for some time at Rome, but hastily left the city when the Pope +was about to bless him. This refusal of an old man's benediction proceeded +from the vanity of his character. Though perfectly indifferent to +Christianity, when he entered Rome he ostentatiously said to the master of +the English college, that he came not to the city to study controversies, +but to view its antiquities; and if, without scandal to the religion in +which he had been born and educated, he might take this liberty, he would +gladly spend some time there. A decorous submission to the usages of Rome +would not have gained him the world's talk; and, therefore, he hastily +quitted the Consistory when the blessing was about to be given, knowing +that such a bold act of contempt on the religion of the place would be +bruited every where. + +The remainder of his adventures on the Continent is not worthy of record. +He returned to England; and, in 1616, he was sent to France as the English +ambassador. Previously to his setting off, he engaged to fight a duel, +though the day fixed for the circumstance was Sunday; but when he arrived +at Paris on a Saturday night, he refused to accept an invitation of the +Spanish ambassador for an interview the next morning, because Sunday was a +day, which, as he alleged, he wholly gave to devotion. The spirit of +duelling was far more powerful in his mind than the love of conformity to +religious decencies; but it cost him nothing; indeed, it only aggrandised +his importance to decline the visit of the Spanish ambassador on a Sunday. +He remained some time in France, maintaining the honour of his country on +all occasions; particularly with reference to the mighty question, +whether his coachman, or that of the Spanish ambassador, should take +precedence. + +Sir Edward was instructed by his court to mediate between Louis XIII. and +his Protestant subjects; but, instead of conducting the affair with +coolness and political sagacity, he quarrelled with Luines, the minister +of the French king. Complaints of his conduct were sent to England, and he +was recalled. The death of the offended statesman happened soon +afterwards, and Herbert was again dispatched to France. + +The next remarkable event in his life was the publication of his book "_De +Veritate_," whose object it was to show the all-sufficiency of natural +religion. But he, who denied the necessity of a revelation to the human +race, of matters concerning their eternal salvation, fancied that Heaven +expressly revealed to him its will that his book should be published. Such +are the inconsistencies of infidelity! + + "A godless regent trembling at a star!" + +His amusing auto-biography ends with an account of a noise from heaven, +when he prayed for a sign of the Divine will, whether or not he should +print his book. + +Not many other circumstances of his life are on record. He was raised to +the Irish peerage in 1625, and, afterwards, was created an English baron, +by the title of Lord Herbert of Cherbury, in Shropshire. He published +another Latin work, in support of the cause of infidelity, and then gave +to the world his History of the Reign of Henry VIII.; a book which has +been always characterised, by writers who have never read a line of it, as +a master-piece of historic biography; and if gross partiality for his +hero, profound ignorance of human nature, imperfect acquaintance with his +subject, and a pedantic style, constitute the excellence of +memoir-writing, Lord Herbert is an author of the first class. + +Though he had been raised to the peerage by the Stuarts, yet in the days +of Charles I. we find him on the side of the parliament. Montgomery-castle +was demolished by the King's troops, and the parliament made him a +pecuniary compensation. He removed to London, died in 1648, and was buried +in St. Giles's. + +[Sidenote: His character.] + +[Sidenote: His inferiority to the knights of yore.] + +Such was Lord Herbert of Cherbury. His life may be placed in opposition +to, rather than in harmony with, the heroes of early chivalric times. He +had their courage, it is true, but he had none of their dignity and +nobleness, none of their manly grace; and there was a fantastic trifling +in his conduct, which their elevated natures would have scorned. He was no +Christian knight: the superstition of the Chandos's and Mannys, gross as +it was, is not so offensive to the moral sense as the craft and subtlety +of Lord Cherbury's intellect, which refined Christianity into deism. We +can admire the heroes of the days of Edward III., placing their swords' +points on the Gospels, and vowing to defend the truth to the utterance; +but how absurd was the fanaticism, and contemptible the vanity, of him who +expected that Heaven would declare its will that he should deliver to the +world the vain chimeras of his imagination! + +[Sidenote: Decline of chivalric education.] + +The history of English chivalry is now fast drawing to a close. We may +mark the state of the system of chivalric education in the castles of the +nobility. Every great lord, as his ancestors had been, was still attended +by several of the inferior nobility and gentry, and such service was not +accounted dishonourable. The boys were, as of old, called pages, though +perhaps the age for this title somewhat stepped beyond the ancient limit. + +But this was not the only change in that class of the chivalry of England. +In former days pages had been the attendants of the great in the +amusements of the chace and the baronial hall; and had sometimes shared, +with the squire, the more perilous duties of the battle-plain. In the +course of time, as the frame of society became more settled, the arts of +peace smoothed the stern fierceness of chivalry, and the page was the +honorary servant of the lord or his lady, in the proud ceremonial of +nobility, and never mixed in war. He continued to be a person of gentle +birth, and his dress was splendid; circumstances extremely favourable to +that singular state of manners which permitted a woman, without any loss +of her good name, to follow him she admired in the disguise of a gentle +page, and gradually to win his affections by the deep devotion of her +love. Poetry may have adorned such instances of passion, for the subject +is full of interest and pathos; but the poets in the best days of English +verse so frequently copied from the world around them, that we cannot but +believe they drew also in this instance from nature. This form of manners +was romantic; but it certainly was not chivalric: for in pure days of +chivalry the knights, and not the damsels, were the wooers.--But every +thing was changed or degraded. + +The general state of the page in the last days of chivalry may be +collected from one of the dramas of Ben Jonson, where Lovel, a complete +gentleman, a soldier, and a scholar, is desirous to take as his page the +son of Lord Frampul, who was disguised as the host of the Light Heart Inn +at Barnet: + + "_Lov._ A fine child! + You will not part with him, mine host? + "_Host._ Who told you + I would not. + "_Lov._ I but ask you. + "_Host._ And I answer, + To whom? for what? + "_Lov._ To me, to be my page. + "_Host._ I know no mischief yet the child hath done, + To deserve such a destiny. + "_Lov._ Why? + "_Host._ * * * * * * + Trust me I had rather + Take a fair halter, wash my hands, and hang him + Myself, make a clean riddance of him, than---- + "_Lov._ What? + "_Host._ Than damn him to that desperate course of life. + "_Lov._ Call you that desperate, which by a line + Of institution, from our ancestors, + Hath been derived down to us, and received + In a succession, for the noblest way + Of breeding up our youth, in letters, arms, + Fair mien, discourses, civil exercise, + And all the blazon of a gentleman? + Where can he learn to vault, to ride, to fence, + To move his body gracefuller, to speak + His language purer, or to tune his mind + Or manners, more to the harmony of nature, + Than in these nurseries of nobility? + "_Host._ Ay that was when the nursery's self was noble. + And only virtue made it, not the market, + That titles were not vented at the drum, + Or common outcry, goodness gave the greatness, + And greatness worship: every house became + An academy of honour, and those parts + We see departed, in the practice now, + Quite from the institution."[132] + +Something must be abated from this censure, for the speaker was a +disappointed man, and therefore querulous. But whatever might have been +the education of the page, the character itself was lost in the political +convulsions in the time of Charles I. So many of the old institutions of +England were then destroyed, that we need not be surprised that the one +should not escape, which had long survived its purpose and occasion. At +the restoration of the monarchy the ancient court-ceremonial was revived, +and therefore the page was a royal officer: but he is scarcely ever +mentioned in the subsequent private history of the country; and his duties +at the court were altogether personal though gentilitial, and had no +reference at all to military affairs. + +The military features of chivalry had been rudely marred in the wars +between the houses of York and Lancaster, and by the days of James I. not +a lineament remained. The graceful sports of chivalry had been sustained +by the bold and vigorous Henry VIII., and romance could not but be +pleasing to a maiden queen. With Prince Henry the tournament died. +Mightier questions than those which knighthood could resolve were before +the world; and there was nothing in the bearing of the friends of Charles +I., misnamed Cavaliers, to which the character of chivalric can be +applied. + +[Sidenote: Important change in knighthood by parliament of Charles I.] + +The reign of Charles I. is, however, in one respect a memorable epoch in +the history of English knighthood. By the ancient constitution, as we saw +in the last chapter, the King had the power of compelling his vassals to +be knighted. In all ages, however, whether of the high power, or the +decline of chivalry, many persons, considering the duties and charges of +the honour, had been wont to commute it by a fine; and this custom had +often whetted the avarice of monarchs. Elizabeth was the last of our +sovereigns who enriched her exchequer by receiving these commutations. +Charles I. endeavoured to augment his revenue by similar means; but the +spirit of the age was hostile to his claim; and, certainly, as the +military system had changed, it was absurd and unjust that the burden +should survive the benefit of the ancient system. The people triumphed, +and Charles conceded a prerogative which was only known as a means of +public oppression. By a statute passed in the sixteenth year of his reign +(cap. 20.) the right of compelling men to receive knighthood was +abolished. + +[Sidenote: Application of chivalric honours to men of civil station.] + +One branch of English chivalry, namely, knighthood as connected with +property, knighthood as the external symbol of feudalism, was thus put an +end to. But knighthood still continued as an honourable distinction. In +this, the most interesting part of the subject, a great change had taken +place: but it is impossible to mark the exact time of its occurring. We +only know that even in the time of the Lancastrian princes knights could +not, of their own free will, add new members to the order of chivalry, and +that link of honourable equality, which used to bind all men of gentle +birth in one state, was broken. The whole power of creating knights was +usurped by the crown. The first step, which apparently led to this +usurpation, was made even in the purest age of chivalry, the reign of our +Edward III.: for at that time civil merit was rewarded by chivalric +distinctions. The judges of the courts of law were dignified with +knighthood.[133] + +In the subsequent reigns of the Lancastrian princes, it seems to have been +regarded as a well established custom, that men who deserved highly of the +commonwealth should be honoured with some title above the state of a +simple gentleman. Chivalry, as the great fountain of honour, was again +resorted to, and the title of esquire was drawn forth. It was then applied +to sheriffs of counties, serjeants-at-law, and other men of station; and +afterwards courtesy added it to the names of the eldest sons of peers, of +knights, and many others. The honour, like the rest of the chivalric +honours, was personal, not hereditary, and in strictness could be enjoyed +only by virtue of creation, or as a dignity appurtenant to an office. The +mode of creation was copied from the investiture of a knight. The person +who was to be admitted into the squirehood of the country knelt before his +sovereign, who, placing a silver collar of scollop shells mixed with esses +round his neck, cried, "Arise, Sir Esquire, and may God make thee a good +man."[134] + +[Sidenote: Knights made in the field.] + +This right of conferring chivalric honours upon persons of civil station +was exercised by the sovereigns only, and it furnished the pretence of +their assuming the right of judging upon what occasions it should be +conferred on men whose profession was war. The custom of creating knights +in the field of battle by the general in command prevailed in England so +late as the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Robert, the second son of Sir Henry +Sidney, and brother of the famous Sir Philip, was knighted by Leicester, +for his chivalric deportment at the battle of Zutphen. Essex, while +commanding in Spain and Ireland, distributed chivalric honours with such +profusion, that the Queen, who was always jealous of her power, made his +conduct, on this subject, the matter of one of the articles of accusation +against him. + +[Sidenote: Carpet knights.] + +Knighthood, when conferred in the field, was ever held as a very +honourable distinction. When men, who were undistinguished by valour[135], +were raised to chivalric rank, they were called Carpet Knights, as we are +taught by the old ceremonials; and society always used the expression +contemptuously, as we learn from our dramatists, who are as good witnesses +for the customs of their times as romancers had been for those of earlier +days. "He is knight, dubbed with unhacked rapier, and on carpet +consideration," is the character which Sir Toby Belch gives of his friend +Sir Andrew Aguecheek. In a passage of surpassing beauty Fletcher has +described the characters of the chivalric and the carpet knight. + + "Oh the brave dames + Of warlike Genoa! They had eyes to see + The inward man, and only from his worth, + Courage, and conquests, the blind archer knew + To head his shafts, or light his quenched torch; + They were proof against him else! No carpet knight + That spent his youth in groves or pleasant bowers, + Or stretching on a couch his lazy limbs, + Sung to his lute such soft and pleasing notes + As Ovid nor Anacreon ever knew, + Could work on them, nor once bewitch'd their sense; + Though he came so perfum'd, as he had robb'd + Sabea or Arabia of their wealth, + And stor'd it in one suit."[136] + +The order of knighthood was indeed wretchedly degraded in the days of +James I., if we can allow any truth to the remarks of Osborne. "At this +time the honour of knighthood, which antiquity reserved sacred, as the +cheapest and readiest jewel to present virtue with, was promiscuously laid +on any head belonging to the yeomanry (made addle through pride, and a +contempt of their ancestors' pedigree,) that had but a court friend, or +money to purchase the favour of the meanest, able to bring him into an +outward room when the King, the fountain of honour, came down, and was +uninterrupted by other business; in which case, it was then usual for him +to grant a commission for the chamberlain, or some other lord to do it." + +[Sidenote: Knights of the Bath.] + +The carpet, or ordinary knights, must not be confounded with knights of +the Bath, though both classes were knights of peace. Knights of the Bath +had always precedence of knights-bachelors, without any regard to dates of +creation. The knights of the Bath were men of rank and station, or +distinguished for military qualities. They were created by our sovereign +at their coronations, or on other great occasions, from the time of Henry +V., when I last adverted to the subject, to so late a period as the reign +of Charles II., who before he was crowned created sixty-eight knights of +the Bath. When queens were sovereigns a commission was granted to a +nobleman to create knights; and the commission of Queen Elizabeth to the +Earl of Arundel is so rich in thought, and dignified in style, that I +cannot resist the pleasure of transcribing it. After the usual +salutations, "To all men," the Queen declares as follows: "Whereas, we, +minding to proceed to the solemnity of our coronation in such and like +honourable sort as in the coronation of our progenitors hath been +accustomed, and as to our estate and dignity appertaineth, have, both for +the more adornment of the feast of our said coronation, and for the +nobility of blood, good service, and other good qualities, of many our +servants and other subjects, resolved to call certain of them to the order +of knighthood. We let you wete, that for the special trust and confidence +which we have reposed in our right trusty and right well-beloved cousin +and counsellor, Henry Earl of Arundel, Lord Steward of our household, we +have appointed, and by these presents do appoint and authorise him for us, +and in our name, and by our authority, not only to do and exercise every +thing and things to be done and exercised in our behalf, for the full +making of those knights of the Bath, whom we have caused to be specially +called for that purpose, but also to make and ordain such and so many +other persons knights, within the time of two days next ensuing the date +hereof, as by us shall be named, or by himself shall be thought meet, so +that he exceed not in the whole the number of thirty," &c.[137] + +[Sidenote: Full account of the ancient ceremonies of creating them.] + +The ceremonies of creating those knights furnishes us with such an +accurate picture of the manners of our ancestors, that, though I have +touched upon the subject before, I shall, without apology, describe its +minutest features. When an esquire came to court to receive the order of +knighthood, in time of peace, after the custom of England, he was +worshipfully received by the officers of the court, the steward, or +chamberlain, if they were at the palace, or else by the marshals and +ushers. Two esquires, sage, and well nourished in courtesy, and expert in +deeds of knighthood, were assigned as his teachers and governors. If he +arrived in the morning, he was to serve the King with water at dinner, or +else to place a dish of the first course upon the table; and this was his +farewell to his personal duties of esquire. His governors then led him to +his chamber, where he remained alone till the evening, when they sent a +barber to him, who prepared his bath. Water was not yet put into it, but +the esquire was, who sat, wrapped in white cloths and mantles, while his +beard was shaved, and his head rounded. All this being done, the governors +went to the King, and said to him, "Most mighty Prince, our Sovereign +Lord, it waxeth nigh unto the even, and our master is ready in the bath." +The King then commanded his chamberlain to take into the chamber of him +who was to be made knight the prowest and wisest knights about the court, +in order that they might instruct and counsel the esquire, touching the +order of knighthood. + +The chamberlain, preceded by minstrels singing and dancing, and +accompanied by the chosen cavaliers, went to the door of the esquire's +room. When the governors heard the sound of minstrelsy, they stripped +their master, and left him naked in the bath. The music ceased, and the +chamberlain and his knights entered the room. After paying much worship +and courtesy to each other, he to whom precedence was allowed advanced to +the bath, and, kneeling down, whispered these words in the ear of the +esquire: "Right dear brother, may this order bring great honour and +worship unto you; and I pray that Almighty God may give you the praise of +all knighthood. Lo! this is the order: Be ye strong in the faith of Holy +Church, relieve widows and oppressed maidens, give every one his own, and, +above all things, love and dread God. Superior to all other earthly +objects, love the King, thy sovereign lord; him and his right defend unto +thy power, and put him in worship." + +When the esquire was thus advised, the knight-counsellor took in his hand +water from the bath, and threw it gently on the shoulder of his young +friend. The other knights counselled and bathed him in a similar manner, +and then, with the first knight, left the chamber. The governors took the +esquire out of the bath, and laid him on a bed "to dry." When the process +of drying was finished, he was taken out of bed, and clothed warmly; and +there was thrown over him a cope of black russet, with long sleeves, and +the hood, like that of a hermit, sewn on the cope. The barber had the bath +for his fee, and the operation of shaving was paid for separately, +agreeably to the estate of the esquire; and if there was any dispute about +the sum, the King's Majesty's judgment was looked to. + +A joyous company of knights, with squires dancing, and minstrels singing, +entered the room, and with light pace and gay deportment led their friend +into the chapel. There they were refreshed with wines, spices, and +sweatmeats; and the knights-counsellors, being thanked by the esquire for +their great labour and worship, departed. The governors, the officers of +arms, and the waits, remained in the chapel with the esquire. It was his +duty to pass the night in prayer to Almighty God that he might worthily +receive the honour, and discharge all the offices of knighthood. A taper +of wax was always burning before him. + +When the morning dawned a priest entered the chapel, and the more solemn +duties of religion were proceeded with. Shriving, matins, the mass, and +the communion, were performed, the esquire, during the principal +ceremonies of the sacrament, holding the taper in his hand, with a penny +stuck in the wax, near the light; and, finally, he offered them to the +priest, the taper to the honour of God, and the penny to the honour of him +that should make him a knight. His governors then took him from the +chapel, and laid him in his bed, divesting him of his hermit's weeds. + +After some time for refreshment had been allowed him, the governors went +to the King, and said, "Most victorious Prince, our master shall awake +when it so pleaseth Your Majesty." The King accordingly commanded the +party of knights, esquires, and minstrels, to go into the chamber of the +esquire, and awake him. They went, and said to him, "Sir, good day: it is +time to arise." The governors raised him in his bed: the most worthy and +the most sage knight presented him his shirt, the next cavalier in +consideration gave him his breeches, the third his doublet, the fourth his +robe of red taffata, lined with white sarcenet; and, when he was thus +partially clothed, two others lifted him out of bed. Two donned his hose, +which were of black silk, or of black cloth, with soles of leather, two +others buttoned his sleeves, another bound round him a girdle of plain +white leather, an inch broad. The combing of the head, and putting on the +coif, were each performed by a knight. Another gentle cavalier also gave +him his mantle of red tartayn, crossed with white on the breast, and +fastened with a lace of white silk, from which depended a pair of white +gloves. How his white-feathered white hat got upon his head I know not; +for the grave ceremonial is altogether silent about the matter. + +The dressing being concluded, the esquire was placed on horseback, and led +by the knights into the hall of the King, preceded by a young gentle +esquire, also on horseback, and carrying by its point a sword, in a white +scabbard, with gilt spurs hanging upon the cross hilt. The marshal of +England assisted the candidate for knighthood to alight, and led him into +the hall, where he sat at the head of the second table, surrounded by his +counselling knights, his sword-bearer, and governors. The King, on +entering the hall, demanded the sword and the spurs, and they were given +to him by the chamberlain. The King gave the right spur to one of the +noblest peers about him, commanding that lord to place it on the right +heel of the esquire. The lord knelt on one knee, and, taking the esquire +by the right leg, put the foot upon his knee, and not only affixed the +spur to the heel, but made a cross upon the knee of the esquire, and +kissed it. Another lord attached the left spur to the left foot with +similar ceremonies. The King then, out of the meekness of his high might, +girt the sword round the esquire. The esquire raised his arms, and the +King, throwing his arms round the neck of the esquire, smote the esquire +on the shoulder with his right hand, kissing him at the same time, and +saying, "Be ye a good knight." + +The new-made knight was then conducted by his counselling knights into the +chapel, upon whose high altar he laid his sword, offering it to God and +Holy Church, most devoutly beseeching Heaven, that he might always +worthily demean himself in the order. He then took a sup of wine and left +the chapel, at whose door his spurs were taken off by the master-cook, who +received them for his fee; and in the fine style of old English bluntness +reminded him, that "if he ever acted unworthily of his knighthood, it +would be his duty, with the knife with which he dressed the meats, to +strike away his spurs, and that thus by the customs of chivalry he would +lose his worship." The new-made knight went into the hall, and sat at +table with his compeers; but it did not deport with his modesty to eat in +their presence, and his abashment kept him from turning his eyes hither +and thither. He left the table after the King arose, and went to his +chamber with a great multitude of knights, squires, and minstrels, +rejoicing, singing, and dancing. + +Alone in his chamber, and the door closed, the knight, wearied by this +time with ceremony and fasting, ate and drank merrily. He then doffed much +of his array, which was distributed among the officers of the household, +and put on a robe of blue with the white lace of silk hanging on the +shoulder, similar to that which was worn in the days of Henry V.; for +however degenerated the world might have become, they could not for +shame's sake despise all the forms of chivalry. The ceremony, of +inauguration concluded by expressions of thanks and courtesy. The knight +went to the King, and kneeling before him, said, "Most dread and most +mighty Prince, I gratefully salute you for the worship which you have so +courteously given to me." The governors thus addressed the knight: +"Worshipful Sir, by the King's command we have served you, and that +command fulfilled to our power; and what we have done in our service +against your reverence we pray you of your grace to pardon us. +Furthermore, by the custom of the King's court, we require of you robes +and fees becoming the rank of King's squires, who are fellows to the +knights of other lands."[138] + + + + +CHAP. IV. + +PROGRESS OF CHIVALRY IN FRANCE. + + _Chivalry in Baronial Castles ... Chivalry injured by Religious Wars + ... Beneficial Influence of Poetry and Romance ... Chivalric + Brilliancy of the Fourteenth Century ... Brittany ... Du Guesclin ... + Romantic Character of his early Years ... His knightly conduct at + Rennes ... Gallantry at Cochetel ... Political Consequences of his + Chivalry ... He leads an Army into Spain ... And Changes the Fortunes + of that Kingdom ... Battle of Navaret ... Du Guesclin Prisoner ... + Treatment of him by the Black Prince ... Ransomed ... Is made + Constable of France ... Recovers the Power of the French Monarchy ... + Companionship in Arms between Du Guesclin and Olivier De Clisson ... + Du Guesclin's Death before Randon ... His Character ... Decline of + Chivalry ... Proof of it ... Little Chivalry in the Second Series of + French and English Wars ... Combats of Pages ... Further Decay of + Chivalry ... Abuses in conferring Knighthood ... Burgundy ... Its + Chivalry ... The Romantic Nature of the Burgundian Tournaments ... + Last Gleams of Chivalry in France ... Life of Bayard ... Francis I. + ... Extinction of Chivalry._ + + +[Sidenote: Chivalry in baronial castles.] + +The high rank of France among the civilised states of Europe in the middle +ages decides the country to which our attention should be next directed +in tracing the history of chivalry. Every French baron graced his nobility +by the honour of knighthood, and was surrounded by a band of cavaliers. +Kings, and even queens, had a certain number of knights who composed their +court and accepted their pay; and the conferring of royal honours upon +other men than possessors of mere wealth or rank had a powerful effect in +promoting the virtues, whatever they might be, of the times. Merit was not +considered, as a landed estate, to be altogether hereditary, and the +personal nature of chivalry became a check upon the exclusiveness of +aristocratical pride.[139] + +The moral influence of the chivalric code in supporting justice and +diffusing gentleness of manners is not very perceptible in the early ages +of France; for the chroniclers of those times chiefly mark the general +political circumstances of the decline of the house of Charlemagne, the +establishing of a feudal aristocracy, and the rise of a new monarchy by +the spirit and ambition of Hugh Capet. + +[Sidenote: Chivalry injured by religious wars.] + +In the eleventh century chivalry became a distinguishing feature in the +national character of France, for the crusades began at that time; and +France, above all other countries of the west, was influenced by their +spirit. As every knight vowed to support the church, he readily enough +became a soldier in those wars which the clergy declared were essential to +the well-being of religion. The Holy Land presented a noble field for the +display of his virtue: his love of adventures might be gratified by his +long and toilsome journey thither; and if the shores of Palestine drank +his blood, he gained a crown of martyrdom instead of a victor's laurel. + +[Sidenote: Beneficial influence of poetry and romance.] + +The sword of the cavalier was too often drawn by the church; and in the +persecution of the Albigenses the knighthood of France forgot all the +generous liberality and mercy of their order. But although the crusades +against ferocious Turks and erring Christians took from chivalry much of +its gracefulness and beauty, yet a restoring power was found in that love +for poetry and romance which for some ages had been spreading itself over +the world. Human nature, in Europe, appears to have been sunk to the +lowest possible degree of depression at the time when the Roman empire was +in its last days of decay. We corrupt our admiration of classical ages +into a superstitious idolatry, when we affirm that the revival of the +energies of the human intellect took place in consequence of the +discovery of a few Greek and Latin manuscripts. The storm from the north +in earlier times was the greatest moral blessing which mankind had ever +known. It swept away those institutions which were no longer sustained by +virtue and genius; and the settlement of the Gothic kingdoms was the +commencement of the new glories of the world. The successors of the Romans +were not entirely occupied in the fierce struggles of ambition. A new +intellect was impressed upon Europe, wild as nature before it is tamed +into artificial society, but rich, vigorous, and beautiful. As the new +states of the West took a firm and enduring shape, as the tendency of +human nature to improvement gradually became visible, intellectual talent +was more and more esteemed. If in the twelfth century the plains of Europe +were covered with armed knights, the castles were filled with poets who +sang the joys both of war and love; and although the brave gestes of +Charlemagne and his paladins against the Saracens were the theme of many a +minstrel's lay, and tended to promote religious wars, yet the same +romantic rhymers described the other duties of the chivalric character, +and set knightly gentleness and gallantry at the highest pitch of +chivalric virtue. That from their own viciousness, or in base compliance +with their lords' passions, they were often gross in their descriptions +and depraved in their morality, are circumstances sufficiently true; but +still the general tendency of the poetry and romance of the chivalric ages +was to improve the manners of the time. To right the oppressed, to succour +woman in distress, formed the burden of many an ancient song; and when +chaunted to the minstrel's harp in a baronial hall, it won the mind of the +feudal noble from those deeds of blood which the superstitious declared +were the only duties of a knight. + +[Sidenote: Chivalric brilliancy of the fourteenth century.] + +The amusements of chivalry aided romance in sleeking o'er the rugged looks +of war; for tournaments became more and more the national amusement as the +world escaped from the darkness of barbarism. The crusades closed with the +thirteenth century; and in the succeeding age that fine spirit of +chivalry, which the expeditions to Palestine had checked, shone with +unclouded brilliancy. When the plains of France were one vast tilting +ground for the French and English knights, stern fanaticism did not draw +the sword. In the crusades, romantic aspirations after woman's smiles +seldom inspired the hero's chivalry, but in the wars of Edward III. in +France, every cavalier fought for the honour of his lady-mistress as well +as for the ambition of his King. In those days that great principle of +chivalry, the companionship of knights, was fully felt as an influential +motive to action. Therefore the cavalier was courteous to his foe: he +waited the leisure, and saluted the other, before he placed his spear in +its rest: he did not demand of his captive a ransom more heavy than his +estate could well furnish; and in no case did he inflict cruelties beyond +the necessary pains of war. The display of chivalry was as brilliant as +its spirit was noble; and it was a great beauty to behold banners and +standards waving in the wind, horses barded, and knights and squires +richly armed. But as I collected in a former chapter the most striking +circumstances regarding the chivalry of those times, I shall pass on to +the next interesting page in knightly story. + +[Sidenote: Brittany.] + +It contains the life of a hero, whose chivalric courage materially +influenced the fortunes of the French monarchy. He sprung, too, from a +country that was full of romantic associations. When the Saxons had +achieved the conquest of England, many of the subjugated people crossed +the sea to France, and settled in Britanny: so numerous, indeed, was the +colony, that the historians of that province people it entirely from +England.[140] The ancient language of this island was certainly spoken in +Armorica; and all our history and romance were known and cherished there +as well and as fondly as in Wales and Cornwall, the other receptacles of +oppressed Britons. In after ages both the French and English chevaliers +turned their eyes to Brittany with respect and veneration, as the +preserver of the fame of Arthur, and of the knights of the Round Table, +whose history was a chief source of romantic fiction. + +[Sidenote: Du Guesclin.] + +And now, in the fourteenth century, a cavalier appeared who was worthy to +have broken a lance with + + "Uther's son, + Begirt with British and Armorick knights!" + +[Sidenote: Romantic character of his early years.] + +Bertrand du Guesclin, a Breton, of gentle rather than noble family, was a +knight in whom the love of military glory burnt with a pure and bright +flame. He was born at the chateau of De la Motte de Broen, near Rennes, in +Brittany, in the year 1320. Nature had so little graced his personal +exterior, that even to the partial eye of a mother he seemed rather a +clown than a gentleman. Some tinge of melancholy in his nature was +mistaken for ill-tempered gloom, and his disposition to taciturnity was +fostered by neglect and contempt. He grew rude, violent, and morose; and +his parents would not entertain the notion of educating him for +knighthood, the wonted distinction of the eldest son of a gentleman. But +the disposition of Bertrand's mind was invincible; and he encouraged it by +practising with energy and perseverance all the boyish exercises which +were the faithful mirrors of war; he practised them, too, in opposition to +the will of his father, who never failed to chastise him when he witnessed +any display of his nature's bent. He appeared as an unknown knight at a +tournament at Rennes, and won the palm of victory from a regularly +educated cavalier. The path of military glory now lay before him. Soon +afterwards he entered the service of Charles of Blois, who knighted him; +and he speedily distinguished himself by several chivalric circumstances. + +[Sidenote: His knightly conduct at Rennes.] + +The town of Rennes was blockaded by the Duke of Lancaster with such +ability, that a surrender at discretion was looked for by the English. In +full confidence of success, Lancaster vowed that he would not quit the +place until he was its master. In this embarrassing conjuncture, one of +the citizens offered to pass through the camp of the enemy, to deceive +the Duke by false intelligence, and, finally, to apprize Charles of Blois +of the danger which hung over the place. With great skill and firmness he +performed his promise. He repaired to the camp of the Duke, and painted +with affected _naïveté_ the distress of the besieged, who founded, he +said, their only hope of safety on the succour of a French troop that was +expected in two days. The tale was credited; and while the duke, hastily +collecting his choicest knights, rode at speed to meet the rescue, the +townsman of Rennes, from his simple unwarlike appearance, was allowed at +his free will to pass through the camp. At some distance from the English +station he encountered Bertrand du Guesclin, and described the position of +affairs. In a moment, the valiant Breton knight formed and executed his +resolve: he waved his pennon, and many hardy soldiers pressed around him. +They dashed into the English camp; and, after displaying the power of +their chivalry, they seized large stores of provisions, and proudly +marched with them into the famished town of Rennes. + +Soon afterwards, the wearied and mortified English returned to their camp. +Surprised at the destruction which had been committed in his absence, the +Duke enquired the cause; and was told that the name of the knight who had +executed so bold a measure was Du Guesclin. Lancaster, like a gallant +cavalier, could admire boldness even in a foeman, and he sent a herald +into the town requesting that he might behold the man who had so +singularly distinguished himself. + +Accordingly, on the next morning, Du Guesclin went to the enemy's camp, +his personal safety being secure under the word of English chivalry. He +was conducted into the tent of the Duke, who received him with perfect +courtesy, which the knight answered, by assuring him, that he was at his +command in all things that did not militate against the service of his own +chief. + +The Duke then demanded the name of his lord, and Du Guesclin replied, +Charles of Blois, to whom by right appertained the duchy of Brittany. + +An English knight observed, "_Messire Bertrand, avant que ce vous dites se +termine arrive, il en couterâ cent mille têtes_." + +"_Eh bien_," answered Du Guesclin, "_qu'on en tue tant qu'on voudra, ceux +qui demeureront auront la robe des autres_." + +This repartee amused the Duke, who, pleased at the martial frankness of Du +Guesclin, wished to engage him in his service. But he declined all his +offers; and after jousting with a knight who thought little of his +valiancy, he returned to Rennes. + +The winter approached; a season more terrible to those without than to +those within the walls. Du Guesclin repulsed every assault; and Lancaster +would have retired, if his honour had not been pledged to take the town. +Du Guesclin's ingenuity assisted him in this exigency. It was agreed that +Lancaster should enter Rennes armed, his standards should be planted on +the walls, and after this satisfaction of his conscience he should raise +the siege. The treaty was faithfully executed. The Duke entered Rennes, +remained there some hours, and then quitted it; hardly, however, had he +left the gate when the citizens contemptuously cast his standards into the +ditch. This indignity wounded him deeply; but being an honourable observer +of his word, he would not betray his resentment, or permit his army to +avenge this insult to their leader and their nation.[141] + +[Sidenote: Gallantry at Cochetel.] + +Du Guesclin soon afterwards entered the service of John, King of France, +with a considerable band of Breton knights and squires, whom the fame of +his chivalry had drawn to his standard. He remained a royal knight till +the death of the King in 1364, and then became a soldier of his +successor, Charles V. Before the coronation of that monarch, Du Guesclin +proved himself worthy of being his cavalier, by a circumstance which +entitled him also to national gratitude. The authority of the French, in +Normandy, was disputed by some lords of that duchy, who were aided by the +English and the Navarrese. The troops of Navarre encountered the French +near Cochetel; but instead of maintaining their position on a hill, they +descended into the plain, deceived by a feigned retreat of Du Guesclin. +Then it was that the Breton ranged his men-at-arms; and their inequality +in number to the foe was more than supplied by the reflection with which +Du Guesclin animated them, that it behoved the chivalry of France to +ornament with laurel the crown of their new sovereign. + +Only one circumstance of the battle merits description; and, indeed, it is +the only intelligible one in the mêlée of the knights. Thirty Gascon +gentlemen had united themselves in strict fraternity of enterprise and +peril to take prisoner John de Grailly, the commander of the Navarrese. +Accordingly, when the fight began they advanced with serried shields into +the thickest of the press. They were beaten back; but they soon renewed +the charge, and their prowess at length prevailed: for the Navarrese +knights had not formed themselves into a band for the defence of their +commander, and his person was therefore imperfectly protected. His capture +decided the fate of the day. The battle of Cochetel is remarkable, not +only as gracing a new King but as animating the courage of the French, +which had been dispirited by repeated defeats during the two preceding +reigns.[142] + +In the same year Du Guesclin, by permission of his sovereign, aided his +former friend, Charles de Blois, in establishing his rights over Brittany. +The opponent of Charles was John de Mountfort, and a destructive war had +been seemingly closed by the peace of Landes. But the Countess of +Penthievre, the wife of Charles, disdained any compromise of her rights, +and her tears and reproaches induced him to cancel the treaty. The war was +renewed; the English siding with De Mountfort, and the French with +Charles. The battle of Auray decided the cause. Charles of Blois was +slain; and in his last moments he lamented that his ambition had been +fatal to so many brave men. Du Guesclin was made prisoner by a squire of +Sir John Chandos, the commander of De Mountfort's troops[143]: but he +scarcely felt the pain of imprisonment, so courteously did the English +knight deport himself. + +[Sidenote: Political consequences of his chivalry.] + +Such was the state of Du Guesclin when Europe once again became a scene of +chivalry; and its fortunes were as much influenced by his gallant spirit, +as, a few years before, they had been swayed by those knights who had +assailed and defended the French crown. The peace of Bretigny had +terminated the contest between France and England, and the interesting +point of political consideration was Spain. A long course of oppression +and tyranny had alienated from Peter, King of Castile, the affections of +his people, and stigmatised his name with the epithet, Cruel. His +murdering his nobility and his brothers would have passed unnoticed out of +Spain; but he imbrued his hands in the blood of his wife, Blanche of +Bourbon, and she was sister of the French Queen. The indignation of +Charles V. of France was roused at this last crime; and the chivalric +gallantry of his court loudly echoed his feelings. An army and a leader +both were wanting; for most of the knighthood of France had been slain in +the late wars. At that moment Du Guesclin was regarded by the court of +France as the great stay of knighthood; and his love of military +adventures, and his aspirations for high emprises, seconded the wish of +the King, that he would revenge the death of his sister. These military +qualities of chivalry formed the character of Du Guesclin; for he who had +been rudely stamped by nature, who little regarded lovers' lays and +ladies' bowers, could scarcely sympathise with the gallantry of the court +of France. But for the heroism of Du Guesclin the enterprise would have +perished in its bud. France was covered with soldiers, the disbanded +mercenaries of the late wars. Charles V. regarded them with suspicious +eyes; his power was not adequate to annihilate them, or even to punish +them for their violation of his subjects' peace; and, skilful prince as he +was, he made no attempt to remove them peaceably from his states. It was +only to a real genius in war that they would submit; and Du Guesclin, +above all other men of his age, was capable of guiding their martial +energies. The King ransomed him from Chandos for one hundred thousand +franks[144], and invested him with the command of the enterprise. Du +Guesclin met the mercenaries at the table of carousal, and the occasion of +festivity was a favourable one for communicating his scheme. I cannot +believe, with some writers, that the unchivalric conduct of Peter +stimulated the heroism of these adventures. Among them, indeed, were many +soldiers of fortune, generous and noble minded; and such men would +sympathise with virtue: but most of them were mere military ruffians, who +defied, and were the disgrace of, the law. The promise of two hundred +thousand livres from the King of France was the lure for their +enterprising themselves, and I need not dwell upon their hope of common +military plunder. It is amusing to observe how fondly superstition clings +about the heart of man; for these daring marauders declared that they +could not cross the Alps till they had received absolution from the Pope +for their former sins. Du Guesclin promised to procure it; and then the +joyousness of the soldier resumed its ascendancy, and they cried, that +they had more confidence in him than in all the bishops of France or at +Avignon. + +[Sidenote: He leads an army into Spain,] + +[Sidenote: and changes the fortunes of that kingdom.] + +Towards that city of Italian prelates they repaired, after having been +admitted into the presence of the French King. They astonished the legate +of the terrified Pope by declaring that they wanted absolution, and two +hundred thousand livres. With these opposite demands His Holiness +prudently complied; and Du Guesclin crossed the Pyrenees, his soldiers +being now called the White Companions, from their wearing on their +shoulders a white cross, to testify that they had taken up arms only to +abolish Judaism, and put down Peter, who was the supposed supporter of +it.[145] Du Guesclin was accompanied into Spain by many noble Spaniards, +whom the cruelties of Peter had, some while before, banished from their +own country. Among them was Henry of Trastamarra, the son of Leonora de +Guzman, the mistress of Peter's father. The hopes of Castile were now +directed to Henry; for any defect in the legitimacy of his title was amply +supplied by his talents and virtues. Du Guesclin supported the general +feeling of the time: he drove the King from the throne, and seated Henry +upon it. + +The deposed monarch fled to Corunna, embarked, with his three daughters, +on board the first ship which the shadow of his former power enabled him +to command, and sailed to Bayonne. He knew that the Black Prince was in +Bourdeaux, and he hastened to lay before him his wrongs. Edward, hearing +of his purpose, and resolving to do him honour, issued out of the city, +accompanied by divers knights and squires, and went and met the King, and +did him great reverence, both in word and deed. After the Prince had well +feasted him, they rode together to Bourdeaux, Edward, like a courteous +knight, giving his friend the right, or side of honour. When they reached +the city, the King was conducted to a fair chamber, ready apparelled for +him; and, after changing his soiled dress for a robe of splendour, he went +to the Princess and the ladies, who received him right courteously.[146] + +But few entreaties were necessary, before Edward promised the best +exertions of his chivalry to restore him to his throne. The rights of +legitimacy were his pretext; for he said that "it was not fit a bastard +should hold a realm in heritage, and put his brother, the rightful +inheritor of the land, out of his own realm; the which things all kings +and kings' sons should in nowise suffer, nor consent to, for it was a +great prejudice against the state royal." The Prince, as Froissart says, +was then in the lusty flower of his youth; and he was never weary nor well +satisfied with war, since the first beginning that he bore arms, but ever +intended to achieve high deeds of chivalry.[147] "The people of Spain," +observes Froissart in another place, "had great marvel of the Prince's +intention, and there was much communing thereof. Some said the Prince took +on him the enterprise for pride and presumption, and was, in a manner, +angry of the honour that Sir Bertrand of Du Guesclin had gotten, in +conquering of the realm of Castile, in the name of King Henry, who was by +him made king."[148] And if the principles of human nature and chivalry +should still leave any doubt on our minds regarding Edward's motives, his +treatment of Du Guesclin, when the noble Breton became his prisoner, would +remove any obscurity. + +His council in vain endeavoured to dissuade him from his purpose, though +these good and sage imaginative lords pleaded well the cause of justice. +"Sir," they said, "ye have heard it observed, divers times, he that +embraceth too much holdeth the weaklier. It is for a truth that ye are one +of the Princes of the world most praised, honoured, and redoubted, and +hold on this side of the sea great lands and seigniories, thanked be God, +in good rest and peace. There is no king, near nor far, who at this time +dares to displease you; so renowned are you of good chivalry, grace, and +good fortune. You ought, therefore, by reason, to be content with what you +have, and seek not to get any enemies. Sir, we say not this for evil. We +know well that the King, Don Peter of Castile, who is now driven out of +his realm, is a man of high mind, right cruel, and full of evil +conditions; for by him have been done many evil deeds in the realm of +Castile; and he hath caused many a valiant man to lose his head, and +brought cruelly to an end, without any manner of reason; and so by his +villain deeds he is now put out of his realm: and also, besides all this, +he is enemy to the church, and cursed by our holy father, the Pope. He is +reputed, and hath been a great season, a tyrant; and, without tittle of +reason, hath always grieved and made war with his neighbours, the King of +Arragon and the King of Navarre, and would have disinherited them by +puissance; and also, as the bruit runneth throughout his realm, how he +causeth to die his wife, your cousin, daughter to the Duke of Bourbon. +Wherefore, Sir, you ought to think and consider that all this that he now +suffers are rods and strokes of God sent to chastise him, and to give +example to all other Christian kings and princes, to beware that they do +not as he hath done." + +Such were the counsels of the Gascon and English knights who attended +Edward; but his resolution was formed, and he prepared for war. He drew +from the White Companies those of his valiant liegemen, who, for want of +other chevisance, had joined Du Guesclin; and, in England, when his +purpose was bruited, all the youthful chivalry was on fire to join the +hero of Cressy and Poictiers. + +[Sidenote: Battle of Navaret, April 3. 1367.] + +[Sidenote: Du Guesclin prisoner.] + +He commenced his march with thirty thousand soldiers. It was winter when +they passed through the valley of Roncesvalles; and, while the snow drove +in their faces, they cheered their spirits by singing the songs in which +the minstrel-muse had celebrated the deeds of Charlemagne's paladins. At +Pampeluna their distressful march was relieved by the King of Navarre, +whose aid they had purchased; and the Prince of Wales proceeded to +Castile. The battle of Navaret decided the contest. The common people of +Spain, who composed the first ranks of Henry, fought so bravely with their +slings, that the Englishmen were sorely troubled; but Edward's archers +drew their bows right yeomanly, and soon checked their fury. Henry had on +his side more than a hundred thousand men in harness, from Castile, +Portugal, and other states; and well and chivalrously did they sustain his +cause. The better-appointed force of Edward gradually prevailed, though +King Henry's troops fought to the bravest point; for, as they had placed +him on the throne, they felt their honour engaged to fight for him to the +utterance. The battle, in all its press and din, was fought between the +troops of Du Guesclin and those of Sir John Chandos. The noble Breton was +taken prisoner, and the English remained masters of the field. Don Pedro +was restored to his throne, and Edward somewhat redeemed his previous +conduct, by inducing the King to grant a general pardon and amnesty. The +ingratitude of Pedro was the consequence of the Black Prince's exertions +in his favour; and I need not dwell upon such a natural circumstance.[149] + +To furnish his troops with those arrears of pay which Peter should have +satisfied, Edward was obliged to tax the possessions of the English in +France. Between the people of England and the French there had been +long-enduring jealousies: there was no community of ideas and manners +between them; and the principle of obedience more naturally rested on a +French than on an English sovereign. The demeanour of the Black Prince was +not that of a courteous and gentle knight: his haughtiness lost him many +friends; and his impolicy of giving all the offices of state in Gascony +and Acquitain to Englishmen was bitterly complained of, and resented by +the lords of those countries, who had perilled themselves, to the loss of +their estates, in his cause. + +On the other hand, the English were not backward in reproaching the +Gascons. Certain knights of England once told the Black Prince, that he +little knew the mind of these people, nor how proud they were. "They do +not love us, and never did," continued these counsellors. "Sir, remember +ye not how highly and greatly they bore themselves against you in the city +of Bourdeaux, when King John of France was first carried thither? They +said then, and maintained plainly, that by them only ye attained to +achieve the taking of the King; and that right well appeared, for you were +in great treaty with them for the space of four months, ere they would +consent that the French king; should be carried into England. First, it +behoved you to satisfy their minds, to keep them in love."[150] Edward's +attempt at taxation exasperated the angry feelings of his subjects, and +was the great and immediate cause of their revolt to the French King. + +[Sidenote: Treatment of him by the Black Prince.] + +Edward detained Du Guesclin in prison longer than was consistent with the +feelings of generosity, which were wont to warm the breast of a gentle +knight. Yet Edward could state the reciprocal duties of conqueror and +captive with accuracy; that the former ought not to exact too high a sum, +and that the latter should not attempt to escape without paying his +ransom. A cavalier, using the freedom of a festive hour, commented on this +observation, by saying, that the world was blaming him for his severity +towards one of his prisoners. Edward's sense of honour was touched by this +remark, and he summoned Du Guesclin to his presence. The hero appeared +before him, dressed in his coarse prison garment; and in reply to some +unknightly merriment of the Prince on the rudeness of his appearance, he +said, that it remained with the pleasure of the conqueror when he should +be better clothed; that for some time he had had only rats and mice for +his companions, and, as he added with affecting simplicity, "even to the +songs of the birds I have been a stranger." + +[Sidenote: Ransomed.] + +Edward offered him freedom on condition of his swearing not to war in +favour of France or of Henry of Trastamarra, the candidate for the Spanish +throne. Du Guesclin could not consistently with honour comply with these +conditions; and Edward, stung by the recollection that the world had +impeached his bravery and generousness, declared that, to show he dreaded +no man, Du Guesclin should be restored to his liberty on paying a proper +ransom. The noble Breton then required to be released on his parole, in +order that he might fetch the necessary sum. Edward, touched by his +spirited demeanour, resumed all his generous and chivalric feelings, and +declared that Du Guesclin should name his own ransom; and instead of +fixing it at ten thousand or twenty thousand livres, the captive hero +proudly mentioned sixty thousand florins. The Prince was astonished at his +apparent presumption, and asked him by what means he could pay so large a +sum. "The Kings of France and Castile," he replied, "are my friends, and +will never fail me in a case of necessity. I know a hundred knights of +Brittany who would sell their possessions for my liberation; and there is +not a woman sitting at her distaff in France who would not labour with her +own hands to redeem me from yours." Du Guesclin was then liberated on his +parole of honour, and people gazed with curiosity and respect upon a man +who had so noble a sense of his own dignity.[151] + +[Sidenote: Is made constable of France.] + +This liberation took place in the year 1368, and the Breton immediately +entered into the service of Henry of Trastamarra. Peter had renewed his +cruelties when the Black Prince seated him on the throne, and his tyranny +again provoked the Castilians to rebellion. The power of Henry slowly +rose, and as soon as Du Guesclin and his Gascons took the field, he once +more became king. Soon afterwards our knight was recalled by Charles V. to +France, and placed at the head of his chivalry by the title of Constable. +He entered Paris amidst general acclamations, the people saluting him with +cries which hitherto had been appropriated to kings. He went to court, +where the King, in the presence of his nobles, declared, that he chose him +to command his armies, and therefore gave him the sword of Constable. Du +Guesclin then, with the modesty of a true knight, implored his sovereign +to honour with this dignity some one who was more worthy of it than +himself. But Charles declared that there was not a knight in France who +did not acknowledge the superior worship of Du Guesclin, and therefore he +commanded him to accept the office. Du Guesclin yielded; but fearing the +courtiers of Paris more than his country's enemies, he entreated the King +not to credit any tales which might be circulated to his prejudice, +without first hearing his defence.[152] + +[Sidenote: Recovers the power of the French monarchy.] + +[Sidenote: Companionship in arms between Du Guesclin and Olivier de +Clisson.] + +Du Guesclin now began to achieve the high emprise of re-annexing to the +crown of France those provinces which the gallantry of the Black Prince +had wrested from it. Charles could not give him many troops; but the noble +knight sold his estates in order to raise men-at-arms, and his wife +parted with the ornaments becoming her station, in order to purchase +lances and harness. He was soon surrounded by four thousand soldiers. They +were chiefly levied in Normandy, and their rendezvous was Caen. Du +Guesclin threw an air of chivalry over his emprise, for he introduced the +usage of fraternity of arms. He chose for his own brother, Olivier de +Clisson, or Du Guesclin, a knight whose name is mentioned with honour in +all the great battles of the time. These two Breton cavaliers signed at +Pontoison the act of their fraternity, whereby they engaged to defend the +estate, life, and honour of each other.[153] + +Du Guesclin then fell upon the English at Pontvelain with the force of +thunder: most of them were taken prisoners; and Sir Robert Knowles, their +leader, fled to Brittany, and concealed his head for shame, during the +rest of his life in the castle of Derval.[154] The Black Prince was then +at Bourdeaux, enfeebled by sickness: he had wasted his constitution in the +peninsular war; for the climate of Spain was not so favourable to the +health of Englishmen in those days as it has been found in later times. +Instead of being able to gird on his armour and display his chivalry, +Edward had scarcely strength to follow the counsel of his leeches to +return to England. He left the Duke of Lancaster to preserve the English +dominion in France from total ruin. + +The year 1371 was a blank in the chivalric history of Du Guesclin, but the +following spring he continued his attempt to subjugate Poictou. Many +cities were sacked; and the abhorrence with which the cruelties of Olivier +de Clisson were regarded by his own army may warrant the conjecture that +inhumanity was not general. At the close of 1372, Poictou was entirely +subdued. In the next year, Du Guesclin continued his conquests, and +Guienne became the subject of his victories. The Duke of Lancaster was the +successor of the power, but not of the chivalry, of the Black Prince; and +De Mountfort, whom Edward sent to France as the opponent of Du Guesclin, +not only recovered nothing, but lost much of Brittany; and thus, by the +genius and fortune of one chivalric hero, all the bright visions of glory +created in the fervid imaginations of our Edwards were blighted, and +France recovered her station among the high powers of Europe. + +[Sidenote: Du Gueslin's death before Randan.] + +[Sidenote: His character.] + +Du Guesclin continued in the service of Charles. The last years of his +life it is impossible to describe, so contradictory are his biographers. +Some declare that the calumnies of Parisian courtiers deprived him of the +favour of Charles, and that he lost his office of Constable. However this +may have been, it is certain that in the year 1380 he commanded the +French troops in Auvergne, and went to lay siege to Randan, a little +fortress some leagues from Mendes, in the Govandau, between the sources of +the Lot and the Alleir. The place, until then so little known, immediately +became famous, in French history, for the loss which France sustained +before its walls of one of her prowest knights. Du Guesclin, who, +according to the wont of chivalry, had vowed not to sheath his sword while +an enemy's lance was raised, pressed the siege with vigour, when he was +attacked by a malady which was soon found to be mortal. He beheld the +approach of death with Christian intrepidity, and he died while exhorting +the knights around his bed to the duties of devotion to God, loyalty to +the King, and mercy to those who were the objects of war. It was his wish +to be buried at Dinan, in Brittany, but the King commanded the abbey of +St. Denys to be the place[155]; and in kindness and gratitude, he was +anxious that a lamp should always hang over the tomb, in order that +posterity might never lose remembrance of his great deeds.[156] The +epitaph, on account of its simplicity, deserves mention. "Ici gist noble +homme Messire Bertrand du Guesclin, Comte de Longueville, et Connétable de +France, qui trepassa au chastel neuf de Randan en Gisaudan, en la +Sénéchaussée de Beauncaire, le 13 jour de Juillet, 1380. Priez Dieu pour +lui."[157] + +Such was the life of a simple Breton gentleman, who with no advantage of +birth, no powerful patronage, but with only his good sword to speed him, +raised himself to the highest rank in the French nation, and his was one +of the numerous instances in the middle ages where the personal merit of +chivalry was of more avail than the hereditary right of aristocracy. In +many of the essentials of knighthood, in lofty daring, sageness, and +generosity, he was as preux a cavalier as the English Chandos' and Mannys; +but there was none of that gallant grace over this darling of French +chivalry, which distinguished the heroes of Edward III. He was so sensible +of his own personal plainness, that he never cultivated the pleasing +amenities of chivalry; but his modesty did not pass unrewarded[158]: for +the ladies of Brittany were so deeply read in the romances of their +country, that they loved only men who were famous for martial deeds. Du +Guesclin was twice married: of the first of his wives nothing is on +record; the other is said to have been a woman of beauty, fortune and wit. +She was an heiress in Brittany, and Charles of Blois promoted the union, +hoping to attach him to his court. Her reputation as a prophetess was +extensive, and her prediction of his success in a particular battle being +verified, her vanity became interested in his fate. She had her days of +good and of evil fortune, and if historians have written his annals +faithfully, Bertrand often repented, both as a soldier and a husband, when +he did not regard her councils.[159] + + * * * * * + +[Sidenote: Decline of chivalry.] + +[Sidenote: Proof of it.] + +The history of France after these circumstances was the struggle between +the ruling powers and the people regarding the right of taxation. The +civil wars that devastated France and Flanders, in consequence of this +dispute, bore none of the character of chivalry; for monarchical and +aristocratical haughtiness disdained to consider as their companions in +arms those whom they called the raskal-rout, the base-born rabble. It was +only wars of ambition that were graced and softened by chivalric +generosity; and therefore all was blood, and horror, and confusion, when +the houses of Orleans and Burgundy distracted France with their feuds. The +pages of Monstrelet, the chronicler of the events to which I have alluded, +form a gloomy contrast to the splendid scenes of Froissart. The field, +indeed, continues to gleam with lances, and banners and pennons wave in +the wind, but the spirit of honour and courtesy no longer hung over +them,--and the prostrate soldier sued for mercy in vain. Knights were +created before and after battles: tournaments, jousts, and other splendid +shows were held; and as the essence of chivalry decayed its splendour +seemed to brighten. An affair in Liege, in the year 1408, will show the +manner of warfare when chivalry was on the wane. John Duke of Burgundy, +John of Bavaria, the lords of Hainault and Orange, and other princes, +appeared in arms to succour the Bishop of Liege, brother-in-law of the +Duke of Bavaria, whom the Liegeois had expelled from the city. Instead of +following the counsel of the new bishop and his father the Lord de +Pier-vves, of remaining within the walls, and wearing out the enemy by a +defensive war, the Liegeois, when the bells of the city announced break of +day, left their fortifications, resolved to give battle to the +well-appointed lines of Burgundy. Their numbers were fifty thousand; but +except some pieces of artillery, five or six hundred men armed like +cavalry, and a few score of stipendiary English archers, they were the +disorderly population of the city. Their confidence of success was exalted +to madness; and when the hour of battle arrived, they would not suffer +their nominal leader, the Lord Pier-vves, to take any means of prudence. +It is curious to mark the difference of character in the two parties. +There was a wild frantic kind of courage in the Liegeois, inspired by the +consideration, that they were fighting for their lives and liberties. +Their foemen had no such deep-seated enthusiasm: they moved to battle as +sportively as to a joust; while their commanders were gaily exhorting +their men-at-arms to behave themselves gallantly against the enemy, a rude +and ignorant people who had rebelled against their lord, and who +confidently trusted in their superior numbers for success. "If the +warriors of Burgundy," (concluded the martial orators) "will dash into +career with knight-like courage victory will be theirs, and they will gain +everlasting honour." + +The cannon of the Liegeois did not check the advance of the chivalry; and +though the burghers endured well and courageously the close encounter, yet +the prudence of their General was verified, that they could oppose no +effectual resistance to the nobles and gentlemen trained to war, and armed +in proof. After an hour's struggle, the line of the Liegeois being charged +in rear by a detachment of horse, six thousand of them quitted the ranks, +and fled towards a village distant half a league from the field of battle. +The cavalry charged them several times, beating down and slaying them +without mercy. The main body of the Liegeois was yet unsubdued; and for +half an hour the noise of the war-cries was dreadful; the Burgundians and +Hainaulters shouting, under their banners, "Our Lady for Burgundy!" "Our +Lady for Hainault!" and the Liegeois ringing the air with the cry, "St. +Lambert for Pier-vves!" The detachment of horse returned, and fell upon +the rear of the Liegeois, and pierced it through: a great slaughter was +made, for none were admitted to ransom. Near the banner of the Duke of +Burgundy, where the conflict raged with most fierceness, the Lord of +Pierre-vves and his two sons (one was the new bishop) fell, and no +consideration for their chivalry or religious profession saved them from +death. The coolness of the Duke of Burgundy excites the praise of the +historian; and no apology is thought necessary for his conduct, when on +being asked, after the defeat, if they should cease from slaying the +Liegeois he replied, "Let them all die together; let no prisoners be made; +let none be admitted to ransom."[160] + +Such was the spirit in which war was conducted where the humanising +influence of chivalry was unfelt; and I shall not attempt to detail the +more horrid crimes of the sacking of towns. + +[Sidenote: Little chivalry in the second great series of French and +English wars.] + +In the short war between France and England in the reign of our Henry V., +nothing peculiarly chivalric can be marked in the conduct of the French. +The great second series of our wars with France, though not characterised +by knightly splendour, is not without knightly interest. France could +seldom boast of braver cavaliers than Dunois, Lahire, and the chevalier +Poton de Saintrailles. During the memorable siege of Orleans at the +request of the English the festivities of Christmas suspended the horrors +of war, and the nativity of the Saviour was commemorated by the sound of +martial music. Talbot, Suffolk, and other ornaments of English chivalry, +made presents of fruits to the accomplished Dunois, who vied with their +courtesy by presenting to Suffolk some black plush he wished for as a +lining for his dress in the then winter season. The high-spirited knights +of one side challenged the prowest knights of the other, as their +predecessors in chivalry had done. It is observable, however, that these +jousts were not held in honour of the ladies, but the challenge always +declared, that if there were in the other host a knight so generous and +loving of his country as to be willing to combat in her defence, he was +invited to present himself. + +[Sidenote: Combats of Pages.] + +History has preserved to us one circumstance, which is interesting, +because it marks the change of manners in the attendants on the cavaliers. +We have seen that in early times each knight had his squire, who gave arms +to his lord, and frequently mingled in the battle himself. The knight, +now, had only his page, who buckled on his armour, and rendered similar +acts of personal service; and, instead of generous emulation of the +enterprises of cavaliers, a mock combat was held between the striplings of +the two armies. Each party had its leader, and its standard. Their shields +were made of osier twigs, and their javelins were blunted. On the first +day the advantage was with the French, but on the second, the English +youths bore away the standard of their antagonists, and the reputation of +victory was theirs.[161] + +[Sidenote: Further decay of chivalry.] + +After this national contest chivalry continued to decline in France. The +civil wars had left that country one universal scene of vice and misrule, +and the people looked to the King for some measure of protection. So +exhausted were the nobility by their wars with England, that they +declared their want of power to lead into the field the customary number +of knights; and they therefore prayed a remission of military duty. +Charles willingly granted this petition; and no opposition was made to his +establishing a force which he might either use against the barons +themselves or the nation's enemies. The importance of mercenaries had been +extending itself ever since the reign of Philip Augustus, when they were +first introduced; for the old levies of feudatories and vassals had in +France as in England been found insufficient for the great purposes of +war. But the new bands of stipendiary adventurers were never a very +important branch of the French military force, for the kings could not pay +for many; and these hired soldiers were commonly infantry or lightly armed +horse, who could not contend in the battle-field with mail-clad knights +and squires. National feelings favoured the constitutional levy; and the +kings endeavoured to render the country's chivalry of sufficient service +by enlarging the time of their attendance. St. Louis increased the period +of military duty from forty days to two months, and Philip the Fair +doubled the time determined by St. Louis. + +[Sidenote: Abuses in conferring knighthood.] + +Such was the state of affairs in France, when, in the year 1444, Charles +established fifteen companies of cavalry. Each company consisted of one +hundred lances, and each of these men-at-arms had his archers, a coutiller +or soldier, whose weapon of offence resembled a knife rather than a sword, +and his personal attendant the page. Every one of these followers served +on horseback, and the whole force amounted to nine thousand cavalry. This +was intended to be a permanent establishment; and it was understood that +the soldiers should be paid out of the state finances, and should not like +the mercenaries of former times subsist by plunder. These companies of +ordonnance have ever been regarded as the foundation of the French +standing army. Here, then, closes the public military history of chivalry +in France. The new soldiers were stipendiaries, not cavaliers: they were +not educated for chivalry: they had not passed through the ranks of page +and squire; and not being necessarily gentlemen by name or arms, their +deeds could not be similar to those which sprang from the oath of the +cavalier. This new military force caused the feudatories of the crown no +longer to bring their vassals with them to war, except in certain extreme +cases, where the arriere ban was summoned, and then the appearance was but +a faint picture of the ancient chivalry. Thus the usage of banners and +pennons ceased, and with them the great distinctions of bannerets and +knights, because those titles no longer conferred honour and +command.[162] The title of knight lost its military character; and, +instead of being bestowed with religious solemnities, after a long and +painful education, it was often given to very young men without any +martial training whatever, when they first stepped from their father's +castles into the busy scenes of life. There was another circumstance which +sullied the glory of knighthood;--I mean the bestowing of its title upon +persons who were not of the military class. The exact time when this +innovation upon chivalry took place it is impossible to ascertain, and I +wish not to weary my readers with profitless antiquarian researches. +Knights of the law, as distinguished from those of arms, were known in the +thirteenth century; and when once the clergy, who exercised the judicial +functions, began to assume military titles, (which they did from their +spirit of engrossing every thing that was honourable,) the matter soon +grew into a custom: the lawyers claimed the privilege of wearing gold, and +in every point asserted the equality of the law, with the chivalry of a +country.[163] By degrees the title of knighthood began to be applied to +men distinguished for their learning or talents, or who for less +honourable causes were favoured by the King. This application of chivalric +honours to persons who were not within the order of chivalry was viewed +with a jealous and malignant eye by the military knights, who were not +satisfied with the consideration in which they were held when other +classes of society copied their titles, and shone by the reflection of +martial glory. Their fierce minds felt no respectful sympathy for the +literary and intellectual awarders of justice, and they wished that the +lance of the knight-errant should continue to be the only refuge of the +injured. In effect the title of knight became of little estimation, and in +the history of France, through the fifteenth century, we seldom read of +the conferring of the order of chivalry upon soldiers in the field of +battle. + +Chivalry thus decayed in France, before gunpowder became the chief +instrument of death. Though artillery had been known so early as the +battle of Cressy, it did not immediately come into general use. During the +last half of the fourteenth century, the French used it in sieges, and +sometimes in the field. But still, when Charles VII. established the +companies of ordonnance already mentioned, the strength of the army was +cavalry. Soon afterwards the French armies began to consist of infantry; +for the soldiers of France were mercenaries, and they were drawn from +Switzerland, a country which from its poverty and mountain-form could not +boast of many knights and plumed steeds. + +While chivalry was losing its martial vigour in the French monarchy, some +of the nobility of France preserved it in their castles in all its +stateliness and grace. But the records of those times are so faint and +imperfect, that any thing beyond the mere circumstance of their general +chivalry cannot be learned. + +[Sidenote: Burgundy.] + +[Sidenote: Its chivalry.] + +The annals of Burgundy are somewhat more satisfactory. The Dukes of +Burgundy became sovereigns of Flanders, and impressed on that country a +character of chivalry and romance. Tournaments, jousts, and other knightly +shows, graced the wealth of the Flemish cities, at the time when the +commercial cities of Italy were distinguished for classic elegance and +taste. The court of the Dukes of Burgundy was so high in fame for the +lofty daring and gallant grace of chivalric emprise, that when +Constantinople fell under the Moslem yoke, the hearts of the noble +Burgundian knights glowed with the bold and pious desire of recovering the +metropolis of eastern Christendom. The desire perished, for it was not +supported by the other powers of Europe; and Burgundy, deprived of its +hope of leading the lances of the West, in a cause so well worthy of +them, is only interesting in the history of chivalry for its gracefulness +and splendour. To present the reader with detailed statements of all its +martial games would be tedious and unprofitable; but one of them possesses +considerable interest, as displaying a very singular state of manners, and +proving that the romances, and tales of chivalry, were often realised. + +[Sidenote: The romance of Burgundian tournaments.] + +In the year 1468, the sister of Edward IV. of England married Charles Duke +of Burgundy. The banquets and balls which testified the general joy were +varied by a martial exercise, called the Passage of the Tree of Gold. It +was held in the market-place at Bruges, which, on that occasion, exchanged +its wonted appearance for one of chivalric gaiety. The ground was unpaved, +and sanded like a royal tilt-yard; and galleries were erected around for +the reception of the nobles and dames of Burgundy and the wealthy +merchants of Flanders. A door, at one end of the lists, painted with a +tree of gold, was defended by the Bastard of Burgundy, who jousted with +such cavaliers as, by the permission of the ladies, were allowed to +deliver the knight of the Tree of Gold of his emprise. According to the +humour of the times, many knights appeared in fantastic disguises. One +knight, though, lusty and young, approached the lists in a litter, and +presented every mark of feebleness and age. He requested leave to joust +for that once only, and declared that he would then retire to some +peaceful cell, and forget, in devotion and penitence, the vain delights of +war. + +At another time, the dames and damsels were informed that a noble knight, +who wished to joust, was without the lists; but that he would not present +himself to the ladies of Burgundy until they perfectly knew his tale. All +his life he had loved a lady of Sclavonia; and although she had not +altogether accepted him as her servant, yet she had encouraged him to +hope. His mental sufferings for her love deserved compassion; but she, +forgetting that feminine virtue, and continuing her pride, had not treated +his devotion as it merited; and he, therefore, for the nine months which +preceded his appearance at Bruges, had lived among rocks and mountains, a +prey to melancholy. When, however, the lady heard of this unquestionable +proof of his passion, she repented of her ingratitude, and had sent to him +a damsel-errant, who was now his guide. She had beguiled the tedious way +to Bruges by telling him that the pleasures of love could only be reached +by labours, desires, and sufferings; that pain gave a zest to enjoyment, +and that the greatest offence against love was despair. The lady had bade +him hope; the damsel-errant had counselled him to go upon some chivalric +quest, in order to dissipate his melancholy; and she had promised to +accompany him, in order to deliver the tale of his adventures to his +lady-mistress. + +The dames and maidens of Burgundy accorded permission to this zealous +servant of love to attempt the emprise of the Passage of the Tree of Gold. +He was preceded into the lists by three men, dressed like Moors, and a +lady followed, mounted on a white palfrey, and dressed, as the people +thought, like a damsel-errant. She led the knight, who bestrode a cheval +de lance, and afterwards came four nobles, clad in the habits of +Sclavonia, with the words "Le Chevalier Esclave" worked on their robes. He +jousted with a knight who supplied the place of the Bastard of Burgundy, +but with what degree of gallantry history is silent.[164] + + * * * * * + +[Sidenote: Last gleams of chivalry in France.] + +[Sidenote: Life of Bayard.] + +I now return to France, whose chivalry, even in the last days of its +existence, is interesting; for if ever the bright glory of one man could +have changed the manners of his age, the knight without fear and without +reproach would have revived the chivalric fame of his country. Pierre +Terrail, or Du Terrail, known under the name of Bayard, was born in the +year 1476, at the chateau of Bayard, in Dauphiny. His family was of +ancient and noble race, and boasted that their ancestors had fought at the +battles of Cressy and Poictiers. His own father had been so severely +wounded in the service of his country, that he quitted the army before the +usual time for retiring. He passed the evening of his life in Dauphiny, +occupied in the education of his children, of whom Peter was the only one +that aspired to military glory. His wishes were grateful to his father; +and his uncle, the Bishop of Grenoble, promised to introduce him to the +Duke of Savoy. In his paternal home Peter Bayard had learned some of the +duties of the page of early chivalric times: like him he ministered to his +father and his guests at table; and he had acquired admirable skill in +horsemanship. The Bishop took the youth to Chambery, the then residence of +the Duke, and by the grace of manner with which he attended his uncle at +the dinner-table, and by a fine display of horsemanship, the Duke regarded +him with kindness, and placed him in his service. Bayard was then about +thirteen years old. Not many months afterwards he became an attendant of +the King of France; for the Duke of Savoy, preferring Bayard's interests +to his own, wished to advance his fortunes. Charles VIII. put him into +the household of the Signeur de Ligny, where he remained till he was +seventeen years old, when he was called into the class of the gentlemen of +the royal court. Besides acquiring the military exercises of his time, he +graced his imagination with fairy and romantic tales: he was a knight in +spirit and purpose, and he now aspired to gain the favour of the ladies by +the prowess of his chivalry. A very few days after he had quitted his +office of page, he broke a lance in a joust with one of the most +distinguished cavaliers of the day, and his fame was bruited over all +France. He remained all his life, in the service of the French kings. The +theatre of his exertions was Italy; but, as a very able pen has lately +traced the revolutions of that interesting country[165], I need not follow +him through all his chevisance. + +Such matters as display the points of his personal character, and show the +remaining chivalric features of the time, come, however, within my +province. In 1501, he alone sustained on a narrow bridge the efforts of +two hundred cavaliers, who attacked him. It was then that he obtained from +the King a device having for its emblem a porcupine, with the words +"_Vires agminis unus habet_." At the taking of Brescia, he received a +dangerous wound, and he remained awhile in a private house. When he was +about to depart, his hostess wished to present him with two thousand +pistoles for the gratitude she felt at his having preserved her honour and +her fortune; and he accepted the money only for the purpose of giving it +to her daughters, as their marriage-portions. So highly was he esteemed, +that Chabannes, a marshal of France, and Humbercourt, and D'Aubigny, +general officers, all of higher rank and older service than Bayard, fought +under his orders. Yet he never rose to high commands. His greatest dignity +was that of lieutenant-general of Dauphiny. + +But the most amusingly characteristic story of Bayard regards his +gallantry. When he was page to the Duke of Savoy, he loved one of the +attendants of the Duchess; but the passion either was not mutual, or was +not graced with any character of romance, for a few years afterwards the +damsel married the Seigneur de Fleuxas. Bayard met her at the house of the +widow of his first master, the Duke of Savoy. During supper, the lady of +Fleuxas praised the chivalry in tournaments of her early admirer in such +high terms, that he blushed for very modesty; and she added, that as he +was now residing with a family who had been the first to cherish him, it +would be great blame in him, if he did not prove himself as gallant a +knight as he had done before. The answer of Bayard was that of a polite +cavalier; for he requested her to tell him what he could do that would +please the good and honourable assembly, his Lady of Savoy, and, above all +the rest, her fair self. She advised him to hold a tournament. "Truly," +replied Bayard, "it shall be done as you wish. You are the first lady +whose beauty and grace attracted my heart. I know that my salutations of +you can only be those of courtesy, for I should lose my labour were I to +solicit your love, and I would rather die than accomplish your dishonour." +He then prayed her to give him one of her sleeves, for he said that he +should have need of it in the approaching tournament. The lady accordingly +took it from her dress, and he attached it to his.[166] + +The martial pastime was held, and after the supper which succeeded, it was +enquired to whom should the prizes (the sleeve and a ruby) be given. The +knights, the ladies, and even those who had tourneyed with him, accorded +it to Bayard. But he declared that the honour was not his; but that if he +had done any thing well, Madame de Fleuxas was the cause, for she had +given him her sleeve. He, therefore, prayed that she might be permitted to +act according to her judgment and prudence. The Seigneur de Fleuxas knew +too well the noble character of Bayard to feel any jealousy at this +compliment to his wife, but with the other judges of the tournament he +immediately went to her and related the matter. She was delighted at +Bayard's gallantry, and declared that as he had done her the honour to +avow that her sleeve had made him gain the prize, she would preserve it +all her life for the sake of his love. The ruby she gave to the cavalier, +who had next distinguished himself to Bayard. + +And thus lived the knight without fear and without reproach, till the +retreat of the French out of Italy in 1524, when he was fatally wounded by +a stone discharged from an harquebouze. He fell from his horse, crying, +"Jesus, my Saviour, I am dead." He kissed the cross-handle of his sword; +and there being no chaplain present, he confessed himself to his esquire, +who then, by the knight's command, placed him against a tree, with his +face turned towards the enemy; "because," said Bayard, "as I have never +yet turned my back to the foe, I will not begin to do so in my last +moments." He charged his esquire to tell the King that the only regret he +felt at quitting life was the being deprived of the power of serving him +any further. The Constable of Bourbon, as he was pursuing the French, +found him in this state, and assured him that he pitied his lot. But +Bayard replied, "It is not I who stand in need of pity, but you who are +carrying arms against your King, your country, and your oath." The news +that he was mortally wounded quickly spread, and excited the deepest grief +in the minds of both armies, for he was a valiant soldier and a generous +foe. After a while he was removed to a tent and placed on a bed. He was +shriven by a priest, and soon afterwards died, as, with true Christian +piety, he was imploring his God and his Saviour to pardon his sins, and to +show him mercy rather than justice.[167] He was buried at a convent of +Minims, half a league from Grenoble, the principal town of his native +country. + +[Sidenote: Francis I.] + +During some of the last years of his life, his fine and chivalric spirit +found a kindred soul in Francis I., who, it is remarkable, was the only +French sovereign graced with any share of the character of chivalry. For, +while the Plantagenets of England had shone as brilliantly by chivalric as +by regal splendour, the Capetian princes of France could not present a +king that displayed any powers beyond the ordinary qualities of royalty. +The valiancy, the liberality, the fine, open, and manly countenance, and +the lofty form of the King, were altogether those of one of Charlemagne's +paladins. His imagination was coloured with the gay and lively tints of +romance, and so fondly did he dwell upon the fabulous glories of old, that +in many a sportive moment he arrayed himself in the guise of the antique +cavalier. But here our panegyric must cease; for no preux knight would, +like Francis, have pledged his solemn word to observe a treaty, and +immediately afterwards have violated it. However unkingly and unknightly +Charles V. might have deported himself in treating Francis in prison with +severity, and although the terms of the treaty of Madrid were such as no +noble victor would have imposed, still the obligation of the pledge of +Francis's word should have been felt as sacred. A noble cavalier, a +Chandos or Du Guesclin, would have disdained to obtain his liberty by +signing a treaty which he intended to break as soon as he should leave his +prison. "All is lost, Madam, except our honour," as the French King wrote +to his mother after the battle of Pavia: a generous, chivalric expression; +and scarcely could it have been expected that he was the man who would +have thrown away that honour. + +The last faint gleam, however, of the sun of military chivalry in France +fell upon Bayard and his sovereign, Francis; for after the battle of +Marignan, in 1515, when they fought together against the Swiss, the King +was, at his own request, knighted by the cavalier without fear and without +reproach. After giving the accolade, Bayard addressed his sword, +"Certainly, my good sword, you shall hereafter be honoured as a most +precious relic, and never shall be drawn except against Turks, Moors, and +Saracens." He then twice leaped up for joy, and plunged his trusty weapon +into its sheath.[168] + +Soon after the days of Francis I. the title of knighthood became an empty +name: it was preserved as the decoration of nobility and lawyers; and, +from respect to the ancient glories of their nation, kings received it at +their baptism.[169] Montluc, that man of blood, was the last French +soldier who received it in the field of battle. The accolade was given to +him by the Duke d'Anguien, after the engagement of Cérisolles, in 1544. + +[Sidenote: Abolition of tournaments.] + +[Sidenote: Extinction of chivalry.] + +The amusements of chivalry were soon abolished. The accidental death of +Henry II. in a tournament[170], in the year 1559, did much to indispose +the minds of the people from chivalric sports; and when in the following +year Prince Henry de Bourbon Montpensier was killed, in consequence of his +horse falling under him, while careering round the lists, tournaments +ceased for ever; and with their abolition, as Voltaire says, the ancient +spirit of chivalry expired in France; for that country, after the death of +Henry II., was plunged in fanaticism, and desolated by the wars of +religion. The spirit did not survive the forms of chivalry; for the +intercourse with Italy introduced into France new opinions and feelings. +Machiavelian politics banished the open, manly demeanour of chivalry; and +the most disgusting profligacy equally distinguished the ladies. It is +amusing to observe that, long after the extinction of chivalry in France, +the apparent homage and devotion of chivalric love still continued, +although it was no longer sustained by virtue. Love, sublimed into +idolatry, breathes in every page of the heroic romances which succeeded +the romances of chivalry, and reflect the feelings of the nation; and so +late as the reign of Louis XIV. a ruffled and well-powdered French +General, whose soul was not illumined by a single gleam of the character +of a preux chevalier, would fancy himself the very pink of sentiment, and +sigh at the feet of his mistress, + + "Pour meriter ton coeur, pour plaire a vos beaux yeux, + J'ai fait la guerre aux rois, je l'aurois fait aux dieux." + + + + +CHAP. V. + +PROGRESS OF CHIVALRY IN SPAIN. + + _General Nature of Spanish Chivalry ... Religion and Heroism ... + Gallantry ... Blending of Spanish and Oriental Manners ... Its + beneficial Tendencies ... Peculiarities of Spanish Chivalry ... Forms + of Knighthood ... Various Ranks of Knights ... Spanish Poetry ... + Heroes of Chivalry ... Pelayo ... Bernardo del Carpio ... And + incidentally of Charlemagne's Expedition into Spain ... The Life of + the Cid ... His early ferocious Heroism ... His singular Marriage ... + Enters the Service of King Ferdinand ... The Cid's Chivalric Gallantry + ... He is knighted ... Death of King Ferdinand ... The Cid becomes the + Knight of Sancho, King of Castile ... Mixture of Evil and Good in the + Cid's Character ... Supports the King in his Injustice. ... The Cid's + romantic Heroism ... Sancho's further Injustice opposed by him ... + Death of Sancho ... Instance of the Cid's virtuous Boldness ... + Character of Alfonso, Successor of Sancho ... Story of his chivalric + Bearing ... The Cid's second Marriage ... Is banished from Alfonso's + Court ... Becomes the Ally of the Moors. ... But recalled ... Is + banished again ... Singular Story of the Cid's unknightly Meanness ... + Fortunes of the Cid during his Exile ... The Cid's chivalric Nobleness + and Generosity ... Is recalled by Alfonso ... The Cid captures Toledo + ... and Valentia ... Story of Spanish Manners ... The Cid's unjust + Conduct to the Moors ... The unchivalric Character of the Cid's Wife + and Daughters ... The Cid recalled by Alfonso ... The Marriages of his + Daughters ... Basely treated by their Husbands ... Cortez at Toledo to + decide the Cause ... Picture of ancient Manners ... Death of the Cid + ... His Character ... Fate of his good Horse ... Spanish Chivalry + after his Death ... Gallantry of a Knight ... The Merits of Missals + decided by Battle ... Passage of Arms at Orbigo ... Knights travel and + joust for Ladies' Love ... Extinction of Spanish Chivalry._ + + +[Sidenote: General nature of Spanish chivalry.] + +Spanish chivalry awakens the most splendid and romantic associations of +the mind. Europe, with her active courage,--her jealousy of honour,--her +superior religion;--Asia, with her proud and lofty deportment,--her fervid +and sublimated imagination, and the magnificent ceremonial of her +pomp,--formed the knight of Spain; and, in consequence of this influence +of Orientalism on his character, he represents the stateliness of chivalry +as perfectly as the English cavalier its adventurousness, and the French +its gaiety. + +[Sidenote: Religion and heroism.] + +There was an interesting blending of religious enthusiasm and romantic +heroism in the Spaniard. His warm and creative imagination transformed the +patron-saint of his country into a knight. He always saw St. James at his +side, mounted on a stately white horse, and fighting the battles of +Christianity and Spain; and, as if these chivalric exploits were not +sufficient, he represented him as the professed and powerful champion of +distressed damsels; for he supposed that this celestial ally had freed the +nation from paying the annual tribute of a hundred Christian virgins to +their infidel enemies.[171] + +[Sidenote: Gallantry.] + +Spain, too, appears to our fancy as the very land of chivalric love,--of +love which was bred amidst difficulties and dangers, where the +undistinguishable throng of "hopes and fears that kindle hope" gave a more +imaginative cast to the feelings than can be known in the more settled +frame of modern society. There was not only the feudal baron violating the +laws of courtesy, as in other countries, but bands of Moors were careering +over the plains, who did not think that woman was an object utterly +unworthy of a perilous quest. Here, then, all the beautiful romance of +knight-errantry might be realised; and in the breast of the rescued damsel +love would spring from gratitude. + +[Sidenote: Blending of Spanish and Oriental manners.] + +The germs of chivalry existed in the minds of the Visigoths, who overthrew +the dominion of the Romans in Spain. Military investiture, respect for +women, and the sports of hawking and hunting, were the new circumstances +in Spanish character and manners: but in the times of those wretched +barbarians, the Visigoths, it is in vain to search for the perfect +developement of the chivalric character. Chivalry appears only in few and +fitful gleams in those dark times; and her golden light did not shine in +full and bright display till the days of the Arabians; and, throughout +their long reign of seven centuries, it had a very remarkable effect on +circumstances and characters. As its glory was personal, chivalry abated +much of the fierceness of a religious or a national war; for the cavalier +could admire, even in an enemy, qualities which it was his own pride and +ambition to possess. + +The nations met in the graceful encounter of the tournament, as well as in +the more perilous battle-field; and the interchange of chivalric +courtesies, when the image of war was exhibited, could not but mitigate +the ferocity of real hostilities. At the Moorish or Christian festivals, a +gallant soldier of the opposite religion would appear, and challenge the +bravest of his adversaries to maintain the superiority of his nation and +faith; and in maintaining that cause the cavaleresque deportment of the +combatants was admired, when the avowed object of their encounter was +forgotten; for the object of the assembly was amusement; and the eye and +fancy were addressed in these gentle exercises and proofs of arms.[172] + +[Sidenote: Its beneficial tendencies.] + +The people of the two religions insensibly mingled, and each adopted +something of the thoughts and manners of the other. If the Christian +taught the Moors to use the lance of courtesy, the Christian learnt from +the Moors to throw the cane, which was afterwards such a favourite Spanish +amusement. From them, too, the knights of Spain adopted the javelin, and +used it instead of the lance. They were wont to hurl it as forcibly as any +Asiatic or Grecian heroes could have done; for a greater defence than what +was afforded by mail and a quilted jacket was required to resist the +stroke.[173] + +The poets who lived in the chivalric days of Spain invariably gave the +moral and personal costume of chivalry to the Arabian as often as to the +European. Thus Calaynos, the Moor[174], is as much celebrated in the +romances of Spain as the Cid himself; and it was the general confession +that the knights of Granada were gentlemen although Moors.[175] This +amalgamation of character formed the basis of those unions between the +Arabians and the Spaniards which are so frequently recorded in the history +of the Peninsula, and which strike the reader as incredible. It has been +thought for the glory of the nation to represent the struggle as of +ceaseless duration for seven long centuries, and too fierce to allow of +the sheathing of the sword: but these alliances were so common, that Spain +often presented the appearance of a number of petty states, each +attempting to draw the others into its vortex, rather than the general +cause of the Cross warring with the Crescent. Independently of these +alliances there was scarcely a Christian cavalier of fame who did not in +the course of his military career wield his good sword in the ranks of the +Musulmans. + +Among the blessings which sprang from this free intercourse, religious +toleration was not the least valuable one. Spain, which in later times has +been so remarkable for the cruelties of its bigotry, was in early days the +only country of Europe where religious liberty could breathe. Since the +Moors and Christians often treated each other as separate powers, mutual +toleration ensued, and this liberal feeling in the minds of the Christians +extended itself beyond the pale of their Moorish subjects and allies. The +fathers of the Reformation were the Albigenses, many of whom were +sheltered by the kings of Arragon, while their brethren were persecuted to +death in France. No church, save that of England, was in such continued +opposition to the papacy as the Spanish; and in every great dispute it +espoused the cause of the heretics, as the assertors of the liberty of the +human will were always called. + +The humanities of chivalry were not limited to toleration or mercy, to the +mosque or the field of battle, but Moors and Christians often lived in the +same town, and commingled social charities. Friendships were formed, and, +maugre the declamation of bigots, dearer affections attached the two +nations. The knight was in consequence of the obligations of his chivalry +the friend of the distressed; and when beauty pleaded, his heart forbad +him from enquiring in what religion the damsel had been educated. The +passion of love in the breast of the Spanish cavalier was not more fervid +or intense than in the breast of the cavalier of any other country. If the +Spaniard be considered as a Goth by birth, and an Arab by education, still +his natural and artificial circumstances formed but the same character of +passion; for both the Goth and the Arab adored as well as loved their +mistress, and regarded her as a divinity as well as an object of +affection. + +[Sidenote: Peculiarities of Spanish chivalry.] + +There was a gravity, perhaps a jealousy, both qualities of Oriental +origin, about the conduct of the Spanish knight, which were foreign to the +nature of the chivalry of other countries. The expression of his feelings +was unlike theirs. Bold metaphors, rich and varied imagery and glowing +sentiments, are mixed with the simple developement of passion; and these +orientalisms of his verse are not the elaborate and artificial ornaments +with which fiction dresses up her image of passion: but as the mind of the +Spaniard had been trained by the Arab, it became natural to him to nourish +his affection in the splendid dreamings of the East. If he borrowed ideas +and fancies from the Moor, it must be remembered that he likewise freely +communicated the character of his own system. In no Mohammedan country +was woman so high in moral rank as in Spain. The Musulman woman was not +passion's object, but, like the lady in chivalry, she was the origin of +honour; for she sat in the tournament as the judge of valour, and the +Moorish knight received the guerdon of triumph from her hands. Asiatic +jealousy abated something of its nature and its forms in Spain; for there +woman mingled with man in social intercourse, and her beauties were not +always shrouded by a veil.[176] + +[Sidenote: Forms of knighthood.] + +The forms of chivalric initiation in Spain were similar to those in other +countries. The bath--confession--vigil in a church--mass--the spurs--the +girding with the sword--the accolade,--these were the chief ceremonies. +The knight by his oath expressed willingness to die either for the defence +of his law, or of his king or country.[177] The sword was then ungirt from +him by some person of honour, who by so doing was supposed to become his +padrino, or godfather in chivalry, and to confirm the knighthood thus +bestowed. No circumstances could ever justify the cavalier in bearing arms +against his padrino. He was, on the contrary, to defend him by his sword +and his counsel to the utmost of his ability, and to be every thing to +him, as a _man_ was to his lord in feudal relation. + +These were the ancient ceremonies; but they were simplified in subsequent +times. The mere dubbing was then held sufficient; and, by a law of +Ferdinand and Isabella, in 1476, it was ordained that it should be at the +pleasure of the King to use the old forms or not, and that the dignity of +knighthood should be equally illustrious if they were omitted. + +[Sidenote: Various ranks of knights.] + +The highest class of knights in Spain was formed of the Knights of the +Spur, the Cavalleros de Espuela d'Orada. They were always hidalgos, or +gentlemen of birth of three descents. Kings' sons were of this class of +knighthood; and no one was crowned till he had been invested with the +order.[178] + +Among the privileges of a knight of the Golden Spur, it is curious to +notice that no person could sit at table with him except one of his own +rank; no one of an inferior order was permitted to deny the infallibility +of his opinion, and to contradict him: and for offences against the state, +a knight of this class was to be beheaded, and not put to death in the +vulgar mode. + +The circumstances in his conduct which were punishable with degradation +are interesting, as descriptive of Spanish manners. It was thought +necessary to forbid him from stealing the arms of another knight, from +selling his own, or losing them at play, or giving them to courtezans. The +punishment of degradation, as consequent on the admission of improper +persons into the order, is intelligible and just: his girdle and +spur-leathers were also to be cut, if he exercised any trade; except, +indeed, in captivity, when he was kindly permitted to support his life by +the best means of his ingenuity.[179] + +The other class of knights was formed of cavalleros Armados, who enjoyed +most of the privileges of nobility. A knight of this rank was free from +the payment of taxes and tribute; and so were the knights of the Golden +Spur, not, however, as knights, but as hidalgos. The cavalleros d'Armados +were always made by the king's own hand; but the right of creating +cavalleros d'Espuela d'Orada existed in the will of every cavalier of the +order, though it was usually exercised only by the king. + +These were the two bodies in which the chivalry of Spain was arranged. The +title of Cavallero was also given to every man who was a soldier, in +consequence of holding his lands by a military and feudal tenure; but he +was not, from that circumstance, necessarily a knight. Regarding chivalry +as an order of merit, the cavalleros d'Espuela d'Orada and the cavalleros +d'Armados were the only true chivalric knights in Spain. + +There were some interesting circumstances in Spanish chivalry. Thus, in +Catalonia, besides the squire who bore his shield and lance, each knight +was attended by an armed man, whose title was, Companion of the Knight, +and who was considered as a gentleman that followed the art of chivalry. +He was also attached to the knight by feudal relations; for the knight was +compelled to grant him land, or rent, in fealty. A knight who was entitled +to be attended by this companion was a knight by creation, a miles vero; +and he who had not received the order of chivalry, although an hidalgo, +was considered as a knight minor, whom, indeed, chivalry would have +disowned, but that his birth, rank, and fortune, made him a part of the +military state.[180] + +It is curious to notice that, by the general laws of Spanish chivalry, it +was usual for every knight to embrace a newly-made knight the first time +he met him, in honour of faith and love; and it was contrary to those laws +for one knight to affront another, unless he should first send his +defiance or publication of that breach of the bond of companionship. + +[Sidenote: Spanish poetry.] + +The pillars of Spanish chivalry were of the same quality and character as +those of other countries. Spain had her military orders, her institutions +of Calatrava, Saint James, and Alcantara; while the militia of the Temple +and the friars of the Hospital were richer in possessions in Spain than in +any country of the West. She had, also, her ballads and romances, in prose +and verse, descriptive of the wars and loves of chivalry: but I cannot +discover, with some writers, that the chivalric muse sung either a sweeter +or a higher strain in Spain than in France or England. Her minstrelsy, +indeed, was peculiar, and so was her national character. On one side, +longings for patriotic independence, and consequent hatred of the Moors; +on the other, the loves and friendships of humanity, unaffected by +difference of religion or country. The Troubadour chaunted his lays of +love and war in Spain; and his appeals found a ready way to the heart in +Arragon; for of that part of the Peninsula the Provençal was the +vernacular dialect. + +[Sidenote: Heroes of chivalry.] + +[Sidenote: Pelayo.] + +Spain is rich in her heroes, both of romance and chivalry. The Spaniard +will not acknowledge that the Moor was, for a moment, left in tranquil +possession of his conquest; and he points to a hero, named Pelayo, as +collecting the remnants of the Christians in the mountains of Asturias, +immediately after the general triumph of the Moorish arms. He resisted the +Moors till his three hundred followers dwindled to thirty. His enemies +then left him to perish, for hitherto his food had only been honey, found +in the crevices of the rocks. But, in after times, the folly of this +disdain was seen; for these thirty men were the nucleus round which the +scattered Spaniards collected.[181] + +[Sidenote: Bernardo del Carpio.] + +Truth does not cast many gleams on Bernardo del Carpio, the next in time +and rank of Spanish knights. If we may credit the historians of his +country, it was he who nourished, in the Asturias, the plant of national +liberty; for when Alfonso the Chaste would have made the land over which +he ruled part of the dominions of Charlemagne, the nobility, headed by +Bernardo, repelled the invader, and annihilated the French peerage at +Fontarabbia. Much of this, perhaps the whole, is the mere dreaming of +national pride, not deserving regard: but when I find mingled with the +story the assertion that Bernardo gained the alliance of some of the +Moors, and that, in after parts of his life, he fought also under Moorish +banners, I accept these circumstances as valuable, and consider them as +indications of general principles and manners, whoever may be the hero of +the tale. + +[Sidenote: Charlemagne's expedition into Spain.] + +Of the far-famed expedition of Charlemagne into Spain, little or nothing +is known, though some French writers have defined the extent of his +dominion in that country with the precision with which the political +changes of modern times can be traced. Tradition, song, and history, unite +in proving that he went into Catalonia and Arragon; but it does not seem +that he established any government in those countries; and his march was +rather the wild adventure of a knight than the grave purpose of kingly +ambition. The Spaniards, as we have seen, claim the honour of defeating +him in the valley of Ronscesvalles; but the Arabs also assert their title +to the same feat of chivalry: and, still further to embarrass the matter, +it has been contended, with equal plausibility, that the French under +Charlemagne were worsted by the Navarrese and people of Acquitain; and +thus that the French of the Adour and the Garonne defeated the French of +the Seine. The land between the Ebro and the Pyrenees, and called the +Spanish March, was governed, some centuries before the twelfth, by the +counts of Barcelona, who owned the feudal sovereignty of the kings of +France. This territorial acquisition has been generally referred to the +sword of Charlemagne, not, however, on sound historical proof, but rather +from the practice of monkish chroniclers, of honouring that emperor with +all the deeds of arms which could not accurately be ascribed to any other +warrior. + +[Sidenote: The life of the Cid.] + +In the life of Count Fernan Gonsalez fiction and fact are blended beyond +all power of extrication; and we must descend to the eleventh century for +a genuine picture of the Spanish cavalier. No one is dearer to the proud +recollections of a Spaniard than the Cid Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar: for it was +by the valour of his arms that the momentous question of superiority +between the two great powers in the Peninsula was decided as every +Christian and Spanish heart could have wished. The honour of his chivalry +is bright and pure; for to swear by his knighthood, affé de Rodrigo, is +still the most solemn form of a Spaniard's asseveration. + +The marriage of Don Diego Laynez, a Castilian gentleman, and Donna Teresa +Rodriguez, daughter of a count and governor of Asturias, was followed in +the year 1026 by the birth of a son at Burgos, who was called Rodrigo +Diaz, and of Bivar, from the conquest made by his father of a town two +leagues north of Burgos; but he was more generally designated as the Cid, +from the Asiatic title, Es Sayd, (my Lord,) which five Moorish emirs whom +he conquered gave him, and which his king confirmed.[182] Indeed, from the +number of his victories over the Moors, he emphatically merited this +title. + +[Sidenote: His early ferocious heroism.] + +While yet a youth he gave an earnest of his martial and ferocious +disposition. His father had been insulted by a blow from Count Don Gomez, +Lord of Gormaz, but he was unable, from old age and infirmities, to take +vengeance, and he mourned in solitude and dishonour. Rodrigo, in order to +restore peace to his father's mind, defied and fought the mighty man of +arms: he slew him, and returned to his home with the head of the +vanquished hanging at his saddle-bow. His father was seated at table with +dinner, untasted, before him. Rodrigo presented to him the head, which he +called the herb that would restore his father's appetite. The old man +embraced his son, and, placing him at the head of his table, declared that +he alone was worthy of being at the head of the house of Layn Calvo. His +father soon afterwards died. Rodrigo next distinguished himself by beating +back an invasion of five Moorish emirs who had fearfully ravaged the +country; and instead of treating them with severity, he gave them liberty, +receiving their submission and tribute.[183] + +[Sidenote: His singular marriage.] + +The Cid's affair with Gomez was productive of an interesting circumstance, +and illustrative of the manners of that remote and singular period. +Ximena, the daughter of the Count, required of Don Ferdinand, King of +Castile, the strange boon of Rodrigo of Bivar in marriage, alleging as her +reason that his possessions would one day be greater than those of any man +in the Castilian dominions. She declared that the power of pardon rested +in her breast; and, like other amatory enthusiasts, she gave a colouring +of religion to her wishes, by urging that the marriage would be for the +service of God. The King consented, and summoned the Cid to his court; +who, on receiving the message, incontinently dighted himself full +gallantly, and, accompanied by many knights and other armed peers in +festival guise, he repaired to the King at Valentia. Ferdinand received +him with so much honour as to excite the envy of the courtiers. The +purpose of the summons was communicated, and Rodrigo had no difficulty in +consenting to marry the lady whose father he had killed. The marriage was +celebrated; and the satisfaction of the King is peculiarly marked, for he +made him large grants of land, being aware of his military prowess, and +thinking that by this marriage he had secured his allegiance.[184] The Cid +took his bride home, and, commending her to the kindest care of his +mother, he went towards the Moorish frontier; for, in order to give a zest +to his marital pleasures, he had vowed not to solace himself with Ximena's +love till he had won five battles in the field. + +[Sidenote: Enters the service of King Ferdinand.] + +He was soon called to be the champion of his king; for a quarrel between +Don Ferdinand and his brother Don Ramirio, King of Arragon, regarding the +city of Caldhorra, was to be decided by arms. The Cid and the other +champion, Don Martin Gonzales, entered the lists, and the judges placed +them in such situations that the sun and wind favoured neither. They +careered so fiercely against each other that their lances broke, but in +the closer encounter of swords the Cid prevailed: he slew his adversary; +and the judges declared that the city of Caldhorra belonged to Don +Ferdinand. + +[Sidenote: The Cid's chivalric gallantry.] + +This victory was rewarded by the gratitude of the King, and the envy of +the courtiers; and the latter, in the bitterness of their rage, +endeavoured to plot with the Moorish emirs, the subjects of the Cid, for +his destruction. But the Moors not only disdained the alliance, but +revealed the meditated treason to their lord. Many of the conspirators +were banished; but regarding one person the chivalric gallantry of the +conqueror prevailed over his just resentment. The wife of the Count Don +Garcia prayed for the pardon of her lord: she fell at the knees of the +Cid, but he would not listen to her until she rose. She requested him to +command the Moorish emir, into whose country she and her husband were +sentenced to be banished, to treat them with mildness and benevolence. +The Cid spoke according to her will; and the King of Cordova, for the love +he bore that hero, treated them kindly, and gave Cabra to Garcia as a +habitation. As far as Garcia was concerned this kindness was misplaced; +for he made war upon his benefactor, the King of Cordova, till the Cid +went and punished him. The circumstances attending this punishment will be +told in a subsequent and very interesting part of our hero's life. + +The Cid then assisted his sovereign in wresting Viseu, Lamego, and other +cities from the Moors. There were no circumstances of his valour so +remarkable as the cruel vengeance of Ferdinand on a man taken at Viseu, +who had slain King Don Alfonso, his wife's father. He cut off the foot +which had prest down the armatost, or instrument by means of which the +cross-bow wag charged, he lopt off the hands which had held the bow and +fitted the quarrel, and plucked out the eyes which had taken the mark. The +archers then made a butt of the living trunk.[185] Thus, whatever might +have been the influence of chivalry on the mind of the Cid, it certainly +had not tempered the ferocity of his Gothic sovereign. + +[Sidenote: He is knighted.] + +Coimbra was one of the new conquests, and in that city Rodrigo was +knighted. The ceremony was performed in the church of Saint Mary, which +had once been the great mosque of Coimbra. The King girded on the sword +and gave him the kiss, but not the blow, for the Cid needed no +remembrancer of his duties. The ladies were his honourable attendants on +this august occasion. The Queen gave him his horse, and the Infanta, Donna +Urraca, fastened on his spurs. His names, Rodrigo Diaz, were now +compressed into Ruydiez, agreeably to a frequent custom at investiture, +which in so many respects was similar to baptism. By permission of the +King he then exercised the privileges of his new rank by knighting nine +noble squires. By this time the vow of the Cid was performed, and he +retired awhile from the court to the society of his wife. + +[Sidenote: Death of King Ferdinand.] + +[Sidenote: The Cid becomes the knight of Sancho, King of Castile.] + +Ferdinand soon afterwards died, having, contrary to the principles of the +nation's constitution, divided his kingdom among his children. This +breaking up the interests of the Gothic monarchy was most unwise; for the +Goths were a fierce race, and in the cause of ambition brother had shed +brother's blood.[186] The Cid went into the service of Don Sancho, King +of Castile, the eldest son of the late sovereign; and in all his wars, +whether with Christians or Musulmans, he deported himself after his wonted +manner: and his great feats of arms won so entirely the heart of the King +that he made him his campeador, or officer whose duty it was to mark the +place for the encampment of the host. + +[Sidenote: Mixture of evil and good in the Cid's character.] + +[Sidenote: Supports the King in his injustice.] + +Sancho expressed his purpose of possessing himself of what he chose to +consider his inheritance,--the whole kingdom of his late father. His +iniquitous design was manfully opposed by one of his counsellors, who +nobly declared that there was not a man in the world who would advise him +to break the command of his father, and the vow which he had made to him. +Sancho then turned to the Cid, stating to him, singularly enough, that he +solicited his advice, for his father had charged him upon pain of his +curse not to act without his judgment. The Cid replied, that it would ill +behove him to counsel his sovereign to contradict the will of the late +King. Sancho rejoined, with admirable casuistry, that he did not think he +was breaking his oath to his father, for he had always denied the justice +of the partition, and the oath alluded to had been forcibly extorted. The +Cid found the King was resolute in his purpose; and in the conflict of +duties which the circumstances gave rise to, his martial spirit overcame +his virtue, and he determined to continue his soldier. + +[Sidenote: The Cid's romantic heroism.] + +He prevailed upon Sancho, however, not to pass into the territory of Don +Garcia, his brother, King of Gallicia, unless he obtained the love and +licence of his brother, Don Alfonso, King of Leon. Numerous battles were +fought, without, however, wearing any chivalric feature, and therefore not +within my purpose to describe. In all of them the green pennon of the Cid +floated conspicuously and triumphantly; and his achievements were so far +beyond mortal comparison, that he was called the fortunate Cid--he of good +fortune--he that was born in a happy hour. On one occasion Sancho was +taken prisoner, but he was rescued by the Cid; and the circumstances are +illustrative of the romantic character of the age. Thirteen knights were +bearing the King away, when the Cid alone and lanceless, for he had +shivered his weapon in the battle, galloped after them. He cried to them, +"Knights, give me my Lord, and I will restore yours to you." They +scornfully bade him avoid contending with them, or they would make him +prisoner too. "Give me but a lance, and, single as I am, I will rescue my +Lord from all of ye," was the heroic rejoinder of the Cid; adding, with +increased energy and confidence, "By God's help, I will do it." The +chivalric request could not be denied by cavaliers, and they gave him a +lance. But such was the spirit and force with which he attacked them, that +he slew eleven of the thirteen: on the two survivors he had mercy; and +thus he rescued his King.[187] + +[Sidenote: Sancho's further injustice opposed by the Cid.] + +Don Sancho became king both of Gallicia and Leon, confining his brother +Garcia in irons as if he had been a traitor, and compelling Alfonso to +seek for brotherly affection among the Moors. He robbed also his sister, +Donna Elvira. Still his ambition was not satisfied; the little town of +Zamora, belonging to his sister, Donna Urraca, was wanting to fill the +measure of his desires. He dispatched the Cid to her on the painful office +of requiring Zamora for a price or in exchange, and of communicating the +King's purpose of seizing it by force in case she did not accede to his +wishes. The great men of Zamora dissuaded the Infanta from surrendering +the place: their courageous spirits declared that they would rather eat +their mules and their horses, yea, their very wives and children; and the +danger of yielding was shadowed out to her in that dark proverbial manner +in which the Spaniards often conveyed their wisdom. "He who besieges you +on the rock," they said, "will soon drive you from the plain." + +The Cid returned to the King with the answer which this counsel dictated. +Sancho, in his anger at the failure of the embassy, reproached his +campeador with unskilful management of his task; for his conscience told +him that he who, like the Cid, had been bred up in the same house with +Urraca, must have felt some compunctions at requiring her to give up the +right of her inheritance. The campeador did not defend himself by stating +that he had discharged his duty as an advocate for the King's purposes; he +only declared that he had discharged faithfully his bidding as a true +vassal; but he added, that he would not bear arms against the Infanta, nor +against Zamora, because of the days that were past.[188] + +[Sidenote: Death of Sancho.] + +[Sidenote: Instance of the Cid's virtuous boldness.] + +Incensed at this opposition to his authority, Sancho banished his faithful +campeador, who joined King Alfonso in the Moorish territories, with twelve +hundred horse and foot, knights and squires, all men of approved worship. +Alarmed at this defection of his bravest cavaliers, the counsellors of +Sancho advised him to revoke his edict: it was revoked: the campeador +returned, but he would not bear arms against the Infanta nor Zamora, +because of the days that were past. The King attacked the town, and lost +his life in the attempt. There were circumstances about his death that +impeached both his brother Alfonso and his sister Urraca. The Castilians +murmured their suspicions; but when Alfonso came to be crowned, the Cid +was the only man of sufficient virtue and spirit to decline doing homage. +Much astonishment was expressed in the countenances of the courtiers and +prelates, who had already kissed the hands of Alfonso; and when he was +called on by the sovereign-elect to perform his acknowledgment, he boldly +declared, that all who were then present suspected that by his counsel the +King, Don Sancho, had come by his death, "and therefore I say," he +continued, "unless you clear yourself of this, as by right you should do, +I will never kiss your hand, nor receive you for my lord." + +The King expressed his pleasure at these sentiments, and swore to God and +to St. Mary that he never slew his brother nor took counsel for his death; +neither did his death please him, though Sancho had taken his kingdom from +him. Alfonso then desired his courtiers to describe the means by which he +might clear himself. They replied, that he and twelve of his knights, as +his compurgators, must take that oath in the church of St. Gadra, at +Burgos. Accordingly, the King and his knights repaired to Burgos, in +whose church of St. Gadra mass was celebrated before the royal family, the +nobility, and the people. The King then took a conspicuous station near +the altar. The Cid left his place, and, opening the Gospels, he laid the +book upon the altar. The King placed his hand upon the volume; and the Cid +said to him, with a seriousness of manner approaching to sternness, while +the people attended with the intensest curiosity, "King Don Alfonso, you +appear in this place to swear on the subject of your brother's death. You +swear that you neither slew him, nor took counsel for his death: say now, +you and these hidalgos, your friends and compurgators, if ye swear this?" +And the King and his knights answered, "Yea, we swear it." The Cid +continued, "If you knew of this matter, or commanded that it should be +performed, may your fate be similar to that of your brother. May you die +by the hand of a villain, in whom you trust; one who is not a hidalgo; one +who is not a Castilian, but a foreigner." The King and his knights cried, +"Amen." But Alfonso's colour faded; and the Cid, marking this sign of +guilt, repeated the oath to him. The King assented, but again his +countenance paled. A third time did the Cid press him, for the laws of +Castile allowed this reiteration; and once more did the King's language +and countenance contradict each other. But the compurgation was now +completed, and the Cid was compelled to do homage.[189] + +[Sidenote: Character of Alfonso, successor of Sancho.] + +[Sidenote: Story of his chivalric bearing.] + +Alfonso is a very interesting character among the kings and knights of +Spain. Whatever participation he might have had in his brother's death, +such foul conduct did not sully his general dealings. Justice was so +admirably administered in Castile, that the people expressed their joy in +the beautiful sentence,--that if a woman were to travel alone through his +dominions, bearing gold and silver in her hand, no one would interrupt her +path, whether in the desert or the peopled country. He was the friend of +the distressed, the supporter of the weak, the strength of the nation. In +his conduct to Alimayon, the Moorish King of Toledo, we may find displayed +in a very interesting manner the frank dealing, the ingenuousness, the +noble confidence, the honour of a cavalier, beautifully coloured with +romantic thought. Alfonso was allied with Alimayon, that mighty sovereign +of the Moors; but the treaty, instead of being the free union of two equal +and independent authorities, had been extorted from Alfonso, when the +chance of war had thrown him into Alimayon's power. It was, of course, +obligatory on the honour and faith of Alfonso; and though he respected +his ally, his chivalric pride whispered the wish that his friendship had +been obtained by some other mode. In the second year of his reign, Alfonso +marched towards Toledo, hearing that the territories of Alimayon had been +invaded by the King of Cordova. He made no proclamation of his purpose, +and Alimayon, not assured of his motives, sent messengers to him, +reminding him of their alliance. The King detained the messengers. He then +pursued his course to Olias; and the King of Cordova, divining his +purpose, broke up his encampment before Toledo, and fled. Alfonso left his +army at Olias, and, accompanied only by five knights and Alimayon's +messengers, he rode to Toledo. He was met and greeted by his +brother-sovereign, who kissed his shoulder, and thanked him for his truth +in coming to his deliverance, and for remembering their mutual oath. The +Moorish people expressed by their songs and atabals the love which the +Christians bore their lord; but the Castilians severely blamed Alfonso for +his implicit faith in the honour of a Moor. Alimayon returned with Alfonso +next day to the Christian camp. An entertainment, worthy of the splendour +of chivalry, was furnished forth: but while the kings were at table +Alimayon was astonished at seeing some armed knights gradually surrounding +the tent. His brother-sovereign bade him suspend his curiosity till the +conclusion of the feast: the Moor did so; and Alfonso then reminded him +that their alliance had been formed when he was in his power at Toledo, +but now, as Alimayon was in his power, he required an exoneration of that +oath and covenant. Alimayon could not but comply; and agreeably to the +form, both Moorish and Christian, acquitted him of his promise, in +expressions thrice repeated. Alfonso then called for the book of the +Gospels, and said to him, "Now that you are in my power, I swear and +promise to you, never to fight against you nor against your son, but to +aid you against all the world. The oath which I formerly made was forced +from me, and therefore not obligatory on my conscience and conduct: but I +cannot violate the present oath, for I make it now that you are in my +hands, and I can treat you as I please." The alliance was then settled on +a firmer basis than ever; and Alfonso, after making the King of Cordova +feel the might of his power, took his course to Castile.[190] + +[Sidenote: The Cid's second marriage.] + +[Sidenote: Is banished from Alfonso's court.] + +[Sidenote: Becomes the ally of the Moors;] + +Return we now to our Cid. His wife Ximena was dead; and Alfonso, in order +to attach him to his person, married him to his own niece, also a Ximena. +The marriage was celebrated on the 19th of July, in the year 1074. For +some years the achievements of the Cid were confined to the duties which +were imposed on him as King's champion. Questions of territory between +Alfonso and the Moors were generally decided by single combat, and the Cid +was always victorious. These circumstances should have cemented the +friendship of the King and his campeador: but the courtiers, by their +well-weaved plots, succeeded in driving into banishment their most +formidable rival in the affections of the sovereign. The Cid took refuge +with the Moorish King of Saragossa, and continued in that part of Spain +for some years the subject and soldier of the Moors, fighting their +battles against the Christians; but always showing mercy to the +vanquished. Mercy, indeed, to those whom he conquered in the field was a +prevailing feature of his character, which he displayed without regard to +religious peculiarities: for in his previous battles in the cause of +Alfonso he had often released his prisoners unransomed. + +[Sidenote: but recalled.] + +[Sidenote: Is banished again.] + +The Moors from Africa invaded Spain. In the extremity of his distress, +Alfonso recalled the Cid, who soon drove back the enemy. For a +considerable time that leader enjoyed the gratitude of his sovereign, and +was the soul of the Christian army; and then circumstances arose which his +enemies ingeniously perverted to his injury. Alfonso was gone into +Andalusia against the Moors, unaccompanied by the Cid, whom sickness +detained at home. He recovered, however, in time to meet and repel a +Moorish invasion on the other side; and he retaliated on them as far as +Toledo, whose king complained to Alfonso of the campeador's violation of +the oath and covenant between them. Alfonso was astonished and displeased; +and suffering his mind to be influenced by the suggestions of the +Ricos-omes, all his hatred of the Cid returned in its pristine force. He +saw nothing in him now but the avenger of Don Sancho's death. He summoned +him to Burgos; but the Cid replied he would meet him between that town and +Bivar. They accordingly met, and the campeador would have kissed his hand +in homage; but the King repulsed him, angrily saying, "Ruydiez, quit my +land." The Cid instantly pricked his mule to another piece of ground, and +replied, "I am now, Sir, upon my own land, and not upon yours." The King +then commanded him to depart from his states forthwith, not even allowing +him thirty days' time, the usual licence of the hidalgos. + +The moment of his banishment was not an unhappy one, for it was then that +he discovered his strength; many knights and other valiant men-of-arms +resolving, with his cousin-german, Alvar Fañez, to accompany him through +desert and peopled country, and spend their wealth, and garments, and +horses in his service. But the joyous exultation of this consciousness of +power was soon checked by the grief of quitting his own home;--the +deserted hall, the perches without hawks upon them, the porch without its +seats, no cloaks hanging down the walls:--all these signs of desolation +brought tears into his eyes, and he exclaimed, "My enemies have done +this:" but soon recovering his Christian resignation, he cried, "God be +praised for all things." He passed through Burgos, where the people could +not receive him, for the King had prohibited them to do so; and he whose +sword had been girt on in a happy hour, was condemned to pitch his tents +upon the sands. + +[Sidenote: Singular story of the Cid's unknightly meanness.] + +The chivalric history of the Cid is now varied by a circumstance which has +not its parallel in the life of any other cavalier on record. He was +deeply distressed for present money, and he obtained some by means not +recommended in any code of knighthood. He filled two chests with sand, and +persuaded two Jews, who had confidence in his honour, that their contents +were gold. He had been accustomed to sell to these men his Moorish spoils, +and he demanded on the present security the sum of six hundred marks. The +money was delivered. The negociation was conducted on the part of the Cid +by his friend, Martin Antolinez, who received a handsome present from the +Jews; but the Cid, the noble-minded lofty cavalier, was the author of this +unknightly piece of craft; and he consoled his conscience by the +reflection that he acted more from necessity than inclination, and that in +time he would redeem all. In order to avoid detection, he made the Jews +promise not to open the chests for a year, but to retain them only as a +security. + +One little trait of the Cid's coolness and cunning must be noticed. The +Jews, in their joy at the excellence of the bargain, were disposed to +generosity, and offered the Cid a red skin, Moorish and honourable. The +Cid accepted it, telling his friends he would consider it as a gift, if +they had bought it; otherwise, they should add its value to the loan.[191] + +[Sidenote: Fortunes of the Cid during his exile.] + +The Cid then went to Cardina; and, after bidding farewell to his wife and +children, he quitted gentle Castile, and went into the Moorish territory. +He battled with the Moors and vanquished them, sparing, however, those +who were the allies of Alfonso. In particular, he won a great victory over +them in a sally which he made from the castle of Alcocer, wherein he was +besieged by them. The Cid of Bivar was known by his green pennon and gilt +saddle. He charged his standard-bearer, Pero Bermuez, not to venture +forward before he commanded. The circumstances of the battle are described +in the translation of the old poem of the Cid with astonishing spirit:-- + + "The gates were then thrown open, and forth at once they rush'd, + The out-posts of the Moorish host back to the camp were push'd: + The camp was all in tumult; and there was such a thunder, + Of cymbals and of drums, as if earth would cleave, in sunder. + There you might see the Moors arming themselves in haste, + And the two main battles how they were forming fast, + Horsemen and footmen mixt, a countless troop, and vast. + The Moors are moving forward, the battle soon must join. + 'My men stand here in order, rang'd upon a line! + Let not a man move from his rank before I give the sign.' + Pero Bermuez heard the word, but he could not refrain: + He held the banner in his hand, he gave his horse the rein; + 'You see yon foremost squadron there, the thickest of the foes, + Noble Cid, God be your aid, for there your banner goes! + Let him that serves and honours it show the duty that he owes.' + Earnestly the Cid called out, 'For heaven's sake be still!' + Bermuez cried, 'I cannot hold;' so eager was his will. + He spurr'd his horse, and drove him on amidst the Moorish rout; + They strove to win the banner, and compast him about. + Had not his armour been so true, he had lost either life or limb: + The Cid called out again, 'For heaven's sake succour him!' + Their shields before their breasts, forth at once they go; + Their lances in the rest, levell'd fair and low; + Their banners and their crests waving in a row; + Their heads all stooping down towards the saddle-bow. + The Cid was in the midst, his shout was heard afar, + 'I am Rui Diaz, the champion of Bivar: + Strike among them, gentlemen, for sweet mercy's sake.' + There where Bermuez fought amidst the foe, they brake + Three hundred banner'd knights: it was a gallant show. + Three hundred Moors they kill'd--a man with every blow: + When they wheel'd and turn'd, as many more lay slain, + You might see them raise their lances and level them again. + There you might see the breast-plates, how they were cleft in twain, + And many a Moorish shield lie shatter'd on the plain; + The pennons that were white, mark'd with a crimson stain; + The horses running wild whose riders had been slain. + The Christians call upon Saint James, the Moors upon Mahound. + There were thirteen hundred of them slain on a little spot of + ground."[192] + +His victory over the Moors presented the Cid with a fair occasion of +propitiating Alfonso. He accordingly dispatched Alvar Fañez into Castile +with a gift to the King of thirty Moorish horses, which was accepted. +Alfonso did not show present honour to the Cid, but he expressed his joy +at the victory; and relieved from all penalties those who had joined him, +and those who should be induced to follow his fortunes.[193] These were +joyful news to the Cid and his host; and the faithful messenger brought +also such tidings of their families, that, as men as well as Castilians, +they were right joyful. + +[Sidenote: The Cid's chivalric nobleness and generosity.] + +On every occasion the Cid showed a generous indifference to his own share +of the spoil; and whatever country he left, both men and women wept, and +the prayers of the people went before him, so high was his reputation for +acts of individual clemency. Once he invaded a Moorish territory with +which Raymond Berenger, Count of Barcelona, was in alliance. The Count and +his Frenchmen harnessed themselves in their gay attire, resolved to +recover the spoil of the Cid. But he who was born in a happy hour smiled +at the vain splendour of the French cavaliers; and while his men were +placing their plain Gallician saddles on their horses, he assured them, +that for one of their enemy whom they should slay, three would leap from +their horses in terror. Berenger's force was defeated: he himself was +taken prisoner; and of the spoil the most precious part was his good +sword, Colada. + +The subsequent circumstances will recall to the reader's mind the +chivalric bearing of the Black Prince and Henry V. Berenger was conducted +to the tent of his vanquisher, and a repast was set before them; but he +refused all refreshment, though my Cid courteously invited him. The next +day a very splendid entertainment was set forth; but the Count preserved +his pride and sullenness, or only broke forth into expressions of contempt +and self-reproach that he had been beaten by a set of ragged fellows. My +Cid did not reply to this uncourtesy, but continued to urge him to partake +of the repast, and not lament the chance of war. But Berenger abandoned +himself to unmanly despondency, and desired to be left alone to die. For +three days he continued in this abject state; and he was only roused from +it by the noble offer of the Cid to give liberty to him and any two of his +knights. The Cid, however, was good humouredly resolved not to part from +him, unless he partook of his hospitality. "If you do not eat heartily, +Count, you and I shall not part yet." They then cemented their kindness +and gratitude by good cheer, and the Count was permitted to take his +leave: but as he rode away he frequently reverted his eyes to know if the +Cid were pursuing him, for his own ignoble soul could not credit the +generosity of his vanquisher.[194] + +[Sidenote: Is recalled by Alfonso.] + +Increased admiration of the Cid's military talents, and the death by +treachery of one of his bravest officers, induced Alfonso to wish for a +reconciliation with his faithful campeador. It was effected; but not till +the Cid had induced the King to stipulate that no hidalgo should be +banished in future without a lawful hearing of his cause, and the old +licence of thirty days. On another great matter he was also the friend of +the public good; for he induced the King to consent to preserve the +privileges of towns, and not to impose taxes on them contrary to their +customs. Alfonso even conceded the liberty of armed resistance to his +acts, if ever they should contradict his solemn engagements. + +[Sidenote: The Cid captures Toledo,] + +The Cid's happiness was soon alloyed by the death of his son Rodrigo; a +young man whose military spirit was so fine and gallant, that the +Christians regarded him as the hope of Spain. The Cid was speedily called +from private cares and sorrows to a more important undertaking than any he +had been ever engaged in. He headed the Christian troops against Toledo; +and those troops embraced not only the flower of Spanish chivalry, but +many knights from France, Italy, and Germany; so important to the general +fate of religion and arms was the capture of Toledo considered. We may +lament, with many an admirer of Spanish chivalry, that the memory of their +gallant deeds has not been handed down to us, and censure the ancient +chroniclers for wronging such worthy knights. We only know that Toledo was +captured by the Cid on the 25th of May, in the year 1085. + +Among many subsequent military achievements of the campeador I shall +select only his engagement with his old foe, Raymond Berenger, Count of +Barcelona, who had hastily taken up arms to assist a Moorish prince, also +an enemy of the Cid. If the Cid had dreaded numbers he would have +yielded: if he had regarded the established reputation of knights, he +would have partaken of the general terror, for the French were esteemed +the best knights in the world, and the best appointed; and fame proceeded +to ascribe to Berenger's the chivalric virtues of courage and skill in no +ordinary degree. But the exhortations of the Cid and his very presence +animated the troops to heroism; and when the moment of battle, fixed by +his own admirable skill, arrived, the event, as usual, proved that he had +been born in a happy hour. Berenger and his chief officers fell into his +hands: he showed them great courtesy; and released them on their ransom, +and their promise on their knighthood never to appear in arms against him +again.[195] + +[Sidenote: and Valentia.] + +The capture of Valentia was the next and most important circumstance in +the Cid's career. The fame of his exploits had drawn to his standard a +thousand knights of lineage, five hundred and fifty other horsemen, and of +foot-soldiers a thousand. I shall not detail the events of the nine +months' siege of Valentia; for the picture does not vary in any of its +colours and shades from the scenes of blood, and horror, and desolation, +in other wars. + +[Sidenote: Story of Spanish manners.] + +There is one circumstance, however, of a different character, and +pleasingly illustrative of ancient manners. Among the hosts of the Cid +was an Asturian hidalgo, named Martin Paleaz, who was better known for his +personal strength than his chivalric courage. The Cid resolved to shame +him into bravery; and he seized as a fitting occasion a day when Martin +had concealed himself while his brother-knights were tourneying with the +Moors. When the dinner-hour arrived, Martin Paleaz, not suspecting that +the Cid had discovered his baseness, washed his hands with the other +knights, and would have taken his place at the common table; but the Cid +grasped his hand, and telling him that neither of them was worthy to sit +with such valorous knights as those who were now before them, he led him +to his own high table where it was his general custom to sit, and dine +alone; Alvar Fañez, Pero Bermuez, and knights of equal renown, sitting at +other high tables, while the rest of the knights reclined upon estrados +with tables before them. There was no equality of knighthood, therefore, +among the cavaliers of Spain as in the Celtic nations. There was no Round +Table, generously dispensing with the inequalities of rank. It was a +subject of honourable ambition with the knights of the Cid to be +pronounced worthy of sitting at the table with Alvar Fañez and his +companions; and the simple Martin Paleaz plumed himself on his superior +honours. + +The next day the Christian knights held a joust to the utterance with the +Moors; and the Cid was pleased by observing that Martin Paleaz was so much +elated that he did not, as usual, quit the field when the lances met in +rude shock. The Cid, on returning to his lodging, not only placed his +gallant friend by his side, but invited him to eat out of his own dish; +adding, that he had deserved better that day than yesterday. This +expression revealed the whole matter to Paleaz: he now saw that the Cid +had discovered all the artifices of his cowardice, and that he had placed +him by his side at table to disgrace, and not to honour him; thinking that +such a recreant was not fit to sit with other knights. These reflections +of shame kindled in him a spark of courage; and he now resolved to deport +himself like a gallant cavalier. In several subsequent battles with the +Moors he fought so bravely that they marvelled, and enquired whence that +devil had come. The Cid rewarded him with his friendship, and also the +distinction of sitting at the table with Alvar Fañez and other true +knights.[196] + +[Sidenote: The Cid's unjust conduct to the Moors.] + +The Cid became lord of Valencia, reserving, however, the feudal and +absolute sovereignty to King Alfonso. He made many arrangements with the +Moors, to the credit of his ingenuity, rather than of his honour; for he +violated them all as soon as his purposes were accomplished. Finally, he +permitted the conquered to live in the adjoining town and suburb of +Alcudia; to have their own law administered by their own cadis and +alguazils; to enjoy two mosques, one in the city, and the other in the +suburb, the Moors paying to the Cid a tenth part of their produce, as the +price of his concessions. The campeador was a banished man from gentle +Castile, when he took Valencia, the malignity of his enemies having again +wrought upon the jealous temper of Alfonso: but his victories once more +reconciled him to the King, who accepted from him a noble present of +horses, saddled and bridled, each with a bright sword hanging from the +saddle-bow. His wife and daughters now joined him at Valencia; and it is +curious to notice, as a point in his character, that his first expression +of joy was to run a career on his good horse Bavieca, who performed his +exercises so beautifully, that the people marvelled, and he became famous +over all Spain. + +[Sidenote: The unchivalric character of the Cid's wife and daughters.] + +The Cid mistook the character of his wife and daughters; for he thought +that the martial spirit of chivalry animated them as well as himself: +howbeit, in truth, they were attached to the gentler duties of life. A +Moorish host came from Africa to contest with him his right to Valencia; +and, in order to entertain Ximena and her damsels, he placed them in a +lofty tower, whence they might view, without danger, the bloody strife. +But, unlike the women in other chivalric countries, they turned pale, and +trembled at the scene; and the Cid removed them, though their presence was +important; for the courage of his troops was animated to fury when they +thought that ladies were witnessing their feats of arms.[197] + +[Sidenote: The Cid recalled by Alfonso.] + +New presents were made to Alfonso of the spoils taken on this occasion; +and the King and his campeador were formally and publicly reconciled. The +Cid humbled himself with oriental prostrations; for many parts of Moorish +manners were copied by the Spaniards. They had not met for some years; and +time had laid his wrinkling hand on the brow of the Cid. But Alfonso was +more particularly struck with the appearance of his beard, which had grown +to a marvellous length.[198] + +[Sidenote: The marriages of his daughters.] + +[Sidenote: Basely treated by their husbands.] + +The Cid was now at a height of power never reached by any subject; and his +wealth attracted the admiration of men of nobler birth. The Infantes of +Carrion solicited the hands of his daughters: the alliance was favoured by +the King; and the Cid and Ximena, though they liked not the character of +the young nobles, yielded to his importunities, and the marriages were +solemnized. These marriages were an abundant source of infelicity; and he +whose good fortune had generally warranted his popular title,--he that was +born in a happy hour,--repented of having yielded to the King's +suggestions. The Infantes were men of base and cowardly minds, and totally +unable to maintain a noble port in the house of the Cid, where courage and +martial exercises gave the tone to manners. Mortified personal pride took +refuge in the pride of birth; and the Infantes chose to imagine that they +had sullied their nobility by allying themselves with the family of the +Cid: but they did not consider that they had violated the chivalry of +their rank when they insulted, and even beat their wives, leaving them in +a wood, apparently dead. The ladies were found by a relation, and the Cid +became acquainted with the story. He appealed to the King, who appointed a +cortez at Toledo, to judge the matter; and weighty indeed must it have +been thought, for the present was but the third cortez which had been +held during the reign of Alfonso. + +[Sidenote: Cortez at Toledo to decide the cause.] + +To Toledo, accordingly, all parties repaired. The Cid had with him the +best and bravest knights, a gallant array, whose tents on the hills round +the city were so numerous that the Cid's attendants seemed like a host, +rather than a common guard of honour. The hall of the palace of Galiana, +the place of assemblage of the cortez, had its walls hung with cloths of +gold, and estrados, with carpets, were placed on the ground. At the upper +end was the King's chair, the ancient seat of the kings of Toledo; and +round it were rich and noble estrados for the chief lords of the cortez. +Near the chair of the King the Cid caused, the day before the meeting, an +ivory seat to be placed, which he had won in Valencia, it having belonged +to the kings of that city. A number of his esquires, with their swords +hanging from their necks, guarded the seat, till their lord should come +and take possession of it. + +[Sidenote: Picture of ancient manners.] + +The next morning the King, after hearing mass, repaired to the palace of +Galiana, with the Infantes of Carrion, and the counts and ricos-omes of +the cortez. The ivory seat excited the envy of Count Garcia, the ancient +rival of the Cid; and the chief esquire was ready by arms to repel his +sneers and sarcasms, till the King prevented the progress of the contest, +by declaring that his campeador had won the seat right honourably; that +never had any vassal sent to his lord such gifts as he had done; and that +if any one were envious, let him achieve equal feats of honour, and the +King would seat him next the throne. + +The Cid now entered the hall, accompanied by a hundred of his choicest +knights. They were apparelled both for courtesy and war. To the eye of the +court their garments were only fine skins of ermine, and the usual cloak +of the nation; but underneath they wore hauberks of well-tempered mail, +and swords sweet and sharp in the edge. The dress of the campeador himself +would have surprised Raymond Berenger, Count of Barcelona, and his mocking +Frenchmen. His hose was of fine cloth, his shoes were richly worked: his +body was clad in the finest linen, and a red skin, all curiously worked +with gold and silver. His coif was of scarlet and gold; but the beard, of +which he was so conscious, was bound by a cord, in sign of mourning and +woe. + +Most of the assembly rose to greet him; and the King offered him a share +of his own seat. But the Cid replied, that it would better become him to +be at his feet, for he owed his fame and fortune to the goodness of the +King and his brother and father; and it was not fit for him that received +bounty to sit with him who dispensed it. The King then commanded him to +place himself on the ivory seat, for that he had won it like a good man. +This he did, and the hundred knights surrounded their lord. + +The purpose of the cortez was declared by the King, and two noble counts +were sworn alcaldes, to judge rightly and truly between the campeador and +the Infantes of Carrion, according to the law of Castile and Leon. The Cid +then demanded that his two good swords, Colada and Tizona, should be +restored to him. He had given them into the keeping of the Infantes of +Carrion, that they might honour his daughters with them, and serve their +king. But when they left his daughters in the oak-forest of Corpes, they +renounced his love, and as they were no longer his sons-in-law, they ought +to render him back the swords. The alcaldes deliberated upon this demand, +and decreed that the swords should be restored. The Infantes delivered +them to the King, pleased with the moderation of the Cid's demand. Alfonso +drew the swords, and the whole court shone with their brightness. Their +hilts were made of solid gold, and all the knights present marvelled. The +Cid received them from the King; and, smiling, even from the strongest of +his heart's affections, he laid them upon his knees, and called them the +best swords in Spain, and grieved that the Infantes of Carrion had kept +them hungry, and had not fed them with flesh as they had been wont to be +fed with. He delivered them to the care of Alvar Fañez, and Pero Bermuez, +who solicited the honourable charge. + +The Cid then demanded a restoration of the treasure which he had given to +the Infantes on occasion of his daughters' marriages. This demand was +faintly resisted by the argument, that it had been spent in the King's +service. The Cid judiciously took advantage of the admission, that the +treasure had been received, and then fairly enough contended that it +touched not him, if the Infantes had expended money for the King; and so +Alfonso himself judged the matter; and the alcaldes decreed the +restitution of the treasure. + +To carry this ordinance into effect the court was adjourned; and when it +re-assembled the Cid rose from his ivory seat, and recapitulating the +circumstances of the marriages, and not sparing the King for his share in +them, he demanded of the Infantes the reasons of their conduct: he +declared he would not let them depart without mortal defiance. He added, +laying his hand upon his beard, (his usual sign of wrath,) that if the +King and the cortez would not right him he would do justice to himself; +he would follow them to Carrion; he would take them by the throat, and +carry them prisoners to his daughters at Valencia, where they should do +penance for their offences, and be fed with the food which they deserved. + +The King mildly remarked, that in promoting the marriages he had acted +according to the request of the Infantes themselves, and he saw that much +of the dishonour touched himself. To the storm of passion with which the +Cid had concluded his address, the King firmly replied that the cause was +before the cortez, and that the alcaldes would pass a righteous sentence. + +The Cid recovered his serenity, and kissing the King's hand, returned to +his ivory seat. + +After a brief pause he rose, and thanking the King for his compassion for +his and his daughters' dishonour, he defied the Infantes to mortal combat. + +The King called upon them to reply; and they boldly excused their leaving +their wives: for the daughters of Ruy Diaz of Bivar were not worthy of +alliance with men who were the best hidalgos in all Castile. Regarding the +acts of personal cruelty and unchivalric deportment, they said nothing. +They denied the necessity of doing battle upon such a matter with any one. +Count Don Garcia then began to lead the Infantes from the court, and +exclaimed, as he passed the Cid, "Let us leave him, sitting like a +bridegroom in his ivory chair, and thinking that his beard will frighten +us." + +The campeador stroked his chin, and sternly demanded what the Count had to +do with his beard. "Thanks be to God," he added, "never son of woman hath +taken me by it; never son of Moor or of Christian hath plucked it as I did +yours in your castle of Cabra, Count, when I took your castle of Cabra, +and took you by the beard: there was not a boy of the host who did not +pull it."--"The hair which I plucked has not, methinks, grown again," he +added with a look of bitterest scorn. + +To this cruel sarcasm Garcia could only answer by the low scurrility of +desiring the Cid to go back to his own country, and take toll for his +mills as he used to do. + +This insult was scarcely to be tolerated. The knights of the Cid grasped +their swords, and looked at each other with fierce countenances; but their +respect for the command of their lord, not to act till he bade them, kept +them silent. The Cid himself forgot his own injunctions, and reproached +his former standard-bearer, Pero Bermuez, for not taking up his cause. +That valiant knight, dashing aside some personal insults with which the +Cid had mingled his censure, folded his cloak round his arm, and fiercely +striding to the Count Garcia, felled him to the ground. + +Immediately the court was a scene of wild uproar; swords were drawn, and +no respect for the presence of the King could quell the fray. At length +the passions exhausted themselves, and the court resumed its sittings. +Alfonso declared that he would defend the rights of all parties, and +advised Garcia and his friends to support their cause by courtesy and +reason, and not to revile the Cid. The cause was proceeded with; and the +King with the alcaldes finally decreed that the Infantes, and their uncle +Count Suero Gonzales, who had abetted them in their dishonour to the +ladies, should do battle with three of the Cid's people, and acquit +themselves if it were in their power. + +The battle accordingly was fought, and the champions of the Cid were +victors, agreeably to the decision of the twelve true men appointed as +judges, and the consenting voice of the King and people. The Infantes of +Carrion and their uncle were declared traitors. The family itself sunk +into disgrace; a worthy punishment, as the Spanish writers declare, of +them who dishonour and desert fair lady.[199] + +These circumstances were considered of equal force with a canonical +dissolution of marriage; and the daughters of the Cid were shortly +afterwards united to the Infantes of Navarre and Arragon, men of far more +power and rank than their former lords. Valencia witnessed the present, as +it had the former nuptials. Bull-fights, throwing at the target, and +throwing the cane, were some of the amusements of the Christians, and the +joculars were right nobly rewarded. The Moors, also, were animated and +sincere in their rejoicings; and the spectators were pleasingly distracted +between the Christian and the Moorish games. For eight days the rejoicings +lasted: each day the people were feasted, and each day they all ate out of +silver. + +[Sidenote: Death of the Cid.] + +These were the last circumstances of importance in the life of the Cid. +Five years afterwards, on the 29th of May, 1099, he died at Valencia. +Romance writers have endeavoured to adorn his closing scene; but I cannot +select from their works any thing that is either beautiful or probable. + +[Sidenote: His character.] + +In one of those historical works which have done honour to the literature +of our age, much praise is bestowed upon the Cid, Ruy Diaz, for his +frankness, honour, and magnanimity.[200] But, in truth, to very little of +this commendation is our hero's fame entitled. His conduct to the poor +Jews of Burgos will not be urged as a proof of his free and noble dealing, +of that frank sincerity which interests us in contemplating the worthies +of chivalric times; and as for his honour, that sacred possession of a +knight, he pledged it often to the Moors of Valencia, and violated it to +gratify his objects as a conqueror. Look at him in the cortez: observe his +coolness, his deliberation, his gradual statement of his demands. Here was +the calculating man of vengeance, not the gay, the wild cavalier throwing +down his gauntlet, and displaying his whole soul in one burst of generous +passion. There is a sternness about the Cid which repels our gaze. His +mind was not enriched by Arabic learning, and grateful to his teachers; +nor was it softened by recollections of Arabian loves: and when I see him +pitying his sword that it had not received the food it deserved, I can +scarcely allow him a station among the heroes of chivalry, those brilliant +spirits; for I recognise nothing but the barbarism of the Goth, infuriated +by the vengeful spirit of the Moor. Let the Cid, however, have his due +praise. Several instances of his generosity to prisoners have been given. +His treatment of the Moors of Valencia, after he had once settled the +government, was noble. He suffered no difference of religion to affect his +paternal regards to his people; and thence it happened that Moors and +Christians dwelt together under his mild sway with such accord that the +union seemed the long result of ages. One of those Moors gave him the +following praise, with which I shall conclude my remarks on his character: +"The Cid, Ruy Diaz," said he, "was the man in the world who had the +bravest heart, and he was the best knight at arms, and the man who best +maintained his law; and in the word which he hath promised he never fails; +and he is the man in the world who is the best friend to his friend, and +to his enemy he is the mortalest foe among all Christians; and to the +vanquished he is full of mercy and compassion; and full thoughtful and +wise in whatever thing he doeth; and his countenance is such that no man +seeth him for the first time without conceiving great fear." + +[Sidenote: Fate of his good horse.] + +As a horse was part and parcel of a knight, I cannot take leave of the Cid +without saying a few words regarding his steed Bavieca. After the death of +his master no one was permitted to bestride that good horse. Gil Diaz, a +valiant knight, and companion of the Cid, took him in charge, feeding him +and leading him to water with his own hand. Bavieca lived two years and a +half after the death of his master the Cid; and when he died Gil Diaz +buried him before the gate of the monastery at Valencia, in the public +place, and planted two elms upon the grave, the one at his head, and the +other at his feet. + + * * * * * + +[Sidenote: Spanish chivalry after his death.] + +[Sidenote: The merits of missals decided by battle.] + +I have already alluded to the mighty influence of the Cid on the political +history of Spain,--his decision of the great question of Christian or +Mohammedan superiority. After his death the impulse which he had given to +the Spanish power was kept alive; the Moors never recovered themselves +from the prowess of his knighthood, and, finally, they were driven from +the Peninsula. It was only when the general Christian cause was the +weakest, that the Spanish government, and people, who were occasionally +conquerors, extended the humanities of chivalry to the Moors. But when the +Crescent waned, this mild aspect was changed; for revenge and all the +baleful passions of victory swept away the gentle graces of the cavalier, +and intolerance and cruelty rose with the increasing power of the +Christians. Concessions of liberty of conscience were made to the Moors, +but the treaties were broken, apparently that mockery might embitter pain. +The Moors and Christians did not deport themselves to each other with +chivalric courtesy; and history gives no warrant to the romantic stories +of any magnanimity or grandeur of soul illuminating the last years of the +Arabs in Spain.[201] Among the Christians themselves, indeed, the +chivalric character was sustained in all its vigour and gracefulness. +Ecclesiastical history furnishes us with a very amusing instance of its +influence. When Alphonso IX., about the year 1214, had expelled the Moors +from Toledo, he endeavoured to establish the Roman missal in the place of +St. Isidore's. But the people clung to their old ideas, and resisted the +innovation. Those were not the days of theological argument; but the +sword was the only means of deciding disputes and of determining truth. +Each party chose a doughty knight, and commended to his chivalry the cause +of a missal. The two champions met in the lists; the two parties ranged +themselves in the surrounding galleries, and to the joy of the Spaniards +the champion of St. Isidore was victorious.[202] + +[Sidenote: Gallantry of a knight.] + +But the gallantry of the Spaniards is the most interesting subject of +regard. James II., King of Arragon, decreed that every man, whether a +knight or another, who should be in company with a noble lady, might pass +safe and unmolested, unless he were guilty of murder.[203] In the minds of +Spanish knights, religion and love were ever blended; and he who, thinking +of his mistress, took for his motto the words, "Sin vos, y sin Dios y mi," +(without thee, I am without God, and without myself,) was not thought +guilty of impiety. In romantic gallantry the Spaniard was a very perfect +knight. Garcia Perez de Vargas, who lived in the thirteenth century, was a +splendid exemplar of Spanish chivalry. His valour excited the envy of men +of nobler birth, who displayed the meanness of their spirit in questioning +his title to bear arms. He once withstood the Moors, while those of more +ancient heraldry quailed. When he had discomfited the foe, he returned to +his host, and striking his battered shield, remarked to his envious rival, +in a tone of justifiable sarcasm, "You are right in wishing to deprive me +of my coat of arms, for I expose it to too great dangers. It would be far +safer in your hands; for so prudent a knight as yourself would take very +excellent care of it."[204] Garcia was such a doughty knight, that his +very presence terrified the Moors. He and a companion were once suddenly +met by a party of seven of their turbaned foes. His friend took flight, +but Perez closed his vizor, and couched his lance. The Moors declined a +battle. Perez reached the camp: his conduct met with its guerdon; but he +had too much chivalric kindness warming his heart to answer the demand, +who it was that had forsaken him in so perilous a moment. There was +another circumstance in this affair which marks the gallantry of our +knight. While his martial demeanour was keeping the Moors at bay he found +that his scarf had fallen from his shoulder. He calmly turned his horse's +head, recovered his mistress's favour, and then pursued his course to the +camp, the Moors being still afraid to attack him.[205] + +[Sidenote: Passage of arms at Orbigo.] + +On the first day of the year 1434, while the Spanish court was holding its +festivities at Medina del Campo, a noble knight, named Sueno de Quinones, +presented himself before the King (John II.) with a train of nine +cavaliers gallantly arrayed, whose lofty demeanour and armorial ensigns +showed that they prided themselves on the perfect purity of their +Christian descent. The King smiled graciously on the strangers; and +learning from his attendants that they had come to court in order to +address his power, he waved his hand in sign of permission for them to +speak. A herald, whom they had brought with them, stepped in front, and in +the name of Sueno de Quinones spoke thus: "It is just and reasonable that +any one who has been so long in imprisonment as I have been should desire +his liberty; and, as your vassal and subject, I appear before you to +state, that I have been long bound in service to a noble lady; and, as is +well known, through heralds, not only in this country but through foreign +lands, every Thursday I am obliged to wear a chain of iron round my neck. +But, with the aid of the Apostle James, I have discovered a means of +liberation. I and my nine noble friends propose, during the fifteen days +that precede and the fifteen days that follow the festival of that Saint, +to break three hundred lances, with Milan points[206], in the following +manner: Three lances with every knight who shall pass this way on his road +to the shrine of the Saint. Armour and weapons will be provided in ample +store for such cavaliers as shall travel only in palmer's weeds. All noble +ladies who shall be on their pilgrimage unattended by a chivalric escort +must be contented to lose their right-hand glove till a knight shall +recover it by the valour of his arm." + +When the herald concluded, the King and his council conferred together, +and they soon agreed that the laws of chivalry obliged them to consent to +the accomplishing of this emprise of arms. When the royal permission was +proclaimed by the heralds, Sueno got a noble knight to take off his +helmet, and thus, bareheaded, approached the throne, and humbly thanked +the King. He afterwards retired with his nine friends; and having +exchanged their heavy armour for silken dresses of festivity, they +returned to the hall and joined the dance. + +Six months were to elapse before the valiant and amorous Sueno de Quinones +could be delivered from his shackle; and all that time was spent by him +and his friends in exercising themselves to the use of the lance, and in +providing stores of harness and lances for such knights as would joust +with them. The place that was arranged for the contest was the bridge +Orbigo, six hours' ride from Leon, and three from Astorga. The marble +effigies of a herald was set-up in the road; and by the label in its right +hand travellers were acquainted that they had reached the passage of arms. +The lists were erected in a beautiful plain formed by nature in a +neighbouring wood. Tents for banqueting and repose were raised, and amply +furnished by the liberality of Sueno. One tent was admirable for the +beauty of its decorations, and more so for its purpose. It contained seven +noble ladies, who, at the request of the mother of Sueno, devoted +themselves to attend upon such of the knights as should be wounded in the +joust. At the time appointed, Sueno de Quinones appeared in the lists with +his nine companions, all arrayed in the most splendid tourneying harness, +the enamoured knight himself bearing round his neck the chain of his +mistress, with the motto, which his friends also wore on some part of +their armour, "Il faut délibérer." Many stranger knights jousted with him, +and his success was generally distinguished. + +The fair penitents to the shrine of the saint were stopped; and such as +were of noble birth were asked by the King's herald to deliver their +gloves. The pride and prerogatives of the sex were offended at this +demand: the ladies resisted, as much as words and looks of high disdain +could resist, the representative of the King; but they yielded with grace +and pleasure, when they were asked to surrender their gloves in the name +of the laws of chivalry, of those laws which had been made under their +auspices, and for their benefit. There was no lack of knights to peril +themselves for the recovery of these gloves in the listed plain; and if +the champions of the dames were ever worsted by the hardier sons of +chivalry, the gallantry of the judges of the tournament would not permit +the ladies to suffer from any want of skill or good fortune in their +chosen knights. When the thirty days had expired, it appeared that +sixty-eight knights had entered the lists against Sueno de Quinones; and +in seven hundred and twenty-seven encounters only sixty-six lances had +been broken;--a chivalric phrase, expressive either of the actual +shivering of lances, or of men being thrown out of their saddles. The +judges of the tournament, however, declared, that although the number of +lances broken was not equal to the undertaking, yet as such a partial +performance of the conditions of the passage at arms had not been the +fault of Sueno de Quinones, they commanded the king at arms to take the +chain from his neck, and to declare that the emprise had been achieved: +accordingly the chain was removed, and the delivered knight entered Leon +in triumph.[207] + +[Sidenote: Knights travel and joust for ladies' love.] + +The knights of Spain were, indeed, on every occasion gallant as well as +brave. When the heralds of France and England crossed the Pyrenees to +proclaim the tournaments, which were to be held in honour of woman's +beauty, there was no lack of Spanish cavaliers to obey the sound, and +assert the charms of the dark-eyed maidens of their land. This was their +wont during all the ages of chivalry; and so late as the fifteenth century +one of them travelled so far as England by command of his mistress, and +for her sake wished to run a course with sharp spears. His dress confirmed +his challenge; for he wore round his arm a kerchief of pleasance, with +which his lady-love had graced him before he set out on his perilous quest +of honour.[208] This historical fact is very important, as proving that +the writers of Spanish tales, in describing the deep devotion of Spanish +love, the fidelity which no time nor absence could shake, drew their +pictures from no imaginary originals. The romancers shadowed forth the +manners of their nation, like the good-humoured satirist, Cervantes, who, +while ridiculing the absurdities of knight-errantry, as displayed in works +of fiction, never forgot the seriousness approaching to solemnity, the +perfect courtesy, the loftiness, and the generosity of the Castilian +gentleman. + +While the knights of England were admiring the gallantry of the Spanish +cavalier, who appeared among them to render himself worthy the smiles of +his lady-love, another knight of Spain, named Sir John de Merlo, or Melo, +left his native land to add new honours to his shield. He repaired to the +court of Philip, Duke of Burgundy, which was then held at Arras, and +proclaiming that he wished to joust, in order to win that high fame which +was the guerdon of chivalry, he sounded his challenge for any noble knight +to break three lances with him. It was not long before that proved and +renowned cavalier, Peter de Bauffremont, Lord of Chargny, answered the +challenge, prevailing, in return, on the Spaniard to consent to tourney +with him on foot with battle-axes, swords, and daggers. The two noble +knights then appeared in the lists of the market-place at Arras, which had +been fashioned into a tilting ground. The Duke of Burgundy sat as judge of +the lists; and he was surrounded by the Dukes of Bourbon and of Gueldres, +the Counts of Rochemont, of Vendome, d'Estampes, and, indeed, the chiefest +nobility of his states. The Spanish knight entered then the lists, +followed by four noble cavaliers of Burgundy, whom the Duke had appointed +to do him honourable service. One of them bore on the end of a lance a +small banner emblazoned with his arms. The other knights carried his +lances, and thus, without more pomp, he courteously made his obeisance to +the Duke of Burgundy, and retired from his presence by the way he had +entered on the left hand of His Grace. After a pause extended beyond the +wonted time, in order to raise the expectations of the spectators into +anxiety, the Lord of Chargny pressed his bounding steed into the lists. He +was grandly accompanied by three Burgundian lords, and the English Earl of +Suffolk, all bearing his lances. Behind him were four coursers, richly +caparisoned with his arms and devices, with pages covered with robes of +wrought silver; and the procession was closed by the greater part of the +knights and squires of the Duke of Burgundy's household. The Lord of +Chargny gracefully bent his body while his proud steed was performing its +caracoles, and he then retired through a gate opposite to that of the +Spanish knight. At the signal of the Duke the trumpets sounded to horse, +the knights pricked forth, the herald's cry resounded, "Faites vos +devoirs, preux chevaliers;" and the career of the gallant warriors +deserved the noblest meed; for they tilted with their lances with such +admirable skill, that though their weapons shivered, neither cavalier was +hurt. The second and the third courses were ran with similar chivalric +bearing, and the morning's amusement closed. + +On the next day the Duke of Burgundy, followed by all his chivalry, +repaired to the market-place of Arras, in order to witness the second +series of these martial games. The Lord of Chargny, as the challenger, +appeared first; and it was full an hour before Sir John de Merlo entered +the lists: for the Spaniard resolved to retort the delay which the Lord of +Chargny had made on the preceding morning. The king-at-arms, called Golden +Fleece, proclaimed, in three different parts of the lists, that all who +had not been otherwise ordered should retire to the galleries, or without +the rails; and that no one should give any hinderance to the two +champions, under pain of being punished, by the Duke of Burgundy, with +death. The knights then advanced from their respective pavilions, wielding +their battle-axes. They were armed in proof; but the Spanish knight, with +more than the wonted boldness of chivalry, wore his vizor raised. They +rushed upon each other with impetuous daring, and exchanged many mighty +blows; but the Lord of Chargny was sore displeased that his adversary did +not close his vizor. After they had well proved their valour, the Duke of +Burgundy threw down his warder, and the jousting ceased. But the noble +knights themselves exclaimed against so early a termination of their +chivalric sports; particularly the Spaniard, who declared, as the reason +for his anger, that he had travelled at a great expence, and with much +fatigue by sea and land, from a far country, to acquire honour and renown. +But the Duke remained firm, only soothing his denial by complimenting him +on the honourable mode in which he had accomplished his challenge; and, +afterwards, the Burgundian nobles vied with each other in praising a +cavalier who had shown the unprecedented daring of fighting with his vizor +raised. The Duke also entertained him in his palace; and, in admiration of +his bravery, made him so many rich presents, that the expences of his +journey were amply reimbursed. He soon afterwards mounted his good steed, +and left Arras on his return to his own country; and beguiled the long and +lonely way by recollections of the past, and dreams of future glory.[209] + +[Sidenote: Extinction of Spanish chivalry.] + +The remainder of the history of Spanish chivalry, namely, its decline, may +be shortly told. All its martial forms were destroyed by the iron yoke of +the house of Austria; and so perfectly, that, in the state of things which +succeeded the warfare of the shield and the lance, the Spanish infantry +took the lead, and was the most skilful in Europe. At the battle of +Ravenna, in the year 1512, they defeated the chivalry of France, and +proved the excellence of the new system of warfare. Something, however, of +that excellence must be attributed to the spirit of ancient knighthood; +for it borrowed the principles of its discipline from ancient times. + +In one respect the chivalry of Spain resembled the general chivalry of +Europe in its decline; for, at the introduction of the art of printing +into the Peninsula, the old romances were the first subjects of the press, +as works most agreeable to national taste. Although Spanish poetry was now +but a faint copy of the Italian muse, yet the spirit of the antique song +occasionally breathed, in wild and fitful notes, the heroism and loves of +other times. The point of honour was long preserved as the gem of the +Spanish character; and chivalric gallantry continued intense and +imaginative, for Arabian literature left impressions on the Spanish mind +which the Inquisition could not efface; and thus, while in other +countries of Europe woman was gradually despoiled of those divine +perfections with which the fine and gallant spirit of chivalry had +invested her, and moved among mortals as formed of mortal nature, yet, in +the imagination of the grave, the musing Spaniard, she was preserved in +her proud pre-eminence, and was still the object of his heart's idolatry. + + + + +CHAP. VI. + +PROGRESS OF CHIVALRY IN GERMANY AND ITALY. + + _Chivalry did not affect the public History of Germany ... Its + Influence on Imperial Manners ... Intolerance and Cruelty of German + Knights ... Their Harshness to their Squires ... Avarice of the + Germans ... Little Influence of German Chivalry ... A remarkable + Exception to this ... A Female Tournament ... Maximilian, the only + chivalric Emperor of Germany ... Joust between him and a French Knight + ... Edict of Frederic III. destroyed Chivalry ..._ CHIVALRY IN + ITALY:--_Lombards carried Chivalry thither ... Stories of chivalric + Gallantry ... But little martial Chivalry in Italy ... Condottieri ... + Chivalry in the North ... Italians excellent Armourers but bad Knights + ... Chivalry in the South ... Curious Circumstances attending + Knighthood at Naples ... Mode of creating Knights in Italy generally + ... Political Use of Knighthood ... Chivalric Literature ... Chivalric + Sports._ + + +[Sidenote: Chivalry did not affect the public history of Germany.] + +Chivalry may be considered either in a political or a military aspect, +either as influencing the destinies of nations, or affecting the mode and +circumstances of war. In Germany it offers to us no circumstances of the +former class. Germany was connected with Italy more than with any other +country of Europe during the middle ages. The wars of the emperors for the +kingdom of Italy did not proceed from any principles or feelings that can +be termed chivalric; nor can any ingenuity torture the fierce contests +between the popes and the emperors into knightly encounters. The chivalry +of Germany seldom appeared in generous rivalry with that of any other +country; and in circumstances which leave no doubt of the issue, if the +chivalry of England or France had been engaged, the Imperial knights +quailed before partially-disciplined militia. In Italy the power of Milan +was more dreaded than that of the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa; and he +subdued the northern states rather by drawing their cities to his side, +which were jealous of the Milanese authority, than by the force of his +chivalry. A few years afterwards the cities of Lombardy formed a league +against him; and when the question of Italian independence was debated in +arms, the militia of the cities triumphed over the flower of German +chivalry in the battle of Legnano. Nor could Germany ever afterwards +thoroughly re-establish her power. Many political circumstances and moral +reasons prevented it; but the weakness of her military arm was the chief +and prevailing cause. + +The Germans invented nothing in chivalry, and borrowed nothing from the +superior institutions of other countries. At the commencement of the +fifteenth century the inferiority of their chivalry was plainly displayed. +The German cuirassiers, with whom the Emperor Robert descended into Italy, +could not cope with the condottieri of Jacopo Verme, who protected the +states of Gian Galeazzo Visconti. It was found that the horses of the +Germans were not so well trained as those of the Italians, and the armour +of the knights was heavy and unwieldy; and thus the bigoted attachment of +the Germans to ancient customs saved Italy from subjugation.[210] The +cuirassiers of Germany were equally impotent against the hardy peasantry +of Switzerland. + +[Sidenote: Its influence on imperial manners.] + +Though not in the public history, yet in what may be called the manners, +of the empire, there was one great chivalric feature. The dignity of +service was strikingly displayed. The proudest nobles were the servants of +the Emperor, his butler, his falconer, his marshal, his chamberlain; and, +insensibly, as every student of German history knows, the principal +officers of state usurped from the other nobles the right of electing the +Emperor. + +[Sidenote: Intolerance and cruelty of German knights.] + +Chivalry was chiefly known in Germany as the embodying of a ferocious +spirit of religious persecution. The nation, therefore, embarked in the +crusades to the Holy Land with fierceness, unchecked by chivalric +gallantry, and recklessly poured out its best blood in the chace of a +phantom. Prussia, and other countries at the north of Germany, were tardy +in embracing Christianity; and the sword became the instrument of +conversion. The Teutonic knights were particularly active in this pious +work, when the Mamlouk Tartars had driven them from Palestine. In other +countries, the defence of the church, and hostilities against infidels, +though considered as knightly duties, were not protruded beyond other +obligations: but in Germany, so prominently were they placed, that a +cavalier used to hold himself bound, by his general oath of chivalry, to +prepare for battle the moment of a war being declared, either against +infidels or heretics.[211] + +The German knight differed in character from the knight of other +countries, though his education was similar. The course of that education +is detailed in one of the most interesting German poems, the Das +Heldenbuch, or Book of Heroes. + + "The princes young, were taught to protect all ladies fair, + Priests they bad them honour, and to the mass repair; + All holy Christian lore were they taught, I plight: + Hughdietrick and his noble queen caused priests to guide them right. + + Bechtung taught them knightly games; on the warhorse firm to sit; + To leap, and to defend them; rightly the mark to hit; + Cunningly to give the blow, and to throw the lance afar: + Thence the victory they gain'd, in many a bloody war. + + Right before their breasts to bear the weighty shield, + In battle and in tournament quaintly the sword to wield; + Strongly to lace the helmets on, when call'd to wage the fight, + All to the royal brothers, Bechtung taught aright. + + He taught them o'er the plain far to hurl the weighty rock; + Mighty was their strength, and fearful was the shock: + When o'er the plain resounded the heavy stone aloud, + Six furlongs threw beyond the rest Wolfdieterick the Proud."[212] + +[Sidenote: Cruelty of knights to their squires.] + +Though the education of the squire in Germany resembled the education of +the squire in other countries, yet his state was not equally happy. The +duties of the German youth were painful; and, though menial, as, indeed, +were many of the duties of all squires, yet they were ungraced by those +softening circumstances of manners which distinguished chivalric nurture +in France and England.[213] The squires, too, were more frequently persons +of humble birth than of gentle condition; and knighthood, therefore, was +not always the reward of their toils. The knights were cruel and severe to +their young attendants. It happened once, and the circumstance illustrates +the general state of manners, that when a knight was in the midst of a +baronial revelling, three of his squires rushed into the hall, with the +wild action of fear, and stood trembling before him. He coldly demanded +where were the rest. As soon as their fear allowed them to speak, they +said that their whole band had been fighting with his enemies, and that +eight of them had fallen. Totally unmoved by the fate of his brave and +devoted young friends, and thinking only of the rigidness of discipline, +he answered, "You are rightly served: who bade you ride without my +orders?"[214] Well, indeed, then, may we say, with the old German +authority for this story, that the man who hath held the office of squire +has learnt what it is to feel the depths of pain and ignominy. + +No country was more desolated by private war in the middle ages than +Germany; and chivalry, instead of ameliorating the mode of warfare, +acquired a character of wildness from the perpetual scene of horror.[215] + +[Sidenote: Avarice of the Germans.] + +There was no Bertrand du Guesclin, no Black Prince, no Manny, no Chandos, +in Germany: there was a rudeness about the knighthood of the Teutonic +cavaliers different from its state in other nations. The humanities, which +it was the principle of Christian chivalry to throw over the rugged front +of war, were but little felt in Germany, though Germany was the very +cradle of chivalry. I need not repeat the cruelties which were inflicted +upon Richard Coeur de Lion, during his return from the Holy Land. Two +centuries afterwards, when chivalry was in its high and palmy state in +other countries, the Germans continued uncourteous knights. They were a +high and proud people, never admitting foreign cavaliers to companionship +and brotherhood. But avarice was their most detestable quality, and +effectually extinguished all sentiments of honour. "When a German hath +taken a prisoner," says Froissart, "he putteth him into irons, and into +hard prison, without any pity, to make him pay the greater finance and +ransom."[216] On the probability arising of a war between Germany and +France, the French counsellors dissuaded their King, Charles V., from +thinking of engaging in it in person, on account of the character of the +enemy. It was said, if the King went into Germany, there would be but +little chance of his returning. "When they (the Germans) shall know that +the King and all the great nobles of France are entered into their +country, they will then assemble all together; and, by their better +knowledge of the land, they may do us great damage; for they are a +covetous people, above all other. They have no pity if they have the upper +hand; and they demean themselves with cruelty to their prisoners: they +put them to sundry pains, to compel them to make their ransoms the +greater; and if they have a lord, or a great man, for their captive, they +make great joy thereof, and will convey him into Bohemia, Austria, or +Saxony, and keep him in some uninhabitable castle. They are people worse +than Saracens or paynims; for their excessive covetousness quencheth the +knowledge of honour."[217] + +[Sidenote: Little influence of German chivalry.] + +As the corrective of the violences of feudal licentiousness, no where was +chivalry more required, and no where was it less known than in Germany. It +is not possible to exaggerate the enormities of the nobility, and, I fear, +of the clergy, during all that long tract of time which is called the age +of chivalry. Each castle was a den of thieves; and an archbishop thought +he had a fair revenue before him, when he built his fortress on the +junction of four roads.[218] To preserve the people from the rapaciousness +and cruelty of these noble and clerical robbers, knights-errant sometimes +scoured the plain; but this mode of corrective was very imperfectly +applied. It was in the cities and towns, which were protected by the +Emperors, that the oppressed and injured people found refuge. While the +German historians seldom mention the protecting influence of +knight-errantry, they constantly represent the benefit of towns, and press +the fact upon the readers, that it was the tyranny of the nobles which +occasioned their growth. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries there +were confederacies among towns, and confederacies among the nobility: the +former associations were formed in order to repel the aggressions of the +latter. This is a feature in German history totally unknown to other +countries of the great republic of Europe, and distinct from all chivalric +origin or chivalric effects. + +[Sidenote: A remarkable exception to this.] + +Except in the occasional adventurousness of knights-errant, chivalry was +but once concerned in repressing the evils of the time, and interwoven +with the interesting circumstances of that occasion is one of the most +amusing stories in all the long annals of knighthood. The citizens, in +conveying their merchandizes from one place to another, suffered +dreadfully from the rapine of the barons; and finding the weapons used by +common people were an insufficient protection, they wisely and boldly +armed themselves in the manner of their enemies. They wielded the lance +and sword, rode the heavy war-horse, practised tournaments and other +martial games, and even attended tournaments in castles and courts; +assuming for the occasion the armorial distinctions of noble families who +were distant from the scene. So much did this state of citizenship +resemble that of knighthood, that all the castles on the Rhine were not +inhabited by barons and knights only. + +[Sidenote: A female tournament.] + +In the fourteenth century, a band of bold and wealthy burghers established +themselves with their wives and children in one of the largest of these +fortresses, as a barrier against the maraudings of the nobility. They +became so powerful, and their deportment was so chivalric, that some of +the neighbouring knights formed alliances with them. A potent baron +harassed them in various ways; and after various battles, each party was +willing that words, and not the sword, should terminate the war. They +accordingly met on a spot of border-land, and, after arranging the +immediate subject of dispute, they embraced as brothers in chivalry. While +these citizen-knights were absent, the women, who remained behind, +joyfully assembled on a sunny plain, which spread itself before the +castle. They walked up and down, each lady praising the martial qualities +of her lord. As the discourse proceeded, they became inspired with that +heroic courage which they were commending, till at length they ordered the +war-horses to be brought out with armour and weapons, resolving to hold a +tournament. They were soon mounted and armed, and they took the names of +their husbands. There was a maiden among them, and as modesty forbad her +to take the name of any man of her own station in life, she chose the +title of a neighbouring duke. She performed the martial exercises with +such strength and adroitness, that most of the married women were cast by +her from their saddles, and paid dearly, by their wounds, for their +temerity and adventurousness. They then left the plain, and such of them +as were injured retired to their chambers, strictly charging the servants +and pages to make no disclosure of what had passed. When the knights +returned, and found the horses covered with foam and dust, and few ladies +to greet them, they enquired the cause of this unwonted appearance. For a +while no answer could be gained; but at length they terrified a boy into a +detail of the story. They laughed right merrily at the folly of their +wives; and when, soon afterwards, they met some of the Rhenish knights at +a festival, they made the hall echo with the tale, and it was soon bruited +over all Germany. The duke, under whose name the honours of the tournament +had been won, was surprised and pleased with the heroism of the maiden. He +sought her out, gave her rich presents, not only in money, but a war-steed +and a gentle palfrey, and united her in honourable marriage to a wealthy +burgher.[219] + +[Sidenote: Maximilian the only chivalric emperor of Germany.] + +In the character of the emperors of Germany, as seen in their public +lives, little of the chivalric nature can be marked. The Fredericks and +the Othos more nearly resemble our Norman Williams, than our Plantagenet +Edwards. It is singular that the only chivalric emperor in Germany was the +Prince in whose reign German chivalry expired. Maximilian I. was educated +in the strictest discipline of chivalry. All his youthful studies and +occupations had relation to his chivalric deportment; and German writers +have been fond of remarking, that while he was a mere child, he and +another boy were wont to ride on men's backs, and fight with wooden swords +in imitation of a joust.[220] + +[Sidenote: Joust between him and a French knight.] + +He was afterwards a very gallant cavalier. When in the year 1495, he was +holding his states at Worms, a French knight, named Claude de Batre, +arrived at the city, and proclaimed by his herald that he was ready to +meet in combat any German knight who was willing to stake life, limb, or +liberty, or contend for any knightly distinction in a personal encounter. +Among the nobles and knights that were present, no one seemed willing to +accept the challenge; for, besides the report of the Frenchman's gigantic +strength, fame had armed him with supernatural and satanic powers. The +courageous Maximilian could not endure to see the German chivalry braved +and bearded by a stranger, and he sent a herald with his own shield, +ornamented with the arms of Austria and Burgundy, to lay it alongside that +of the Frenchman. The Emperor and the knight then agreed that on the +morning of the tenth day from that time they would appear in public, +armed, and fight to the utterance. The person of the conquered was to +remain at the victor's disposal. The joust was regarded as a matter of +more interest and importance than the public affairs which the Diet was +assembled to arrange. On the appointed morning all the brave, and all the +fair of Germany, met round the splendid lists which the Emperor had +erected for the purpose. The herald's trumpet centered the attention of +the spectators,--its second flourish hushed every murmur,--and when its +third and loudest blast sounded, Maximilian and Claude de Batre pricked +forwards at speed through opposite gates into the lists, and opposed lance +to lance. Their weapons splintered, and they drew their swords. The fight +was long and obstinate; but the skill of the French knight only served to +exalt the heroism of the Emperor: for, finally, Maximilian disarmed his +antagonist, and proved the excellence of the German chivalry.[221] + +[Sidenote: Edicts of Frederick III. destroyed chivalry.] + +It was Frederic III., the father of Maximilian, who gave the first blow to +the ancient chivalry of Germany. He passed an edict allowing citizens to +receive knighthood; a permission which tarnished the splendour of the +order, and disgusted the old cavaliers.[222] This measure was a fatal one; +for Germany above all other countries had been jealous of the pure +nobility of its knighthood. Knighthood was more the adjunct of rank than +the reward of merit; and the Germans were more solicitous to examine the +quarters of a shield than the martial deserts of the bearer, more desirous +to mark his ancestors' deeds than his own. The edict of Frederic destroyed +the pride of chivalry. Knighthood was then conferred on boys who were +scarcely able to perform the duties of squires, and on children at the +baptismal font. But, in truth, the destruction of knighthood in Germany +was no real evil. Chivalry had not been a perfect defence of the empire, +as the Austrians and Swabians had found in their contests with the +Hungarians. + +On one occasion, in particular, during the thirteenth century, the knights +and squires of Germany were sorely galled on the plains of Hungary by the +arrows of the enemy, and vainly wished for a close and personal encounter. +An Austrian archer advised the chivalry with whom he served to retreat, +and draw the Hungarians far from their homes. This counsel the knights and +squires, from pride and suspicion of the man's fidelity, rejected; but the +danger pressed, the showers of arrows became thicker and more frequent, +and the Austrian and Swabian horses being but partially barded, were +either slain or rendered unmanageable. Each knight watched the countenance +of his companion, to read in it hope or advice, till at length one of them +exclaimed, "Let us send a messenger to these dastardly foes inviting them +to peace, or to a manly and chivalric contest, for honour and love of +ladies." A squire was dispatched, but was shot by an Hungarian arrow. The +Austrian leader then called to his side a well-experienced knight, and +bade him ride to the Hungarian General, and invoke him by his chivalry to +terminate this unknightly conflict. The old warrior replied, that if he +were to carry such a message, the Hungarian would infallibly answer, that +he was not such a fool as to place his unharnessed men in a level and +equal line against the mail-clad chivalry of Austria; and that if the +Austrians would doff their armour, the Hungarians would fight them hand to +hand. + +The danger became more and more imminent, and the Germans had no hope of +escape; for they could not expect, as if they had been fighting with the +chivalry of France, that a surrender of their horses and arms, and an +honourable treaty for their own persons' ransom, would satisfy the foe. +Finally, they were compelled to yield at discretion; and it is interesting +to observe, that the Austrian archer, whose counsel had been despised, and +who it appears might have saved himself if he would, remained at his +station, and nobly shared the fate of his lords. Instead of meeting with +any knightly courtesy, the whole were led away into Hungary, and pined out +their days in prison.[223] + +Many other instances of the inefficacy of the German chivalry might be +adduced, but the truth is so apparent on every page of the history of +Germany, that no particular instances are necessary. Other circumstances +contributed to its fall. The privileges of knighthood had been found +inconvenient by the emperors. In the field of battle the cavaliers often +claimed an independence which was detrimental to imperial authority. +Maximilian I., therefore, introduced mercenaries into his army. Such of +them as were natives of other countries brought with them every +well-practised species of war, and raised the German military power to a +level with that of the other nations of Europe. The inadequacy of the +German chivalry, to the present times was therefore so apparent, that no +person wished to see the spirit of knighthood revived. Chivalry ceased to +be a national characteristic, and its badges and honours passed into the +court to become the signs of imperial favour.[224] + + * * * * * + +We will now cross the Alps into + + +ITALY. + +[Sidenote: Lombards carried chivalry into Italy.] + +We shall ascend sufficiently high into the antiquities of nations, if we +observe that the system of manners from which chivalry sprang was brought +by the Lombards from Germany into the north of Italy. With them in their +new, as it had been in their original, seats, the title to bear arms was a +distinction conferred by the state, and not a subject of private will and +choice. A son did not presume to sit at the same table with his father. +For the instruction of youth in military affairs there were public +spectacles on Sundays, and on festivals, in imitation of a knightly mêlée. +A town or city was divided into two parts, each having its defenders. The +mock battles were either general or between small parties, the weapons +were made of wood, the helmets were safely padded, and the young warriors +displayed splendid banners adorned with fanciful cognisances.[225] The +amusement of hawking, which distinguished the Gothic from the Latin and +most southern tribes, was common with the Lombards[226]: but more than all +the rest, a tone of chivalric gallantry was given to the Italians, even by +these long-bearded barbarians. + +[Sidenote: Stories of chivalric gallantry.] + +Antharis, one of the Lombard kings, sought in marriage Theudelinda, a +daughter of the King of Bavaria; and not wishing to judge through +another's eyes, he disguised himself as a private man, and accompanied his +ambassadors to the Bavarian court. After the conditions of the marriage +had been discussed and the ceremonies arranged, the disguised prince +stepped before the crowd, and, saluting the King, declared that he was the +personal friend of Antharis, who wished to receive from him a description +of the lady's charms. Theudelinda accordingly appeared, and the first +glance assured Antharis of her being worthy of his love. He did not betray +his rank to the assembly; but not altogether able to conceal his joy, he +touched the hand of the royal damsel as she presented him a cup of wine; +and the matrons about the court, excellent judges of signs of passion, +whispered their assurance that such an act of bold familiarity could never +have been committed by a mere public or personal representative of +Antharis.[227] + + * * * * * + +For several centuries chivalry shed but few and transient gleams of light +over the gloomy waste of Italian history, and I can only select one event +which paints in beautiful colours the spirit of romantic gallantry. The +wife of Lothaire, King of Italy from the year 945 to 948, was Adelais, a +princess of the house of Burgundy. Lothaire was deposed, perhaps murdered +by his minister, Berenger; and the usurper persecuted, with the cruelty of +fear, Adelais, who has been described by monkish chroniclers, and chivalry +will not contradict the character, as being young and beautiful. He +confined her in a subterraneous dungeon; and, as if personal insult was +his best security, he deprived her of her jewels and her royal apparel. A +female servant was her only companion during four months of confinement, +wherein she was made to endure every mortification which a noble mind can +be exposed to. Her wretched condition was at length discovered by a +priest, named Martin, who had not in the retirement of a cloister lost the +sympathies of humanity. He immediately employed himself to effect her +rescue, and, unseen by her jealous keepers, he worked an aperture through +the earth and walls sufficient to admit a slender female form to pass. He +conveyed male habiliments into the dungeon, to deceive the eyes of her +jailors, and, apparelled in them, Adelais and her attendant made their +escape. They were met at the entrance of the aperture by their faithful +monk, who fled with them to the most probable place of safety, a wood near +the lake Benacus. The wants of nature were furnished to them by a poor man +who gained a precarious livelihood by fishing in the lake. Recovered from +their fatigue and alarm, Martin left the wood to provide for his fair +friend some surer place of safety. He went to the Bishop of Reggio, who, +though a humane and well-purposed man, was unable to oppose the might of +Berenger. Still the matter was not hopeless, for he remembered that there +was dwelling in the impregnable fortress of Canossa a virtuous and +adventurous knight. To him, therefore, Martin addressed himself, and Azzo +listened to his complaint. He and a chosen band of cavaliers donned their +harness, and, repairing to the lake Benacus, conducted thence the +persecuted Adelais to the fortress of Canossa. And this was well and +chivalrously achieved, for virtue was protected; and in affording this +protection, Azzo defied the power of the King of Italy. The subsequent +fate of Adelais it falls not within my province to detail. The student of +Italian history knows that she married Otho the Great, Emperor of Germany, +and that this marriage was a main cause of uniting the sovereignties of +Germany and Italy.[228] + + * * * * * + +[Sidenote: But little martial chivalry in Italy.] + +[Sidenote: Condottieri.] + +The growth and developement of chivalry in subsequent times were checked +by political circumstances. Of them the chief was the formation of the +republics in the north of Italy during the twelfth century. The power of +the feudal nobility was far less than in any other country, and the nobles +were the humble allies of the towns.[229] The citizens trusted rather to +the security of their fortifications than their own strength in the field, +for their infantry could not resist the charges of Italian cavalry; and, +except such nobles as were in alliance with them, their force consisted of +infantry. The superiority of the chivalric array of the various lords and +feudal princes of Italy to the militia of the cities[230] was one great +cause of that great political revolution,--the change of the republics +into tyrannies. The power of knights over armed burghers having been +experienced, and the towns not possessing in sufficient numbers a force of +cavalry, the practice arose of hiring the service of bodies of lancers, +who were commonly gentlemen of small fortune but of great pretensions, and +who found war the readiest way of gratifying their proud and luxurious +desires. In the fourteenth century another great change occurred in the +military affairs of Italy. I shall lay it before my readers in the lucid +diction of the English historian of that country. "The successive +expeditions of Henry VII., of Louis of Bavaria, and of John of Bohemia, +had filled Italy with numerous bands of German cavalry, who, on the +retirement of their sovereigns, were easily tempted to remain in a rich +and beautiful country, where their services were eagerly demanded, and +extravagantly paid. The revolution in the military art, which in the +preceding century established the resistless superiority of a mounted +gens-d'armerie over the burgher infantry, had habituated every state to +confide its security to bodies of mercenary cavalry; and the Lombard +tyrants in particular, who founded their power upon these forces, were +quick in discovering the advantage of employing foreign adventurers, who +were connected with their disaffected subjects by no ties of country or +community of language. Their example was soon universally followed, native +cavalry fell into strange disrepute; and the Italians, without having been +conquered in the field, unaccountably surrendered the decision of their +quarrels and the superiority in courage and military skill, to mercenaries +of other countries. When this custom of employing foreign troops was once +introduced, new swarms of adventurers were continually attracted from +beyond the Alps to reap the rich harvest of pay and booty which were +spread before them. In a country so perpetually agitated by wars among its +numerous states, they found constant occupation, and, what they loved +more, unbridled licence. Ranging themselves under the standards of chosen +leaders--the condottieri, or captains of mercenary bands,--they passed in +bodies of various strength from one service to another, as their terms of +engagement expired, or the temptation of higher pay invited; their +chieftains and themselves alike indifferent to the cause which they +supported; alike faithless, rapacious, and insolent. Upon every trifling +disgust they were ready to go over to the enemy: their avarice and +treachery were rarely proof against seduction; and, though their regular +pay was five or six times greater in the money of the age than that of +modern armies, they exacted a large gratuity for every success. As they +were usually opposed by troops of the same description, whom they regarded +rather as comrades than enemies, they fought with little earnestness, and +designedly protracted their languid operations to ensure the continuance +of their emoluments. But while they occasioned each other little loss, +they afflicted the country which was the theatre of contest with every +horror of warfare: they pillaged, they burnt, they violated, and +massacred with devilish ferocity."[231] + +Gradually these foreign condottieri, when not engaged in the service of +any particular power, levied war like independent sovereigns; and Italy +had fresh reason to repent the jealousy which had made her distrust her +own sons. They fought with tenfold more fury now that the contest was no +longer carried on by one troop of condottieri against another, but against +the Italians themselves, to whom no tie of nature bound them; and so far +was any cavaleresque generosity from mitigating the horrors of their wars, +that one adventurer, Werner was his name, and Germany his country, +declared, by an inscription which was blazoned on his corslet, that he was +"the enemy of God, of pity, and of mercy." But the power of these foreign +condottieri was not perpetual. Nature rose to vindicate her rights; and +there were many daring spirits among the Italians, who, if not emulous of +the fame, were jealous of the dominion of strangers. The company of Saint +George, founded by Alberico de Barbiano, a marauding chief of Romagna, was +the school of Italian generals. In the fifteenth century, the force of +every state was led by an Italian, if not a native citizen; and when the +Emperor Robert crossed the Alps with the gens-d'armerie of Germany, the +Milanese, headed by Jacopo del Verme, encountered him near Brescia, and +overthrew all his chivalry. + +[Sidenote: Chivalry in the north of Italy.] + +In northern Italy no knightlike humanities softened the vindictiveness of +the Italian mind. Warriors never admitted prisoners to ransom. The annals +of their contests are destitute of those graceful courtesies which shed +such a beautiful lustre over the contests of England and France. No +cavalier ever thought of combating for his lady's sake, and a lady's +favour was never blended with his heraldic insignia. There were no regular +defiances to war as in other countries: honour, that animating principle +of chivalry, was not known; the object of the conquest was regarded to the +exclusion of fame and military distinction. Stratagems were as common as +open and glorious battle; and private injuries were revenged by +assassination and not by the fair and manly joust à l'outrance: and yet +when a man pledged his word for the performance of any act, and wished his +sincerity to be believed, he always swore by the parola di cavaliere, e +non di cortigiano; so general and forcible was the acknowledgment of +chivalry's moral superiority. I know nothing in the history of the middle +ages more dark with crime than the wars of the Italians,--nothing that +displays by contrast more beautifully the graces of chivalry; and yet the +Italian condottieri were brave to the very height of valour. Before them +the German chivalry quailed, as it had formerly done before the militia of +the towns. + +[Sidenote: Italians excellent armourers, but bad knights.] + +In the deep feelings and ardent and susceptible imaginations of the +Italians, chivalry, it might seem, could have raised her fairest triumph; +but chivalry had no fellowship with a mercenary spirit, and sordid gain +was the only motive of the Italian soldiers. Their acute and intelligent +minds preceded most other people in military inventions. To them, in +particular, is to be attributed the introduction of the long and pointed +sword, against which the hauberk, or coat of mail, was no protection. They +took the lead in giving the tone to military costume: they were the most +ingenious people of Europe during the middle ages; and their superior +skill in the mechanical arts was every where acknowledged. The reader of +English history may remember, that in the reign of Richard II. the Earl of +Derby, afterwards Henry IV., sent to Milan for his armour, on account of +his approaching combat with Thomas, Duke of Norfolk. Sir Galeas, Duke of +Milan, not only gave the messenger the best in his collection, but allowed +four Milanese armourers to accompany him to England, in order that the +Earl might be properly and completely accomplished. The Milanese armour +preserved its reputation even in times when other countries had acquired +some skill in the mechanical arts. In 1481 the Duke of Brittany purchased +various cuirasses at Milan; and in the accounts of jousts and tournaments +frequent mention is made of the superior temper and beauty of Italian +harness.[232] + + * * * * * + +[Sidenote: Chivalry in the south of Italy.] + +In the south of Italy chivalry had a longer and brighter reign. Some of +its customs were introduced by the Lombards when they established their +kingdom at Beneventum; and others were planted by the Normans, that people +of chivalric adventurousness. Knighthood was an order of the state of high +consideration, and much coveted; but its glories were sometimes tarnished +by the admission of unworthy members; and, in the year 1252, the Emperor +Frederic II. was obliged to issue a decree, at Naples, forbidding any one +to receive it who was not of gentle birth. + +The most complete impression, however, of the chivalric character, on the +minds of the Italians, was made by the house of Anjou, when Charles and +his Frenchmen conquered Naples in 1266. The south of Italy seems to have +been far less advanced in civilisation than the commercial towns of the +north; but the Angevine monarchs made Naples one blaze of splendid luxury. +Nothing had been seen in Italy so brilliant as the cavalcade of Charles. +The golden collars of the French lords,--the surcoats and pennons, and +plumed steeds of the knights,--the carriage of the Queen, covered with +blue velvet, and ornamented with golden lilies,--surpassed in magnificence +all former shows.[233] The entry of Charles was a festival; and on that +occasion the honour of knighthood was conferred on all persons who +solicited it. The kings of the house of Anjou pretended to revive the +regulations of Frederic II.; but they soon relaxed them, and gave the +military girdle to the commonalty who could not prove that their +forefathers had been knights. + +[Sidenote: Curious circumstances attending knighthood at Naples.] + +When a person was invested at Naples, the bishop, or other ecclesiastic +who assisted at the inauguration, not only commanded the recipient to +defend the church, and regard the usual obligations of chivalry, but he +exhorted him not to rise in arms against the King from any motive, or +under any circumstances. This curious clause was added to the exhortation: +"If you should be disloyal to your sovereign, to him who is going to make +you a knight, you ought first to return him the girdle with which you are +immediately to be honoured; and then you may make war against him, and +none will reproach you with treachery; otherwise, you will be reputed +infamous, and worthy of death." An instance of the fear of this imputation +of treachery occurred when the Princes of Besignano and Melfi, the Duke of +Atri, and the Count of Maddolini, returned to Louis XII., King of France, +the collar of St. Michael, (with which he had honoured them,) when +Ferdinand the Catholic took possession of the kingdom.[234] + +Knighthood was much solicited, on account of its privileges, as well as of +its titular distinction. It exempted the fortunate wearer from the payment +of taxes, and gave him the power of enjoying the royal and noble amusement +of the chase. But the Angevine monarchs were so prodigal in granting the +honour of knighthood, that it ceased to be a distinction; and in the reign +of the last princes of that house the order had degenerated into a vain +and empty title. + +[Sidenote: Mode of creating knights in Italy generally.] + +Such was the general state of chivalry in northern and southern Italy; but +there were some circumstances common to every part of the peninsula. The +nobility invested each other with festive and religious ceremonies, with +the bath[235], the watching of arms, and the sacred and military shows, or +with a simple stroke of a sword, and the exhortation, "Sii un valoroso +cavaliere," two ancient knights buckling on his golden spurs. In the year +1294, Azzo, Marquis of Este, was knighted by Gerard, Lord of Camino, at a +public solemnity held at Ferrara. Cane, Lord of Verona, in 1328, gave the +honour of knighthood to thirty-eight young nobles, and presented them with +golden belts, and beautiful war-horses.[236] In Italy there was the usual +array of knights and squires, of cavalieri and scudieri; but I can find no +mention of pages distinct from the squires, and attending their lords; +except, indeed, they were the domicelli, or donzelli, who, however, are +supposed by Muratori to have been the squires of noble rank. All the +armour-bearers of the knights were not noble or of gentle birth, or we +should not very often meet, in the Italian annalists of the middle ages, +the expression "honourable squires." + +In the fourteenth century knights had four titles, agreeably to the +various modes of their creation:--Cavalieri Bagnati, or Knights of the +Bath, who were made with the grandest ceremonies, and supposed, from their +immersion, to be freed from all vice and impurity; the Cavalieri di +Corredo, or those who were invested with a deep-green dress, and a golden +garland; the Cavalieri di Scudo, or those who were created either by +people or nobility; and the Cavalieri d'Arme were those who were made +either before or during battle.[237] + +Many orders of knighthood were known in Italy: some (but their history is +not interesting) were peculiar to it; and others, such as the order of the +knights of Saint John and of the Temple, had their preceptories and +commanderies in that country. And, to enlarge upon a circumstance alluded +to in another place, it is curious to notice the dexterity with which +chivalry accommodated itself to the manners and usages of any particular +society. The commercial cities in the north of Italy vied in power with, +and were superior in wealth to, the feudal nobility. Chivalry was esteemed +as a graceful decoration by every class of men, and by none with more +ardour than by new families, whom opulence had raised into civic +consideration. The strictness of the principles of knighthood opposed +their investiture; but those principles, were made to give way; and +commercial pride was satisfied with the concession of aristocratical +haughtiness, that the _sons_ of men in trade might become brothers of the +orders of chivalry. + +[Sidenote: Political use of knighthood.] + +The decoration of simple knighthood, however, was given indiscriminately +without regard to birth or station. Every city assumed the power of +bestowing it; and after a great battle it was showered with indiscriminate +profusion upon those who had displayed their courage, whether they were +armed burghers or condottieri. And this was a wise measure of the Italian +cities: for there was always an obligation expressed or implied on the +part of knights of fidelity to the person from whom they received the +honour.[238] It is amusing to observe, that, in the year 1378, a +Florentine mob paused in its work of murder and rapine to play with the +graceful ensigns of chivalry; and, in imitation of the power of the city, +they insisted on investing their favourites with knighthood. + +[Sidenote: Chivalric literature.] + +Chivalry had, perhaps, greater influence on the literature and manners of +the Italians than on their military usages. Wandering minstrels from +France and Spain chaunted in the streets of Italy tales of warriors' deeds +and lady-love, particularly the stories of Roland and Oliver, the paladins +of Charlemagne, who were also the subject of song and recitation, even by +the stage-players on the earliest theatre at Milan.[239] Much of the +popular literature of Italy consisted of romances; and the chief topics of +them were the exploits both in arms and amours of Charlemagne and his +paladins: though on one occasion Buovo d'Antina, a hero of chivalry, who +fought and loved prior to the time of those heroes, was the theme of +Tuscan verse. The wars of Charlemagne and his paladins with the Saracens +were afterwards sung by the nobler muse of Pulci and Boiardo, and then by +Ariosto, who, not confining himself to the common stores of romantic +fiction, has borrowed as freely from the tales regarding Arthur and the +British and Armoric knights as from those relating to Charlemagne and the +peers of France, and has thrown over the whole the graceful mantle of +Oriental sorcery. The chivalric duties of converting the heathens, of +adoring the ladies, of fighting in the cause of heaven and woman, were +thus presented to the minds of the Italians; and the Homer of Ferrara +roused the courage, or softened into love or pity, the hearts of knights +and ladies, by singing the wars and loves of days which his poetry +rendered bright and golden. + +[Sidenote: Chivalric sports.] + +These were the literary amusements of Italy; the subjects of recitation in +the baronial hall, and of solitary perusal in the lady's bower: with these +works the Italians nourished their imaginations; and a chivalric taste was +diffused over the manners of public and private life. The amusement of +hawking, which, as we have seen, the fathers of chivalric Italy had +introduced, was indulged in at every court; and the Ferrarese princes were +generally attended in the field by a hundred falconers, so proud and +magnificent was their display. Every great event was celebrated by a +tournament or a triumphal show. Dante speaks of the tournament as the +familiar amusement of the fourteenth century. + + ----"e vidi gir gualdane, + Ferir torniamenti, e correr giostra." + Inferno, c. 22. + +So early as the year 1166, on occasion of the interview between Frederic +Barbarossa and Pope Alexander at Venice, chivalric and civic pomp +celebrated their friendship. Two centuries afterwards, the recovery of +Cyprus presented a fair opportunity for military display. Knights flocked +to Venice from England, France, and every country of the West, and +manifested their prowess in the elegant, yet perilous, encounter of the +tournament. There was a pageant, or grand triumphal show, of a splendid +procession of knights cased in steel, and adorned with the favours of the +ladies. The scene-painter and the mechanist combined their talents to give +an allegorical representation of the Christian's victory over Islamism: +the knights moved amidst the scenic decorations, and by their gallant +bearing swelled with noble pride the hearts of the spectators. + +The sports of chivalry were so elegant and graceful that we might have +supposed the refined Italians would have embraced them in all their +circumstances. But the arena of the Coliseum, so admirably adapted for a +tournament, was used for Moorish games. The matrons and virgins of Rome, +arrayed in all their bravery, were seated in its ample galleries, and +beheld, not a gallant and hurtless encounter between two parties of +knights with lances of courtesy, but a succession of sanguinary conflicts +between cavaliers and bulls. Only one solitary circumstance gave an air +of chivalry to the scene, and prevents us from mingling the bull-feast of +the Coliseum, on the 1st of September, 1332, with the horrid spectacles of +classic times. Each knight wore a device, and fancied himself informed by +the spirit of chivalry, and the presence of the ladies. "I burn under the +ashes," was the motto of him who had never told his passion. "I adore +Lavinia, or Lucretia," was written on the shield of the knight who wished +to be thought the servant of love, and yet dared not avow the real name of +his mistress.[240] + + + + +CHAP. VII. + +ON THE MERITS AND EFFECTS OF CHIVALRY. + + +We are now arrived at that part of our subject where we may say with the +poet, + + "The knights are dust, + And their good swords are rust: + Their souls are with the saints, we trust." + +With Italy the historical tracing ceases of that system of principles +which for so many centuries formed or influenced the character of Europe. +Its rude beginnings may be marked in the patriarchal manners which +preceded every known frame of artificial life, and have been shaped and +modified by the legislator and the moralist. The ties of fraternity or +companionship in arms, respect to elders, devotion to women, military +education and military investiture, were the few and simple elements of +chivalry, and in other times would have formed the foundation of other +systems of manners. But a new and mighty spirit was now influencing the +world, and bending to its purposes every principle and affection. +Christianity, with its sanctities and humanities, gave a form and +character to chivalry. He who was invested with the military belt was no +longer the mere soldier of ambition and rapine, but he was taught to couch +his lance for objects of defence and protection, rather than for those of +hostility. He was the friend of the distressed, of widows and orphans, and +of all who suffered from tyranny and oppression. The doctrine of Christian +benevolence, that all who name the name of Christ are brothers, gave +beauty and grace to the principles of fraternity, which were the Gothic +inheritance of knights, and therefore the wars of the middle ages were +distinguished for their humanities. A cavalier was kind and courteous to +his prisoner, because he saw in him a brother; and while the system of +ancient manners would have limited this feeling to people of one nation, a +knight did not bound his humanity by country or soil, for Christian +chivalry was spread over most parts of Europe, and formed mankind into one +band, one order of men. From the same principle all the courtesies of +private life were communicated to strangers; and gentleness of manners, +and readiness of service, expanded from a private distinction into an +universal character. Since, by the Christian religion, woman was restored +to the rank in the moral world which nature had originally assigned her, +the feelings of respect for the sex, which were entertained in the early +and unsophisticated state of Europe, were heightened by the new sanctions +of piety. It was a principle, as well as a feeling and a love, to guard +and cherish woman; and many of the amenities of chivalry proceeded from +her mild influence and example. + +The patriarchal system of manners, shaped and sanctioned by Christianity, +formed the fabric of chivalry; and romance, with its many-coloured hues, +gave it light and beauty. The early ages of Europe gaily moved in all the +wildness and vigour of youth; imagination freshened and heightened every +pleasure; the world was a vision, and life a dream. The common and +palpable value of an object was never looked at, but every thing was +viewed in its connection with fancy and sentiment. Prudence and +calculation were not suffered to check noble aspirations: army after army +traversed countries, and crossed the sea to the Holy Land, reckless of +pain or danger: duties were not cautiously regarded with a view to limit +the performance of them; for every principle was not only practised with +zeal, but the same fervid wish to do well lent it new obligations. From +these feelings proceeded all the graceful refinements, all the romance of +chivalry: knighthood itself became a pledge for virtue; and as into the +proud and lofty imagination of a true cavalier nothing base could enter, +he did not hesitate to confide in the word of his brother of chivalry, on +his pledging his honour to the performance of any particular action. There +was no legal or other positive punishment consequent on the violation of +his word; and, therefore, the matter being left to imagination and +feeling, the contempt of his fellow-knights could be the only result of +recreancy. The knight looked to fame as one of the guerdons of his toils: +this value of the opinions of others taught him to dread shame and +disgrace; and thus that fine sense of morality, that voluntary submission +to its maxims which we call honour, became a part of knighthood. + +The genius of chivalry was personal, inasmuch as each knight, when not +following the banner of his sovereign, was in himself an independent +being, acting from his own sense of virtue, and not deriving counsel from, +or sharing opprobrium with, others. This independence of action exalted +his character; and, nourished by that pride and energy of soul which +belong to man in an early state of society, all the higher and sterner +qualities of the mind,--dignity, uncompromising fidelity to obligations, +self-denial, and generousness, both of sentiment and conduct,--became the +virtues of chivalry. + +All the religious devotion of a cavalier to woman existed in his mind, +independently of, or superadded to, his oath of knighthood. She was not +merely the object of his protection, but of his respect and idolatry. His +love was the noble homage of strength to beauty. Something supernaturally +powerful had been ascribed to her by the fathers of modern Europe; and +this appeal to the imagination was not lost. In some ages and countries it +reigned in all its religious force; in others it was refined into +gentleness and courtesy: but every where, and at every time, the firmest +confidence in woman's truth accompanied it, or supplied its stead; and the +opinion of her virtue, which this feeling implied, had a corresponding +influence on his own manners. + +The triumph of chivalry over all preceding systems of opinions was +complete, when imagination refined the fierceness of passion into generous +and gentle affection,--a refinement so perfect and beautiful, that +subsequent times, with all their vaunted improvements in letters and +civilisation, are obliged to revert their eyes to the by-gone days of the +shield and the lance for the most pleasing and graceful pictures of +lady-love. + +From these elements, and by means of these principles, sprang the fair and +goodly system of chivalry, which extended itself, as we have seen, over +most of the states of Europe, blending with the strongest passions and +dearest affections of the heart, influencing the manners of private life, +and often determining the character of political events. In England and +France its power was most marked and decided; in Spain it was curiously +blended with Oriental feelings; Germany was not much softened by its +impressions; and in Italy the bitterness of private war admitted but few +of its graces. It is difficult to define the precise period of its +duration, for it rose in the mists and gloom of barbarism; and the moment +of its setting was not regarded, for other lights were then playing on the +moral horizon, and fixing the attention of the world. In the part, +entirely historical, of the present work, the reader must have remarked, +that sometimes the decay of chivalry was gradual, and not apparently +occasioned by external means; while in other countries its extinction was +manifestly hastened by causes which sprang not from any seeds of weakness +in itself. But, viewing the subject in its great and leading bearings, it +may be observed, that chivalry was coeval with the middle ages of Europe, +and that its power ceased when new systems of warfare were matured, when +the revival of letters was complete and general, and the reformation of +religion gave a new subject for the passions and imagination. + +This attempt to describe a history of chivalry has proved, at least, that +chivalry was no dream of poets and romancers, and that the feudal system +was not the only form of real life during the middle ages. Sismondi, in +his work on the Literature of the South, contends that chivalry was an +ideal world. He then admits, that sometimes the virtues of chivalry were +not entirely poetical fictions, but that they existed in the minds of the +people, without, however, producing any effect on their lives. His reasons +for his opinions are, that it is impossible to distinguish the countries +where chivalry prevailed; that it is represented to us as remote both in +time and place; and while one class of authors give accounts of the +general corruption of their age, writers of after times refer to those +very days, and adorn them with every virtue and grace. + +Now, much of this reasoning is erroneous. That past ages should be praised +at the expence of the present is no uncommon a circumstance, whether in +morals or poetry. We have proved that the countries where chivalry +prevailed are clearly distinguishable, and the degree of its influence +can likewise be marked. M. Sismondi does not argue as if he had been aware +that there ever had existed such a writer as Froissart; who does not refer +to old times for his pictures of arms and amours, but describes the +chivalric character of his own age. + +Notwithstanding the light and beauty which chivalry cast over the world, +the system has been more frequently condemned than praised. The objectors +have rested their opinion on a sentence, said to be witty, of an old +English author, that errant knights were arrant knaves, or on a few +passages of reprehension which are scattered through the works of +middle-age literature. Sainte Palaye has founded his condemnation of +chivalry upon the remark of Pierre de Blois, a writer of the twelfth +century, that the horses of knights groan under the burden, not of +weapons, but of wine; not with lances, but cheeses; not with swords, but +with bottles; not with spears, but with spits.[241] Not many years +afterwards, John of Salisbury also says, that some knights appear to think +that martial glory consists in shining in elegant dress, and attaching +their silken garments so tightly to their body, that they may seem part of +their flesh. When they ride on their ambling palfreys they think +themselves so many Apollos. If they should unite for a martial chevisance, +their camp will resemble that of Thais, rather than that of Hannibal. +Every one is most courageous in the banqueting hall, but in the battle he +desires to be last. They would rather shoot their arrows at an enemy than +meet him hand to hand. If they return home unwounded, they sing +triumphantly of their battles, and declare that a thousand deaths hovered +over them. The first places at supper are awarded to them. Their feasts +are splendid, and engrossed by self-indulgence: they avoid labour and +exercise like a dog or a snake. All the dangers and difficulties of +chivalry they resign to those who serve them, and in the mean time they so +richly gild their shields, and adorn their camps, that every one of them +looks not a scholar but a chieftain of war.[242] + +All this splenetic declamation involves charges of coxcombry, luxury, and +cowardice. That knights were often guilty of the first offence is probable +enough, for all their minute attention to the form and fashion of armour +could not but attach their minds too strongly to the effect of their +personal appearance. Graced also with the scarf of his sovereign-mistress, +the knight well might caracole his gallant steed with an air of +self-complacency: but a censure on such matters comes with little +propriety from monks, who, according to Chaucer, were wont to tie their +beads under their chin with a true lover's knot. + +The personal indulgence of the knights was not the luxury of the +cloister,--idle, gross, and selfish,--but it was the high and rich +joviality of gay and ardent souls. They were boon or good companions in +the hall, as well as in the battle-field. If their potations were deep, +they surely were not dull; for the wine-cup was crowned and quaffed to the +honour of beauty; and minstrelsy, with its sweetest melodies, threw an air +of sentiment over the scene. How long their repasts lasted history has not +related: but we have seen, in the life of that great and mighty English +knight, Sir Walter Manny, that when the trumpet sounded to horse, +cavaliers overthrew, in gay disorder, every festival-appliance, in their +impatience to don their harness, and mount their war-steeds; and we also +saw that a cup of rich Gascon wine softened the pride and anger of Sir +John Chandos, and, awakening in him the feelings of chivalric generosity, +impelled him to succour the Earl of Pembroke. In sooth, at the festivals +of cavaliers all the noble feelings of chivalry were displayed. In those +hours of dilatation of the heart, no appeal was made in vain to the +principles of knighthood. + +Even so late as the year 1462, when the sun of chivalry was nearly set, at +a high festival which the Duke of Burgundy gave, at Brussels, to the lords +and ladies of the country, two heralds entered the hall, introducing a +stranger, who declared that he brought with him letters of credence from +the noble lady his mistress. The letters were then delivered by him to the +officer of the Duke, who read them aloud. Their purport was, that the lady +complained of a certain powerful neighbour, who had threatened to +dispossess her of her lands, unless she could find some knight that, +within a year, would successfully defend her against him in single combat. +The stranger then demanded a boon of the Duke; and His Grace, like a true +son of chivalry, accorded it, without previously requiring its nature. The +request was, that he should procure for the lady three knights, to be +immediately trained to arms; that out of these three the lady should be +permitted to choose her champion. Then, and not before, she would disclose +her name. As soon as the stranger concluded, a burst of joyful approval +rang through the hall. Three knights (and the famous Bastard of Burgundy +was of the number) immediately declared themselves candidates for the +honour of defending the unknown fair. Their prowess was acknowledged by +all the cavaliers present, and they affixed their seals to the +articles.[243] + +Except the knights were actually engaged in foreign countries, on martial +chevisance, all the festivals, particularly those which succeeded the +graceful pastime of the tournament, were frequented by dames and damsels, +whose presence calling on the knights to discharge the offices of high +courtesy, chased away the god of wine. The games of chess and tables, or +the dance, succeeded; while the worthy monks, Pierre of Blois, and John of +Salisbury, having no such rich delights in their refectory, were compelled +to continue their carousals. + +How gay and imaginative were the scenes of life when chivalry threw over +them her magic robe! At a ball in Naples, Signor Galeazzo of Mantua was +honoured with the hand of the Queen Joanna. The dance being concluded, and +the Queen reseated on her throne, the gallant knight knelt before her, +and, confessing his inability with language adequately to thank her for +the honour she had done him, he vowed that he would wander through the +world, and perform chivalric duties, till he had conquered two cavaliers, +whom he would conduct into her presence, and leave at her disposal. The +Queen was pleased and flattered by this mark of homage, and assured him +that she wished him joy in accomplishing a vow which was so agreeable to +the customs of knighthood. The knight travelled, the knight conquered; +and, at the end of a year, he presented to the Queen two cavaliers. The +Queen received them; but, instead of exercising the power of a conqueror, +she graciously gave them their liberty, recommending them, before their +departure, to view the curiosities of the rich city of Naples. They did +so; and when they appeared before the Queen to thank her for her kindness, +she made them many noble presents, and they then departed, seeking +adventures, and publishing the munificence and courtesy of Joanna.[244] + +But the charge of cowardice which the monks brought against the knights is +the most vain and foolish of all their accusations, and throws a strong +shade of contempt and suspicion on the rest. If they had said that +chivalric daring often ran wild into rashness, we could readily enough +credit the possibility of the fact; but nothing could be more absurd than +to charge with cowardice men who, from the dauntlessness of their minds, +and the hardy firmness of their bodies, had been invested with the +military belt. + +The reason of all this vituperative declamation against chivalry may be +gathered from a very curious passage in a writer during the reign of +Stephen. "The bishops, the bishops themselves, I blush to affirm it, yet +not all, but many, (and he particularises the bishops of Winchester, +Lincoln, and Chester,) bound in iron, and completely furnished with arms, +were accustomed to mount war-horses with the perverters of their country, +to participate in their prey; to expose to bonds and torture the knights +whom they took in the chance of war, or whom they met full of money; and +while they themselves were the head and cause of so much wickedness and +enormity, they ascribed it to their knights."[245] Hence, then, it appears +that many of the bishops were robbers, and that they charged their own +offences on the heads of the chivalry. The remark of the writer on the +cruelty of the bishops to their prisoners is extremely curious, +considering it in opposition to the general demeanour of knights to those +whom the fortune of war threw into their hands. But these wars and +jealousies between the knighthood and the priesthood, while they account +for all the accusations which one class were perpetually making against +the other, compel us to despise their mutual criminations. + +Nothing more, perhaps, need be said to deface the pictures of the knightly +character as drawn by Pierre de Blois and John of Salisbury; and they +should not have met with so much attention from me if they had not always +formed the van of every attack upon chivalry. But there is one passage in +Dr. Henry's History of England so closely applicable to the present part +of my subject, that I cannot forbear from inserting it. "It would not be +safe," observes that judicious historian, "to form our notions of the +national character of the people of England from the pictures which are +drawn of it by some of the monkish historians. The monk of Malmsbury, in +particular, who wrote the life of Edward II., paints his countrymen and +contemporaries in the blackest colours. 'What advantage,' says he, 'do we +reap from all our modern pride and insolence? In our days the lowest, +poorest wretch, who is not worth a halfpenny, despises his superiors, and +is not afraid to return them curse for curse. But this, you say, is owing +to their rusticity. Let us see, then, the behaviour of those who think +themselves polite and learned. Where do you meet with more abuse and +insolence than at court? There, every one swelling with pride and rancour, +scorns to cast a look on his inferiors, disdains his equals, and proudly +rivals his superiors. The squire endeavours to outshine the knight, the +knight the baron, the baron the earl, the earl the king, in dress and +magnificence. Their estates being insufficient to support this +extravagance, they have recourse to the most oppressive acts, plundering +their neighbours and stripping their dependents almost naked, without +sparing even the priests of God. I may be censured for my too great +boldness, if I give an ill character of my own countrymen and kindred; but +if I may be permitted to speak the truth, the English exceed all other +nations in the three vices of pride, perjury, and dishonesty. You will +find great numbers of this nation in all the countries washed by the Greek +sea; and it is commonly reported that they are infamous over all these +countries for their deceitful callings.' But, we must remember, (as Dr. +Henry comments on this passage,) that this picture was drawn by a _peevish +monk_, in very unhappy times, when faction raged with the greatest fury, +both in the court and country." + +It would not alter the nature of chivalry, or detract any thing from its +merits, if many instances were to be adduced of the recreancy of knights, +of their want of liberality, courtesy, or any other chivalric qualities; +for nothing is more unjust than to condemn any system for actions which +are hostile to its very spirit and principles. One fair way of judging it, +is to examine its natural tendencies. A character of mildness must have +been formed wherever the principles of chivalry were acknowledged. A great +object of the order was protection; and therefore a kind and gentle regard +to the afflictions and misfortunes of others tempered the fierceness of +the warrior. In many points chivalry was only a copy of the Christian +religion; and as that religion is divine, and admirably adapted to improve +and perfect our moral nature, so the same merit cannot in fairness be +denied to any of its forms and modifications. Chivalry embraced much of +the beautiful morality of Christianity,--its spirit of kindness and +gentleness; and men were called upon to practise the laws of mercy and +humanity by all the ties which can bind the heart and conscience; by the +sanctions of religion, the love of fame, by a powerful and lofty sense of +honour. On the other hand, the Christianity of the time was not the pure +light of the Gospel, for it breathed war and homicide; and hence the page +of history, faithful to its trust, has sometimes painted the knights +amidst the gloomy horrors of the crusades ruthlessly trampling on the +enemies of the cross, and at other times generously sparing their +prostrate Christian foes, and gaily caracoling about the lists of the +tournament. + +But these are not the only means of showing the general beneficial nature +of the institutions of chivalry. The character of modern Europe is the +result of the slow and silent growth of ages informed with various and +opposite elements. The impress of the Romans is not entirely effaced; and +two thousand years have not destroyed all the superstitions of our Pagan +ancestors. We must refer to past ages for the origin of many of those +features of modern society which distinguish the character of Europe from +that of the ancient world, and of the most polished states of Asia. We +boast our generousness in battle, the bold display of our animosity, and +our hatred of treachery and the secret meditations of revenge. To what +cause can these qualities be assigned? Not to any opinions which for the +last few hundred years have been infused into our character, for there is +no resemblance between those qualities and any such opinions; but they can +be traced back to those days of ancient Europe when the knight was quick +to strike, and generous to forgive; and when he would present harness and +arms to his foe rather than that the battle should be unfairly and +unequally fought. This spirit, though not the form, of the chivalric times +has survived to ours, and forms one of our graces and distinctions. The +middle ages, as we have shown, were not entirely ages of feudal power; for +the consequence of the personal nobility of chivalry was felt and +acknowledged. The qualities of knighthood tempered and softened all +classes of society, and worth was the passport to distinction. Thus +chivalry effected more than letters could accomplish in the ancient world; +for it gave rise to the personal merit which in the knight, and in his +successor, the gentleman of the present day, checks the pride of birth and +the presumption of wealth. + +But it is in the polish of modern society that the graces of chivalry are +most pleasingly displayed. The knight was charmed into courtesy by the +gentle influence of woman, and the air of mildness which she diffused has +never died away. While such things exist, can we altogether assent to the +opinion of a celebrated author, that "the age of chivalry is gone?" Many +of its forms and modes have disappeared; fixed governments and wise laws +have removed the necessity for, and quenched the spirit of, +knight-errantry and romance; and, happily for the world, the torch of +religious persecution has long since sunk into the ashes. But chivalric +imagination still waves its magic wand over us. We love to link our names +with the heroic times of Europe; and our armorial shields and crests +confess the pleasing illusions of chivalry. The modern orders of military +merit (palpable copies of some of the forms of middle-age distinctions) +constitute the cheap defence of nations, and keep alive the personal +nobility of knighthood. We wage our wars not with the cruelty of Romans, +but with the gallantry of cavaliers; for the same principle is in +influence now which of old inspired courage while it mitigated ferocity. +Courtesy of manners, that elegant drapery of chivalry, still robes our +social life; and liberality of sentiment distinguishes the gentleman, as +in days of yore it was wont to distinguish the knight. + + + + +INDEX. + + + _Accolade_, meaning of the, I. 53. note. + + _Adelais_, tale of her imprisonment, rescue by an adventurous knight, + and subsequent marriage, II. 322. + + _Albigenses_, romance of, I. 48. note. + + _Alcantara_, order of, its principles, and its comparative rank with + other Spanish orders, I. 353. + + _Alfonso_, story of his chivalric bearing, II. 258. + + _Allegories_, fantastic, made on knights and their armour, I. 108. 110. + + _Amys and Amylion_, Romance of, I. 121. + + _Anglo-Saxons_, state of chivalry among, I. 6. 9. 11. 383. + + _Antharis_, a Lombard king, story of his romantic gallantry, II. 321. + + _Arabian horses_, their repute in chivalric times, I. 111. + + _Arabic_, Spanish historians, account of, II. 242. note. + + _Archers_, excellence of English, II. 12. + Fine passage from Halidon Hill expressive of, II. 13. note. + An English archer in the days of Edward III., 14. + Importance of at battles of Cressy and Poictiers, 15. + + _Argonautes_, order of, purpose of its institution, I. 358. + + _Aristotle_, lay of, I. 215. + + _Armorial bearings_, historical and philosophical sketch of the + principles of, I. 86, 87. 89. + + _Armour_, beauty of ancient, I. 65. + Value of enquiries into the minutiæ of, I. 94. + Uncertainty of the subject, I. 95. + Its general features, I. 99, &c. + Golden armour, 102. + + _Array_, general nature of chivalric, I. 118. + + _Arthur_, his knightly honour, I. 132. note. + Discovery of his remains at Glastonbury, account of, I. 375. + His court the school of chivalric virtue, 376. + His generosity to his knights, 376. note. + See _Round Table_. + + _Athenæus_, his singular testimony to a state of chivalry, I. 6. + + _Auberoch_, beleagured by the French, and chivalrously relieved by the + English, II. 31. + + _Audley_, Sir James, interesting story of his heroic achievements and of + his generosity, II. 43. + + _Axe_, the battle, I. 67. + Description of King Richard's, 68. note. + + + B. + + _Bachelor_, various meanings of the word, I. 19. 45. + + _Bacinet_, I. 91. + + _Baked meats_, fondness of people for them in the olden time, I. 191. + and note. + + _Ball_, the, after a tournament, I. 284. + + _Band_, Spanish order of the, objects of the order, I. 367. + Interesting, as descriptive of the state of Spanish manners, ib. + Its fine chivalry to woman, I. 369. + + _Banneret_, qualification of a knight, I. 16. + His privileges, 17. + See _Chandos_. + + _Bannockburn_, battle of, I. 407. + + _Barriers_, description of, I. 124. note. + Singular battles at the, I. 124. 127. + + _Bath_, order of, ceremonies used at the ancient creation of knights of, + II. 150. 91, &c. + Modern ceremonies, I. 364. + Absurdity of our heralds' dogmatic positiveness regarding the æra of + the order's foundation, II. 91. note. + + _Batre_, Claude de, a French knight. His joust with Maximilian I. of + Germany, II. 315. + + _Bauldrick_, description of the, I. 73. + + _Bayard_, the chivalric, his early years, II. 217. + Enters the service of the kings of France, 218. + His valiancy, ib. + His humanity, 219. + His gallantry, ib. + Holds a tournament in honour of the ladies, 220. + His death, 222. + + _Beauty_, knights fought to assert the superiority of their mistress's + beauty, I. 209. + The practice apparently absurd, but reason why it should not be too + severely censured, II. 211. + + _Black Prince_, his conduct at Limoges, I. 132. + His courtesy, II. 11. 16. + His liberality, II. 45. + His deportment to Peter the Cruel, II. 185. + Not a favorite with the nobility in the English possessions in France, + II. 191. + His cruelty to Du Guesclin, ib. + + _Blois_, Charles of, his contention with Jane de Mountfort for the duchy + of Brittany, I. 239. + + _Blue_, the colour of constancy in days of chivalry, I. 275. note. + See _Stocking_. + + _Bonaparte_, his generousness to a descendant of Du Guesclin, II. 203. + + _Bonnelance_, Sir John, his remarkable courtesy to the ladies, I. 199. + + _Boucmell_, John, his joust with an English squire, I. 294. + + _Bourbon_, singular mode by which a Duke of, gained a fortress, I. 59. + + ----, order of, account of, I. 371. + + _Boucicant_, Marshal, his outrageous reverence for women, I. 223. note. + His joust at St. Ingelbertes, near Calais, 303, &c. + + _Bovines_, importance of squires at the battle of, I. 47. + + _Break-across_, to, meaning of the phrase, I. 278, 279. note. + + _Britomart_, the perfection of chivalric heroines, I. 253. + + _Brittany_, revered for its chivalric fame, II. 174. + + _Bruce_, Robert, his chivalric humanity, II. 69. + + _Burgundy_, Bastard of, his joust with Lord Scales, I. 314. + His skill in other jousts, II. 214. + + ----, court of, splendour of its tournaments, II. 213. + The most chivalric country in Europe during middle of fifteenth + century, ib. + Chivalric circumstance at the court of, II. 351. + + + C. + + _Calais_, stories regarding, II. 17-21. + + _Calatrava_, order of, its origin and history, I. 349. + + _Calaynos_, the Moor, praised by the Spaniards, II. 234. + + _Carlisle_, Sir Anthony Harclay, Earl of, ceremonies of his degradation + from knighthood, I. 62-64. + + _Carpet-knights_, meaning of the term, II. 156. + + _Carpio_, Bernardo del, account of, II. 243. + + _Cavalry_, the principal arm of military power during the middle ages, + I. 2. + + _Caxton_, his lamentation over the decline of chivalry, II. 99. + His exaggeration of the evil, 102. + + _Celts_, humility of Celtic youths, I. 6. + + _Cervantes_, curious error made by, I. 20. + Censures the chivalric custom of making vows, 129. note. + Satirises chivalric contempt of bodily pain, 368. note. + Ridicules the vigil of arms, I. 49. note. + and the pride of knights, I. 393. note. + Accuracy of his pictures, II. 297. + + _Cesena_, noble defence of, by Marzia degl' Ubaldini, I. 249. + + _Chandos_, Sir John, story with the Earl of Oxenford, I. 38. + History of his heroism, II. 46. + Gallantry, 47. + Tenacious of his armorial bearings, ib. + Exploits at Auray, 49. + Tries to dissuade the Black Prince from the Spanish war, 50. + Ceremonies on his becoming a knight-banneret, ib. + His remarkable generousness, 52. + His death before the bridge of Lusac, 60, &c. + General grief thereat, 63. + + _Character_, bluntness of the old English, shown at the creation of + knights of the Bath, II. 165. + + _Charity_, a great chivalric virtue, instance of, I. 161. + + _Charter-house_, the, founded by Sir Walter Manny, II. 42. and note. + + _Charlemagne_, state of chivalry in his time, I. 10. + His expedition into Spain, II. 244. + + _Chargny_, Lord of, a famous jouster, II. 298. + His passage of arms near Dijon, I. 328. + + _Cherbury_, Edward Herbert, Lord of, memoir of him, II. 138. + Chivalric fame of his family, ib. + His vanity, 140-145. + Made a knight of the Bath, 141. + His curious adventures in France, 142. + The disgusting vanity of his infidelity, 147. + His general character, 148. + His inferiority to the heroes of the reign of Edward III., 149. + + _Chess_, the high favour of this game in days of chivalry, I. 163. + A story of a knight's love of chess, 164. + + _Chivalry_, general oath of, I. 50. + Form used in Scotland, II. 70. + Exhortations to perform chivalric obligations, I. 51, 52. + Beauty of chivalric costume, I. 65. + First ages of, interesting to the reason, but not pleasing to the + fancy, I. 1. + Difference between feudal and moral chivalry, I. 3. + Origin of, ib. + Nature of, 2. + Modified by Christianity, 9, 13. + Early ceremonies of inauguration, 4. 11, 12. + Personal nobility of, not to be confounded with feudal territorial + nobility, 16. + Morals of chivalric times unjustly censured, 229. + Real state of them, ib. &c. + Peculiar fineness of chivalric feeling, 277. note. + Declined in France before the common use of gunpowder, II. 213. + Recapitulation of the circumstances which gave birth to, 341. + Its general nature, 342. + Exact time of its influence difficult to mark, 346. + Its merits, 348. + Its effects, 358. + Application of chivalric honours to men in civil stations, 155. + Connected with feudalism, I. 384. + A compulsory honour in England, 386. + + _Christianity_, its improvements on Gothic chivalry, I. 10. + + _Cid_, the, his birth, II. 246. + His early ferocious heroism, ib. + His singular marriage, 247. + Enters the service of King Ferdinand, 249. + His chivalric gallantry, ib. + Ceremony of his being knighted, 251. + Death of the King ib. + Becomes the knight of Sancho, King of Castile, and his campeador, 252. + Mixture of evil and good in his character, ib. + Supports the King in his injustice, 253. + His romantic heroism, ib. + His virtuous boldness, 256. + His second marriage, 260. + Is banished from the court of Alfonso, the brother of Sancho, 261.; + but recalled ib. + Is banished again, 263. + Story of his unchivalric meanness, ib. + His history in exile, 264. + His nobleness and generosity, 267. + Is recalled, 269. + Captures Toledo, 270.; + and Valentia, 271. + Unjust conduct to the Moors, 274. + Marriage of his daughters, 276. + His death, 284.; + and character, 285. + + _Claremont_, the Lord of, his dispute with Sir John Chandos regarding + armorial cognisances, II. 47. + + _Clary_, the Lord of, singular story of the censure on him by the court + of France for want of courtesy to Sir Peter Courtenay, I. 154-157. + + _Clergy_, the weapons they used in battle, I. 68. + A gallant fighting priest promoted to an archdeaconry, II. 80. + Often turned knights, I. 350. + + _Clermont_, council of, sanctions chivalry, I. 12. + + _Clifford_, Nicholas, his joust with John Boucmell, I. 294, &c. + + _Cloth of gold_, chivalric circumstances at the field of, II. 111. + + _Cochetel_, battle of, II. 178. + + _Cognisances_, I. 87. + + _Coliseum_, Moorish and chivalric sports in, II. 329. + Inferiority of the old Roman games in, to those of chivalry, I. 260. + + _Colombe_, Ernalton of Sainte, bravery of him and his esquire, I. 46. + + _Companions_ in arms, nature of such an union, I. 118-123. + + _Conde_, D. José Antonio, value of his searches into Arabic Spanish + historians, II. 242. note. + + _Constancy_, a greater virtue in chivalric times than in the present + day, I. 206. + Spenser's exhortation to, 207. + + _Constantine_, fabulous order of, I. 374. + + _Conversation_ of knights, its subjects, I. 175. + + _Courage_ of the knight, I. 124-130. + + _Courtenay_, Sir Peter, his adventures in France, I. 154, &c. + + _Courtesy_, a knightly virtue, I. 160. + Courtesy of a dragon, 161. note. + At tournaments, 268. + + _Cousines_, dame des belle, her reproof of a young page for his not + being in love, I. 32. + + _Crawford_, Sir David de Lindsay, Earl of, his joust with Lord Wells, + I. 290. + + _Cross_, every military order had its, I. 362. + Wretched taste in concealing the cross of the order of the Bath by a + star, ib. + + _Cyclas_, I. 85. + + _Cyneheard_, his story, I. 5. + + + D. + + _Dagger_ of mercy, description of it, I. 92. + Story of its use, 93. + + _Dambreticourt_, Lord Eustace, his chivalry inspired by the lady + Isabella, I. 204. + His valour at the battle of Poictiers, II. 44. + + _Dames_ and _Damsels_. See _Lady_. + + _Degradation_, ceremonies of, I. 60. + + _Derby_, Earl of, the sort of death he desired, I. 147. + + _Devices_, what they were, I. 78. + Worn in tournaments, 272-275. + + _Discipline_, chivalric array not inconsistent with feudal discipline, + I. 145. + + _Douglas_, story of the perilous castle of, I. 205. + Generousness of the good Lord James of, I. 206, 402. + His character, ib. note. + The Douglas of the sixteenth century, II. 67. + Wins the pennon of Hotspur, 77. + His heroism and noble death, 80. + Archibald, at Shrewsbury, ib. + + _Dress_ of ladies in chivalric times, I. 185. + Importance of modesty of, 186. + + _Dub_, meaning of the word, I. 53. note. + + _Dynadan_, Sir, a merry knight of the Round Table, his pretended dislike + of women, I. 196. note. + + + E. + + _Edward I._, his chivalric character, I. 395. + A chivalric anecdote of, I. 142. + + _Edward II._, state of chivalry in his reign, I. 402. 409. + + _Edward III._, state of armour in his time, I. 97. 100. + Chivalry in his reign, II. 4, &c. + + _Eloisa_, the Lady, a heroine of chivalry, I. 235. + + _England_, antiquity of the sarcasm of its not being the country of + original invention, II. 48. note. + The melancholy of its mirth curiously noticed, ib. + + _Errantry_, facts relating to the knight-errantry of the middle ages, + I. 140. 145. + English knights-errant, 225. + General facts and usages, 226, &c. + + + F. + + _Falconry._ See _Hawking_. + + _Falcons_, placed on perches above knights at chivalric entertainments, + I. 281. + + _Father in chivalry_, the respect which a knight bore to the cavalier + that knighted him, I. 54. + + _Festivals_, description of chivalric, I. 176. 379. + At tournaments, 281. + + _Fidelity_ to obligations, a great virtue in knights, I. 151. + + _Flodden_, chivalric circumstances at battle of, II. 121. + + _Flowers_, Romance of, remarks on, I. 315. note. + + _Forget-me-not_, romantic story of this flower: joust concerning it, + I. 315. + + _France_, state of, after the death of Du Guesclin, II. 203. + Chivalry in baronial castles, II. 169. + Knighthood given to improper persons, 211. + Extinction of chivalry in, 226. + Ridiculous imitation of chivalry by the profligate soldiers of a + profligate king, 228. + + _Francis I._, his chivalric qualities, II. 223. + Circumstances which disgraced his chivalry, 224. + Knighted by Bayard, 225. + + _Fraternity_, origin and history of the spirit of, I. 4. + Encouraged by the institutions of Arthur, 379. + + _Froissart_, character of his history, _Preface_. + + _Frojaz_, Don Rodrigo, a Spanish knight, chivalric mode of his death, + I. 71. + + _Furs_, fondness of people in the middle ages for them, I. 49. 85. + note. + + + G. + + _Gallantry_, its origin, I. 7-9. + Absurdity of antiquarians respecting, 175. note. + + _Garter_, order of the, objects of, I. 360. + Its resemblance to a religious order, 361. + Reasons of its being established, 360.; II. 4. + Commonly ascribed origin a vulgar fable, 6. + Meaning of the motto, 7. + The collar, 8. + + _Gawain_, Sir, a knight of Arthur's Round Table, character of, I. 378. + + _Generousness_ of knights, high estimation of this quality, I. 153. + Instances, 153-157. + + _Gennet_, order of the, I. 374. + + _George_, Saint, the person that was understood by this name, II. 9. + + _Germans_, superior virtue of German women owned by Tacitus, I. 7. + Instances of this virtue, 7, 8. + Political chivalry had no influence in Germany, II. 303. + German knights quailed before undisciplined troops, 304. + When and where tournaments were held, I. 262. + Heraldic pride of the, 263. note. + Singular matter regarding the, 265. note. + Inferiority of to Italian condottieri, 305. + Intolerance and cruelty of German knights, 306. + Their education, 307. + Cruelty to their squires, 308. + Their avarice, 310. + Little influence of German chivalry, 311. + Singular exception, 312. + Destruction of chivalry, 317. + + _Gonfanon_, what it was, I. 67. + + _Gonsalez_, Count Fernan de, a fabulous hero of Spanish chivalry, + II. 245. + + _Gordon_, Adam, his chivalry, I. 56. + + _Graville_, Sir William, loses a fortress out of his love for + chess-playing, I. 165. + + _Green-field_, knights of the Fair Lady in the, story of their + chevisance, I. 223. + + _Gueldres_, Duke of, story of his regard for knightly honour, I. 138. + + _Guesclin_, Bertrand du, his birth, II. 174. + Became a cavalier in opposition to paternal wishes, 175. + His knightly conduct at Rennes, ib. + Amusing interview with the Duke of Lancaster, 177. + His gallant bearing at Cochetel, and the consequent recovery of the + fame of the French arms, 178. + Taken prisoner at Aurai, 180. + Redeemed, 182. + His chivalry in Spain, 184, &c. + Taken prisoner again, 189. + Treated with cruelty by the Black Prince, 191. + Ransomed, 209. + Made Constable of France, 194. + Recovers the power of the French monarchy, ib. + His companionship in arms with Olivier de Clisson, 195. + His death before Randan, 199. + Character, 201. + + + H. + + _Harald_, the valiant, account of, I. 9. + + _Hawking_, a knowledge of, a necessary part of a knight's education, + I. 29. + A great chivalric amusement, 161. + + _Hawkwood_, Sir John, story of his origin, and allusions to his + battles, I. 23. + + _Helmets_, I. 88. + Various sorts of, I. 89. + + _Hennebon_, noble defence of, by the Countess of Mountfort, I. 242-246. + + _Henry I._ and _II._, state of chivalry in their respective reigns, 387. + 389. 395. + + _Henry II._, of France, killed in a tournament, account of the + circumstances, II. 226. and note. + + _Henry_, Prince, son of James I., his love of chivalric exercises, II. + 137. + + _Henry IV._, chivalric parley between him and the Duke of Orleans, II. + 83. + His unchivalric deportment at Shrewsbury, 88. + + _Henry V._, his love of chivalry, II. 85. 96. + His chivalric modesty, 98. + + _Henry VIII._, account of his tournaments, II. 104, &c. + + _Heroines_, nature of female heroism in days of chivalry, and stories + of, I. 234, &c. + + _Hita_, Genez Perez de, nature of his volume on the fall of Grenada, II. + 288. note. + + _Homildon Hill_, interesting knightly story regarding battle at, I. 55. + + _Honour_, curious story of knightly, I. 138. + The knights' pursuit of, I. 144. + See, too, 277. note. + + _Horn_, King, romance of, I. 27. + + _Horse_ of the knight, I. 111. + What horses were preferred, 112. + The famous horse of the Cid, ib. II. 287. + Armour of the horse, I. 114. + Always very splendidly adorned, 115. + + _Horsemanship_, care with which knights were trained to, I. 44. + + _Hotspur_ fights with the Douglas, II. 77. + His gallant deportment at Otterbourn, 79. + And at Shrewsbury, 87. + + _Humanities_ of chivalric war, I. 129. 135. + + _Humility_, a knightly virtue, I. 158. + + _Hunting_, young squires instructed in the art of, I. 29. + A part of the amusements of chivalry, 161. + + _Huntingdon_, Sir John Holland, Earl of, his skill in jousting, I. 307. + + + I. + + _Inauguration_, ceremony of, into knighthood, when and where performed, + I. 50. + Its circumstances, 50-54. + + _Ingelbertes_, Saint, joust at, I. 302-314. + + _Ipomydon_, romance of, I. 28. + + _Isabella_, the Lady, a heroine of chivalry, I. 235. + + _Italian_ armour, excellence of, I. 105.; + II. 293. note, 330. + + _Italy_, but little martial chivalry in, II. 324. + Chivalric education, 321. + Changes of the military art in, 325. + Chivalry in the north of, 329. + Esteem in which the word of knighthood was held, ib. + Chivalry in the south of, 331. + Mode of creating knights in, 334. + Religious and military orders in, 335. + Political use of knighthood, 336. + Folly of an Italian mob regarding knighthood, ib. + School of Italian Generals, 328. + Chivalric sports in, 338. + + _Ivanhoe_, errors of the author of, regarding Anglo-Saxon and Norman + chivalry, I. 383. note; + and concerning the Knights Templars, 387. note; + and also concerning the nature and names of chivalric sports, 327. + + + J. + + _James_, Saint, his popularity in Spain, I. 345. note; II. 230. + Order of, I. 344. + + _James II._, of Arragon, gallantry of one of his decrees, II. 289. + + _James IV._, of Scotland, chivalric and romantic circumstances of his + life, II. 118-124. + + _Jealousy_, no part of chivalric love, I. 207. + + _Joanna_ of Naples, a chivalric anecdote regarding, II. 352. + + _Joust_, nature of the, to the utterance, I. 289. + For love of ladies, 291. + Various, à l'outrance, 289-297. + A plaisance, 297, &c. + Romance of, 324.; II. 215. + Use of jousts, I. 330. + + + K. + + _Knights_, their privileges, I. 17. + Expensive equipment of, necessary to the dignity, 16. + Preparations for knighthood, 48. + His war-cry and escutcheon, 18. + Qualifications, 19. + Gentle birth not regarded when valour conspicuous, 22. + By whom created, ib. + (_For his education, see Squire and Page._) + Often turned priests, I. 14. + Associations of, in defence of the ladies, 223-225. + Stipendiary knights in England, 385. + No resemblance between and the equites of Rome, 14. + Made in the battle-field, and in mines, 56-59. + Knight of honour, description of, 267. + English wore golden collars, II. 8. + Anxiety to receive the order from great characters, 55. and note. + No knights made on compulsion, after the days of Charles I., 158. + Degradation of, in the reign of James I., 157. + + _Knot_, order of the, I. 358. + + _Knowles_, Sir Robert, remarkable story of the heroism of one of his + knights, I. 124. + + + L. + + _Lady_ in chivalry, character of, I. 182. 256. + Her courtesy, ib. + Education, 183. + Amusements, 190. + Deportment, 185. + What ladies could create knights, 252. + Singular blending of the heroic and the tender feelings in her + character, 253. + Not made prisoner in war, 227. + Judge in the tournament, 267. 283. + Her favours worn by her knights, 272. 275. and note. + + _Lahire_, the singular prayer of this knight, I. 147. + + _Lance_, the chief weapon of the knight, I. 66. + The staff made from the ash-tree, ib. + + _Langurant_, Lord of, bravery of, and of his squire, I. 46. and note. + Another story, 93. + + _Largess_, distributed at ceremonial of inauguration, I. 54. + At tournaments, 284. + + _Launcelot_, generous modesty of this knight, I. 159. + Singular proof of his high reputation, 55. note. + Beautiful lamentation over his dead body, 377. + + _Lee_, Sir Henry, his gallantry, II. 132. + + _Legnano_, battle of, II. 304. + + _Liberality_, a great virtue in chivalry, I. 157. + + _Liegois_, their battle with the French chivalry, II. 204. + + _Lists_, description of the, I. 266. + + _London_, citizens of, their taste for chivalric amusements, II. 11. + + _Lords_, House of, errors of its committees, I. 15. note. + + _Lorrys_, Sir Launcelet de, a gallant knight, killed in a joust for love + of his lady, I. 292. + + _Love_, peculiarities of chivalric, I. 212. 217-222. 194, &c. + Perfection and purity of chivalric, II. 345. + Quick-sightedness of courtly matrons regarding signs of, II. 322. + + _Louis_, Saint, his barbarous intolerance, I. 148. + + _Loyes_, Sir, of Spain, his cruelty, I. 151. + + + M. + + _Mail-armour_, various descriptions of, I. 78-81. + Mail and plate, 82. + Mail worn in all ages of chivalry, 84. + + _Manny_, Sir Walter, succours the Countess of Mountfort, I. 245. + His bravery at Calais, II. 18. + An amorous knight, 27. + His kindness to two brother-knights, 29. + His joyous adventurousness, 30. + Other feats, 31, &c. + His filial piety, 34. + Gentleness of his disposition, 38. + His high rank in England, 39. + His sageness, 40. + His liberality, 41. + Founds the Charter-house, 42. + + _March_, Countess of, story of her chivalric heroism in defending the + castle of Dunbar, I. 237. + + _Marche_, Thomas de la, his duel with John de Visconti, II. + + _Martel_, nature of that weapon, I. 68. + + _Marzia_, degl' Ubaldini, story of her heroic deportment at Cesena, I. + 249. + + _Maule_, its qualities, I. 68. + Not a perfectly chivalric weapon, 72. + + _Maximilian_ the only Emperor of Germany of a chivalric character, II. + 315. + His joust with a French knight, ib. + + _Medicine_, knowlege of, possessed by dames and damsels, I. 186. + Faith of knights in medicines administered by women, 187. + + _Medici_, Lorenzo de, won a prize at a tournament, I. 267. + + _Men-at-arms_, manner of their fighting, and description of their + armour, I. 107. + + _Mercenaries_, their use in the French army, II. 209. + + _Mercy_, order of our Lady of, reason of the establishing of the, I. + 354. + + _Merlo_, Sir John, a Spanish knight, account of his jousting in + Burgundy, II. 297-300. + + _Meyrick_, Dr., character of his critical inquiry into ancient armour, + I. 79. note, 101. note, 114. note. + + _Michael_ of the Wing, purposes of the establishing of this order, I. + 356. + + _Milan_, Sir Galeas, Duke of, his courtesy to the Earl of Derby, II. + 330. + + _Milanese_ armour, excellence of. See _Italian_ armour. + + _Missals_, the merits of, decided by battle, II. 288. + + _Minstrels_, description of them and their art in connection with + chivalry, I. 166, &c. + Their chivalric importance in Italy, II. 327. + + _Molai_, Jacques de, appoints a successor to his authority over the + Templars, I. 140. + + _Montferrand_, Regnaud de, the romantic excess of his love for chivalric + honours, I. 59. + + _Montglaive_, Guerin de, I. 30. + + _Montpensier_, Henry de Bourbon, his death in a tournament, II. 226. + + _Mountfort_, Jane de, tale of her heroism, I. 239. + + _Music_, ladies in chivalry were taught, I. 183, 184. + + + N. + + _Naples_, chivalry at, II. 331. + Ceremonies of chivalric inauguration in, 332. + + _Navaret_, battle of, II. 189. + + _Nobility_, education of English, in the sixteenth century, II. 115. + + _Normans_, nature of their chivalry, I. 383. + Plant chivalry in Italy, II. 331. + + + O. + + _Oak_, in Navarre, order of, I. 374. + + _Obedience_, dignity of, I. 6. + + _Olympic_ games, their inferiority to the games of chivalry, I. 259. + + _Orbigo_, account of a singular passage of arms at, II. 292-296. + + _Orders_, the religious, their general principles, I. 333. + Qualifications for them, 336. + Use of the religious, 337. + Military orders, ib. + Dormant orders, 366. + Singular titles of, 371. + + _Ordonnance_, companies of, established by Charles VII., their + unchivalric nature, II. 209. + + _Orleans_, Duke of, his satire on the heaviness of English armour, I. + 91. + + _Orris_, Michael de, the romantic and chivalric nature of his love, I. + 322. + + _Ostrich_ feathers, whether originally a crest or a device of the Black + Prince, I. 101, &c. + + _Otterbourn_, description of that chivalric battle, II. 76, &c. + + _Oxenford_, Earl of, amusing story of his absurd pride, I. 36. + + _Oxford_, Edward Vere, Earl of, his coxcombry and romantic gallantry, + II. 150. + + + P. + + _Page_, the first gradation in chivalry, I. 30. + At what age a boy became one, ib. + His duties, 31. + Personal service, ib. + Taught love, religion, and war, 32. + His martial exercises, 35. + (See _Saintré_.) + Combats of pages, II. 208. + State of English pages during the sixteenth century, 149. + + _Palaye_, Sainte, character of his Memoirs of ancient Chivalry, Preface. + + _Paleaz_, Martin, a Spanish knight, his story, II. 271. + + _Passage_ of arms, what it was, I. 327. + Error of the author of Ivanhoe concerning, ib. note. + Description of one in Burgundy, 328.; + and at Orbigo, in Spain, II. 292. + + _Patriotism_, not necessarily a knightly virtue, I. 139. + But encouraged by the religious and military orders, 335, 336. + + _Peacock_, festival and vow of the, I. 177. + Mode of dressing the, 178. note. + + _Pelayo_, his history, II. 242. + + _Pembroke_, Earl, stories of, II. 33. 52-58. + + _Penitents_ of love, a singular set of fanatics in France, I. 211. + + _Pennon_, the streamer at end of a lance, I. 66. + + _Perceval_, Mr. George, excellence of his history of Italy, _Preface_. + Cited, I. 102. note. II. 218. 325. note. 326-328. + + _Percy._ See _Hotspur_. + + _Perfumes_, fondness of people in the middle ages for, I. 194. note. + + _Philippa_, Queen, her heroism, I. 236. + + _Plate-armour_, description of, I. 83. + Its inconveniences I. 84. 102. note. + + _Peter_ the Cruel, his history, II. 181, &c. + + _Politeness_ of knights in battle, I. 135. + + _Pride_ of knights ridiculed by Cervantes, I. 393. + + _Prisoners_, when made by knights, delivered to the squires, I. 41. + Curious pride of knights concerning, 138. + Ladies were never made prisoners, 227. + + _Pursuivant_ of love, the favourite title of a knight, I. 202. + + _Pye_, Lord Saint, his skill in jousting, I. 309, &c. + + + Q. + + _Quinones_, Sueno de, account of his holding a passage of arms at + Orbigo, in Spain, II. 292. + + _Quintain_, nature of that amusement, I. 44. + + + R. + + _Ramsey_, William de, the chivalric nature of his death, I. 147. + + _Ransoming_, the general principles of, in chivalric times, I. 136. + + _Rapier_, an Italian weapon, II. 135. + Fighting with it supersedes the sword and buckler, ib. + + _Religion_, nature of the knight's, I. 146. 150. + Brevity of his devotions, ib. + Curious instance of it, 147. + The chivalric glory of a man being shriven in his helmet, ib. + Intolerance of the knight, 148. + His ferocity against Pagans and Saracens, ib. + His idle impiety at a tournament, 266. + Maintained opinions by the sword, 349. + + _Rienzi_, Cola di, instance of his coxcombry, II. 335. note. + + _Richard_ I., description of his battle-axe, I. 69. + His chivalric character, 391. + + _Rivers_, mystery of, meaning of the phrase, I. 29. + + _Romance_ of chivalry displayed in the tournament, I. 266. + Great estimation of romances in chivalric times, I. 174. + Beneficial effects of, on chivalry, II. 170. + Their popularity in England during the sixteenth century, 100. + Effects on Italy, 337. + + _Roncesvalles_, chivalric march through the valley of, by the soldiers + of the Black Prince, II. 189. + Question regarding battles in, at the time of Charlemagne, 244. + + _Round Table_, when and where held in England, II. 3. + Number of knights attached to the fabulous, I. 376. note. + + _Roy_, Raynolde du, a good jouster, chivalric reason for it, I. 312. + + _Rybamount_, courtesy of Edward III. to Lord Eustace of, II. 19. + + + S. + + _Sageness_, meaning of this old word, I. 129. + + _Saintré_, Jean de, curious account of the education in love of this + knight, I. 32. + + _Scales_, Anthony Woodville, Lord, his joust with the Bastard of + Burgundy, I. 314. + + _Scarf_, ladies', on the knight, I. 85. 89. 101. + + _Scotland_, form of chivalric oath in, II. 70. + Chivalric circumstances, 71. + Frenchmen's opinions of Scotsmen's chivalry, 73. + Reasons for Englishmen's dislike of wars in, 75. + Courtesies between English and Scottish knights, 75. + See _James_ IV. + + _Shield_, sentiments of honour connected with the, I. 77. + Its various shapes, 78. + + _Sidney_, Sir Philip, his chivalric character, II. 126. + His Arcadia, 127. + Circumstances of his life, 128. + Remarkable grief at his death, 129. + Uncommon kindness of the Sidney family, ib., and note. + His description of the nature of chivalric courage, I. 130. note. + His apology for ladies studying surgery, I. 188. + + _Sir_, its title in chivalry, I. 31. + + _Skottowe_, Mr., excellence of his work on Shakspeare, I. 209. note. + + _Smithfield_, anciently the principal tilting ground in London, I. 269. + Used for other purposes, note, ib. + Its state in the sixteenth century evidence of the degeneracy of + chivalry, II. 136. note. + + _Spain_, religious orders in, account of, I. 344. + General nature of Spanish chivalry, II. 230. + Religion and heroism, ib. + Gallantry, 231. 289. + Curious blending of Spanish and Oriental manners, 232. + Beneficial effects from the union of Moors and Spaniards, 233. + Religious toleration in Spain, 235. + Loves and friendships of Moors and Christians, ib. + Peculiarities of Spanish chivalry, 236. + Forms of knighthood, 237. + Various classes of knights, 238. + Spanish knights travel to distant countries, asserting the beauty of + Spanish maidens, 296. + Extinction of Spanish chivalry, 301. + The knight's idolatry of women outlives this extinction, 302. + Spanish poetry, 241. + Story of Spanish manners 271. 277. + State of Spanish chivalry after the death of the Cid, II. 287. + + _Spenser_, his Fairy Queen supports chivalry, II. 126. + Object of the poem, ib. + Poem cited, passim. + + _Spices_, fondness of knights for them, I. 169. note. 282. + + _Spurs_, buckling them on, a part of chivalric inauguration ceremonies, + I. 53. + Suspended in churches as memorials of victory and honour, II. 305. + note. + + _Squire_, his personal and chivalric duties, I. 35, 36. 39. + Never sat at the same table with knights, 36. + Story of a high-spirited squire, 37. + His dress, 39. + Various sorts of squires, 40. + Spenser's picture of one, ib. + His duties in battle, 41. + Carried the pennon of a knight, ib. + His gallantry, 41. 45. + His martial exercises, 43. + Undertook military expeditions, 45. + His services in the battle-field, 41. 46. + Nature of his armour, 107. + Story of the boldness of a, I. 128. + English squires wore silver collars, II. 8. + See _Bovines_. + + _Squirehood_, the third class of the general order of chivalry, I. 23. + Of whom it was formed, 24. + + _Stephen_, his courtesy to Matilda, I. 153. + Important effects of chivalry in his reign, I. 389. + + _Stocking_, order of the, I. 379. + Origin of the phrase Blue Stocking, 380. + This contemptuous expression no longer applicable to Englishwomen, + 381. + + _Stothard_, Mrs. Charles, her Tour in Normandy cited, I. 241. note. + + _Surcoats_, their materials and purposes, I. 85. + Of the military orders, 86. + + _Surgery_, knowledge of, possessed by ladies in chivalric times, I. 188. + + _Surry_, Earl of, incorrectness of the common tale regarding, II. 114. + + _Swinton_, Sir John, his fine heroism, I. 56. + Another story of the heroism of a, 128. + + _Sword_, girding of it on the knight a part of the chivalric + inauguration ceremonies, I. 11. 63. + The favourite weapon of the knight, I. 70. + Swords had names and mottoes; the cross hilt; the handle contained the + knight's seal; Spanish swords, 70-77. + Story of the Cid's favourite swords, II. 279. + + + T. + + _Tabard_, description of, I. 85. + + _Templars_, Knights, extravagance of their ascetism, I. 324. note. + Errors of the author of Waverley regarding, 337. note. + The valiancy of the, 338. + Succession of Grand Masters from the persecution to the present time, + 340, &c. + Present state of, 342. + Their importance in Spain, 241. + + _Thistle_, order of the, I. 363. + Its absurd pretensions to antiquity, ib. + + _Thomson_, Anthony Todd, value of his botanical lectures, I. 315. note. + + _Tournaments_, superiority of, to Grecian games, I. 259. + Origin of, 260. + Objects, 261., and notes. + Qualifications for tourneying, 263. 265. 272. + Who tourneyed, 264. + Ceremonies of the, ib. + Procession to the, 268. + Nature of tourneying weapons, 270. + The preparation, 273. + The encounter, 274. + English regulations concerning, 279. note. + Opposed by the Popes, 286. note. + Their frequency in the reign of Edward III., II. 2. + Time of their death in England, 137. + Female tournament in Germany, 314. + + _Tristrem_, Romance of, I. 26. + + + V. + + _Valet_, the common title of the page, I. 35. + + _Vargas_, Garcia Perez de, a splendid exemplar of Spanish chivalry. + Story of his romantic gallantry, II. 289. + + _Vigil_ of arms a necessary preliminary to knighthood, I. 49. + + _Vilain_, Sir John, anecdote of his remarkable prowess, I. 69. + + _Virtue_, degree of, expected in a knight, I. 149. + + _Visconti_, John de, his duel with Thomas de la Marche, II. 22. + + _Vows_, knightly, courage incited by, I. 127. + Fantastic, ib., &c. 322. + + + W. + + _Wallop_, Sir John, his men break lances for ladies' love, II. 117. + + _Warwick_, an earl of, a famous jouster, I. 301. + + _Wells_, Lord, his joust with Sir David de Lindsay, first Earl of + Crawford, I. 290. + + _Werner_, fiendlike ferocity and impiety of, II. 328. + + _William Rufus_, authors wrong, in calling him a chivalric king, I. 391. + But he promoted the growth of chivalry in England, I. 387. + + _Wines_, dislike entertained by the Englishmen of old for the wines of + Spain, I. 143. + Wines drank in chivalric times, 193. and note. + Wines and spices, 169. note. + + _Woods_, mystery of, I. 29. + + _Worcester_, John, Earl of, Constable. His regulations regarding + tournaments in England, I. 279. note. + + _Wordsworth_, his beautiful description of the occupations and life of a + minstrel, I. 171. + + + X. + + _Ximena_, a Spanish maiden, story of her voluntary marriage with her + father's murderer, II. 247. + + + Z. + + _Zamora_, story of that town and the Cid of Spain, II. 254. + + +THE END. + + + LONDON: + Printed by A. & R. Spottiswoode, + New-Street-Square. + + + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] Warton (History of English Poetry, vol. i. p. 118. note, 8vo.) notices +a passage in Piers Plowman, which shows how the reigning passion for +chivalry infected the ideas and expressions of the writers of this period. +The poet is describing the crucifixion, and speaking of the person who +pierced our Saviour's side with a spear. This person our author calls _a +knight_, and says, that he came forth _with his spear in hand and justed +with Jesus_. Afterwards, for doing so base an act as that of wounding a +dead body, he is pronounced a disgrace to _knighthood_, and our _champion +chevaler chyese knight_ is ordered to yield himself recreant. fol. 88. b. +So, too, in the Morte d'Arthur, Joseph of Arimathea is called the gentle +knight that took down Jesus from the cross. + +[2] Warton, vol. ii. p. 86. + +[3] Barnes's Edward III., p. 564. + +[4] Leland, Collect. vol. ii. p. 476. + +[5] Arthur went to his mete with many other kings. And there were all the +knights of the Round Table except those that were prisoners, or slain at a +recounter, thenne at the high feast evermore they should be fulfilled the +hole nombre of an hundred and fifty, for then was the Round Table fully +accomplished. Morte d'Arthur. The tale of Sir Gauth of Orkeney, c. 1. And +see Vol. I. of this work, page 376. + +[6] Walsingham, sub anno 1344. Ashmole on the Order of the Garter, cap. v. +s. 2. + +[7] Preface to the Black Book of the Order of the Garter. + +[8] Walsingham, p. 164. Froissart, c. 100. + +[9] Supplement to the Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. iii. part 1. p. 139. +As the story of Lady Salisbury's garter is fabulous, we must resort to +some other conjectures for an explanation of the famous motto of the +order, and the one cited in the text is extremely ingenious and plausible. +With much less appearance of truth, Ashmole fancies that Edward by this +motto retorted shame and defiance upon him that should dare to think ill +of so just an enterprise as he had undertaken for the recovery of his +lawful right to the French crown (whose arms he had lately assumed); and +that the magnanimity of those knights whom he had chosen into this order +was such as would enable him to maintain that quarrel against all who +durst think ill of it. Ashmole's Order of the Garter, p. 184. There never +was a knight more fond of impresses, mottoes, and devices, than King +Edward III. He not only stamped them upon his own armour and that of his +horse, but on his apparel, beds, and household furniture. "It is as it +is," was one of these mottoes. Another was:-- + + "Ha! ha! the white swan, + By God's soul I am thy man." + +[10] Gibbon is the chief supporter of the last hypothesis, In his text +(vol. iv. c. 23.) he states positively, that "the infamous George of +Cappadocia has been transformed into the renowned St. George of England, +the patron of arms, of chivalry, and the Garter." In a note, however, he +observes that this transformation is not given as absolutely certain, but +as extremely probable. Few people read this note, and, perhaps, Gibbon did +not intend they should. He wished to strike their attention by the +sentence in his text, and he satisfied his conscience for literary honesty +by writing the modification at the bottom of the page. + +[11] Froissart, c. 213. + +[12] Barnes, p. 444. + +[13] Knyghton. Chron. col. 2615. + +[14] Stow's Chronicle. + +[15] + + ----"these gallant yeomen, + England's peculiar and appropriate sons, + Known in no other land. Each boasts his hearth + And field as free as the best lord his barony, + Owing subjection to no human vassalage, + Save to their king and law. Hence are they resolute, + Leading the van on every day of battle, + As men who know the blessings they defend. + Hence are they frank and generous in peace, + As men who have their portion in its plenty. + No other kingdom shows such worth and happiness + Veil'd in such low estate."-- + Halidon Hill, act ii. sc. 2. + +[16] This national characteristic is alluded to in Latimer's sermons, +folio 69:--a work not of very good promise for such matters. + +[17] Hair cut short. + +[18] Chaucer, Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, line 101, &c. &c. + +[19] Froissart, c. 131. + +[20] Froissart, c. 163. + +[21] Ibid. cc. 168. 174. + +[22] Froissart, cc. 150. 152. "Messire Eustace vous estes le chevalier au +monde, que veisse oncques plus vaillamment assailer ses ennemis, ne son +corps deffendre: ny ne me trouvay oncques en bataille ou je veisse, qui +taint me donnast affaire, corps à corps, que vous avez huy fait. Si vous +en donne le pris, et aussi sur tous les chevaliers de ma cour, par droit +sentence. Adonc print le roy son chappelet, qu'il portoit sur son chef +(qui estoit bon et riche) et le meit sur le chef de Monseigneur Eustace; +et dit Monseigneur Eustace, je vous donne ce chappelet pour le mieux +combattant de la jouence, de ceux de dedans et de dehors: et vous pui que +vous le portez ceste année pour l'amour de moi. Je say bien que vous estes +gai et amoureux, et que volontiers vous vous trouvez entre dames et +damoiselles. Si dites, par tout la ou vous irez, que je le vous ay donné. +Si vous quitte vostre prison, et vous en pouvez partir demain, s'il vous +plaist." + +[23] Froissart, cc. 133. 146. + +[24] Barnes's History of Edward III. p. 452, &c. + +[25] There was a Lord of Manny, as well as Sir Walter, at Edward's court. +The lord was a distinguished person, for he was among the bishops, earls, +and barons, who accompanied Edward to France, upon his doing homage for +the duchy of Guienne. St. Palaye has confounded the lord and the knight, +and made but one of them. He overlooked the hundred and second chapter of +Froissart, wherein the baron and the knight are separately and distinctly +mentioned. There was also another Manny, called the courageous Manny. He +was knighted by Sir Eustace Dambreticourt before a battle, and after +fighting most valiantly he was left for dead in the field. Froissart shall +tell the remainder of the story. "After this discomfiture, and that all +the Frenchmen were departed, the courageous Manny being sore hurt and near +dead, lift up his head a little, and saw nothing about him but dead men +lying on the ground round about him. Then he rose as well as he might, and +sat down, and saw well how he was not far from the fortress of Nogent, +which was English; then he did so much, sometimes creeping, sometimes +resting, that he came to the foot of the tower of Nogent; then he made +tokens to them within, showing how he was one of their companions; then +certain came down the tower to him, and bare him into the fortress, and +dressed his wounds, and there he governed himself so well that he was +healed." Froissart, c. 199. + +[26] Froissart, c. 19. + +[27] Froissart, cc. 24. 26. + +[28] Appendix, No. xxiv., to Anstis's History of the Knighthood of the +Bath. + +[29] "Mais il dit à aucuns de ses plus privés, qu'il avoit promis en +Angleterre devant les dames et seigneurs, qu'il seroit le premier qui +entreroit en France, et prendroit chastle ou forte ville, et y feroit +aucunes appertises d'armes," c. 36. + +[30] Froissart, c. 36. + +[31] Quand Messire Gautier veit ce, il dit, j'amais ne soye salué de +madame et chere amie, se je réntre en chastel n'en forteresse, jusques à +tant que j'aye l'un de ces venans verse. Froissart, c. 82. + +[32] Froissart, c. 82. + +[33] See Vol. I. p. 151. + +[34] Froissart, c. 87. + +[35] Vol. i. p. 246. ante. + +[36] Froissart, c. 103. Le Comte D'Erby dit, Qui merci prie merci doit +avoir. This sentence, I suppose has escaped the notice of writers who have +represented the sole amusement of knights to have consisted in cutting the +throats of common people. + +[37] Froissart, c. 107. + +[38] This is Lord Berners' rendering of the passage. The phrase "par un +sien clerc" had crept into some editions of Froissart; and Mr. Johnes's +translation is, "Sir Walter caused the inscription to be read to him by a +clerk." This, perhaps, was necessary, as the inscription was in Latin, for +heroes have not been famous for their clerkship. But the inference which +some writers have drawn, that he could not read at all, is perfectly +unwarrantable. + +[39] Froissart, c. 110. + +[40] Froissart, c. 135 + +[41] Froissart, c. 146. + +[42] She was the Lady Margaret, daughter and heiress of Thomas +Plantagenet, surnamed of Brotherton, Earl of Norfolk, and uncle to Edward +III. + +[43] Dugdale. + +[44] The reader may, reasonably enough, enquire who could have been the +vendor? I cannot tell him: I can only copy Stow in these matters. + +[45] Stow's London, book 4. c. 3. Maitland's History of London, p. 661. +This was the state of the Charter House till the suppression of the +monasteries, in the reign of Henry VIII. Its annual value was 642_l._ It +was given to Sir Thomas Audley, speaker of the House of Commons, with +whose only daughter it went, by marriage, to Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, and +from him, by descent, to Thomas, Earl of Suffolk. In the time of James I. +it was purchased by that "right phoenix of charity," Thomas Sutton, +citizen and girdler, for the large sum of 13,000_l._; and he converted the +buildings and gardens into an hospital for the relief of aged men, +education of youth, and maintaining the service of God. + +[46] Froissart, 286. + +[47] See vol. i. p. 204. + +[48] Ashmole's History of the Garter, c. 26. s. 3. Froissart, cc. 142. +147. + +[49] Dugdale, Baronage, i. 503. + +[50] Authorities in Ashmole, p. 702. + +[51] Froissart, c. 125. See the first volume of this work, page 228. + +[52] Froissart, c. 161. Monseigneur Jehan de Clermont dit, Chandos, ce +sont bien les parolles de vos Anglois, qui ne savent adviser riens de +nouvel; mais quant, qu'ils voyent, leur est bel. This is a very curious +proof of the antiquity of the common remark that Englishmen are a +borrowing and improving people, and not famous for originality of +invention. It might be contended, but not in this place, that we are both. +And here I will transcribe another sentence of Froissart, more +characteristic and true. "Les Anglois, selon leur coutume se divertirent +moult tristement." + +[53] Froissart, c. 226. + +[54] Froissart, c. 237. + +[55] Froissart, cc. 265, 266. + +[56] Froissart, c. 270. + +[57] Froissart, liv. ii. c. 82. + +[58] 4 Plac. Parl. iii. 5. + +[59] Thomas of Elmham, p. 72. His general expression, tapestries +representing the ancient victories of England, I presume chiefly meant +those of Edward III. + +[60] The tales of chivalry had for their prologue some lines expressive of +war and love; but in a grander strain the poetical biographer of the Bruce +sings:-- + + "Ah! freedome is a noble thing; + Freedome makes men to have liking; + Freedome all solace to men gives; + He lives at ease, that freely lives. + A noble heart may have none ease, + Nor ellys[A] nought that may him please, + If freedome fail: for free liking + Is _yearned_[B] o'er all other thing. + Na he that aye has lived free + May not know well the property, + The anger, _na_ the wretched doom + That is coupled to foul thraldom. + But, if he had essayed it, + Then all _perquer_[C] he should it wit, + And should think freedom more to prize + Than all the gold in world that is. + Thus contrary things ever more + Discoverings of the tother are." + The Bruce, line 225, &c. + + [A] nor else. + + [B] eagerly desired. + + [C] perfectly. + +[61] haste. + +[62] laundress. + +[63] child-bed. + +[64] stop. + +[65] pity. + +[66] pitched. + +[67] moved. + +[68] laundress. + +[69] Selden's Titles of Honour, and Pinkerton's History of Scotland, on +the authority of a book which I have not been able to meet with, called +"Certain Matters composed together." Edinb. 1597. 4to. + +[70] Henry's History of England, vol. iii. p. 80. 4to. + +[71] Border History of England and Scotland, p. 91. + +[72] Border History, p. 143. + +[73] Nisbet's Heraldry, i. 7. + +[74] Knyghton, col. 2580. + +[75] This amusing opinion of the French knights should be given in the +original language. "Adonc eurent plusieurs chevaliers et escuyers de +France passage: et retournerent en Flandres, ou là ou ils pouvoyent +arriver, tous affamés, sans monture, et sans armeures: et Escoce +maudissoyent, et le heure qu'ils y avoyent entré: et disoyent qu'oncques +si duc voyage ne fut: et qu'ils voudroyent que le roi de France +s'accordast aux Anglois, un an ou deux, et puis allast en Escoce, pour +tout destruire, car oncques si mauvaises gens ne verint: n'y ne trouverent +si faux et se traistres, ne de si petite congnuissance." Vol. ii. c. 174. + +[76] The Scotch knights procured horse-shoes and harness ready made from +Flanders. Froissart, vol. ii. c. 3. Lord Berners' translation. + +[77] Froissart, vol. ii. c. 142. + +[78] "Henry Percy," says Holingshed, "was surnamed, for his often +pricking, Henry Hotspur, as one that seldom times rested, if there were +any service to be done abroad." History of Scotland, p. 240. + +[79] The gallantry of this fighting priest was afterwards rewarded by the +gift of the archdeaconry of Aberdeen. + +[80] He was afterwards ransomed; and, according to Camden, Pounouny +castle, in Scotland, was built out of the ransom money. + +[81] Walsingham, (p. 366.) says, that the Earl of Dunbar came in and +turned the scale in favor of the Scots. Nothing of this is mentioned by +Froissart, who had his account of the battle from the Douglas family, at +whose castle he resided some time. If it be said that their account was +probably a prejudiced one, the same objection may be raised against that +of Walsingham. The Douglas' always spoke of their victory with true +chivalric modesty; for they declared that it was the consequence of the +exhausted state of the English after the march from Newcastle. + +[82] Froissart, vol. ii. c. 146. Buchanan, lib. 9. p. 173, &c. + +[83] Monstrelet, vol. i. c. 9, &c. Rymer, Foedera, vol. viii. p. 310, 311. + +[84] This Archibald Douglas, Earl of Galloway, called the Grim, was an +illegitimate son of a good Sir James Douglas, and the successor in the +earldom of Douglas to the Earl James who fell at Otterbourn. Archibald had +been taken prisoner by Hotspur at the battle of Holmedon Hill; and Percy +agreed, that if he would fight with him as valiantly against Henry IV. as +he had fought during that battle, he would give him his liberty free of +ransom-money. Douglas, as a soldier and an enemy of the English king, had +no objection to these terms, and therefore he fought at the battle of +Shrewsbury. Buchanan, book 10. + +[85] Well, indeed, might the Scottish knight say, + + "Another king! they grow like Hydras' heads: + I am the Douglas, fatal to all those + That wear these colours on them." + Shakspeare, Henry IV, Part I. act v. scene 4. + +[86] Otterbourne, p. 239. 244. Walsingham, p. 410, &c. Hall, folio 22. I +mean not to say, however, that his conduct was without precedent, for at +the great battle of Poictiers nineteen French knights were arrayed like +King John. + +[87] Camden has marked the commencement of this custom in the reign of +Henry IV., and he has been followed by all our writers on heraldry and +titles of honor, except Anstis, who endeavours to trace it to the reign of +Edward I. Anstis mistook the matter entirely. Undoubtedly many instances +may be met with in earlier times when knights were created with the full +ceremonies of oblation of the sword at the altar, of bathing, &c.; and in +strictness all knights should have been created in that manner. Whenever +Anstis met with a knight inaugurated in that way, he called him a knight +of the Bath. Now the question is, at what time was the first royal +marriage, royal christening, or other festivity, when knights were +made?--made, not exactly for military objects, not in consequence of +feudal tenure, but in honour of the event which they were celebrating. +Knights of the Bath were knights of peace, knights of compliment and +courtesy. Camden's opinion was founded on the following passage in +Froissart: "The vigil before the coronation (of Henry IV.) was on the +evening of Saturday; on that occasion, and at that time, there watched all +the esquires who were the next morning to be created knights, to the +number of forty-six. Each of them had his esquire attending him, a +separate chamber, and a separate bath, where the rites of bathing were +that night performed. On the day following, the Duke of Lancaster (Henry +IV.), at the time of celebrating mass, created them knights, giving them +long green coats, the sleeves whereof were cut straight, and furred with +minever, and with great hoods or chaperons furred in the same manner, and +after the fashion used by prelates. And every one of these knights, on his +left shoulder, had a double cordon or string of white silk, to which white +tassels were pendent." Now there is nothing in this passage which can lead +the mind to think that the coronation of Henry IV. was the first occasion +when knights of the Bath were created; and, therefore, our writers on +heraldry and titles of honor are not justified in the positiveness with +which they always head their dissertations on knighthood of the Bath with +the year 1399. + +[88] That the shoulder-knot of the knights of the Bath was worn only for a +time, and on the principle of chivalry which induced men to place chains +round their legs until they had performed some deeds of arms, I learn from +Upton, a writer of great reputation in heraldic matters, who lived in the +days of Henry VI. See his treatise De Re Militari, p. 10., quoted in the +Appendix to Anstis's History of the Knighthood of the Bath. + +[89] Thus Chaucer: + + "A custom is unto these nobles all, + A bride shall not eaten in the hall, + Till days four, other three at the least + Ypassed be, then let her go to feast." + +[90] MS. Norfolc. in Off. Arm. n. 15. See Anstis's Appendix to his History +of the Knighthood of the Bath, p. 24. + +[91] + + "For to obeie without variaunce + My lordes byddyng fully and plesaunce + Whiche hath desire, sothly for to seyn + Of verray knyghthood, to remember agayn + The worthyness, gif I shall not lye, + And the prowesse of olde chivalries." + Lydgate, War of Troy. + +[92] Henry V. Act ii. Chorus. + +[93] He was kind and courteous to them immediately after the battle, and +indeed as long as their deportment merited his friendship. The Duke of +Orleans and four other Princes of the blood royal were taken prisoners at +the battle of Agincourt, and for a while lived on their parole. But when +they forfeited the titles of knights and gentlemen, by endeavouring to +deceive and betray Henry while he was negotiating with the parties that +distracted France, he then removed them to close confinement in Pontefract +castle; nor did they obtain their liberty for many years. A great outcry +has been raised against Henry for his conduct in this instance,--for his +not showing a chivalric deportment to men who had forfeited their honour. + +[94] Thus the Chorus in Shakspeare's Henry V. addresses the audience: + + "So let him land, + And solemnly, see him set on to London. + So swift a pace hath thought, that even now + You may imagine him upon Blackheath. + When that his lords desire him, to have borne + His bruised helmet and his bended sword, + Before him through the city: he forbids it, + Being free from vainness and self-glorious pride; + Giving full trophy, signal, and ostent, + Quite from himself, to God." + +[95] Caxton, of the Order of Chivalry or Knyghthood. + +[96] Ibid. + +[97] Comines, vol. i. p. 31. + +[98] Sir Tristrem, Scott's edition, Fytte first. st. 2. + +[99] Rymer's Foedera. + +[100] Warton pleasantly observes, that had Henry never murdered his wives, +his politeness to the fair sex would remain unimpeached. + +[101] Holingshed, p. 805, 806, &c. Henry's passion for disguising himself +was singular, and carried him beyond the bounds of chivalric decorum. +"Once on a time the King in person, accompanied by the Earls of Essex, +Wiltshire, and other noblemen, to the number of twelve, came suddenly in +the morning into the Queen's chamber, all apparelled in short coats of +Kentish kendall, with hoods on their heads, and hose of the same, every +one of them carrying his bow and arrow, and a sword and a buckler, like +outlaws, or Robin Hood's men. Whereat the Queen, the ladies, and all other +there were abashed, as well for the strange sight, as also for their +sudden coming,--and after certain dances and pastimes made, they +departed." Holingshed p. 805. + +[102] Holingshed, p. 815. + +[103] Holingshed, p. 807, 808. + +[104] Holingshed, p. 85, &c. + +[105] Shakspeare, Henry VIII. Act i. scene 1. + +[106] Dr. Nott, in his life of Lord Surrey, prefixed to the works of His +Lordship and Sir Thomas Wyatt, has by the evidence of facts completely +overthrown this pleasing tale. + +[107] These curious particulars are to be gathered, as Dr. Nott remarks, +from the following passage in Hardynge's Chronicle. + + "And as lords' sons been set, at four year age, + At school to learn the doctrine of letture; + And after six to have them in language + And sit at meet, seemly in all nurture: + At ten and twelve to revel is their cure, + To dance and sing, and speak of gentleness: + At fourteen year they shall to field I sure, + At hunt the deer, and catch at hardiness. + + "For deer to hunt and slay, and see them bleed + An hardiment giveth to his courage. + And also in his wit he giveth heed, + Imagining to take them at advantage. + At sixteen year to warry and to wage, + To joust and ride and castles to assail, + To skirmish als, and make sicker scurage, + And set his watch for peril nocturnal. + + "And every day his armour to essay, + In feats of arms with some of his meynie; + His might to prove, and what that he do may + If that he were in such a jeopardy + Of war befall, that by necessity + He might algates with weapons him defend. + Thus should he learn in his priority + His weapons all, in armes to dispend." + +See to the same effect, the Paston letters, vol. iii. 34, 35, &c. + +[108] This curious circumstance is mentioned in a journal of Sir John +Wallop's expedition, which Dr. Nott dug out of the State-Paper Office. The +whole passage is amusing. + +"July 31. Wallop advances to Bettune. Passing by Terouenne, he attempts to +draw out the garrison of that place, but fails. The French defeated in a +skirmish. Wallop says, that he sent a letter to the commandant of +Terouenne, an old acquaintance, that if he had any gentlemen under his +charge, who would break a staff for their ladies' sake, he would appoint +six gentlemen to meet them. The challenge is accepted, and the conditions +are fixed. Mr. Howard, Peter Carew, Markham, Shelly of Calais, with his +own two men, Cawverly and Hall, are the English appellants. They all +acquit themselves gallantly at the jousts. Hall, at his first course, did +break his staff galliardly, in the midst of the Frenchman's cuirass. +Markham stroke another on his head-piece, and had like to have overthrown +him. Peter Carew stroke his very well, and had one broken on him. Cawverly +was reported to have made the fairest course; but by the evil running of +the Frenchman's horse, which fled out of the course, he was struck under +the arm, and run through the body into the back, and taken into the town +where he was well treated. I wish to God, said Wallop, the next kinsman I +had, not being my brother, had excused him." + +[109] Pinkerton's History of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 85, &c. + +[110] Drummond, 140, &c. Buchanan, xiii. 25. + + "For the fair Queen of France + Sent him a turquois ring and glove, + And charged him, as her knight and love, + For her to break a lance; + And strike three strokes with Scottish brand, + And march three miles on Southron land, + And bid the banners of his band + In English breezes dance. + And thus, for France's Queen he drest + His manly limbs in mailed vest." + Marmion, canto v. + +[111] He was afterwards Duke of Norfolk, and great grandfather of the Earl +of Surrey, who was mentioned by me in p. 114. ante. + +[112] It has been generally thought that James, forgetting both his own +wife and the Queen of France, lost much time at Ford, in making love to a +Lady Heron, while his natural son, the Archbishop of St. Andrew's, was the +paramour of Miss Heron the daughter. Dr. Lingard (History of England, vol. +vi. p. 31. n.) seems inclined to doubt this tale, because James had only +six days to take three castles and a fair lady's heart. What time was +absolutely necessary for these sieges and assaults, the learned Doctor has +not stated. However, to speak seriously, the story has no foundation in +truth; and it only arose from the beauty of Lady Heron, and the reputed +gallantry of the Scottish King. + +[113] Henry's History of Great Britain, book vi. ch. 1. part ii. s. 1. + +[114] Pitscottie, p. 116, &c. + +[115] Pinkerton, book xii. + +[116] So reported in the conversation of Ben Jonson and Drummond of +Hawthornden. + +[117] Thomson's Seasons. Summer, l. 1511. + +[118] The Arcadia was popular so late as the days of Charles I., as may be +learned from a passage in the work of a snarling satirist, who wanted to +make women mere square-elbowed family drudges. "Let them learn plain works +of all kind, so they take heed of too open seaming. Instead of songs and +musick, let them learn cookerie and laundrie; and instead of reading Sir +Philip Sydney's Arcadia, let them read the Grounds of Good Huswifery. I +like not a female poetess at any hand." Powell's Tom of all Trades, p. 47. + +[119] This was the honourable distinction of the Sidney family in general, +as we learn from Ben Jonson's lines on Penshurst. + + "Whose liberal board doth flow + With all that hospitality doth know! + Where comes no guest but is allow'd to eat, + Without his fear, and of thy Lord's own meat. + Where the same beer and bread, and self-same wine, + That is His Lordship's, shall be also mine." + Gifford's Ben Jonson, vol. viii. p. 254. + +The practice of making a distinction at the table by means of a +salt-cellar was very proper in early times, when the servants as well as +the master of a family with his wife and children dined at one long table. +It became odious, however, when a baron made this mark of servility +separate his gentle from his noble friends. This was feudal pride, whereas +chivalric courtesy would rather have placed the guests in generous +equality about a round table. + +[120] Spenser, _Colin Clout's come Home again_. + +[121] Nicholls's Progresses of Queen Elizabeth, vol. iii. p. 41, &c. + +[122] Puttenham, Arte of English Poesie, book ii. c. 9. & 19. + +[123] Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy, p. 271. This passage brings to mind a +corresponding one in Wilson's Arte of Rhetoricke, printed in 1553. "If +there be any old tale or strange history, well and wittily applied to some +man living, all men love to hear it. As if one were called Arthur, some +good fellow that were well acquainted with King Arthur's book, and the +knights of his Round Table, would want no matter to make good sport, and +for a need would dub him knight of the Round Table, or else prove him to +be one of his kin, or else (which were much) prove him to be Arthur +himself." + +[124] "The Two angry Women of Abingdon." The sword and buckler fighting +was the degeneracy of the ancient chivalry; and Smithfield, which had +shone as the chief tilting ground of London, was in the sixteenth century, +according to Stow, "called Ruffians' Hall," by reason it was the usual +place of frays and common fighting, during the time that sword and +bucklers were in use. "When every _serving-man_, from the base to the +best, carried a _buckler_ at his back, which hung by the hilt or pommel of +his sword." Alas, for the honor of chivalry! + +[125] Wilson's Life of James, p. 52. + +[126] Ben Jonson, Masque of Prince Henry's Barriers. + +[127] G. Wither. Prince Henry's Obsequies. El. 31. + +[128] Life of Edward Lord Herbert, written by himself, p. 16. + +[129] Life, p. 46. + +[130] Life, &c. p. 63. Sir Edward was very much annoyed at Paris by a +Monsieur Balagny, who enjoyed more attention of the ladies than he did. +They used one after another to invite him to sit near them, and when one +lady had his company awhile, another would say, "You have enjoyed him long +enough, I must have him now." The reason of all this favour was, that he +had killed eight or nine men in single fight, p. 70. This was the +degeneracy of chivalry with a vengeance. + +[131] Life, p. 60. + +[132] Act i. scene 1. of the play whose title I shall transcribe: "The New +Inn: or, the Light Heart; a Comedy. As it was never acted, but most +negligently played by some, the KING'S SERVANTS; and more squeamishly +beheld and censured by others, the KING'S SUBJECTS, 1629. Now at last set +at liberty to the Readers, His MAJESTY'S Servants and Subjects, to be +judg'd of, 1631." + +[133] Dugdale, Origines Juridiciales. c. 39. Serjeants at law were not +knighted till the reign of Henry VIII. c. 51. + +[134] Ferne's Blazon of Gentry, p. 100. See too Camden's Britannia "on the +degrees in England," p. 234. + +[135] Thus Lord Bacon says, "There be now for martial encouragement some +degrees and orders of chivalry, which nevertheless are conferred +promiscuously on soldiers, and no soldiers," &c. Essays on the true +Greatness of Kingdoms. + +[136] Fletcher, Fair Maid of the Inn, act i. scene 1. + +[137] Rymer's Foedera, vol. xv. p. 497. + +[138] British Museum, Cottonian MSS. Nero. c. ix. folio 168. The +assumption of dignity by the squire-governors, in order to get greater +largesses, is amusing enough: but no knights of other lands were present +to chastise them for their insolence. + +[139] Du Cange, Gloss. ad Script. Med. Oevi. in verb. Milites Regis. + +[140] Du Chesne. Hist. Franc. Script. vol. ii. p. 148. The assertion, +however, is not strictly correct; for so early as the fourth century +Armorica had been colonised from Wales. Argentré, Hist. de la Bretagne, p. +2. A connection ever since subsisted between Armorica and this island; and +when the Britons were oppressed, they repaired to the Continent for +refuge. + +[141] Velly, Hist. de la France, vol. v. p. 132-136. + +[142] Velly, Hist. de la France, vol. v. p. 313, &c. + +[143] D'Argentré, Histoire de Bretagne, livre vii. c. 15. Paris, 1618. + +[144] Froissart, c. 230. + +[145] Mémoires de Du Guesclin, vol. iv. c. 16. The mode by which the Queen +came by her death was never certainly known. One common story was, that +she had been murdered by a party of Jews employed by the King, and hence +he was considered a patron of Judaism itself. + +[146] This is Froissart's story, c. 231., and far more natural than the +account in the Mémoires de Du Guesclin (which Mr. Turner has placed in the +text of his History of England). The memoir-writer gives a long +melo-dramatic story of Peter's application to the Prince--of his tears and +sobs, and other expressions of grief. The tale goes on to relate, that +when the Prince was won to espouse his cause, his Princess, who was at her +toilette, was much displeased, that he should have been imposed upon by a +man so criminal as the Spanish King. Edward, fancying his martial +prerogative infringed, exclaimed, "I see that she wants me to be always at +her side. But a Prince who wishes to immortalize his name must _seek_ +occasions to signalise himself in war, and must by his victories obtain +reward among posterity. By St. George, I _will_ restore Spain to its right +inheritor." Mr. Turner says, "That although this account is given by an +enemy, yet as the circumstances correspond with the known character of +Edward, they seem entitled to our belief." History of England, vol. ii. p. +178. Now, for my part, I do not believe one word of the pretty stories of +the tears and the toilette. The Mémoires of Du Guesclin are a good +authority for the life of their hero; but Froissart is the historian of +the other side of the question, and the hero of his tale (if sometimes he +loses historic dignity in the partiality of biography) is Edward. +Froissart was acquainted with every circumstance that happened in the +English army, and his account of the matter is far more rational than that +of Du Guesclin's historian. It is expressive of the character of Edward +and his times. Here we see the gentle knight yielding the place of honour +to his friend, and the lady of the knight treating the guests sweetly and +graciously. The toilette-scene is altogether omitted; and even if it had +been inserted in the Chronicle I should, reject it as false, for it was +not characteristic of Edward's noble mindedness to speak to his Princess +with petulance and ill humour. + +[147] Froissart, liv. i. c. 231, 232. + +[148] Froissart, c. 232. + +[149] The Memoirs of Du Guesclin and Froissart, and a few passages in +Mariana, have furnished this account of the Spanish war. In the general +outline I have been anticipated by the popular historians of England; but +I have introduced a great many circumstances essential to my subject, and, +which did not come within the scope of their design. + +[150] Froissart, book i. c. 233. + +[151] Memoires de Du Guesclin, p. 255, &c. + +[152] D'Argentré, Histoire de Bretagne, liv. vii. c. 15. + +[153] Labineau, Hist. de Bretagne, vol. ii. p. 538. The treaty itself is +so curious, that a life of Du Guesclin would be imperfect without it. "A +tous ceux que ces lettres verront, Bertrand du Guesclin, Duc de Mouline, +Connestable de France, et Olivier, Seigneur de Clisson, salut. Sçavoir +faisons que pour nourrir bonne paix et amour perpetuellement entre nous et +nos hoirs, nous avons promises, jurées et accordées entre nous les choses +qui s'ensuivint. C'est à savoir que nous Bertrand du Guesclin voulons +estre alliez, et nous allions à toujours à vous Messire Olivier, Seigneur +de Clisson contre tous ceulx qui pevent vivre et mourir, exceptez le Roy +de France, ses freres, le Vicomte de Rohan, et nos autres seigneurs de qui +nous tenons terre: et vous promettons aidier et conforter de tout nostre +pouvoir toutesfois que mestier en aurez, et vous nous en requerrez. Item, +que ou cas que nul autre seigneur de quelque estat ou condition qu'il +soit, à qui vous seriez tenu de foy et hommage, excepte le Roy de France, +vous voudroit desheriter par puissance, et vous faire guerre en corps, en +honneur, et en biens, nous vous promettons aidier, defendre, et secourir +de tout nostre pooir, se vous nous en requerrez. Item, voulons et +consentons que de tous et quelconques proufitz et droitz, qui nous +pourront venir, et echoir dorenavant, tant de prisonniers pris de guerre +par nous ou nos gens, dont le proufitz nous pourroit appartenir, comme de +pais raençonné vous aiez la moitié entierement. Item, au cas que nous +sçaurions aucune chose qui vous peust porter aucune dommage ou blasme, +nous vous le ferons sçavoir et vous en accointerons le plutost que nous +pourrons. Item, garderons vostre corps à nostre pooir, comme nostre frere. +Et nous Olivier, Seigneur de Clisson, voulons estre alliez, et nous +allions à toujours à vous Messire Bertrand du Guesclin dessus nommé, +contre tous ceulx qui pevent vivre et mourir exceptez le Roy de France, +ses freres, le Vicomte de Rohan, et nos autres seigneurs de qui nous +tenons terre, et vous promettons aidier et conforter de tout nostre pooir +toutefois que mestier en aurez et vous nous en requerrez. Item, que au cas +que nul autre seigneur de quel que estat ou condition qu'il soit, à qui +vous seriez tenu de foi, ou hommage, excepté le Roy de France, vous +voudroit desheriter par puissance, et vous faire guerre en corps, en +honneur ou en biens, nous vous promettons aidier, defendre, et secourir de +tout nostre pooir, si vous nous en requerrez. Item, voulons et consentons +que de tous ou quelconques proufitz et droitz qui nous pourront venir et +echoir dorenavant, tant de prisonniers pris de guerre par nous, ou nos +gens, dont le proufit nous pourroit appartenir, comme de pais raençonne, +vous aiez la moitié entierement. Item, au cas que nous sçaurions aucune +chose qui vous peust porter dommage aucun ou blasme, nous vous la ferons +sçavoir, et vous en accointerons le plutost que nous pourrons. Item, +garderons vostre corps à nostre pooir comme nostre frere. Toutes +lesquelles choses dessusdites, et chacune d'icelles, nous Bertrand et +Olivier dessus nommée avons promises, accordées et jurées, promettons +accordons et jurons sur les saintz evangiles de Dieu corporellement +touchiez par nous, et chascun de nous, et par les foys et sermens de nos +corps bailliez l'un à l'autre tenir, garder, enteriner et accomplir l'un à +l'autre, sans faire, ne venir en contre par nous, ne les nostres, ou de +l'un de nous, et les tenir fermes et agreables à tous jours. En temoing +desquelles choses nous avons fait mettre nos seaulz à ces presentes +lettres, lesquelles nous avons fait doubler. Donné à Pontoison, le 24 jour +d'Octobre l'an de grace mille trois cens soixante et dix." + +[154] Argentré, viii. 3, 4. + +[155] Voltaire says, that Bertrand du Guesclin was the first person over +whom a funeral oration was delivered, and who was interred in the church +destined for the tombs of the kings of France. He adds, "Son corps fut +porté avec les mêmes cérémonies que ceux des souverains; quatre princes du +sang le suivaient; ses chevaux selon la coutume du temps, furent +présentées dans l'église à l'évèque que officiait, et qui les bénit en +leur imposant les mains. Les détails sont peu importants; ils font +connoitre l'esprit de chevalerie. L'attention que s'attiraient les grands +chevaliers célèbres par leurs faits d'armes s'étendait sur les chevaux qui +avoient combattre sans eux." Essai sur les Moeurs, c. 78. + +[156] Anselme in his Palais de l'Honneur, gives an amusing account of the +chivalric rules for sepulchral monuments. They were better observed in +France than in any other country, and even there they were not very +scrupulously attended to. "They are," however, as Gough remarks, +(Sepulchral Antiquities, vol. i. p. cxvii.) "a curious specimen of +monumental punctilio. Knights and gentlemen might not be represented by +their coats of arms, unless they had lost their lives in some battle, +single combat, or rencontre with the prince himself, or in his service, +unless they died and were buried within their own manors or lordships; and +then to show that they died a natural death in their beds, they were +represented with their coat of armour ungirded, without a helmet, +bareheaded, their eyes closed, their feet resting against the back of a +greyhound, and without any sword. Those who died on the day of battle, or +in any mortal rencontre, on the victorious side, were to be represented +with a drawn sword in their right hand, and a shield in their left, their +helmet on, which some think ought to be closed, and the visor let down, in +token that they fell fighting against their enemies, having their coat of +arms girded over their arms, and at their feet a lion. Those who died in +prison, or before they had paid their ransom, were represented on their +tombs without spurs or helmet, without coat of arms or swords, only the +scabbard girded to, and hanging at their sides. Those who fell in battle +or rencontre on the side of the conquered were to be represented without +coats of arms, the sword at the side and in the scabbard, the visor raised +and open, their hands joined on their breasts, and their feet resting +against the back of a dead and overthrown lion. The child of a governor, +or commander in chief, if born in a besieged city, or in the army, however +young he died, was represented on his tomb, armed at all points, his head +on his helmet, and clad in a coat of mail of his size at the time of his +death. The military man, who at the close of his life took on him a +religious habit and died in it, was represented completely armed, his +sword by his side on the lower part; and on the upper the habit of the +order he had assumed, and under his feet the shield of his arms. The +gentleman who has been conquered and slain in the lists, in a combat of +honour, ought to be placed on his tomb, armed at all points, his +battle-axe lying by him, his left arm crossed over the right. The +gentleman victorious in the lists was exhibited on his tomb, armed at all +points, his battle-axe in his arms, his right arm crossed over the left." + +[157] Argentré, Hist. de Bretagne, liv. viii. Velly in an. and Memoires de +Du Guesclin, ad fin. + +[158] + + "Jamais, _disoit il_, je ne serai aimé ne conveis (bienvenu) + Ainçois serai des dames très toujours éconduits, + Car biensçais que je suis bien laid et malfettis, + Mais puis que je suis laid, être veux bien hardis." + Vie du Connetable du Guesclin. + +[159] Chastelet, Hist. de Du Guesclin, p. 33. There were no children of +either of these marriages. Du Guesclin, however, left a son, _par amours_. +The last male heir of this family died in the year 1783, an officer in the +French army. In the time of Napoleon, a Madame de Gîvres asserted and +proved her descent from the Constable, and Bonaparte granted her a pension +of 6000 franks a year. + +[160] Monstrelet, vol. ii. c. 3. The battle between the Burgundians and +Dauphinois, in August, 1421, was fought with similar cruelty. Vol. v. c. +62. + +[161] All these curious particulars of ancient manners are contained in +the Histoire de Jeanne d'Arc, of M. Le Brun des Charmettes. + +[162] Daniel, Histoire de la Milice Francaise, liv. iv. c. 1. Monstrelet, +vol. viii. c. 46. Velly, tome v. p. 394. + +[163] Boutillier, La Somme rurale, compillée par lui, p. 671. Abbeville, +1486. + +[164] Memoires d'Olivier de la Marche, vol. ix. c. 2. of the Collection +des Memoires relatifs à l'Histoire de la France. + +[165] Perceval's History of Italy, vol. ii. c. 8. + +[166] The old French, in which this dialogue was held, is exceedingly +interesting and expressive. "Monseigneur de Bayard, mon amy, voicy la +premiere maison ou avez esté nourry, ce vous seroit grand honte si ne vous +y faisiez congnoistre, aussi bien qu'avez fait ailleurs. _Le bon chevalier +respondit_, Madame, vous savez, bien que des ma jeunesse vous ay aymée, +prisée et honorée, et si vous tiens à si saige et bien enseigné, que ne +voulez mal à personne, et encores a moy moings que à un autre. Dites moy, +s'il vous plaist que voulez vous que je face pour donner plaiser à Madame +ma bonne maistresse, à vous sur toutes, et au reste de la bonne et belle +compaignée qui est ceans. _La dame de Fleuxas lui dit alors._ Il me +semble, Monseigneur de Bayard, mais que je ne vous ennuye point, que ferez +foit bien de faire quelque tournoy en ceste ville, pour l'honneur de +Madame qui vous en scaura très bon gré. Vous avez ici alentour force de +vos compaignons gentils-hommes François et autres gentils-hommes de ces +pays, lesquels s'y trouveront de bon coeur, et j'en suis asseurée. +Vrayment, _dit le bon chevalier_, puis que le voulez il sera faist. Vous +estes la dame en ce monde qui a premierement acquis mon coeur à son +service, par le moyen de vostre bonne grace. Je suis asseuré que je n'en +auray jamais que la bouche et les mains, car de vous requirir d'autre +chose je perdrois ma peine, aussi sur mon ame j'aymerois mieulx mourir que +vous presser de deshonneur. Bien vous prie que me veuillez donner un de +vos manchons. Car j'en ay à besongner. La dame qui ne savoit qu'il en +vouloit faire le lui bailla, et il le meit en la manche de son pourpoint, +sans faire autre bruit." Memoires, vol. xiv. p. 397. + +[167] The Memoires of Bayard, by one of his secretaries, have furnished me +with the chief facts in this account of Bayard. A very excellent English +translation of them has been lately published in two vols. post 8vo. The +Memoires Du Bellay (Paris, 1573,) have supplied some deficiencies in the +narration of the loyal serviteur. + +[168] Memoires de Bayard, in the great collection of French Memoires, vol. +xv. p. 458. "Et puis après par maniere de jeu, cria haultement l'espée en +la main dextre: tu es bien heureuse d'avoir aujourdhui à un si vertueux et +puissant roy donné l'ordre de chevalerie. Certes ma bonne espée, vous +serez moult bien reliques gardée et sur toutes autres honorée. Et ne vous +porteray jamais, si ce n'est contre Turcs, Sarrasins, ou Maures, et puis +feit deux faults, et après remeit au fourreau son espée." This sword has +been lost. + +[169] This mode of receiving knighthood had, however, been stealing into a +custom for some time. The earliest instance I have ever met with was in +the case of an infant son of Charles VI. (A. D. 1371,) who was knighted by +Du Guesclin, a cavalier who, one would think, was sufficiently jealous of +the honour of chivalry. After the ceremonies of baptism, Du Guesclin drew +his sword, and putting it naked into the hand of the naked child, (nudo +tradidit ensem nudum,) said to him, "Sire, I give you this sword, and put +it into your hand; and pray God that he will give you such a noble heart +that you may prove as true a knight as any of your illustrious ancestors." +So, too, Monstrelet, in his account of the events in the year 1433, says, +that the Duchess of Burgundy was delivered of a son at Dijon, who was +knighted at the font. Vol. vii. p. 147. + +[170] Part of Segar's account of this tournament is too interesting to be +omitted. "At the fourth course, by marvellous misadventure, the King +became hurt with a splinter of the adversary's lance, which pierced his +eye so deep, as thereby his brain was much bruised. Thus was the nuptial +feast disturbed, and joy converted to sorrow. Such is the state of worldly +things: gladness is ever followed by sadness, and pleasure accompanied by +pain. The rest of the troop who were ready to run were with that accident +marvellously amazed, and not knowing what to do, every man let fall his +lance, and cursed such triumphs. Some pressed to carry his person home, +and others (as touched to the heart) shut their eyes from seeing a +spectacle so miserable. The ladies likewise and gentlewomen of the court +turned their faces from beholding, and closed their eyes with tears. To +conclude, the whole number of courtiers were stricken with sorrow not +explicable. The citizens, also, and, generally, all the subjects of that +kingdom, were perplexed to see the tragical event of that disastrous +triumph, which was intended to congratulate a new peace and an honourable +alliance. The form and face of the city were thus converted from exceeding +joy to unspeakable sorrow: some held up their hands to heaven, others made +haste to the churches, and every one, with abundance of sighs and sobs, +cried out, beseeching God to grant the King recovery; as if every man's +well doing had thereon depended. Then the physicians and surgeons, not +only of France but of the Low Countries, came thither to show their skill, +using all art and endeavour that might be; but the splinters of the lance +had pierced the King's eye so deeply, as the tenderness of the place could +not suffer it to be taken out nor seen (the brain also being pierced), no +means there were to cure the wound. The King, therefore, tormented with +extreme pain, fell into a burning fever, whereof at the end of eleven days +he died. In all which time he did never weep, nor speak any word that +might be imputed to pusillanimity; but most magnanimously took leave of +life. Only this he said, that seeing he was destined to die in arms, he +would have been much better contented to have lost his life in the field +than in those domestic pastimes." Segar, of Honour, lib. iii. c. 40. + +[171] Warton justly observes that this apotheosis of chivalry, in the +person of their own apostle, must have ever afterwards contributed to +exaggerate the characteristical romantic heroism of the Spaniards, by +which it was occasioned, and to propagate through succeeding ages a +stronger veneration for that species of military enthusiasm to which they +were naturally devoted. Warton, Diss. on the Gesta Romanorum. + +[172] Painters are as good witnesses for manners as romance writers; and +in Murphy's Arabian Antiquities of Spain there is an engraving from a +picture in the Alhamra, representing a martial game, wherein both Moors +and Christians contended. + +[173] Froissart, vol. ii. c. 44. + +[174] Calaynos, however, went out of fashion, not for want of merit in the +hero, but by reason of the form of the verse in which he was celebrated. +Thus the phrase, _Este no vale las coplas de Calainos_, passed into a +proverb. Sarmiento, Memorias para la Historias de la Poesia, y Poetas +Espanoles, p. 228. + +[175] + + Caballeros Granadinos + Aunque Moros, hijos d'algo. + +[176] For proofs of this circumstance, I must again refer the reader to +the engravings in Murphy's Arabian Antiquities of Spain. + +[177] Pur su ley, pur su Sennor natural, pur su terra. Partidas, cited by +Selden, Titles of Honour, part ii. cap. 4. + +[178] Partidas, l. ii. tit. 21. lib. 36. tit. 2, &c. + +[179] Selden, Titles of Honour, part ii. c. 4. + +[180] Tomich, Conquestas de los Reyes de Aragon e los Comtes de Barcelona, +1534, folio 23. + +[181] Our English translators of ancient Spanish poetry need not think, as +they are inclined to do, that they are worshiping a shade in Pelayo. The +Arabian History of Spain by Ahmadu-bn Muhammadi-bn Musa Abu Bakr Arrazy, a +writer of the fourth century of the Hegira, attests his existence in the +manner stated in the text. This author, whose name I will not again +attempt to transcribe, is one of the authorities of Mr. Shakspeare, whose +able dissertation on the History of the Arabs in Spain accompanies +Murphy's splendid work on the architecture of that country. Great +expectations have always been entertained of the illustrations of +Arabic-Spanish history which the Escurial manuscripts could furnish. The +work of Casiri encouraged the most ardent hopes of a successful result of +more patient enquiry; and nothing could promise better than the +circumstance that his very learned and intelligent successor in the +librarianship, D. José Antonio Conde, was engaged in the work. The results +of his labours were published at Madrid in 1820 and 1821. I have not been +able to meet with a copy of his work in the original Spanish, but I have +found it mixed up with other matter in a French book, entitled "Histoire +de la Domination des Arabes et des Maures en Espagne, et en Portugal, +depuis l'Invasion de ces Peuples jusqu'a leur Expulsion définitive; +redigée sur l'Histoire traduite de l'Arabe en Espagnol de M. J. Conde. Par +M. de Marlés." 3 vols. 8vo. Paris. 1825. From the preface of M. de Marlés +it appears that D. Conde's book is entirely the tale of the Arabic +historians, and not the judicious result of a critical comparison between +these writers and the Spanish chroniclers. M. de Marlés has endeavoured to +supply the deficiency, and to write a history of Spain from Mariana and +others on the one hand, and D. Conde's Arabians on the other. He has +entirely failed; for a more feeble work was never written. Much of the +fault rests with his authorities; for his history is only another proof, +of what we possessed a thousand instances before, that sufficient +materials do not exist for the compilation of a good and complete Spanish +history. The insufficiency of D. Conde's book to all real historical +purposes appears in every page. Something, indeed, has been gained on the +subject of the Moorish civil wars and dissentions, but such details are +without interest. Little or nothing has been added to our stores on the +subject of Pelayo, Charlemagne's invasion, the Cid, or the conclusion of +the Moorish history; all points whereon information is so much wanted. +These remarks apply only to Conde's researches into the political and +civil history of Spain while under the dominion of the Moors, and not to +his enquiries into the literary history of the Arabs. + +[182] Chronicle, i. 20. + +[183] Chronicle, i. 1. + +[184] The circumstances about this marriage are so contradictory to modern +usages, that the whole story has been regarded as a fable. Abundant +evidence, however, of the marriage exists; and as that competent judge of +Spanish manners, Mr. Southey, observes, "The circumstances of the marriage +are not to be disbelieved for their singularity: had such circumstances +appeared incredible or repugnant to common feeling, they would not have +been invented;--whether they be true or false, they are equally +characteristic of the state of manners." + +[185] Chronicle, i. 13. + +[186] Chronicle, ii. 1. + +[187] Chronicle, ii. 17. + +[188] These last few words are judiciously placed in the Chronicle of the +Cid by Mr. Southey. They are not contained in the ancient chronicles and +ballads, but they are referred to by some, and implied in all. + +[189] Chronicle, iii. 10, 11. + +[190] Chronicle, iii. 13-16. + +[191] Chronicle, iii. 17-22. Müller, in his Dissertation on the Cid, +speaks as positively that the money was repaid, as if the receipt in full +for all demands, authenticated by the city of Burgos, were lying on his +table. There is no evidence of the repayment in the ancient writers; and +when we consider that the Jews were always treated in Spain far worse than +the Musulmans, we cannot conclude that the Cid would consider men whom he +had cheated as entitled to justice. + +[192] I borrow from Mr. Frere's translation of part of the Cid. + +[193] Chronicle, iv. 1-11. + +[194] Chronicle, iv. 14-17. + +[195] Chronicle, v. 17-20. + +[196] Chronicle, vi. 29. The old Spanish writers observe that the Cid knew +how to make a good knight, as a good groom knows how to make a good horse. + +[197] Chronicle, vii. 19. Ximena was like the famous Oriana in Amadis of +Gaul, who was always affrayed at military preparations. + +[198] He had let it grow out of respect to Alfonso; and he intended it +should be a matter of admiration both with Moors and Christians. Poema del +Cid, v. 1230, &c. + +[199] Chronicle, books 9 and 10. Every reader of Spanish history knows how +fiercely the story of the Infantes has been discussed. I shall not burden +my pages with a statement of the arguments, but I think that the balance +is very much in favour of the truth of the story. Mr. Southey's remark is +judicious. "The conduct of the Infantes of Carrion is certainly +improbable. There are instances enough of such cruelty, but none of such +folly. Yet nothing can be so improbable as that such a story should be +invented and related so soon after their death; of persons who had really +existed, and were of such rank: and that it should be accredited and +repeated by all the historians who lived nearest the time." + +[200] Hallam's Middle Ages, iii. 482. 2d edit. + +[201] The world has generally been acquainted with the fall of Grenada by +the work of Genez Perez de Hita, which was translated into French, and +acquired popularity when Florian made it the foundation of his Gonsalvo de +Cordova. There is very little historical truth in the volume, and the +value of the pictures of manners it contains has been much overrated: +those pictures, moreover, are Moorish rather than chivalric, and therefore +not of service to the present work. + +[202] Warton on the Gesta Romanorum, in the first volume of his History of +English Poetry. + +[203] De Marca, Marca Hispanica, p. 1428. + +[204] Con razon (dize) nos quitais las armas del linage, pues las ponemos +à tan graves peligros, y traucos: vos las mereceis mejor, que como mas +recatado, les teneis mejor guardados. + + Mariana, Hist. de Espana, xiii. 7. + +[205] Mariana, xiii. 7. This last story of Garcia Perez de Vargas is the +subject of a beautiful ballad, which Mr. Lockhart has translated. The +stanzas regarding the scarf are particularly pleasing. + + "He look'd around, and saw the scarf, for still the Moors were near, + And they had pick'd it from the sward, and loop'd it on a spear. + 'These Moors,' quoth Garci Perez, 'uncourteous Moors they be-- + Now, by my soul, the scarf they stole, yet durst not question me! + + "'Now reach once more my helmet.' The esquire said him nay, + 'For a silken string why should you fling, perchance, your life away?' + --'I had it from my lady,' quoth Garci, 'long ago, + And never Moor that scarf, be sure, in proud Seville shall show.'-- + + "But when the Moslems saw him, they stood in firm array: + --He rode among their armed throng, he rode right furiously. + --'Stand, stand, ye thieves and robbers, lay down my lady's pledge,' + He cried, and ever as he cried, they felt his faulchion's edge. + + "That day when the lord of Vargas came to the camp alone, + The scarf, his lady's largess, around his breast was thrown: + Bare was his head, his sword was red, and from his pommel strung + Seven turbans green, sore hack'd I ween, before Garci Perez hung." + Lockhart's Ancient Spanish Ballads, p. 75. + +[206] This is another and singular proof of the generally acknowledged +excellence of Italian armour. + +[207] Libro del paso honroso, defendido por el excelente caballero Sueno +de Quinones, copilado de un libro antiquo de mano, por Juan de Pineda. +1588. Reprinted, Madrid, 1783. + +[208] Paston, Letters, vol. i. p. 6. + +[209] Monstrelet, vol. vii. c. 82. + +[210] Sismondi. Hist. des Rep. Ital. vii. 439. The Germans were more +observant of the forms than of the spirit of chivalry. The reader +remembers that the spur, the golden spur, was the great mark of +knighthood; and every ancient church in this country, or a copy of its +antique monumental effigies, will inform him of the custom of placing a +spur over or upon a knight's tomb. This was also a custom among the +Germans, who, besides, reposited spurs in churches, when age, infirmity, +or other causes, unnerved the arm of the knight: moreover, they reposited +spurs in churches as memorials of victory. In the fourteenth century five +hundred pair of them, which had been taken in a victory over the French, +were hung round the walls of the church at Gröningen. Ritterzeit und +Ritterwesen, p. 212. + +[211] Olaus. Hist. Septent. lib. xiv. c. 7. + +[212] Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, from the Teutonic and +Scandinavian Romances, p. 76. + +[213] Ritterzeit und Ritterwesen, vol. i. p. 59. + +[214] Ritterzeit und Ritterwesen, vol. i. p. 60. + +[215] Ibid. p. 71. + +[216] Froissart, vol. i. c. 433. + +[217] Froissart, liv. ii. c. 125. + +[218] Schmidt, iv. 492. + +[219] Ritterzeit und Ritterwesen, p. 108. + +[220] Ibid. vol. i. p. 7. + +[221] Ritterzeit und Ritterwesen, vol. ii. p. 61. + +[222] Ibid. vol. ii. p. 272. + +[223] Ottokar v. Hornek, c. 268, &c. in his Annals of Austria. + +[224] Ritterzeit und Ritterwesen, vol. ii. last chapter. + +[225] Muratori, Dissert. 29. + +[226] Ibid. 23. + +[227] Giannone, lib. i. + +[228] Muratori, Annali d'Italia, vol. v. part 2. p. 171, &c. Even the +Modenese librarian throws aside his dust and parchments, and warms himself +into a humanised being at this story; while Sismondi passes it over with +frigid indifference. + +[229] Muratori, Dissert. 49. + +[230] See in the twenty-seventh Dissertation of Muratori (Della Milizia de +secoli rozzi in Italia) for a minute account of the armour of these +different classes. I observe that Mr. Perceval, in his History of Italy, +vol. i. p. 197., holds a different opinion from that which I have +expressed in the text. Instead of thinking that the change in the military +art formed one of the causes which hastened the overthrow of the Lombard +liberties, he contends that, perhaps, it might be more correctly numbered +among the circumstances which, after that overthrow had been accomplished, +perpetuated the work of slavery. + +[231] Perceval's History of Italy, vol. i. chap. 5. part 1. + +[232] Monstrelet, vol. xi. p. 328. + +[233] Muratori, Dissert. 23. Muratori describes from a contemporary +chronicle the entrance of Charles. The carriage of the Queen seems to have +excited great astonishment, as carriages were in those days seldom used by +ladies, and seldomer by men. + +[234] Giannone, Istoria Civile di Napoli, lib. xx. c. 3. s. 1. + +[235] When that political coxcomb, Cola de Rienzi, thought fit to be +knighted, he would not bathe in the ordinary way, but made use of the vase +wherein, according to tradition, Constantine had been baptised. Vita di +Cola Rienzi, c. 25. + +[236] Muratori, Dissert. 29. 53. + +[237] Sacchetti, Novelle, c. 153. + +[238] Muratori, Dissert. 53. Thus, when Hildebrand Guatasca, in 1260, was +made a knight at the expence of the city of Arezzo, he swore fidelity to +his lord, or, as grammarians would have it, his lady, the good city that +had knighted him. + +[239] Muratori, Dissert. vol. ii. c. 29. p. 16. + +[240] Muratori, Scriptores Rerum Italicarum, vol. xii. p. 535. + +[241] Non ferro sed vino; non lanceis sed caseis; non ensibus sed utribus; +non hastibus sed verubus onerantur. + +[242] Polycraticus, p. 181. + +[243] Lansdowne Manuscripts, British Museum, No. 285. Article 41. The +manuscript breaks off here; but the result of the joust is of no +importance to my argument. + +[244] Brantome, Oeuvres, les Vies des Dames illustres, vol. i. p. 410, &c. +Brantome relates this story on the authority of an old-Italian book on +Duels, written by one Paris de Puteo. + +[245] Gesta Stephan. p. 962., cited in Turner's England, vol. i. p. 461. +8vo. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The History of Chivalry, Volume II (of +2), by Charles Mills + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40022 *** |