OCTOBER.
"Rivet well each coat of mail;
Blows shall fall like showers of hail;
Merrily the harness rings,
Of tilting lists and tournay sings,
Honour to the valiant brings.
Clink, clink, clink!"--_Armourers' Chorus_.
Tournaments--_Mysteries_--_Moralities_--_Pageants_.
In the days of chivalry, when gallant knights used to ride about in
search of adventures; and when there were many wars, battles, and
crusades, martial exercises were the chief amusements of the people
of England. We have already mentioned some of these sports in which
the humbler folk used to show their strength and dexterity, and now
I propose to tell you of those wonderful trials of military skill
called tournaments, which were the favourite pastimes of the
noblemen and gentry of England in the middle ages, and afforded much
amusement to their poorer neighbours who flocked to see these
gallant feats of arms. Tournaments were fights in miniature, in
which the combatants fought simply to exhibit their strength and
prowess. There was a great deal of pomp and ceremony attached to
them. The lists, as the barriers were called which inclosed the
scene of combat, were superbly decorated, and surrounded by
pavilions belonging to the champions, ornamented with their arms and
banners. The seats reserved for the noble ladies and gentlemen who
came to see the fight were hung with tapestry embroidered with gold
and silver. Everyone was dressed in the most sumptuous manner: the
minstrels and heralds were clothed in the costliest garments; the
knights who were engaged in the sports and their horses were most
gorgeously arrayed. The whole scene was one of great splendour and
magnificence, and, when the fight began, the shouts of the heralds
who directed the tournament, the clashing of arms, the clang of
trumpets, the charging of the combatants, and the shouts of the
spectators, must have produced a wonderfully impressive and exciting
effect upon all who witnessed the strange spectacle.
The regulations and laws of the tournament were very minute. When
many preliminary arrangements had been made with regard to the
examination of arms and helmets and the exhibition of banners, &c.,
at ten o'clock on the morning of the appointed day the champions and
their adherents were required to be in their places. Two cords
divided the combatants, who were each armed with a pointless sword
and a truncheon hanging from their saddles. When the word was given
by the lord of the tournament, the cords were removed, and the
champions charged and fought until the heralds sounded the signal to
retire. It was considered the greatest disgrace to be unhorsed. A
French earl once tried to unhorse our King Edward I. when he was
returning from Palestine, wearied by the journey. The earl threw
away his sword, cast his arms around the king's neck, and tried to
pull him from his horse. But Edward put spurs to his horse and drew
the earl from the saddle, and then shaking him violently, threw him
to the ground.
The joust (or just) differed from tournament, because in the former
only lances were used, and only two knights could fight at once. It
was not considered quite so important as the grand feat of arms
which I have just described, but was often practised when the more
serious encounter had finished. Lances or spears without heads of
iron were commonly used, and the object of the sport was to ride
hard against one's adversary and strike him with the spear upon the
front of the helmet, so as to beat him backwards from his horse, or
break the spear. You will gather from these descriptions that this
kind of sport was somewhat dangerous, and that men sometimes lost
their lives at these encounters. In order to lessen the risk and
danger of the two horses running into each other when the knights
charged, a boarded railing was erected in the midst of the lists,
about four or five feet high. The combatants rode on separate sides
of this barrier, and therefore could not encounter each other except
with their lances.
[Illustration: A TOURNAMENT.]
In the days of chivalry ladies were held in high honour and
respect. It was their privilege to assign the prizes to those who
had distinguished themselves most in the tournament. They were the
arbiters of the sport; and, indeed, the jousts were usually held in
honour of the ladies, who received as their right the respect and
devotion of all true knights. This respect for women had a softening
and ennobling influence, which was of great value in times when such
influences were rare. It was probably derived (according to a French
writer) from our ancestors, the Germans, "who attributed somewhat of
divinity to the fair sex." It is the sign of a corrupt age and
degraded manners when this respect ceases to be paid.
Only men of noble family, and who owned land, were allowed to take
part in the jousts or tournament; but the yeomen and young farmers
used to practise similar kinds of sport, such as tilting at a ring,
quintain, and boat jousts, which have already been mentioned in a
preceding chapter. Richard I., the lion-hearted king, was a great
promoter of these martial sports, and appointed five places for the
holding of tournaments in England, namely, at some place between
Salisbury and Wilton, between Warwick and Kenilworth, between
Stamford and Wallingford, between Brackley and Mixbury, and between
Blie and Tykehill. But in almost every part of England tournaments
or jousts have been held, and scenes enacted such as I have
described. Sometimes two knights would fight in mortal combat. If
one knight accused the other of crime or dishonour, the latter
might challenge him to fight with swords or lances, and, according
to the superstition of the times, the victor was considered to be
the one who spoke the truth. But this ordeal combat was far removed
from the domain of sport.
When jousts and tournaments were abandoned, tilting on horseback at
a ring became a favourite courtly amusement. A ring was suspended on
a level with the eye of the rider; and the sport consisted in riding
towards the ring, and sending the point of a lance through it, and
so bearing it away. Great skill was required to accomplish this
surely and gracefully. Ascham, a writer in the sixteenth century,
tells us what accomplishments were required from the complete
English gentleman of the period. "To ride comely, to run fair at the
tilt or ring, to play at all weapons, to shoot fair in bow, or
surely in gun; to vault lustily, to run, to leap, to wrestle, to
swim, to dance comely, to sing, and play of instruments cunningly;
to hawk, to hunt, to play at tennis, and all pastimes generally
which be joined to labour, containing either some fit exercises for
war, or some pleasant pastime for peace--these be not only comely
and decent, but also very necessary for a courtly gentleman to use."
The courtly gentleman must have been very industrious to acquire all
these numerous accomplishments!
There was another form of spectacle which gave great pleasure to our
ancestors; and often in the market-places of old towns, or in open
fields, at the bottom of natural amphitheatres near some of the
ancient monasteries, were Scriptural plays performed, which were
called _Miracles_, or _Mysteries_, because they treated of scenes
taken from the Old or New Testament, or from the lives of saints and
martyrs. The performances were very simple and often grotesque, but
the plays were regarded by the monks, who assisted in these
representations, as a means of teaching the people sacred truths.
The miracle play of Norman and mediæval times was a long,
disconnected performance, which often lasted many days. In the reign
of Henry IV. there was a play which lasted eight days, and,
beginning with the creation of the world, contained the greater part
of the history of the Old and the New Testament. The words of the
play seem to us strange, and sometimes profane; but they were not
thought to be so by those who listened to them. The _Mystery_ play
only lasted one day, and consisted of one subject, such as _The
Conversion of St. Paul_. _Noah and the Flood_ was a very popular
piece. His wife is represented as being much opposed to the perilous
voyage in the ark, and abuses Noah very severely for compelling her
to go. Sometimes the authors thought it necessary to introduce a
comic character to enliven the dullness of the performance. But, in
spite of humorous demons, these mysteries ceased to attract, and
plays called _Moralities_ were introduced, in which the actors
assumed the parts of personified virtues, &c., and you might have
heard "Faith" preaching to "Prudence," or "Death" lecturing "Beauty"
and "Pride." The first miracle play performed in England was that of
_St. Catherine_, which was acted at Dunstable, 1110 A.D.; and
another early piece was the play called _The Image of St. Nicholas_.
These were of a religious nature and were performed in church during
Divine service. The following is an outline of the plot of the
latter: instead of the image of St. Nicholas, which adorned his
shrine, a man stood in the garb of the saint whom he represented.
The service is divided into two portions, and the play is produced
during the interval. A stranger appears at the west door, who is
evidently a rich heathen, and lays down his treasures before the
image of the saint and beseeches him to take care of them. A band of
thieves enter and steal the treasures, and when the heathen returns,
he is so enraged that he proceeds to chastise the image of the
saint; when lo! the figure descends, marches out of the church, and
convinces the thieves of their wickedness. Struck with fear on
account of the miracle, they restore the treasures, the Pagan sings
a song of joy, and St. Nicholas tells him to worship God, and to
praise Christ. Then, after an act of adoration to the Almighty, the
service is resumed.[15]
There were also strolling companies of minstrels, jugglers, and
jesters, who went about the country, and acted secular pieces
composed of comic stories, jokes, and dialogues, interspersed with
dancing and tumbling. The whole performance was very absurd and
often indecent, and the clergy did their utmost to suppress these
strolling companies.
The stage upon which the _Mysteries_ were played was built on
wheels, in order that it might be drawn to different parts of the
town. Sometimes religious plays were acted in churches before the
Reformation; but in Cornwall the people formed an earthen
amphitheatre in some open field, and as the players did not learn
their parts very well, a prompter used to follow them about with a
book and tell them what to say. Coventry, York, Wakefield, Reading,
Hull, and Leicester were famous for their plays, and in the
churchwardens' accounts we find many entries referring to the
performances.
1469.--_e.g._ Item paid to Noah and his wife ... ... xxi^d.
" " for a rope to hang the ship in the church ... ii^d.
These performances would probably seem very foolish and childish to
a modern audience, but they helped to enliven and diversify the
lives of our more simple-minded forefathers.
The people, too, loved pageants which were performed on great
occasions, during a Royal progress for instance, or to welcome the
advent of some mighty personage. Great preparations were made for
these exhibitions of rustic talent; long verses were committed to
memory; rehearsals were endless, and the stories of Greek and Roman
mythology were ransacked to provide scenes and subjects for the
rural pageant. All this must have afforded immense amusement and
interest to the country-folk in the neighbourhood of some lord's
castle, when the king or queen was expected to sojourn there.
Shepherds and shepherdesses, gods and goddesses, clowns and mummers,
all took part in the play, and it may interest my readers to give an
account of one of these pageants, which was performed before Queen
Elizabeth when she visited the ancient and historic castle of
Sudeley.[16]
The play is founded on the old classical story of Apollo and Daphne.
The sun-god, Apollo, was charmed by the beauty of the fair Daphne,
the daughter of a river-god, and pursued her with base intent. Just
as she was about to be overtaken she prayed for aid, and was
immediately changed into a laurel-tree, which became the favourite
tree of the disappointed lover. The pageant founded on this old
classical legend commenced with a man, who acted the part of Apollo,
chasing a woman, who represented Daphne, followed by a young
shepherd bewailing his hard fate. He, too, loved the fair and
beautiful Daphne, but Apollo wooed her with fair words, and
threatened him with diverse penalties, saying he would change him
into a wolf, or a cockatrice, or blind his eyes. The shepherd in a
long speech tells how Daphne was changed into a tree, and then
Apollo is seen at the foot of a laurel-tree weeping, accompanied by
two minstrels. The repentant god repeats the verse--
"Sing you, play you; but sing and play my truth;
This tree my lute, these sighs my note of ruth:
The laurel leaf for ever shall be green,
And Chastity shall be Apollo's Queen.
If gods may die, here shall my tomb be placed,
And this engraven, 'Fond Phoebus, Daphne chaste.'"
A song follows, and then, wonderful to relate, the tree opens, and
Daphne comes forth. Apollo resigns her to the humble shepherd, and
then she runs to her Majesty the Queen, and with a great deal of
flattery wishes her a long and prosperous reign.
Such was the simple play which delighted the minds of our
forefathers, and helped to raise them from sordid cares and the dull
monotony of continual toil. In our popular amusements the village
folk do not take part, except as spectators, and therefore lose half
the pleasure; whereas in the time of the Virgin Queen the
rehearsals, the learning the speeches by heart, the dresses, the
excitement, all contributed to give them fresh ideas and new
thoughts. The acting may not have been very good; indeed Queen
Elizabeth did not always think very highly of the performances of
her subjects at Coventry, and was heard to exclaim, "What fools ye
Coventry folk are!" but I think her Majesty must have been pleased
at the concluding address of the players at Sudeley. After the
shepherds had acted a piece in which the election of the King and
Queen of the Bean formed a part, they knelt before the real Queen,
and said, "Pardon, dread Sovereign, poor shepherds' pastimes, and
bold shepherds' presumptions. We call ourselves kings and queens to
make mirth; but when we see a king or queen, we stand amazed. At
chess there are kings and queens, and they of wood. Shepherds are no
more, nor no less, wooden. In theatres workmen have played emperors;
yet the next day forgotten neither their duties nor occupation. For
our boldness in borrowing their names, and in not seeing your
Majesty for our blindness, we offer these shepherds' weeds: which,
if your Majesty vouchsafe at any time to wear, it shall bring to our
hearts comfort, and happiness to our labours."
When the Queen visited Kenilworth Castle, splendid pageants were
performed in her honour. As she entered the castle the gigantic
porter recited verses to greet her Majesty, gods and goddesses
offered gifts and compliments on bended knee, and the Lady of the
Lake, surrounded by Tritons and Nereids, came on a floating island
to do homage to the peerless Elizabeth, and to welcome her to all
the sport the castle could afford. For an account of the strange
conduct of Orion and his dolphin upon this occasion, we refer our
readers to Sir Walter Scott's _Kenilworth_, and the lover of
pageants will find much to interest him in Gascoigne's _Princely
Progress_. In many of the chief towns of England the members of the
Guilds were obliged by their ordinances to have a pageant once every
year, which was of a religious nature. The Guild of St. Mary at
Beverley made a yearly representation of the Presentation of Christ
in the Temple, one of their number being dressed as a queen to
represent the Virgin, "having what may seem a son in her arms," two
others representing Joseph and Simeon, and two others going as
angels carrying lights. The people of England seem always to have
had a great fondness for shows and pageants.