little leisure, and less inclination, for the sciences; women, having
better opportunities for observation and experience in common things,
acquired great knowledge of simple remedies, and were in fact the only
physicians. Their usefulness, virtue, and decorum, procured them an
uncommon degree of respect. The institution of marriage was regarded
with the utmost reverence, and second marriages were forbidden. Tacitus
says: “The strictest regard to virtue characterizes the Germans, and
deserves our highest applause. Vice is not made the subject of mirth
and raillery, nor is fashion pleaded as an excuse for being corrupt, or
for corrupting others. Good customs and manners avail more among these
barbarous people, than good laws among such as are more refined. It is
a great incitement to courage, that in battle their separate troops,
or columns, are not arranged promiscuously, as chance directs, but
consist of one united clan, with its relatives. Their dearest pledges
are placed in the vicinity, whence may be heard the cries of their
women, and the wailing of infants, whom each one accounts the most
sacred witnesses and dearest eulogists of his valor. The wounded repair
to their wives and mothers, who do not hesitate to number their wounds,
and suck the blood that flows from them. Women carry refreshments to
those engaged in the contest, and encourage them by exhortations.
It is said that armies, when about to give way, have renewed the
struggle, moved by the earnest entreaties of the women, for whose sake
they dreaded captivity much more than their own. Those German states
which were induced to number noble damsels among their hostages, were
much more effectually bound to obedience, than those whose hostages
consisted only of men. Indeed they deem that something sacred, and
capable of prophecy, resides within the female breast; nor do they
scorn the advice of women, or neglect their responses.”
The Goths were likewise remarkable for purity of manners. Their laws
punished with heavy fines the most trifling departure from scrupulous
respect toward women. After the conquest of Rome, they were accustomed
to say: “Though we punish profligacy in our own countrymen, we pardon
it in the Romans; because they are by nature and education weak, and
incapable of reaching to our sublimity of virtue.”
Once, when a civil war arose in ancient Gaul, the women rushed into the
midst of the battle, and persuaded the combatants to be reconciled to
each other. From that time, the Gauls admitted women to their councils
of war, and such disputes as arose between them and their allies
were settled by female negotiation. Thus in a treaty with Hannibal,
it was stipulated that should any complaints be made against the
Carthagenians, it should be settled by their general; but in case of
any complaints against the Gauls, it should be referred to their women.
On account of the confusion at times attendant upon the best regulated
camp, the strictest laws were made for the protection of northern
women, who universally followed the army. The operations of the
soldiers were from time to time settled in a council, of which their
wives formed a part; and when in danger of defeat, they feared their
dishonor more than the swords of the enemy. If a man occasioned a woman
the loss of her fair fame, he was obliged to marry her, if she were his
equal in rank; if not, he must divide his fortune with her; and if he
would not comply with these conditions, he was condemned to death.
The ancient Britons long submitted patiently to the outrageous
oppression of the Romans; but when the tyrants scourged their queen
Boadicea, and loaded her daughters with insult and abuse, they
fought with a desperate fury, that seemed resolved on freedom or
extermination. The women themselves joined the army by thousands, and
contended with the utmost bravery. “They cared not for the loss of
their own lives,” says Holinshed, “so they might die avenged.” The
Britons had priests called druids, among whom were women held in the
highest veneration.
Female deities are found in the mythology of the north. The Scythians
adored Apia, and the Scandinavians Frigga, the consort of Odin,
in whose temples sacred fire was kept burning, watched by virgin
prophetesses.
In Germany women belonged to the priesthood, and inherited the regal
dignity. They often administered the government with a degree of
ability that excited the admiration of neighboring nations. The
greatest heroes were willing to fight under their banners, and be
regulated by their councils; for they imagined them to be guided by
oracular wisdom, derived from sources more than human.
Nothing could exceed the desperation of northern women in times of
defeat. Proud and jealous of their honor, they were willing to suffer
any thing to avoid the indignities that awaited female captives in
those days. When the troops of Marius pursued the Ambrones, the women
met them with swords and axes, and slaughtered the fugitives as well
as their pursuers; for they deemed that no soldier who turned his back
upon an enemy ought to survive his shame. They laid hold of the Roman
shields, caught at the swords with their naked hands, and suffered
themselves to be hacked and hewed to pieces, rather than give up one
inch of ground.
When the Romans, a short time after this, penetrated to the camp of
the Cimbri, a shocking spectacle presented itself. The women, standing
in mourning beside the carriages, killed every one that fled, even
their own fathers, brothers, husbands, and sons. They strangled their
children, threw them under the horses’ feet, and killed themselves.
One was seen slung from the top of a wagon, with a child hanging at
each foot. Notwithstanding these efforts to destroy themselves, many
were taken prisoners. The female captives earnestly begged to be placed
among the vestal virgins, in hopes that a vow of perpetual purity would
afford protection to their persons; but the profligate Romans were
unworthy to be the masters of such noble-minded women, and they sought
refuge in death.
On warlike expeditions, the northern nations were generally accompanied
by hoary-headed prophetesses, clothed in long white robes of linen. In
their divination they observed the moon, and paid particular attention
to the flowing and murmuring of streams. They likewise believed greatly
in the efficacy of philtres and love potions.
Powerful northern nobles generally had some venerable sibyl, who
directed their councils. Thorbiorga, a Danish enchantress, was
consulted by earl Thorchil concerning a famine and pestilence that
afflicted Denmark. “A particular seat was prepared for the prophetess,
raised some steps above the other seats, and covered with a cushion
stuffed with hens’ feathers. She was dressed in a gown of green cloth,
buttoned from top to bottom, had a string of glass beads about her
neck, and her head covered with the skin of a black lamb, lined with
the skin of a white cat; her shoes were of calf’s skin, with the hair
on it, tied with thongs, and fastened with brass buttons; her gloves
were of white cat’s skin, with the hair inward; she wore a Hunlandic
girdle, at which hung a bag containing her magical instruments; and she
supported her feeble limbs on a staff adorned with many knobs of brass.
As soon as she entered, the whole company rose and saluted her in the
most respectful manner. Earl Thorchil advanced, and led her to the seat
prepared for her. At supper she ate only a pottage of goat’s milk, and
a dish consisting of the hearts of various animals. When asked at what
time she would please to tell the things they desired to know, she
replied that she would satisfy them fully the next day. Accordingly
she put her implements of divination in proper order, and commanded a
maiden, named Godreda, to sing the magical song called Wardlokur; which
she did with so clear and sweet a voice, that the whole company were
ravished with her music; and the prophetess cried out, ‘Now I know many
things, which I did not know before! This famine and sickness will soon
fly away, and plenty will return next season.’ Then each of the company
asked her what they pleased, and she told them all they desired to
know.”
The women of the northern nations sometimes fastened their hair in
simple knots on the top of the head, but they generally allowed it to
flow carelessly over their shoulders. A linen garment without sleeves,
with a cloak made of the skins of such animals as their husbands
killed in hunting, constituted their best finery. They were generally
handsome, with large clear blue eyes, fair complexions, regular
features, and majestic forms. Their stately beauty became famous in the
songs of their bards. Among these warlike tribes the passion of love
was mingled with sentiment, not untinged by veneration. The hero would
encounter any dangers, to find favor in the eyes of her he loved, and
no success, however brilliant, could compensate for her indifference.
Battles were often a number of separate duels fought between those who
had rival claims to some fair lady; and in this way the sword often
decided marriage and inheritance.
When these barbarians subdued Rome, Christianity passed from the
conquered to the conquerors; and being ingrafted on their previous
habits, produced that romantic combination of love, religion, and war,
that characterized the middle ages.
[Illustration: Women attended by knights in armor.]
MIDDLE AGES.
As the passion for conquest extended, warlike and predatory bands
spread over Europe, seizing whatever they could take by force of arms.
No other right but that of the strongest was acknowledged. Hence
castles and fortifications became necessary; and the weak were glad to
submit to any service to obtain the protection of the powerful. These
circumstances were the origin of the feudal system. For a long time,
women were not allowed to inherit lands, because the warlike barons
required a military tenant, from whom they could claim assistance in
time of need; but afterward women were allowed to succeed in default
of male heirs, provided they paid a required contribution in money,
instead of forces. If they married without the consent of their feudal
lord, they forfeited their inheritance; and if he chose a husband for
them, they were compelled to accept him. The law required that every
heiress under sixty years of age should marry, and that her husband
should perform feudal duties. If a baron did not provide when a girl
was twelve years old, she might in open court require him to present
three men for her selection; and if he did not comply, he had no right
to control her choice afterward. She might likewise at that age claim
from her guardian the uncontrolled management of her estates. The
mother was guardian of an infant, and in case of her death, the next
heir supplied her place. The widow’s dowry was half of her husband’s
estate for life, and half of his chattels. If there was not sufficient
to pay debts, the widow and creditors divided equally. In some places,
the feudal lord claimed and enforced certain privileges with regard to
the daughters of his tenants, which are too gross to be described. It
is true there were beautiful instances of a patriarchal relation, where
the noble-hearted baron received cheerful and affectionate service,
and gave ample protection and munificent kindness in return; but these
were exceptions. There was a vast amount of ignorance, degradation,
corruption, and tyranny, as there ever must be where one portion of the
human family are allowed unrestrained power over the other.
For several centuries after the fall of Rome, the state of society
was exceedingly unsettled and turbulent. The priests and the powerful
barons were continually at variance with the kings, neither of them
being willing to consent to a division of power; and the settlement
of the Saracens, or Moors, in Spain, produced a spirit of ferocious
discord in religion. The daughters of princes and nobles lived
in perpetual danger; for bold, ambitious men, who coveted their
kingdoms, or their fortunes, often stormed their castles, carried
them off, and compelled them to marry, without pretending to consult
their inclinations. Thus the Saxon heiresses were divided among the
retainers of William the Conqueror. The annals of Scotland furnish a
curious instance of these warlike marriages. Sir William Scott made
an incursion upon the territories of Murray of Elibank, and was taken
prisoner. Murray, in accordance with the barbarous spirit of the times,
sentenced his enemy to immediate death; but his wife said, “Hout, na,
mon! Would ye hang the winsome young laird of Harden, when ye have
three ill-favored daughters to marry?” “Right,” answered the baron
of Elibank; “he shall either marry our mickle-mouthed Meg, or strap
for it.” The prisoner at first resisted the proposal; but he finally
preferred “mickle-mouthed Meg” to the halter; and the union thus
inauspiciously formed proved exceedingly happy.
The father or guardian of the bride generally gave her to the
bridegroom with these words: “I give thee ----, my daughter, or my
ward, to have the keeping of the keys of thy house, and one third of
the money thou art possessed of, or shall possess hereafter, and to
enjoy all the other rights appointed to wives by law.” The bridegroom
generally bestowed handsome presents on the bride, and she received a
dowry proportioned to her father’s wealth.
The young couple were usually escorted to church by a troop of friends.
The priest crowned them with flowers and pronounced a blessing. Maidens
were married beneath a canopy; but this custom was not observed by
widows.
Among the Franks, marriages were not legal unless solemnized in a full
court, where a buckler had three times been lifted up, and three causes
openly tried. Soter, the fifth bishop of Rome, is said to have been the
first who declared marriages illegal unless solemnized by a priest. A
magnificent feast was given in honor of noble marriages, where immense
quantities of wine were drank, and music, dancing, and minstrel songs
enlivened the scene. All the retainers, or vassals, of the feudal lord,
partook of the banquet, which of course was spread in a spacious hall.
The guests sat at table according to their rank; and a huge salt-cellar
marked the dividing line between the noble and the ignoble. Below the
salt-cellar, the food was coarser, and the liquors of a cheap kind.
The unsettled state of society made it exceedingly difficult to have
any places of safe deposit for articles of merchandise, resembling the
convenient stores and shops of modern times. For this reason, fairs
were held; and gradually various shows, antic tricks, and minstrel
songs, were added to the other allurements of the scene. Women visited
these places, escorted by fathers or husbands, with a strong band of
warlike retainers. In the absence of their natural protectors, ladies
could not venture beyond the walls of their castle, even to visit a
dying friend, without being liable to insult and violence. But in a
short time every gallant warrior publicly declared himself the champion
of some fair dame, and proclaimed that any offence given to her, either
in his presence or absence, would meet with ample revenge at his hand.
This was the beginning of the remarkable institution of chivalry,
which has been compared to a golden thread running through the dark
history of the middle ages. Women, who before this period had been
subject to every species of rudeness and neglect, were soon worshipped
as deities. Those of great beauty, wealth, or rank, of course had the
greatest number of champions; but chivalry extended itself by degrees,
until it embraced for its universal object the protection of the weak
against the strong; and women of all ages and ranks were treated with
deference, because their cause was known to be the cause of chivalry.
No man was admitted into the order without the fullest proof of his
bravery, integrity, and virtue. The least disparaging word against the
female sex disqualified a knight for the duties and privileges of
his profession. A lady having any cause of complaint against a knight
touched his helmet, or shield, as a sign that she impeached him of
crime, and applied to the judges for redress. If found guilty of any
misdemeanor, the culprit was excluded from the order, and could never
be restored, except by the intercession of the offended fair one, and
the most solemn promises of amendment.
None but women of stainless reputation were included within the pale
of chivalry; the principles of the order did not require that the
sword should be drawn in defence of one who had forfeited her claim to
respect. The cavaliers, as they travelled, often wrote sentences of
infamy on the door of a castle where a woman of tarnished character
resided; but where a lady of unsullied honor dwelt, they paused and
saluted her most courteously. At public ceremonies, a distinction was
made in favor of the virtuous. If a woman of impure character took
precedence of one distinguished for modesty, a cavalier boldly advanced
and reversed the order, saying: “Be not offended that this lady
precedes you, for although she is not so rich or well allied as you
are, yet her fame has never been impeached.”
The sons of gentlemen were generally placed with some friend, or
superior nobleman, to acquire the education of a knight, which began
as early as seven or eight years of age. The boy was required to
attend upon his lord or lady in the hall, to convey their messages,
and follow them in all their exercises of war or pastime. From the
men he learned to leap trenches, cast spears, sustain the shield, and
walk like a soldier. The ladies of the court gave him his moral and
intellectual education; or, in other words, they instructed him in his
prayers, and the maxims of chivalric love. He was taught to regard
some one lady as his peculiar idol, to whom he was to be obedient,
courteous, and constant. “While the young Jean de Saintré was a page
of honor at the court of the French king, the dame des Belles Cousines
inquired of him the name of the mistress of his heart’s affections.
The simple youth replied that he loved his lady mother, and next to
her his sister Jacqueline was dear to him. ‘Young man,’ rejoined the
lady, ‘I am not speaking of the affection due to your mother and
sister; I wish to know the name of the lady to whom you are attached
_par amour_.’ The poor boy was confused, and could only reply that he
loved no one _par amour_. The dame des Belles Cousines charged him with
being a traitor to the laws of chivalry, and declared that his craven
spirit was evinced by such an avowal. ‘Whence sprang the valiancy
and knightly feats of Launcelot, Tristram, Giron the courteous, and
other ornaments of the round table?’ said she: ‘whence the grandeur
of many I have known rise to renown, except from the noble desire of
maintaining themselves in the grace and esteem of the ladies? Without
this spirit-stirring sentiment, they must have ever remained in the
shades of obscurity. And do you, coward valet, presume to declare that
you possess no sovereign lady, and desire to have none?’
“Jean underwent a long scene of persecution, but was at last restored
to favor by the intercession of the ladies of the court. He then
named as his mistress Matheline de Courcy, a child only ten years
old. ‘Matheline is indeed a pretty girl,’ replied the dame des Belles
Cousines; ‘but what profit, what honor, what comfort, what aid, what
counsel for advancing you in chivalrous fame, can you derive from such
a choice? You should elect a lady of noble blood, who has the ability
to advise, and the power to assist you; and you should serve her so
truly, and love her so loyally, as to compel her to acknowledge the
honorable affection you entertain for her. Be assured there is no lady,
however cruel and haughty she may be, but through long service will be
induced to acknowledge and reward loyal affection with some portion of
mercy. By such a course, you will gain the praise of worthy knighthood;
till then, I would not give an apple for you or your achievements. He
who loyally serves his lady, will not only be blessed at the height of
man’s felicity in this life, but will never fall into those sins that
prevent happiness hereafter. Pride will be entirely effaced from the
heart of him, who endeavors by humility and courtesy to win the grace
of a lady. The true faith of a lover will defend him from the sins of
anger, envy, sloth, and gluttony; and his devotion to his mistress
renders the thought impossible of his conduct ever being stained with
the vice of profligacy.’”
The service which a lady required of her true knight may be inferred
from the following lines of the old English poet, Gower, who wrote in
the days of Edward the Third:
“What thing she bid me do, I do,
And where she bid me go, I go.
And when she likes to call, I come,
I serve, I bow, I look, I lowte,
My eye followeth her about.
What so she will, so will I,
When she would sit, I kneel by.
And when she stands, then I will stand,
And when she taketh her work in hand,
Of wevying or of embroidrie,
Then can I not but muse and prie,
Upon her fingers long and small.
And if she list to riden out,
On pilgrimage, or other stead,
I come, though I be not bid,
And take her in my arms aloft,
And set her in her saddle soft,
And so forth lead her by the bridle,
For that I would not be idle.
And if she list to ride in chare,
And that I may thereof beware,
Anon I shape me to ride,
Right even by the chare’s side,
And as I may, I speak among,
And other while I sing a song.”
These gentle services were the least arduous that a knight was pledged
to perform. The most desperate battles were fought to restore a lady’s
rights, to avenge a lady’s wrongs, or even to gain a lady’s smile.
It was a common maxim of that period that he who knew how to break a
lance, and did not understand how to win a lady, was but half a man. A
knight without a lady-love was compared to a ship without a rudder,
or a horse without a bridle. “Oh that my lady saw me!” was the eager
exclamation of a gallant knight, as he mounted the wall of a besieged
city, in the pride of successful courage.
A cavalier, called the Knight of the Swan, reinstated a lady in the
possessions of which the duke of Saxony had deprived her. During the
reign of Charles the Sixth of France, the gentlewomen of the country
laid before the monarch grievous complaints of their sufferings and
losses from the aggressions of powerful lords; and lamented that
chivalry had so much degenerated that no knights and squires had
armed in their defence. This appeal roused the valiant Boucicaut, who
gathered a band of chevaliers around him, and formed a fraternity for
the protection of all dames and damsels of noble lineage. The device
on their shields was a lady in a green field, and their motto promised
redress to all gentlewomen injured in honor or fortune. The gallant
Boucicaut carried the principle of veneration a little farther than
was, perhaps, pleasing to the sovereign ladies of that romantic period;
for he would not permit one of the knights of his banner to look a
second time at a window where a handsome woman was seated.
In the Spanish order of the Scarf, duties to women were more insisted
on than in any other order. If one of those knights instituted an
action against the daughter of a brother-knight, no woman would
consent to be his lady-love, or wife. If he happened to meet a lady
when riding, it was his duty to alight from his horse, and tender his
service, upon pain of losing a month’s wages, and the favor of all
dames and damsels; and he who hesitated to perform any behest from a
woman was branded with the title of The Discourteous Knight.
Combats often took place for no other purpose but to do credit to the
chosen object of a knight’s affections. This sentiment was frequently
a cause of national rivalry. During a cessation of hostilities, a
cavalier would sally forth, and demand whether any knight in the
opposite host were disposed to do a deed of arms for the sake of his
lady bright. “Now let us see if there be any amorous among you,” was
the usual conclusion of such a challenge, as the cavalier curbed
his impetuous steed, and laid his lance in rest. Such an invitation
was seldom refused; but if it chanced to be so, the bold knight was
suffered to return in safety; for it was deemed unchivalric to capture
or molest an enemy, who thus voluntarily placed himself in the power of
his opponents. When two parties of French and English met accidentally
near Cherbourg, Sir Launcelot of Lorrys demanded a course of jousting
with the English knights for his lady’s sake. The offer was eagerly
accepted, and at the very first onset Sir John Copeland wounded the
French cavalier to death. The chronicler says: “Every one lamented his
fate, for he was a hardy knight, young, jolly, and right amorous.”