THE CHILD IN EARLIER AND MEDIEVAL EUROPE
=Historical and Critical.= We come now to a time in Europe when there is
an overturning of the greatest nation, perhaps, that has ever arisen in
this world and with the highest civilization the world had reached up to
its time and we enter upon a period where barbarians rule and where
civilization lies stagnant for a long number of years. The question ever
arises why these great civilizations should be overthrown and pass away
as it would seem with their preservation the world would go on toward
higher progress and better living while their tearing down leaves the
world in ignorance and darkness till another civilization gradually
arises.
Yet the very fact that these civilizations are overthrown would imply
that the people themselves are weakened or else they could not be
overcome. So it would seem that the nation has reached a place where it
no longer can prove most useful to the people composing it or to the
people of the world, and it must be overthrown and caused to cease to
exist in order that new, fresh elements may be allowed to enter into the
life of the people that stagnation may not come upon the whole race of
people.
The old Romans disappear and a new race enters upon world activity, a
race of barbarians, and not only a new people but likewise a youthful
people, which must promise much for the race. But this new people begins
at quite a lower plane of civilization than the old nations of Greece
and Rome had reached and so there is entered upon a long, slow upward
climbing but there is a civilization attained that not only reached to
that of Greece and Rome but even surpassed these nations and it is still
going upward.
It would seem that it does a world good at times to slow down and even
to lie dormant for in the end it will surpass its former self. Humanity
is the same always and the dominant traits, though they may be checked
and held passive for a long time, in the end will show themselves,
strengthened by the rest. The best things that a nation produces are
not lost in the nation's passing away for the conquering people will in
a slow way absorb and work over the essentials and they will come forth
among the new people all the better and stronger for race progress. What
if the time be long and the regeneration slow, the world can pass away
its time in no better way than in getting ready for progress and it has
plenty of time for such.
"The larger part of all that the ancient world had gained seemed to be
lost. But it was so in appearance only. Almost, if not quite, every
achievement of the Greeks and the Romans in thought, in science, in law,
in the practical arts, is now a part of our civilization, either among
the tools of our daily life or in the long-forgotten or perhaps disowned
foundation-stones which have disappeared from sight because we have
built some more complete structure upon them, a structure which never
could have been built, however, had not these foundations first been
laid by some one. All of real value which had been gained was to be
preserved in the world's permanent civilization. For the moment it
seemed lost, but it was only for the moment, and in the end the recovery
was to be complete. By a long process of education, by its own natural
growth, under the influence of the remains of the ancient civilization,
by no means small or unimportant, which worked effectively from the very
first, by widening experience and outside stimulus, the barbarian
society which resulted from the conquest was at last brought up to a
level from which it could comprehend the classic civilization, at least
to a point to see that it had very much still to learn from the
ancients, and then, with an enthusiasm which the race has rarely felt,
it made itself master in a generation or two of all that it had not
known of the classic work--of its thought and art and science--and from
the beginning thus secured, advanced to the still more marvelous
achievements of modern times."[200]
=Feudalism.= Feudalism was a form of society and government which arose
during the Middle Ages and became one of the great institutions of that
time, whose legal principles and social ideals are still prevalent in
the fundamentals of law and society of the present. "It is itself a
crude and barbarous form of government in which the political
organization is based on the tenure of land; that is, the public duties
and obligations, which ordinarily the citizen owes to the state, are
turned into private and personal services which he owes to his lord in
return for land which he has received from him."[201] The feudal system
was not confined to Europe, for it existed as well in Japan and in
Central Africa and among the Mohammedans, for if the conditions that
underlie this system arise then human nature, whatever the place or
time, is likely to take on this form of government.
The feudal system grew up from the conditions of society of the time,
which caused the people to organize themselves about earlier
institutions whose remains still existed among them. In Rome there had
grown up a system where the great man had clients attached to him, who
consulted him, who helped him and in turn were helped and directed by
him. This system must have somewhat been taken up by the conquerors and
carried through the years in a modified form, so that when there was no
longer a strong central power able to care for the people as a whole, it
was natural for them to turn to the strong men about them and to attach
themselves to the ones who could bestow upon them land to hold in tenure
and likewise who was strong enough to protect them in the use of this
land or of their own land. The constituent elements of feudalism were
those referring to land and its tenure and to the relations which
existed between the protector and the one protected, or, vassalage,
beneficies, and immunities.
The term vassal was originally applied to servants not free, but it
gradually grew to mean a free man and a vassal was of the same condition
as his lord, so that the term held an honorable meaning. The relation of
the vassal to the lord was that of homage and fealty. There were two
parts to the ceremony of vassalage. In the first ceremony, the man
kneeled before the lord, laid his hands in those of the lord, and
promised homage to him, upon which the lord lifted him up and gave him
the kiss of peace. In the second ceremony, an oath of fealty to the lord
was taken upon the Gospels or upon some relic or relics of saints. At
the time of this ceremony the lord performed the ceremony of
investiture, when he handed to the vassal some material object to
symbolize that the man was invested with a fief. The vassal owed to his
lord military, civil, and financial duties. He had to give military
service for a certain length of time each year, usually forty days, at
his own expense, which, if continued, was at the expense of the lord.
The vassal was bound to attend the court of his lord and to aid him in
administering justice. In cases where the lord was taken prisoner in war
and a ransom was demanded or his son was knighted or his eldest daughter
married, or if he went to the Crusades, the vassal was to give financial
aid. The lord owed the obligation to his vassal to support him in his
fief and to defend him against every enemy.
On the death of the lord the inheritance passed to his children. At
first only male heirs could inherit lands, but later the daughter shared
with the son all the privileges of succession except that of
primogeniture.
The benefices were bestowed by the lord upon the vassal, the land to be
held by tenure, and thus the vassal was placed under obligation to the
lord. There were some lands that were held freely and not by tenure,
such being known as allodial lands, but these freeholds decreased until
finally they wholly disappeared and all the land was held by tenure.
The immunities were grants of privileges to churches or to private
individuals. These included the exemption from certain dues or certain
obligations.
In his domain the lord was a kind of sovereign. He administered justice,
levied taxes, coined money, and declared war for himself and for his own
benefit. The revenues of the lord were of various kinds. He received a
certain part of the crops from his vassals and he received the judicial
fees and other fees of various kinds. Property left after death where
there were no heirs went to him.
=The Feudal Castle and Its Life.= As has been stated, when the central
power became weak and no longer able to protect the common people, they
began to cluster about strong men for protection. These men occupied
places that could be defended or else they sought out places of strength
and security, usually, heights and places which were difficult of
access. Here they built castles and fortified them. These were at first
wood, making a kind of wooden blockhouse, but gradually stone came to be
used and they were built exceedingly strong, and often considered
impregnable.
The feudal village lay beneath and about the castle. There was a
complete social separation between the life in the castle and that in
the village surrounding it. They pursued a different life, as the lord
and his retainers were engaged in war or the chase or lived in idleness,
while the people of the village were laborers. There became a wide
separation between the village and the castle and special privileges
grew up about the dwellers of the castle and, through inheritance, a
nobility arose that lived in idleness and came to looking down upon and
really despising the common people.
This isolation of the castle did, though, bring a closer relation
between the members composing its family. However much the lord might go
out for war or for adventure, in the end he must return to his castle,
as it was his home. Here he found his wife and children, with whom he
must spend his time, mostly alone with them, so that close relations
grew. When the lord was away from the castle, his wife must, naturally,
have had charge of affairs and this would produce in her characteristics
which would cause her to be respected by her lord and often to be
considered his equal. It thus arose that domestic life came to mean much
in that time and the family became the center of social relationship.
The importance of the woman increased and the value of wife and mother
became to be recognized beyond what had been known up to that time.
=Chivalry.= Chivalry arose in the Middle Ages, reaching its height
during the Crusades. It constituted the moral and social law and custom
of the ruling classes in Europe between the eleventh and sixteenth
centuries. It grew out of old Teutonic customs, was modified by the
feudal system, and brought into existence a distinction between men of
noble rank and the common people about them. The chivalric person was
expected to devote himself to the service of God, to his feudal lord,
and to his lady. The knight was trained to service and obedience. He was
to give his services to the weak, especially of his own rank, to give
himself over to the protection of the church, to be reverent and
obedient to his superiors, and to hold womankind in high esteem.
In the training of a knight, the boy remained at home till his seventh
or eighth year under the care of his mother, who began his religious
education and gave him his early training in respect and obedience to
his superiors. He was then placed under the care of some nobleman or
churchman, in whose castle he lived and took his place with the members
of the household. He was known as a _page_ and he waited upon his lord
and lady. He learned to play chess and other games and in most cases to
play the harp and to sing and likewise to read and write. He was
trained in running, wrestling, boxing, and riding and some knightly
exercises that went with the riding. At fourteen or fifteen the youth
became a _squire_ and entered into more intimate relations with the
knight and his lady. With other squires he played chess and walked and
hunted with the lady of the castle, and they attended to the personal
wants of the knight, such as caring for his bed, helping him to dress,
grooming his horse, and attending upon him at the tournament and in war.
During this time the youth learned the arts of war--to exercise in
armor, to ride and to use the shield, and to handle the sword and lance
and battle-axe. As he neared the end of his squireship, the young man
chose his lady-love, to whom he was ever to be devoted. She was usually
older than he and often married and he was expected to remain devoted to
her even though he should marry.
At twenty-one the young man became a knight, after the ceremony of
knighthood. When the time for the ceremony arrived, the candidate put in
a season of fasting and purification and prayer, and then he passed the
night in a church in prayer and meditation. In the morning came the
confession and the absolution and the eucharist. He then placed his
sword upon the altar, the priest blessed it and returned it to him,
after he had taken the solemn oath of knighthood. His armor was placed
upon him and his sword buckled about him and then he knelt before his
lord, who laid his sword upon the candidate's shoulder and dubbed him
knight. The new knight then arose and mounted his horse and displayed
his skill and strength in handling his horse and in the use of his
weapons.
The knight's great occupation was that of war. For this he lived and for
this he trained throughout life. For practical training in war the
tournament came into existence, wherein there were actual combats waged
with the weapons of war, and when there were good numbers on each side
it became a real battle, even to the wounding and killing. This gave
opportunity for displaying knightly powers and courage, for gaining the
smiles and good-will of the ladies, and likewise for the settling of
private quarrels. The tournament, too, was the greatest of all
amusements during feudal times and brought together the largest
gatherings and the greatest displays. Fairs were held in connection with
them in which there was great merry-making, where jugglers and
strolling players and musicians found place and drunkenness and gambling
and the like prevailed.
A level piece of ground was chosen on which an oval enclosure was made,
with rows of seats and covered galleries all round. The knights who were
to engage in the fights pitched their tents at either end, where they
stationed themselves with their squires. Heralds had charge of affairs
and arranged the ceremonies and rules of procedure. There were jousts,
in which two opponents met one another on horseback with lances, and
after the jousts was a general fray, in which there were a number of
champions on each side who fought with swords and sometimes even with
battle-axes, usually on horseback, but on some occasions some on horse
and some on foot. The evening before the tournament there was a try-out
of arms of squires and young knights, blunt weapons being used, the
winners being allowed to enter the general fray of the next day.
All being ready, the lists were cleared and the two knights, on
horseback with lances, were placed at some distance opposite each other.
At a signal from the herald they lowered their lances and rushed at each
other, each striving to knock the other from his horse. In case both
knights kept their seats unhurt, they tried it again, till one or both
were unhorsed. Then they fought on foot with swords till one was
overcome. At the close of all the jousts the general fray took place. In
the jousts sometimes one or the other knight was badly wounded and
sometimes even killed. In the general fray the fight might have become
so fierce that a number would be wounded and killed on both sides. In
the evening after the close of the tournament a great feast was held,
which was attended by the ladies and the knights who participated in the
tournament and other members of the nobility.
The mounted knight was a great fighter and could overcome quite a number
of unarmed and unarmored peasants. As long as fighting was done at close
quarters no other fighter could equal him or expect to overcome him. But
when the common people began to be armed with the bow and the pike an
army could be raised that did not always have to fight at close quarters
and so armor did not mean so much. War, too, was becoming a mercenary
trade and a king could obtain an army by paying for mercenary cavalry
and by arming his yeomen and peasants and forming them into pliant
infantry. While the barons wasted their strength in fighting and robbing
one another, the king swept down upon them with his army of infantry and
mercenary cavalry and defeated them one by one, thus doing away with
petty baronies and their private quarrels and uniting them under one
strong power. When gunpowder came into general use, the knight and his
armor vanished in smoke and the chivalry of the middle ages passed away
and through the transforming influences of the printing press and steam
power and the many other arts of modern times it was refined, and became
the basis of the civilization of the present day. Chivalry is still
extant, but it has a different meaning than that of feudal times, for
where the feudal system had its _knight_ the present age has its
_gentleman_.
The age of chivalry most naturally aroused poetic and musical fancies
and during that time arose the trouveurs of Northern France, with whom
may be placed the minstrels of the British Isles, and the troubadours of
Southern France and the minnesingers of Germany. These poets and singers
were from all classes--nobility, artisans, clergy--and although most of
them were of noble rank, yet there were some noted ones from the common
people. They would go about the country reciting and singing their poems
and they were welcome everywhere. They would sing of war and of love,
many of the productions being based upon heroes of the past and again
others being of imaginary characters.
=The Peasantry.= During feudal times there arose a great distinction
between noble and ignoble service. The noble service was that performed
by the knight in armor on horseback, that of the unpaid warrior, while
ignoble service was that of the field laborer. Since feudal life was
mainly agricultural, the artisan, the dweller in the town, counted but
little, but there came a time when he did count much for the overthrow
of feudalism. The mass of the laboring people were serfs and they were
treated sternly by their masters, the noblemen, and they were not much
more than slaves.
Slavery, so prominent under the Roman rule, gradually disappeared during
the middle ages. Yet the serf at first was but little better off, for,
although he could not be sold, he could not leave the land. He did have
some control of his person, for he had allotted to him a bit of land
upon which he could work without being driven by an overseer. Later he
was permitted to go out elsewhere for work, but for this he must possess
a legal permit. This led to the custom of allowing him to pay his lord
in money for his services in lieu of work upon the land or returns from
the land, and then followed his being permitted to purchase his freedom,
so that the serf could become a freedman.
During the early part of the period the laboring and the trading classes
did not count as political, military, or social factors. They are
scarcely mentioned in the records of the time. They were robbed by the
nobles, their persons maltreated, and their wives and daughters
dishonored. There were exactions of all kinds. They had to pay annual
dues for the use of the land, they had to give a certain number of days
free each year to the repair of the public roads and to the cultivation
of the lord's domains, and they had to be ready, when called upon, to
render military service of such an inferior kind as they could do. "He
was bound to bake his bread at the lord's oven, grind his grain at the
lord's mill, and press his grapes in his lord's wine-press, paying, of
course, for the privilege; if he wanted to chase or cut wood in the
forest, or fish in the stream, or feed his cattle in the pasture, all of
which were reserved seigniorial rights, he must pay his tax. He must pay
the lord for the use of his weights and measures, or for a guarantee
against changes in his coinage. He may not even sell the remnant of
crops which survived this accumulation of taxes until those of the lord
have been sold at the highest market price. After the lord had squeezed
the peasant almost to the point of extinction, came the church with its
even more effectual agencies of terror and superstition. Its principal
exaction was the tithe, a tax of one-tenth upon the products of
agriculture, a burden sufficient, if rigidly enacted, to ruin any field
industry. But not content with this, the church, like the feudal
seignior, profited by every special occasion, birth, baptism, marriage,
death, to collect new contributions."[202]
Even in the seventeenth century the life of the laboring man was very
hard, as is shown in the following in reference to the British peasant
of that time. "At the first setting out of the plough after Christmas,
which was the time to begin fallowing, or breaking up the pease earth,
the teams-man rose before 4 a. m., and after thanks to God for his
night's rest, proceeded to the beast house. Here he foddered his cattle,
cleaned out their booths, rubbed down the animals, currying the horses
with cloths and wisps. Then he watered his oxen and horses. He next
foddered the latter with chaff, dry pease, oat hulls, beans, or clean
garbage, such as the hinder parts of rye. While they were eating their
meal, he got ready his collars, hames, treats, halters, mullers, and
plough gears. At 6 a. m. he received half an hour's liberty for
breakfast. From seven till between two and three in the afternoon he
ploughed. Then he unyoked, brought home his oxen, cleansed and foddered
them, and, lastly, partook of his dinner, for which he was again granted
another half hour's spell of leisure. By 4 p. m. he was again in the
stable. After rubbing down his charges and re-cleansing their stalls, he
went to the barns, where he prepared the fodder for the following day's
bait. He carried this to the stable, and then watered his beasts and
replenished their mangers. It was now close on 6 p. m. He therefore went
home, got his supper, and then sat by the fireside, either mending his
and the family's shoe-leather, or knocking hemp and flax, or picking and
stamping apples and crabs for cider or vinegar, or grinding malt on the
quern, or picking candle rushes, till 8 p. m. He then lighted his
lanthorn and revisited the stable, where he again cleansed the stalls
and planks, and replenished the racks with the night's fodder. Then,
returning to his cottage, he gave God thanks for benefits received
during the day, and went to bed."[203]
=The Town People.= In the early part of this period the artisans, like
the field serfs, were grouped under a lord to whom their products
belonged. Later they grouped themselves into communities and began to
deal with the lord more as a body and not as separate individuals,
although at first there was not much organization. There was a
continuous growth, though, toward closer organization till there arose
the great free city with its charter of freedom obtained from the lord
for services rendered or funds furnished in a time of his great need.
The growth of commerce, too, aided in the formation of these cities, as
for the carrying on of trade it was necessary to have centers where the
people might come together. These places might at first have been a
fair, a temporary affair, but gradually these centers became permanently
established or old ones revived. For the carrying on of trade it was
necessary to have a medium of exchange and the amount of money was
increased by the cities through accumulation and coinage. This gave to
the cities a strong means for obtaining freedom, as the lord was ever in
need of funds and the cities by accumulating money and having the power
to raise a general fund could from time to time buy rights from the lord
as his need of money became urgent.
In Italy and Germany the cities formed themselves into corporations, the
most noted perhaps being the Hanseatic League. In England, however, the
cities did not join together, but each stood apart and cared for itself
alone. They became really more interested in the welfare of the town
itself than in that of the nation and the prosperity of the town was of
the most importance. The town could not set aside the law of the land,
but it could add to it as far as the government of the town itself was
concerned and ordinances were passed relative to the welfare of the
town. The officers of these towns considered themselves as very
important personages and on occasions of state they arrayed their
persons in gorgeous robes and carried themselves with great dignity.
These towns erected stately churches and other public buildings and
adorned them magnificently.
A striking feature of town life of the Middle Ages was the formation of
guilds. This was not original with this period for, as told under the
chapter on Rome, there were organizations at Rome similar to the guilds
of the middle ages and likewise there were similar organizations in
Greece. In the medieval period there were two kinds of guilds. The first
kind was of a general nature and it was organized for mutual protection
or aid, such as protection against thieves and aid in times of sickness,
old age, and the like. The second kind was the trade guild, such as
formed by merchants and craftsmen. Guilds formed a very important
element in the town life of the Middle Ages, as almost all professions
and occupations had guilds.
The craft guild embraced all the members of a craft--the apprentice, who
was bound for service for a number of years to learn the trade; the
journeyman, or skilled laborer, who received wages for his work; and the
master, who controlled the journeyman and the apprentice. The function
of the guild was to regulate and protect the craft and also to help one
another and to care for the orphan and the widow and the aged. Officers
from their own body were appointed to carry out the regulations and to
have general oversight of the organization.
"The medieval townsman was very narrow in his aims, very selfish, and
sometimes very cruel in his exclusiveness, but his whole-hearted
affection for his town, his anxiety for its welfare, and his pride in
its beauty are delightful: they must have made his life very real and
absorbing to him, and they make it very attractive to us."[204]
=The Aristocracy.= As was stated before, during the middle ages in
Europe there grew up a sharp distinction between the noble and the
commoner, which was strongly emphasized by inheritance till there became
the grouping of people into hard and fast classes. The nobility
possessed two characteristics that distinguished them from the common
people which were the right to inherit landed estate and the right to
knighthood. Thus arose a class born to estate and chivalry which
hardened into an aristocracy that was almost impossible for the man born
of the public to enter. Yet there were two ways by which he might enter
into nobility, by the purchase of an estate to which the quality of
nobility was attached, which his children inherited, and through the
creation of new nobles by the king, which, though, was rarely done
during medieval times.
The love of show and magnificence was great during the middle ages and
was greatly displayed by the aristocracy of the period. The most
impressive and lavish displays were centered round the person of the
king. This was shown in the gorgeous ceremonies and settings of his
coronation, in court etiquette and regulations, and in the large
establishment of his household. Some of the great nobles had
establishments that rivaled and even excelled that of the king. The
great lord had a large body of retainers who wore his livery and badge,
a great number of whom were members of his household and ate at his
table. These great lords were lavish in their entertainment and
sometimes impoverished themselves through their hospitality, and were
thereby compelled to obtain money, which, as mentioned before, gave to
the cities the opportunity of securing privileges from them. In England
such nobles sometimes repaired their fortunes by marrying the daughters
of rich merchants or by engaging in trade, but in France the old
noblesse, whose social standing depended upon their ancient origin,
preferred poverty to such means of enriching themselves, which they
would regard with holy horror, and they kept their respect and dignity
through all the vicissitudes of misfortunes, without thus endangering
their pure strain of noble blood by mixing it with that of the common
herd or soiling their sacred persons with the vulgar touch of trade.
=The Home.= As time went on in the Middle Ages, the houses built as a
means of defense grew less, so that the castle began to disappear and
the home to take its place. The houses began to assume proportions of
grandeur and forms of beauty, the outgrowth of the love of magnificence
and display of the times. In England the manor houses were grouped
around a courtyard with the entrance through a gate-house. In the house
was a great hall, made to accommodate a large number of people. The
kitchen was a large room, sometimes having three or four large
fireplaces. Leading from the hall were chambers for the lord and lady
and guests. There were also the bake-house, brew-house, stables,
granaries, ox-stalls, pig-sties, and other buildings.
The town houses had usually been no higher than two stories, but later
went up to three or four stories in height. They often had gardens about
them. They were built of stone, brick, or wood, sometimes having a
cellar of stone while the upper part was wood. They were thatched with
straw, but often tiles were used. Thin horn, talc, and canvas were
placed across windows, but glass was coming into more common use, so
that many houses had glass in their windows. The rooms were lighted by
candles, sometimes torches were used, the candles being set in standing
or hanging candlesticks of iron, wood, or latten. The heating was done
by a fire built in the center of the hall, the smoke escaping through an
opening in the roof, or there was a fireplace in the corner or the side
of the room. The fuel used was wood, charcoal, ling, peat, or coal.
In the hall the furniture consisted of tables, seats, and a cupboard. In
the chamber was a bedstead with curtains around it and the bedding
consisted of a straw mattress, a feather bed, bolster, pillows, sheets,
and blankets. There were chairs in the room, a table, and a clothes
chest. The walls were painted or hung with tapestry. The floors were
bare or strewn with rushes or straw, some floors being of tiles, and
carpets came into use late in the period.
=Women.= At the time of the beginning of Christianity women had reached
a high position at Rome, having great freedom, power, and influence. At
the first women played an important part in the activities of the
Christians, but later they were relegated to quite a subordinate place.
The old church fathers even went farther and claimed that woman was a
source of evil and that she should live in continual penance on account
of the curses she had brought upon the world. So it became her duty to
remain at home secluded, going out into public only when visiting the
sick or attending church, and then she must be veiled. Nor should she
enhance her beauty, which was only a snare, by dress but such should be
simple and grave and of plain color, not for the purpose of ornament but
for protection alone.
"The influence of Christianity tended at once to elevate and to narrow
the position of women. It elevated her position, for, while the pagan
ideal of life is essentially masculine, the Christian ideal is in part
feminine. Justice, energy, strength, are the pre-eminent qualities of
the pagan ideal; and mercy, love, gentleness, and humility, of the
Christian. The coincidence of the characteristics of Christianity with
the characteristics of the female heart resulted in the elevation of
woman. This result was also achieved in other ways. In the realm of the
emotions, and especially of the religious emotions, woman is superior to
man. If she is inferior to him in her power of apprehending a system of
truth, she is his superior in respect to her loyalty to individuals.
Christianity demanded personal loyalty to a personal Christ as the first
and comprehensive condition of admission to its church. Thus the
influence of Christianity ennobled the position of woman. This increased
power was manifest in various ways. Women flocked to the Church in large
numbers, and were important factors in the conversion of the Empire.
They embraced martyrdom with unflagging zeal and fortitude. Although not
usually admitted to the priesthood, they performed ecclesiastical
functions of minor importance. As deaconesses--an order for which may
justly be claimed apostolic sanction--they were of peculiar usefulness
in the great and arduous work of charity and of philanthropy. Of the
asceticism which so early sprang up they were ardent defenders. In their
households, their influence was more pervasive than in the Church. For
the conversion of their husbands and sons and daughters they labored
with constancy, if not always with wisdom, and often with success. The
wife of Theodosius the Great was one of the most distinguished defenders
of the faith. Augustine writes of the influence of his mother in the
formation of his Christian character. The mother of Constantine bore an
important part in the conversion of her royal son. In dignity and in
useful influence, in social rights and family prestige, Christianity
tended to elevate the place of woman. For force or passion as the basis
of marriage--elements which when exercised degrade the husband more than
the wife--was substituted love. The New Testament teaching was the
foundation of practice.
"But in one respect the position of the married woman was narrowed by
Christianity. It has been already noticed, that in the civil marriage of
the period of the later Republic and Empire, the wife remained in the
guardianship of her own family. She did not pass into the control of her
husband. The consequence of this method was that the power of her
guardian became less and less, and that the power of her husband did not
increase. She, therefore, came to occupy a situation of great
independence as to both person and property. Against the loose marital
bond of the civil marriage, which was indeed a mere species of wedlock,
the Church uttered its protest. It was contrary to the teachings of the
New Testament; it was opposed to Christian practice. In their
repudiation of the civil marriage, the Christian moralists also
repudiated that liberty and independence of the wife which were among
its essential elements. Thus the legal position of the married woman was
narrowed by the Church."[205]
Among the early Germans, women were greatly respected. Woman was
considered man's inferior only in physical nature and this very physical
weakness was the one great cause of her being so well respected. The
wife was not thought inferior to the husband in morality, courage,
prudence, and wisdom, but his equal. Although this was somewhat changed
by contact with the Romans, yet it appears to be the basis for the
building of the high honor paid to women in chivalry. During the time of
feudalism the wife tended to become the husband's peer and companion. In
the age of chivalry women were held in high esteem, or at least women of
the noble class, and they were subjects of great devotion by the
knights and squires.
During the Middle Ages many women possessed property and because of this
they had a social standing they would not otherwise have had. But riches
brought disadvantages as well, as heiresses were in danger of being
carried off and compelled to marry their captors or to give them large
sums of money. If single a woman's property was more or less under the
control of her guardian and when married her husband had control of her
belongings. On the other hand, the wife had a certain right in her
husband's possessions and upon his death she had her portion as dower.
Women entered into industrial affairs, as they engaged in the
manufacture and sale of many articles. They occupied themselves in
spinning and weaving, in making ribbons and laces, in making shoes and
candles, and other articles; they sold fruit, bread, fish, poultry, and
wares of different kind; they were employed in farm work and in
unskilled labor such as carrying clay and water, gathering moss and
heath, and waiting on thatchers and masons. Women carried on foreign
commerce, in England exporting goods to France, Spain, and other
countries. They were permitted to become members of guilds, although
they did not take a very prominent part in them.
=Marriage.= In the early Christian church marriage was made to mean a
great deal. Surrounded as the Christians were by the moral rottenness of
the decaying Roman state, it became necessary for the sustenance of
their religion that the marriage vow should be a sacred obligation. To
this end marriage became a religious ceremony. A Christian could not
marry a pagan, as this vow could only be properly taken between parties
of the same religious belief and could thus receive the benediction of
the bishop. This idea of marriage made chastity the all-important thing
in woman and thus created the home and gave to children a pure
parenthood and made childhood mean more to children than the world had
given before.
Among the Germans, and likewise other northern nations of earlier
Europe, monogamy was prevalent and almost the universal practice. There
was a kind of purchase of the wife, as the man in the presence of her
parents offered a dowry to the bride, which if accepted sealed the
match. The parties to the contract both had to be mature people, the
bridegroom having to be old enough to be invested with arms and to
become a member of the state. Before the woman could marry she had to
have the consent of her father or nearest relative, and if a widow,
having been purchased, she had to have the approval of the relatives of
her deceased husband.
"Marriage ceremonies (among Anglo-Saxons) consisted in the assemblage of
friends, the consuming of the great loaf (made by the bride as an
introduction into house-keeping, and the ancestor of our wedding-cake);
some special barrels of beer were brewed--the 'bride ale,' hence our
modern 'bridal.' This beer was drunk to her health and to that of the
bridegroom (originally _brydgumma_, bridesman). The Anglo-Saxons paid a
regular sum, agreed upon beforehand, to the father before the wedding;
the consent of the lady being obtained, the bridegroom then gave his
promise and his 'wed.' 'Nor,' adds Sharon Turner, 'was this promise
trusted to his honor merely, or to his own interest. The female sex was
so much under the protection of the law that the bridegroom was
compelled to produce friends who became security for his due observance
of the covenant.' In this we have the origin of 'groomsman,' or 'best
man,' of our time. The parties being betrothed, the next step to take
was to settle by whom the _fosten-léan_, or money requisite for the care
of the children, was to be supplied. The bridegroom pledged himself to
do this; his friends became security for him. These preliminaries being
arranged, he had to signify what he meant to give her for choosing to be
his wife, and what he should give her in case she survived him. This was
the _morgen gifu_, being given by the Anglo-Saxon husbands to their
wives on the morning after the wedding.[206] The old law says that it is
right that she should halve the property, or the whole of it should
become hers if she had children, unless she married again. The friends
of the bridegroom became surety for his conduct and those of the bride
for hers. A priest--when Christianity was introduced--blessed the union;
and after many points of law had been settled for the protection of the
wife under all circumstances, 'her relations wedded her to him.' But in
all these instances no mention is made of the wedding-ring, which came
later. The English, regarding the wife in her capacity of ruler of the
household, placed a ring upon her finger as a badge, not of servitude,
but of authority, as in the case of the consort of Ethelred the Second,
who before receiving the crown was anointed and distinguished by this
symbolic act of adornment."[207]
There was a time during the Middle Ages when betrothal and even marriage
took place at a very early age, even between quite young children. In
England boys could be married at fourteen and girls at twelve, but these
ages were sometimes disregarded and children were married at even
younger ages. Betrothals were made by parents or guardians for children
of very young age, one such case is on record as having been entered
into when the little girl was but four years of age, the child having
been given in charge to her future father-in-law. This custom was by far
most common among the upper classes, for, as a rule, the men and women
of the middle classes did not enter upon marriage till of more mature
age. These early marriages or betrothals were probably the result of
guardians having under their charge children who were heirs and so they
arranged the marriage to their own advantage or sold their rights for a
sum of money, and even parents were known to have sold the marriage of
their children to gain money.
The idea of the early Christians that marriage should not be civil but
religious gradually prevailed till not only was the ceremony performed
by the church alone, but also breaches of marriage vows were punished
not by the state but by the church. But this did not prevent marriage
from becoming a business affair, where the material advantages to be
gained were closely looked into and the amount of property or money to
be gained on either or both sides was the most important and chief
consideration. Nor did this prevent informal marriages, for men and
women did join themselves together without priest or religious ceremony
by a simple declaration that they would take each other as husband and
wife. This was not accepted by the church nor always recognized by the
state, but such unions did take place nevertheless.
"It is sometimes thought that in the Middle Ages men were always obliged
to hold to their wives for better or worse to their lives' end. There
are some grounds for this opinion, but it is not quite correct. The
Church did not allow divorce in the modern sense of the word; that is to
say, she taught that a valid marriage could not be dissolved; but
marriages could be, and often were, annulled on the ground that some
impediment existed which rendered them invalid."[208]
There was no regular marriage among the serfs of the earliest times. As
marriage became more a church ceremony, this institution established,
about the twelfth century, the legality of this ceremony among the
serfs. This, of course, caused difficulties when the serf of one lord
married the serf of another, and especially so when such parties had
children. Sometimes money satisfied this, sometimes other marriages, and
even sometimes the children were divided among the two estates.
=Dress.= The simple and beautiful dress of the Greeks and Romans was
displaced during the Middle Ages by changing costumes, which sometimes
were of the most fantastic designs and colors, sometimes ugly, and
sometimes beautiful. It is impossible to give here in detail the dress
of all the nations or even in a general way to depict the changes that
took place, and but one nation, England, will be considered, and that
only in a hurried way.
The early Britons used a mantle that covered the whole body, which was
fastened in front with a clasp or with a belt about the waist. These
mantles were of skins of animals, the hair being left on for the outside
of the garment. Sometimes also they wore a woolen jacket. Their shoes
were made of coarse skins, the hair being left for the outside as with
the mantle. The women wore chains and rings and bracelets, and their
hair was left loose upon the shoulders without braiding or tying.
The Anglo-Saxons had a linen undergarment over which they wore a linen
or woolen tunic, reaching to the knees, with long, close sleeves, the
tunic being fastened at the waist with a belt. Over these garments they
wore a short cloak, fastened with clasps. They wrapped bands of cloth,
linen, or leather about the leg from the ankle to the knee, and their
shoes opened down the instep and were fastened with a thong. The women
wore a long, loose garment, like a tunic, reaching to the ground, and
over this a mantle. They wrapped about the head and neck a kind of veil
made of a long piece of silk or linen. The men wore the hair and beard
long.
The Normans made quite a display in dress. They wore a long, close gown,
reaching to the feet, often embroidered with gold at the bottom, and
fastened at the waist with an ornamental girdle. Over this they wore a
cloak with a hood, fastened across the breast by a gold or silver
brooch. The women wore a loose dress, trailing on the ground, with
girdle round the waist, and a cloak over the dress. The men wore their
hair long, sometimes curling it like women, but they wore no beard,
shaving the face clean.
During the Middle Ages dress was a distinguishing mark of very great
importance. The king needed to be arrayed in gorgeous robes of rich
texture and color, as his dignity require such; the city officers, in
keeping with the pride of the city, must be clothed in brilliant attire;
the sign of power and greatness of the nobles was displayed in the showy
livery of their retainers; and the uniform of the craft-guilds was a
badge of their importance in the life of the people and of the nation.
During the most of this period there was great luxury in dress among the
noble and wealthy. Silks, satins, velvets, scarlet cloths, fine cloths
of gold and silver, and rich furs were used in the apparel of both
sexes, and not only was the finest and best of their own land used, but
also fine materials were brought in from other countries. Not only was
the clothing very costly, but also there was a striving for a large
amount, so that the expenditure for dress was very great.
The men dressed as fanciful and elaborately as did the women and the
styles changed quite as often and as differently. At one time they wore
a close-fitting tunic with tight or short sleeves and a short cloak; at
a later time they wore a long gown with long, full sleeves, and again
their clothing was padded, the shoulders being made as broad as
possible. Sometimes the colors of the garments would be of one hue or
well matched, and again there would be one garment of one color and
another of an entirely different color, and even the parts of the same
garment would not be of the same color. "A dandy of the fourteenth
century is thus described: 'He wore long pointed shoes, fastened to his
knees by gold or silver chains; hose of one color on one leg, and of
another color on the other. Short breeches, not reaching to the middle
of the thigh; a coat, one-half white, and the other half black or blue;
a long beard, a silk band buttoned under his chin, embroidered with
grotesque figures of animals, dancing men, etc., and sometimes
ornamented with gold, silver, and precious stones.'"[209]
The women wore long dresses reaching to the ground and sometimes with
long trains. At times the bodices fit closely and were low in the neck,
while in another time the body was encased in whalebone to the hips and
the shoulders supported an enormous ruff, as much as three feet or more
in width. Men also wore the ruff. The ladies used paint on their faces
and adorned them with black patches as "beauty spots."
Men and women of the working classes dressed more simply than the upper
classes, usually wearing short tunics with small sleeves and with hoods
for outdoors. But they, too, dressed up for special occasions and at
times they were arrayed in highly-colored and costly garments and even
at times vied with the upper classes, in spite of laws passed to prevent
people from dressing above their stations.
Children were clothed in about the same manner and the same styles as
their elders, there being no great distinguishing marks in the dress of
the younger and older people.
The girdles, which were so necessarily an important part of the dress,
were often highly ornamental and very costly. They were sometimes made
of silk, lined with fine leather, and ornamented with gold and silver
and precious stones. The garments of both men and women were at times
embroidered, having armorial devices, mottoes, initials of the owners,
and other designs. They were also lined and trimmed with fur, many kinds
of fur being used.
The men wore their hair long and then again very short; it was cut off
short at the forehead and at another time allowed to grow long till it
almost fell into the eyes. Sometimes they wore a full beard and
sometimes they were clean shaved. At a late time in the period wigs came
into use, and they were thought to be indispensable by every man of
social standing. They wore hoods and then caps and hats of various
styles. The women wore their hair loose down the back or braided and
coiled and put into a net of gold wire. At one time great headdresses
were the fashion, one style rising up horn-like from the head, another
being like a steeple, running to a high point. There were also
heart-shaped erections, turban-shaped, crescent-shaped, one like an
inverted lamp-shade, and still another shaped like a butterfly.
Shoes were of various styles, one style having very sharp-pointed toes
and even projecting far beyond the foot and then turned up and fastened
to the knee with a silver or gold chain. Then the shoes were changed
from length to breadth, till Parliament passed a law limiting the width
of the toes to six inches. There was one kind made of fine, soft leather
cut into beautiful designs and worn over bright-colored stockings that
showed through the openings.
Jewelry was used quite a great deal. Caps and girdles and other garments
were sometimes decorated with precious stones. They wore chains about
the neck with pendants in the shape of crosses, medallions, and the
like. Reliquaries (little cases containing relics) were also sometimes
hung on neck-chains. There were beads of gold and silver and ivory.
Brooches and clasps and rings of gold and silver studded with jewels
were quite common and other jewelry was worn.
"Very extraordinary ideas were current as to the properties of jewels;
talismanic and medicinal powers were attributed to many of them--it was
thought that the jaspar, agate, and toad-stone neutralized or detected
poisons, that pearls dissolved in powder cured stomachic complaints, and
that coral acted as a charm. Great importance was attached to engraving,
because it was held that if a gem were engraved by a skilful person
under the right planetary influence its virtue was greatly increased.
If, for example, an engraving depicting Ophinclius, the constellation
which had the power of resisting poison, were cut on an agate its
efficiency would be doubled. Even substances which had in themselves no
talismanic qualities could acquire them if they were inscribed with
words or symbols possessing them, and consequently sacred names and
mystic signs were frequently placed not only upon gems, but also upon
all kinds of jewelry, and sometimes upon other things, such as drinking
cups, as well."[210]
=Food.= Eating and drinking was a most important function of the middle
ages. Banquets were held to celebrate great events and feasting occurred
on all occasions, both public and private. Good things to eat were so
well thought of that it was the custom to send gifts of food to friends
and patrons and the very highest in the land, as was often shown in
England, did not think it undignified to give or to receive such
presents, from whomever they might come. Towns in order to gain favors
would send out as presents large quantities of food to royal personages,
and loyalty shown by towns and individuals was sometimes rewarded by the
king in the same way.
As artificial light was hard to get, the meals were usually partaken of
during daylight. The cooks of the time showed great skill in the
preparation of foods and in decorating their dishes, being fond of
coloring all kinds of food and displaying branches and flowers about the
food and table. The table was covered with a cloth and each guest
furnished with a napkin, knife, and spoon but no fork, the fingers being
used instead. Good manners prohibited the putting of the knife into the
mouth, but it was all right to dip sops or morsels into soups or sauces,
and it was a mark of good breeding to be able to carry such to the mouth
without letting any drops fall upon the tablecloth or the person.
There were many different kinds of bread; among the meats were beef and
pork, poultry and game of all sorts, among such eaten being peacocks,
gulls, swans, herons, and cranes; many varieties of fish were to be had;
there were many different kinds of fruits and vegetables used, among the
fruits being quinces, pears, cherries, strawberries, apples, peaches,
plums, and grapes, and of the vegetables, peas, leeks, cabbages, onions,
turnips, parsnips, and beets. Soups and broths were very common, and the
mixing of ingredients in dishes was much in use, as, meat was cut up
into small pieces, boiled, ground in a mortar, passed through a
strainer, and then mixed with spice, salt, sugar or honey, almonds,
dates, raisins, and grated bread, all being blended together with the
yolk of eggs.
The poorer classes sometimes fared badly, but usually in England the
peasants had sufficient food, although often of the cheaper sort and not
of great variety. "The methods of preparing the raw material for baking
differed in various parts of this island. For a very long period it was
imperative on the manorial populations in both England and Scotland that
they should take their corn to be ground at the lord's mill. But when
this regulation fell into disuse, all sorts of contrivances for grinding
crept in. The most primitive was undoubtedly that of the Highland
peasant. The first process was the separation of the grain from the ear.
This was not threshed, but graddaned--that is to say, it was burned out
of the ear in much the same fashion as the parched corn of Boaz. Either
whole sheaves or several ears were fired on the cottage floor. Though
the burning of the entire sheaf was the most expeditious process, it was
a sad waste of manure and thatch. Sometimes oats were beaten out of the
straw with a rude mallet, and kiln-dried. But usually both they and
barley underwent the burning treatment. The housewife knelt before the
fire, holding a few stalks in her left hand. Setting the ears alight,
she deftly beat out the grain with a stick, just when the husk was quite
consumed. The grains, blackened like coal, were picked off the floor
with the hand and placed in the quern. This consisted of two stones, 1½
ft. in diameter, the lower slightly convex, the upper slightly concave.
In the middle of each was a round hole, and on one side of it a long
handle. The Scotch housewife shed the grain into the hole with one hand,
and worked the handle round with the other. The corn slid down the
convexity of the lower stone, and by the motion of the upper one was
ground in the passage."[211] "Hasty pudding was a great favorite among
the poorer sort. Indeed, all spoon meat of a sweet description was
popular, as Houghton proves by a delightful little anecdote. Two Norfolk
boys once were overheard discussing the kind of treat in which either of
them would indulge if he became King of England. The one decided that he
would have pudding every day for dinner; the other burst into tears,
because his comrade's wish had left him nothing good from which to
choose."[212]
=Children of the Ancient Britons.= "It seems to have been the custom of
the Celts to plunge their new-born infants into some lake or river in
order to try the firmness of their constitutions and to harden their
bodies--this even in the winter season. The Scandinavians used, it is
said, to pour water upon the heads of their children as soon as they
were born, and this long before the introduction of Christianity; but
there is no certainty that this custom was observed in Britain. Before
the introduction of Christianity the inhabitants of the northern part of
Britain did not give names, it is said, to their sons before they had
performed some brave action, or given some indication of their
disposition and character....
"The early British matron, even of the highest rank, always nursed her
infants, and would have resented in the greatest degree the delegation
of this parental office to another woman. We know little of the bringing
up of the children. There is a story of Solinus to the effect that his
first morsel of food was put into the infant's mouth on the point of the
father's sword, with a prayer that he might prove a great and brave
warrior and die on the field of battle. This seems more likely to apply
to the races who succeeded them and the Roman occupation than to the
veritable Britons. ... The Ancient Britons were accustomed almost from
infancy to handle arms and to sing the glorious actions of their
ancestors. The young were thus inspired to feats of strength and to be
engaged in war. As they advanced in years they were, while being
instructed in martial exercises, also taught that everything in life
depended on their valor--the praises of the bards, the favor of the
great, and the applause of the people, and that happiness after death
was the reward only of those who were daring in war. It may be
considered certain that the youth of Britain at this period were not
delicately nurtured; a rough and hardy people would not educate their
children in a manner unfitting for their surroundings and way of life,
and doubtless--as in Germany--the families of the nobler sort were
brought up with no more delicacy or tenderness than the common people.
Tacitus says of the Germans, 'In every house you see the little boys,
the sons of lords and peasants, equally sordid and ill-clothed, lying
and playing promiscuously together on the ground and among the cattle,
without any visible distinction. In this manner they grow up to that
prodigious strength which we behold with admiration.' The sons of the
ancient Germans, Gauls, and Britains of all ranks were allowed to run,
wrestle, jump, swim, climb, and to engage in vigorous exercises at their
will and without restraint until they approached manhood. To this
continued exercise, together with the simplicity of their diet, is
ascribed by Caesar the great strength of body and boldness of spirit to
which these nations attained. Caesar says that when the youth of
Germany, Gaul, and Britain began to approach the manly age, some more
attention seems to have been paid to them by the public and their
parents than previously, for when the son was younger it was accounted a
shame for a father to be seen in his company. Children who were designed
for the priestly order were then put under the direction of the Druids
for their instruction in the sciences and in the principles of law,
morality, and religion, while those who were intended for a warlike
life--according to Caesar--had arms put into their hands by their
fathers, or nearest kinsmen, in a public assembly of the warriors of the
state or clan. Some vestiges of this custom continued till later
times--especially with respect to the eldest sons of the lairds or
chieftains--in some parts of the Highlands and western isles of
Scotland."[213]
=Children among the Early Christians.= The old church fathers were so
much given to ascetism that it would appear as if there was really an
antagonism to marriage in their time and which must have had a great
influence on family life. Donaldson states[214] that children are seldom
mentioned in the Christian writings of the second and third centuries,
and that almost nothing is said of their training, as if there were but
little attention given to their instruction. And yet infants were
considered with a much higher standard than among the Greeks and Romans,
for, as given in the chapters dealing with children among these nations,
infanticide was practiced by them, as the father had the right to expose
his children, so that infants on their birth might be abandoned and left
to perish, and this was particularly the case with weakly and deformed
children and often with female children without blemish. From the very
first Christianity condemned the practice and denounced it as murder.
They even went further, for the church forbid the practice of the
destruction of children before birth. Thus Christianity protected the
lives of infants and especially of female infants.
=Child and Parent.= In England at least there did not at times seem to
have been a great, strong affection between parents and children. This
may have been caused in part from the custom of boarding out the
children or sending them out to be servants or ladies-in-waiting to the
persons with whom they were sent to live, as children who would thus go
out from parents at an early age and not getting to see them often would
not have the opportunity of showing affection for them and they would
naturally take up with the people with whom they came in daily contact.
The children who were sent to boarding-school were there throughout the
entire year, being at home only a few days at a time, on holidays.
Another cause for the lack of affection between parents and children may
have been from the custom of the remarriage of parents, the new husband
or the new wife drawing the affection away from the children. Although
the children showed outward respect to their parents, which was well
portrayed in the letters they wrote to them, yet it would seem there was
not so deep an inward respect.
=Care and Treatment of Children.= Children were brought up quite
strictly during the Middle Ages. They were punished very much, minor
offenses often bringing a severe punishment, for it was held that every
child needed correction and that quite frequently. The children of the
poor were usually put to work when very young and had to undergo much
suffering. Orphans had the hardest lot of all, for if parents cared so
little for their own children and often neglected them, they would care
still less for the children of other people, and so would neglect them
or treat them cruelly. If the orphans were heirs, they were often
despoiled of their possessions by their guardians or married to parties
unfit for them in order to have control of their estate. Of course, all
parents were not lacking in affection and all guardians were not knaves.
Yet it would seem that children during the Middle Ages did not have the
happiest of times and they often lived miserable lives.
=Apprenticeship.= There arose during the Middle Ages a belief that every
child should be trained to do something. As was stated under feudalism,
it was the custom for boys of the upper classes to be sent into the
homes of nobles and churchmen to serve a number of years in order to
become learned in chivalry and to acquire the use of arms. In like
manner there grew up for the boys of the common classes the
apprenticeship system, whereby they were placed under a master to spend
a number of years to learn a trade or to carry on agriculture.
It was held, at least in England, that all able-bodied men should work
and to that end they should be trained as boys, so that when grown up
they would be able to work at a trade or farming and thereby earn their
own living and not become a burden upon the state. During the sixteenth
century it became a law that every child should have such training as
would fit him for business or a calling. Some were apprenticed to trades
and some to agriculture. If a parent could prove that he was able to
furnish a maintenance for his children they were not apprenticed, but
otherwise, if the children were found to be growing up in idleness, the
authorities had the power to apprentice them.
There was a fee charged for apprenticeship to a trade, sometimes only an
entrance fee and again an annual due, but not very large in either case.
The term of service varied, in France being from three to thirteen
years, while in England it generally lasted seven years. The apprentice
probably secured no pay at any time, but was cared for by the master in
the way of food, lodging, clothing, and other needs. After he had
completed his years of service, the apprentice became a journeyman and
then entered regularly into the trade, receiving wages for his labor. In
the earlier times the journeyman could easily become a master, but later
when capital began to be amassed and the carrying on of the manufacture
of goods required much capital, the journeyman did not have very good
opportunity for becoming a master. In the early days master, journeyman,
and apprentice all lived and worked together and were in the same guild,
and so there was not any great separation among them. But later when a
large amount of capital was required to carry on business and a large
number of men used, there became a wide difference between master and
workmen and strife grew up between them and journeymen formed guilds for
themselves alone, which guilds were sometimes suppressed by the
authorities. Such a guild came in time to prohibit aliens from becoming
apprentices, and thus from learning the trade, and even to restricting
apprenticeship to the children and relatives of its members who were
working in the trade.
=Military Training for the Young.= In order to bring back the old
military training in England, in 1511 an act was passed "that every man
being the king's subject, not lame, decrepit, or maimed, being within
the age of sixty years, except spiritual men, justices of the one bench
and of the other, justices of the assize, and barons of the exchequer,
do use and exercise shooting in long bows, and also do have a bow and
arrows ready continually in his house, to use himself in shooting. And
that every man having a man child or men children in his house, shall
provide for all such, being of the age of seven years and above, and
till they shall come to the age of seventeen years, a bow and two
shafts, to learn them and bring them up in shooting; and after such
young men shall come to the age of seventeen years, every one of them
shall provide and have a bow and four arrows continually for himself, at
his proper costs and charges, or else of the gift and provision of his
friends, and shall use the same as afore is rehearsed."[215]
=Amusements.= The people of medieval times were much given to
amusements. This was particularly true of the people of England and what
follows here is for the most part about that country.
The greatest pastime of the nobility was that of war, and the joust and
the tournament were the most attractive amusements because they most
resembled war. The young men engaged in a sport known as tilting at
quintain, which was designed to prepare them for warfare. The figure of
a Saracen with a saber or club in its right hand and a shield on the
left arm was hung up so that it would turn about very readily. A young
man on horseback with a lance or something similar, as in a joust, would
ride at the figure and strive to strike it between the eyes or on the
nose, for if some other part was struck the figure would be turned round
so as to give the rider a blow on the back with the saber or club, which
not only brought a laugh at his expense, but also helped to teach the
young candidate for knighthood to aim accurately another time. This was
practiced on other objects, as, tilting at a tree or post or at a ring.
Another military exercise was throwing the spear or javelin, which might
be at the quintain or some other object or to throw it to the greatest
distance. Learning to throw with the sling was also another military
exercise. Another great sport in the early times of this period was that
of archery. Foot-races took place and likewise wrestling.
Hunting has ever been a great sport in England. The ancient Britons were
hunters, as were the Saxons and also the Danes in England. But it
remained for the Normans to bring hunting to a system, for they were not
content to hunt in an open country, but took up thousands of acres and
enclosed them in parks and stocked them with game and prohibited the
common people from hunting within them, passing severe laws against
such. There was a form of hunting that is most striking and became a
great rage, which was hawking or falconry. This was greatly indulged in
by both men and women and the birds they used for taking the other
birds were highly trained and brought great prices. This was _the_ sport
of the gentility and common people were not at all allowed to partake of
it. Fishing was another sport, as was horse-racing and bull-baiting and
cock-fighting. Throwing at cocks was another brutal amusement, wherein a
heavy stick was thrown at a bird and if knocked over it belonged to the
thrower if he could run and catch it before it could get to its feet.
The people managed so as to get quite a bit of pleasure out of their
religion. One pastime was the wakes. On an evening preceding a saint's
day the people went with lighted candles to the church, which was
originally for the purpose of worship, but later it came to be a time
for dancing and singing and eating, hawkers and peddlers congregating
about the church to serve the crowd. Another church affair was the
church ales. The church officials would brew a large quantity of ale
before a holiday when there would be gatherings of people who bought and
drank the ale, the profits being used for the good of the church.
Another amusement was hocking, which took place on the Monday or Tuesday
following the second Sunday after Easter. Men would hold a rope across a
road and take toll of every woman passing or else women would have
charge of the rope and collect toll off the men, the receipts going into
the church treasury. The miracle and morality plays and the like, too,
though intended as a means of instruction, became really a form of
amusement for the masses.
Christmas was a great time for merry-making. One of the affairs at the
time was mumming. Masks were used and disguises put on so as to
impersonate all kinds of people and even animals. These mummers would
make calls on people and sometimes even on high personages, making their
entrances and exits without saying anything. May-day was a great
occasion. Upon this day the houses would be decorated with flowers and
branches from trees. There would be the dance about the May-pole and
many games and plays. There were fair days, when people came together
for traffic and for sports. There were sack races for the young men and
smock races for the young women. Also there were wheelbarrow races and
other kinds of races and contests. One such contest was the grinning
match, where each person in the contest would thrust his head through a
horse's collar and they would then vie with one another in grinning. In
the yawning match, they would wait till late at night when all were
tired and sleepy and then each would try to yawn the greatest. The one
that yawned the widest and the most naturally and would thereby cause
the most yawns from all present would win the prize.
It was a custom during this period for kings and great nobles to have
Fools, who were the butt of all and who made all the butt of their
jokes. They also kept minstrels in their households. Sometimes these
minstrels played on different kinds of musical instruments and formed a
musical band. Among the musical instruments were the ruible (a
two-stringed instrument played with a bow), the veille (an instrument
somewhat like a violin), the gitern (a kind of guitar), the harp,
bagpipe, trumpet, pipe, lute, dulcimer, tambourine, and cymbals. There
were a number of other kinds of entertainers, as, acrobats,
rope-walkers, jugglers, contortionists, and conjurers. There was
wire-dancing, rope-dancing, ballet-dancing, and sword-dancing. There
were dancing bears and trained monkeys. There were entertainers who
disguised themselves as birds and other animals and imitated their
actions and cries. Dancing was, also, an amusement of the middle ages
and it was indulged in by the nobility and all classes of the people.
There were plays acted in the castles and the towns and the colleges and
the schools and even in the churches in the way of mysteries and
moralities. There were strolling bands of players that attended wakes
and fairs and played in barns and taverns and even in the farmhouse
kitchen, wherever they might find place. "I shall transcribe out of Hall
a description of a play which was acted by the boys of St. Paul's
School, in 1527, at Greenwich. The occasion was the despatch of a French
embassy to England, when Europe was outraged by the Duke of Bourbon's
capture of Rome, when the children of Francis I. were prisoners in
Spain, and Henry, with the full energy of his fiery nature, was flinging
himself into a quarrel with Charles V. as the champion of the Holy See.
"At the conclusion of a magnificent supper 'the king led the ambassadors
into the great chamber of disguisings; and in the end of the same
chamber was a fountain, and on one side was a hawthorne tree, all of
silk, with white flowers, and on the other side was a mulberry tree full
of fair berries, all of silk. On the top of the hawthorne were the arms
of England, compassed with the collar of the order of St. Michael, and
in the top of the mulberry tree stood the arms of France within a
garter. The fountain was all of white marble, graven and chased; the
bases of the same were balls of gold, supported by ramping beasts wound
in leaves of gold. In the first work were gargoylles of gold, fiercely
faced, with spouts running. The second conceit of this fountain was
environed with winged serpents, all of gold, which griped it; and on the
summit of the same was a fair lady, out of whose breasts ran abundantly
water of marvellous delicious savour. About this fountain were benches
of rosemary, fretted in braydes laid on gold, all the sides set with
roses, on branches as they were growing about this fountain. On the
benches sate eight fair ladies in strange attire, and so richly
apparelled in cloth of gold, embroidered and cut over silver, that I
cannot express the cunning workmanship thereof. Then when the king and
queen were set, there was played before them, by children, in the Latin
tongue, a manner of tragedy, the effect whereof was that the pope was in
captivity and the church brought under foot. Whereupon St. Peter
appeared and put the cardinal (Wolsey) in authority to bring the pope to
his liberty, and to set up the church again. And so the cardinal made
intercession with the kings of England and France that they took part
together, and by their means the pope was delivered. Then in came the
French king's children, and complained to the cardinal how the emperour
kept them as hostages, and would not come to reasonable point with their
father, whereupon they desired the cardinal to help for their
deliverance; which wrought so with the king his master and the French
king that he brought the emperour to a peace, and caused the young
princess to be delivered.'"[216]
The game of dice was found in England from an early period, as the
Saxons, Danes, and Normans were much given to it, and during the Middle
Ages dice were in great force and much used in gambling. There were also
chess and draughts and domino and backgammon. Cards came into use late
in this period, perhaps not earlier than the latter part of the
fourteenth century, and seem not to have been much used in England
before the middle of the fifteenth century. Gambling was very common
among all classes, so much so that one of the restrictions in the
indenture of apprentices was that they should keep from places where
gambling was carried on. Some of the guilds had to pass laws that no
help would be given a member who got into trouble or fell into poverty
through playing dice.
Ball-playing was engaged in during the Middle Ages, just as in all ages
and in all countries. The ball was, perhaps, more of a favorite in
England than in any other country in Europe. They had club-ball, one
player throwing the ball and another striking it with a straight club;
cambuc or bandy-ball was probably a kind of golf, as the ball was struck
on the ground with a curved club, called a bandy; pall-mall must have
been a kind of croquet, as a wooden ball was used which was struck with
a mallet and driven through arches of iron, there being an arch at each
end of the grounds; in hand-ball the ball was struck with the palms of
the hands against a wall or over something, being somewhat like tennis
without a racket, and then later tennis with net and racket came to be
played; there was foot-ball, the ball being kicked about by the foot.
Tip cat was a game played with a piece of wood called a cat, pointed at
each end much like a double cone, which was laid on the ground in the
center of a large ring; the player would strike one end of the cat with
a stick, causing it to fly upward, which he then tried to strike to
knock it out of the ring. There was bowling, many villages having
bowling-greens. They also played quoits, fox and geese, and other kinds
of outdoor games.
Young people played in the games and indulged in the sports mentioned in
the foregoing and children played many of them, and also they had many
other sports, such as spinning tops, catching butterflies and beetles,
playing blind man's buff, and the like.
=Education.= The early Christians, surrounded as they were with pagan
thoughts and ideas found it necessary to withdraw themselves from such
influences, and, as they were without schools of their own, they became
largely illiterate, having no training beyond what was obtained through
their religion. Although they received but little literary education,
yet they were given moral training of the very highest and best. As the
church grew there was found the necessity of instructing those who were
being brought into it, as well as the young, and so there arose what
were known as the catechetical schools.
These schools began more and more to come under the influence of the old
pagan culture and to drift away from their original purpose of giving
religious instruction and to enter more upon the intellectual side. To
counteract this they were finally taken away from the laity and brought
under the influence of the clergy and came to be established in
connection with the churches and then these schools became to be known
as cathedral schools. They then gradually grew to become used for the
training of the clergy. When monasteries arose in connection with the
Christian church, there grew up in them schools for the training of
those who were to become monks or priests. Thus education became to be
less common than under Roman civilization and the schools to be used
mostly for those who were to enter more directly into the work of the
church.
One of the marked characteristics of the Middle Ages was the growth of
the idea of education for all classes. In the early part of the period
education was not considered highly important for any one, then came the
idea of education for those who were to enter into clerical duties, and
then last of all began to grow up the idea of education for all,
whatever the future life work might be. That classical learning in its
essential features was preserved to Europe was due to the Christian
church, for keeping up the use of the Latin language the churchmen were
thus given access to the written works of Roman culture and through them
much was retained, especially in the monasteries. While the Roman
civilization was almost annihilated in the central part of the empire,
the extreme eastern and western parts were relatively undisturbed and
classical learning was maintained in them, Ireland being the chief
center in the West, from whence later this learning was returned to the
central part of Europe. There were three distinct outbursts of learning
following the darkest time of the period, the first being under
Charlemagne (742-814) in France and Central Europe, the second in
England under Alfred the Great (849-901), and the third under the
Mohammedans in Spain.
The course of study in the schools of the Middle Ages was primarily
designed to train the clergy to be able to participate in the church
services and also to conduct them. The instruction was given in the
elementary or song school which was followed by the grammar school and
then by higher instruction. In the elementary school reading, writing,
music, arithmetic, and Latin were taught. In reading the beginner was
taught by the alphabetic method and when reading was begun careful
attention was given to enunciation and accent and often boys were taught
to read well without knowing the meaning of the words of the Latin they
were reading. In writing wax tablets were used in the earlier times and
then there came into use pen, ink, and parchment. This was an important
phase of education because of the need of copying books. Music was an
important subject because of its use in the church service. Arithmetic
was begun by counting and then simple operations on the fingers, adding,
subtracting, multiplying, and dividing being drilled into the pupils
through oral work, but little written work being done. Latin was only of
an elementary form, a beginning in conversation being made. The student who
went on with his studies took up the subjects of the trivium--grammar,
rhetoric and dialectic. If he wished to pursue his studies further
he entered into the subjects of the quadrivium--arithmetic, geometry,
music, and astronomy.
There were three kinds of medieval church schools--the monastic school,
the cathedral school, and the parish school. The monastic school
occupied a place within the monastery and it was primarily intended for
those who were to enter into monastic life; there were no charges for
tuition, the school being maintained through gifts from pupils,
sometimes such being quite large; the poor pupils were supported by
charity or they paid their way by copying books or by doing other
things. In the cathedral school there was usually a song school, for
elementary instruction, and a grammar school, for those who should want
more advanced education. As assistants in the smaller churches needed
instruction, parish schools were established, in which there was but
little training given beyond that needed for participation in the church
services.
Lay education arose in this period in three ways. In the first place it
came through the education and training of those intended for
knighthood, as such produced standards of deportment that impressed
themselves upon the upper classes in such a way that as civilization
advanced and means of intercourse widened there came a need of
systematic instruction so that there arose the great public schools of
England and similar schools upon the continent. In the second place the
growing importance of the cities in industry and commerce led to the
establishment of schools for the training of the city youth, so that the
burgher school was produced. Under the guild system there arose a kind
of industrial education and the need of means of instruction of the
young of the guild members so that guild schools were formed.
During the period following the fall of Rome, the culture and learning
of Greece and Rome were almost entirely lost to central and western
Europe. Only here and there was a little retained, usually in some
monastery where some of the old manuscripts were stored away. Yet
learning was never entirely lost, and when the Crusades arose and the
people of the West came in contact with the old Greek culture in eastern
Europe and with the scientific learning of the Moslems, and who brought
learning again into Spain, they brought back with them a widening
interest in learning. Too, as commerce grew and wealth increased there
became more leisure for learning and there grew up a desire for further
knowledge and, so to the education as discussed in the foregoing
paragraphs there was added a still higher form, that of the university.
The university arose during the Middle Ages. In its beginning it came
neither directly from church or state. The awakening of a scientific
spirit and the spreading abroad of discussion through scholasticism
caused to arise centers around which learned men gathered about them the
young men of the times. The earliest of these were the universities of
Bologna and Salerno in the twelfth century. The former was for the study
of law and the latter for medicine. The University of Paris originated
near the same time and in it arose the four faculties--theology,
philosophy, law, medicine--which are still extant to-day in the
universities. Oxford, Cambridge, Vienna, and many other universities
were formed during this period.
From the very first, special privileges were conferred upon the
universities by the authorities. Sometimes they were allowed to have
full control of their own affairs, having their own special courts.
Again those connected with the universities were exempt from military
service, except in time of great need, and from paying taxes. There were
a number of other privileges granted. These privileges were not always
granted because of the high regard in which the university was held but
sometimes they were gained by the university threatening to remove to
another place and even doing this, for there were no great plants in
those days demanding permanent residence as now, as professors and
students were about all there was to a medieval university as the
buildings usually were furnished for them and there were no great
libraries or laboratories or other equipment. These privileges often led
to abuses on the part of the students for many of them led dissolute
lives and others became bullies and adventurers. Whatever may have been
the cause, it is too true that the moral tone of the medieval university
was low.
The medieval university in its organization was similar to the guild,
the term signifying a company of persons that were joined together for
study. There came to be a natural grouping together of the students from
the same part of the world so that there arose the nations, and each
year each nation elected a councillor, who was to be the chief to act
for the nation. The university was organized into faculties, the
complete number being four, of arts, law, medicine, and theology. Each
faculty elected a dean, as its representative, and then deans and
councillors elected the rector, the head of the university. In the South
the rector was usually a student while in the North he was generally
elected from the body of professors.
At first the courses offered differed in the various universities, but
later the courses were fixed either by a papal decree or by the faculty.
The student was not only to acquire the subject, but to be able to
debate upon it. He was expected to memorize the professor's lecture and
to prepare himself in debate so as to be ready to cope with students
taking the other side of the question.
Usually the courses in arts were taken by the younger students as a
preparation for the professional training. At first the bachelor's
degree meant only that the one receiving it was granted the privilege to
enter upon the work leading to the other degrees, but later it became a
separate degree. Master and doctor at first were about of equal rank,
and then later doctor represented a higher period of learning.
The Church Fathers were quite severe in their ideas of education. The
most famous writings among them on the subject are by Saint Jerome on
the education of girls, being letters to a mother. Some of the
admonitions are as follows:
"Do not allow Paula to eat in public, that is, do not let her take part
in family entertainments, for fear that she may desire the meats that
may be served there. Let her learn not to use wine, for it is the source
of all impurity. Let her food be vegetables, and only rarely fish; and
let her eat so as always to be hungry.
"For myself, I entirely forbid a young girl to bathe.
"Never let Paula listen to musical instruments; let her even be ignorant
of the uses served by the flute and the harp.
"Do not let Paula be found in the ways of the world (emphatic paraphrase
for _streets_), in the gatherings and in the company of her kindred; let
her be found only in retirement.
"Do not allow Paula to feel more affection for one of her companions
than for others; do not allow her to speak with such a one in an
undertone.
"Let her be educated in a cloister, where she will not know the world,
where she will live as an angel, having a body but not knowing it, and
where, in a word, you will be spared the care of watching over
her."[217]
Whatever we may think of the foregoing, we must agree that the following
advice is most wholesome:
"Do not chide her for the difficulty she may have in learning. On the
contrary, encourage her by commendation, and proceed in such a way that
she shall be equally sensible to the pleasure of having done well, and
to the pain of not having been successful.... Especially take care that
she do not conceive a dislike for study that might follow her into a
more advanced age."[218]
There is not very much given on education of women during the medieval
period. It is no doubt true that girls received even less education than
did boys. During the time of chivalry the young women, like the young
men, were often educated in the castle of some knight or lord, being
trained in household management, music, and gentle manners. It would
seem that sometimes girls had in their own homes governesses for
training them. Sometimes girls and little boys were sent together to
nunneries to be educated. Here and there are found references which
imply that some women were well educated for their times and
particularly so in languages, reading and writing and speaking English,
French and Spanish. But in the main it was considered that all the
training necessary for the girls was a little elementary education and
such knowledge of housework and management as would fit them for wives.
=The Children's Crusade.= Among the greatest events in medieval Europe
were the Crusades, and perhaps the most striking was the Children's
Crusade. This occurred in 1212 A. D., in France and Germany. The early
Crusades had been successful in taking Palestine away from the Saracens
and a Christian kingdom had been established with Jerusalem as its
center. But at the time of the Children's Crusade, Palestine had nearly
all again fallen into the hands of the Mohammedans. It is true there had
been three later crusades, but they were not successful and they had for
a time ceased against Palestine and had been turned against parts of
Europe. One such was made on Germany, a second was against the Saracens
in Spain, and a third was against the Albigenses in southern France.
People became indifferent in reference to Palestine, so the church sent
out chosen ones to arouse enthusiasm and to strive to bring about
another Crusade. Amid such scenes arose the Children's Crusade.
Never was there at any other time such an arousing of children. All
classes of children were included. Children came from the hovel of the
peasant, the hut of the shepherd, the home of the merchant, and the
castle of the lord. Most of them enrolled in the Crusade from religious
fervor, but many went only to get away from the restraints of home. Sad
it is, too, that many worthless characters, both men and women, flocked
to the standard of the children. Many girls were included in this
movement, but the very greater part were boys under twelve years of age.
The children seemed to be filled with the fervor and nothing could
restrain them. When the procession of children went along it made the
others wild to join. If by any means children could be detained by their
parents, they pined so that they had to be given their freedom and be
allowed to join the throng.
In France the leader was Stephen of Cloyes, who at the time of the
Crusade was about twelve years of age. He was the son of a poor peasant,
a shepherd. When old enough, Stephen was sent out to tend sheep and for
some years he spent his summers upon the plains near his home. As in
other parts of Europe, so at Cloyes means were taken to arouse the
people to another crusade into Palestine. Among such were processions in
which was shown the condition of the Christians in Palestine and with
entreaties for the people to strive to redeem the Holy Land. As with all
the others, Stephen must have witnessed these scenes and have listened
to the portrayals of affairs in Palestine, which he must have greatly
considered while tending his sheep.
One day a stranger appeared before him and stated that he was a pilgrim
from Palestine, and asked for food. Stephen fed the stranger and asked
in return to be told about the Holy Land. The stranger told his stories
and he must have seen that Stephen was greatly affected as he finally
declared himself to be Jesus Christ and to have come to appoint Stephen
to lead the children in a crusade, and gave him a letter to the king of
France. Stephen at once entered into his holy mission and told his story
to parents and neighbors, showed the letter he had to the king, and
declared himself to be called to go forth as a leader in the Crusade.
Stephen called the children to his crusade and there flocked about him
the children of his neighborhood, but he soon saw that he could not
arouse the nation, from this out-of-the-way place. So he determined to
go to the greatest religious center in France, the city of St. Denis,
the place of burial of the martyr Dionysius, whose tomb was the great
shrine of the land, to which great crowds went on pilgrimages. To this
place Stephen went, attired in his shepherd's dress, crook in hand, and
wallet by side. He went from crowd to crowd, before the church door and
in the market place, showing his letter to the king and preaching his
Crusade. It was not long before he attracted attention and aroused
enthusiasm in the young. The people carried news of him throughout
France as they returned to their homes and the young people gathered
together their fellows and returned with crowds of children to Stephen.
As the numbers increased, Stephen led them through the towns and
villages till he had all the children wild to join him. This did not go
on without some opposition. Some of the more intelligent men, among them
some from the clergy, thought it should not go on, and even the king,
Philip Augustus, was in doubt about it. He asked an opinion concerning
it from the University of Paris, and after due deliberation its members
advised the king that the movement should be stopped even if vigorous
means had to be used. The king then issued an edict, commanding the
children to give up the enterprise and to return to their homes. This
edict had but little effect, as the movement went right on, and the king
did not dare enforce the edict.
The crowds of children gathered more and more over France and Stephen
designated Vendôme as the central place in which to assemble and to get
ready to depart for Palestine. This was a good selection as it was an
important place and with roads coming into it from all directions. The
bands of children came into Vendôme in great numbers, one chronicler
stating that there were fifteen thousand children under twelve years of
age from Paris alone, and although in all probabilities this is an
overestimation, yet it shows there was a vast assembly of children, so
much so that Vendôme could not contain them and they had to encamp
outside its walls, each band to itself so that those from the same city
or community were together. The children were from all parts of France,
varying in language and dress, but not in zeal. Whether they all wore a
uniform is not known, but they did put on the Cross of the Crusaders,
made of red woolen cloth and sewed on the right shoulder of the coat by
some one of the leaders, and of which emblem the children were all very
proud. Finally all the bands had gathered and Stephen was ready to make
the start for the sea, which was to open and let them march through to
the Holy Land. The number assembled at Vendôme was about thirty
thousand.
The message of the pilgrim delivered to Stephen must have come the last
of April or the first of May, 1212, as it occurred shortly after Stephen
had observed in the city of Chârtres the procession to commemorate the
sufferings of those who had died in defense of the Holy Land and which
was held on St. Mark's day, April 25th. He went to St. Deny's in the
month of May and to Vendôme, perhaps, the last of May or the first of
June and the start for the sea was made the last of July or the first of
August, all of the same year.
And now all was ready for the departure from Vendôme. Their leader
Stephen had become so great that there was provided for him a carriage,
decorated with flags and tapestries of brilliant colors, and over him
was a canopy of rich draperies as a protection from the heat of the sun.
About his carriage was a band of youths of noble blood, on horseback,
and equipped as knights, acting as his body guard. Good-byes were said
and the procession, singing their songs, with flags and oriflammes,
started. At the beginning of the journey Stephen was given great honor
and gladly obeyed, they even vied with one another in showing him
adulations and tried to secure a piece from his clothing or from the
trimmings of the carriage or from the trappings of the horses which was
kept as a relic and used as a charm. But as days went on and hardships
and sufferings came upon them and their journey lengthened out, they
became little more than a straggling crowd without order or discipline,
and then Stephen's authority was no longer regarded by them. Their
journey was to Blois, where they crossed the Loire, and then to Lyons,
where the Rhone was crossed, and thence to Marseilles. As they were
asked on the way where they were going they all answered: "To
Jerusalem." This was an unusually hot summer and the children suffered
greatly from heat and thirst and many of them from hunger, although the
people along the way sympathized with the movement and aided them. At
last they came to Marseilles. They asked for shelter in the city for the
night only, as on the morrow God was to open the sea for them and they
would proceed on their way to the Holy Land.
The city granted their request and the children entered the gates and
went into the city, singing their songs as they marched through the
streets. They passed the night and in the morning they went to the sea
to go on with their journey. The sea did not open that day nor the next
day nor on any day. This discouraged them and many gave up, but others
remained, hoping for a way to Palestine. And a way did come, for two
merchants of Marseilles, Hugo Ferreus and William Porcus, so their Latin
names read, offered "for the cause of God, and without price," to
provide ships for their transport. Preparations then were made, and
seven ships furnished and it is estimated that about five thousand
children went on board these ships to proceed on their way to Palestine.
Nothing further was heard of these children who sailed from Marseilles
on that August day in 1212, till in 1230, eighteen years afterward, when
a priest came to Europe from Palestine and told that he was among those
who were on the vessels with the children. He stated that two of the
ships were wrecked off the coast of the island of San Pietro and all on
board perished. The other five ships were taken to Bujeiah and
Alexandria and the children were sold to the Saracens. Upon learning of
this, Pope Gregory IX. had a church built on the island where the wreck
occurred and had the remains of the children interred in it and named it
the ECCLESIA NOVORUM INNOCENTIUM--_The Church of the New Innocents_.
The story of Stephen at St. Denys was not only carried all over France,
but likewise to the neighboring countries, spreading to the Rhine
provinces in Germany. It reached a village near Cologne where lived a
boy who was about the same age as Stephen and by the name of Nicholas.
Like Stephen he, too, was a shepherd boy, and he had heard the stories
about the Crusades. When he learned about Stephen there arose a desire
to do as he, and aided by his father, some say induced by him, he took
upon himself the preaching of a children's crusade for Germany. He, too,
had been called to the work, as he stated while with his flocks he saw a
blazing cross in the sky and there came to him a voice that told him the
cross was to lead him to victory in his undertaking to recover the Holy
Land. Like Stephen, too, Nicholas went to a great religious center, the
city of Cologne, as at this time this city was a great center for
pilgrimages, as in its cathedral rested the bones of the "Three Kings of
the East" who came "with a great multitude of camels to worshippe
Christ, then a little childe of thirteen dayes olde," so the old legend
ran.
Nicholas related his story and preached his crusade before the cathedral
to the pilgrims who came to view the relics. These pilgrims carried the
story of Nicholas back to their homes and there soon came a number of
children to him at Cologne. He also sent out assistants to preach the
crusade in different parts of the land. The excitement became even
greater than in France for bands of children came into Cologne in even
greater numbers than to St. Denys. This was a more mixed crowd than that
of Stephen, as there were more girls and more adults and especially more
lewd women, so many of these latter that the chroniclers referred to
them often and attributed to them the greater part of the evils that
came upon the multitude. These crusaders had a uniform, which consisted
of a long gray coat, with a cross sewed upon the breast, and they wore
broad brimmed hats and carried a palmer's staff. In about a month the
host had gathered and was ready to start for the sea, which was to let
them pass through to the Holy Land, as with the army of Stephen. But
there arose a division and only a part started under the leadership of
Nicholas.
Those who remained with Nicholas left Cologne for Genoa in June or July,
1212. The number that started was said to have been twenty thousand, the
majority being boys under twelve years of age. Nicholas took his place
at the head and at a signal the start was made, with banners flying and
the singing of hymns. But this was not true of all the parents and
friends, for many of them were in great distress over the leaving of
their children, and they followed for some distance pleading for them
to give up and return to their homes. One of the songs of this band
comes down to us. Gray[219] states that an account of the discovery of
this hymn may be found in a magazine, the _Evangelical Christendom_ for
May, 1850, and that Hecker asserts it was used by the children. It was
in German, coming from Westphalia, and had been used before by Crusaders
on their journey to Palestine. The English translation is as follows:
"Fairest Lord Jesus,
Ruler of all nature,
Thou of Mary and of God the Son!
Thee will I cherish,
Thee will I honor,
Thee my soul's glory, joy, and crown!
"Fair are the meadows,
Fairer still the woodlands,
Robed in the blooming garb of spring;
Jesus is fairer,
Jesus is purer,
Who makes our saddened heart to sing.
"Fair is the sunshine,
Fairer still the moonlight,
And the sparkling, starry host;
Jesus shines brighter,
Jesus shines purer,
Than all the angels heaven can boast."
They took their way along the Rhine, they entered into Switzerland going
by way of Geneva, their route through the Alps was over Mont Cenis,
entering Italy in what is now Piedmont, and from thence to Genoa. At
that time the region along the Rhine was not much peopled, a feudal
castle rising here and there on some prominent crag with hamlets below,
but most of the way was almost a wilderness and with plenty of wild
animals such as stags and boars and wolves and bears. The children
suffered much, especially from lack of food and shelter. The children
also were carried off by the robber barons. The children were preyed
upon by the hangers-on and thieves and the degraded men and women and
they were soon without control, and the band became but little more than
a rabble. But their sufferings along the Rhine were quite small as
compared with what took place in traversing the Alps. The trials and
sufferings were so great that many of them succumbed and a large number
gave up and turned back. The summit was reached and in the monastery
there they were helped with food and shelter and afforded a time to rest
before going on with their journey. They went on and came into Italy
where they had hoped to receive kind treatment, but instead they were
treated harshly, robbed, refused entrance into the towns, seized by the
lords and carried away as slaves. Finally they came to a place where
they saw Genoa from a mountain and then they felt that their sufferings
were over. They again recognized Nicholas as their prophet and leader
and with crosses aloft, banners unfurled, and hymns sung in praise, they
hurried down to the sea to enter the path that surely would be opened to
them to go over to the Holy Land.
As was stated, twenty thousand started with Nicholas at Cologne, but
after the hard journey of seven hundred miles, there were only seven
thousand that reached Genoa in August, 1212. But these were the very
best for only the strongest kept on and could endure the hardships. Like
the children at Marseilles, they asked to remain in Genoa but one night
as on the morrow God was to open the sea to them that they might
continue on their journey. The authorities at first granted them
permission to remain six or seven days but on the very same day this
time was shortened to one day, as it was feared they might become
lawless and again there was fear of famine, but most of all the Genoese
feared the displeasure of the Pope, who at that time was in conflict
with the German Emperor, and of course these children were subjects of
the Emperor. The children agreed to this, as they said they wanted but
one night as they would go on through the sea in the morning. The gates
were then opened and the children entered and marched through the
streets singing, with crosses uplifted and banners flying. The night was
passed and in the morning they rushed to the seashore, but as with the
other children so with these, for they waited in vain for the sea to
open.
When the senate at Genoa had taken back their offer to let the children
remain six or seven days and gave them permission to remain but one day,
they did extend an invitation to all those who would like to make Genoa
their permanent home to do so, and they would be received as citizens.
At the time the offer was made it was rejected by all as they were
anticipating that on the morrow the sea would open and a path would be
provided for a way to Palestine. After the sea did not open, many of the
children were convinced that their journey was ended and they decided to
accept the offer and to remain at Genoa. There were quite a number that
so decided, and they became citizens and some of the youth grew to
become wealthy and prominent men and some joined themselves with
patrician families, being of noble German birth, and several great
families were so founded, among such being one great princely house.
Those who did not wish to remain at Genoa left on the following day
after their entry. Outside the gates a council was held and they decided
to go on their way by land to Palestine as far as they could. After this
there was no further organization, and Nicholas is not heard of again.
They went to Pisa and from here two shiploads of children set sail for
the Holy Land, but there is nothing known of them further. The remnant
went on to Rome and were received by the Pope who talked to them kindly
and advised them to give up their march, but he held them to their vows
and told them that when they reached manhood they should go forth to
fight for the redemption of the Holy Sepulcher. These young people then
gave up their enterprise and prepared to return home.
It is not known who was the leader of the band that separated from that
one led by Nicholas. It is thought that when this band left Cologne it
was as large as that which went out with Nicholas. They took a different
route, going through Swabia to Switzerland and crossing the Alps at the
Pass of St. Gotthard and entered Italy in Lombardy. They traversed the
entire length of Italy to Brindisi. This company was composed of about
the same elements as the other one and they met with even greater
difficulties and hardships and became even more lawless. They were
treated very badly everywhere in Italy. At Brindisi a number of them
embarked on ships and sailed away for Palestine and that was the last
ever heard of them.
The return of the German children was sadder than their going. In Italy,
having to obtain food and clothing in any way possible, they contracted
the worst of vices. So on their return they were no longer a religious
throng hurrying on to save the Cross, but a rabble, with no respect for
any one and no one had respect for them. Hence they were treated badly
on the way back and only found a refuge when arriving each one in his
own home.
This Crusade shows the great danger to which child-nature may be
subjected in times of great excitement and teaches the need of the
careful guarding of children from such. In this Crusade it is estimated
that more than thirty thousand children never saw their homes after
leaving. In all near a hundred thousand children went from their homes,
leaving sixty thousand sorrowing families behind them. Perhaps not one
of these children who returned home came back with the purity with which
he or she started.
=Other Child-pilgrimages.= "The _second children's pilgrimage_ falls
only twenty-five years later; so that the assumption of a morbid
excitability of the child-world at all this time appears to be
justified. It was confined to the city of Erfurt, and the phenomenon was
very transient, but not the less presents all the distinctive marks of a
religious convulsion, and exhibited more of disease than other
child-pilgrimages, as far at least as has come down to posterity. On the
15th July, 1237, there assembled, unknown to their parents, more than
1,000 children, left the town by the Löber Gate, and wandered, dancing
and leaping, by the Steigerwald to Armstadt. A congress such as this, as
if by agreement, resembles an instinctive impulse as in animals, when,
for instance, swallows and storks collect for their migration; the same
phenomenon has doubtless taken place in all children's pilgrimages, it
was also remarked by eye-witnesses of the first of them, in a manner
characteristic of the Middle Ages. It was not till the next day that the
parents learned the occurrence, and they fetched their children back in
carts. No one could say who had enticed them away. Many of them are said
to have continued ill some time after, and in particular to have
suffered from trembling of the limbs, perhaps also from convulsions. The
whole affair is obscure, and so little account has been taken of it by
contemporaries, that the chronicles only speak of the fact, and say
nothing of its causes. The only probable conjecture is that the many
noisy and pompous festivities connected with the canonization of St.
Elizabeth, the Landgravine of Thuringia, had excited in the child-world
of Erfurt this itch for devotion, which sought to relieve itself by
displays of spinal activity. For this child-pilgrimage is in very near
proximity to the Dancing Mania.
"Still much more obscure is a child-pilgrimage of 1458, of which the
motives were quite clearly religious. It is probably, at present, almost
impossible to trace the chain of ideas which occasioned it; it is
enough that it was in honor of the Archangel Michael. More than 100
children from Hall, in Suabia, set out, against the will of their
parents, for Mont St. Michel in Normandy. They could not by any means be
restrained, and if force was employed, they fell severely ill, and some
even died. The mayor, unable to prevent the journey, kindly furnished
them a guide for the long journey, and an ass to carry their luggage.
They are said to have actually reached the then world-renowned Abbey,
and to have performed their devotions there. We have absolutely no other
information of them, and it appears that this child-pilgrimage, which
falls to the time when chorea was very frequent and widely spread in
Germany, has excited even much less attention than the migration of the
children of Erfurt in the year 1237."[220]
LITERATURE.
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2. Adams, George Burton, Civilization during the middle ages.
3. Anderson, Lewis F., History of common school education.
4. Bémont, Charles, and Monod, G., Medieval Europe.
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6. Compayré, Gabriel, A history of pedagogy.
7. Cornish, F. Ware, Chivalry.
8. Davidson, Thomas A., A history of education.
9. Davis, H. W. C., Medieval Europe.
10. Dean, Amos, The history of civilization.
11. Donaldson, James, Woman: Her position and influence in ancient
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14. Froude, James Anthony, History of England from the fall of Wolsey to
the death of Elizabeth.
15. Garnier, Russell M., Annals of the British peasantry.
16. Graves, Frank Pierrepont, A history of education, During the middle
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17. Gray, George Zabriskie, The children's crusade.
18. Guizot, Francis Pierre Guillaume, General history of civilization in
Europe.
19. Hallam, Henry, View of the state of Europe during the middle ages.
20. Hecker, J. F. C, The epidemics of the middle ages.
21. Laurie, S. S., The rise and early constitution of universities.
22. Lacroix, Paul, Manners, customs, and dress during the middle ages.
23. Letourneau, Ch., The evolution of marriage.
24. Michaud, Joseph François, The history of the crusades.
25. Mullinger, J. B., The schools of Charles the Great.
26. Neal, Daniel, The history of the Puritans.
27. Payne, George Henry, The child in human progress.
28. Rait, Robert S., Life in the medieval university.
29. Sheldon, Henry D., Student life and customs.
30. Thwing, Charles Franklin, The family.
31. Traill, H. D., Social England.