of knighthood, was at the age of seven taken away from the care of
the women; who, however, never allowed him to reach that age without
instilling into him such sentiments of right and valour as should
govern his conduct during the rest of his life. He was then entrusted
to the men, of whom he became not only the pupil, but the servitor;
for, says the “Ordène de Chevalerie,” “it is proper that he should
learn to obey before he governs; for otherwise he would not appreciate
the nobility of his rank when he became a knight.” Moreover, the
chivalric code, which distrusted the prejudices and weaknesses of
paternal affection, required “every knight to place his son in the
service of some other knight.” These youthful novices, particularly if
they belonged to a noble and honourable family, always found plenty
of princely courts, seignorial households, manors, and castles to
receive them, which were, so to speak, the public schools of chivalry.
There existed, besides, hospitals founded and maintained by wealthy
and generous nobles, in the same manner as are the colleges of the
University of Paris; and these hospitals were governed by old knights
without family or fortune, who considered it no shame to accept, not a
salary in money, but a retiring pension in the shape of a house with
board, in which to hold a kind of school of chivalry for the benefit of
the youths, who promised at some future time to prove a credit to the
institution.
These youths were termed pages, varlets, and damoiseaux, and they
performed under their masters and mistresses the most humble and the
most domestic functions: they followed them in their travels and to the
chase; they formed part of their suites on occasions of ceremony; they
wrote their letters and carried their messages; they waited on them at
meals, carved their dishes, and poured out their drinks.
In the eyes even of those nobles who were most jealous of their birth
and of their name, this temporary and casual servitude had nothing
in it either of a humiliating or degrading character, and its only
effect was to knit still closer the ties of respect, obedience, and
sympathy which bound the youth to his adopted parents, the aspirant for
knighthood to his master and teacher. The latter by no means neglected
the moral and religious education of the neophyte; the first lessons
which were given him taught him not only to love God, but to respect
women.
As soon as the young page had acquired sufficient experience and
discernment to direct his own movements in the intricacies of chivalric
life, he was bidden to choose an ideal sovereign from among the noble
and beautiful ladies of the aristocratic world that he frequented, a
sort of terrestrial divinity whom he was to swear to serve, and to whom
he was henceforth to recount all his thoughts and actions, treating her
at the same time with all the delicacy and devotion which the example
of those around him had shown him to be her due.
He was taught, above all, to revere the august character of chivalry,
and to respect, in the persons of the knights who composed this
institution, the dignity to which he himself aspired. It was thus that,
led by the instinct of imitation peculiar to the young, the pages
habitually played at doing everything they saw done by the knights.
They practised wielding the lance and the sword; they played at
combats, attacks, and duels between themselves. Excited by emulation,
they coveted the honour of being considered brave, hoping if they
attained their wish, that it would lead to their being attached to the
service of some person of mark, or to their being promoted to the rank
of esquire.
When the young men abandoned the position of pages in order to be
made esquires, an event that never took place before their fourteenth
year, their change of social condition was celebrated by a religious
ceremony, which the Church appointed for the purpose of consecrating
their knightly vocation, and of hallowing the use of the arms they were
henceforward destined to carry. Standing at the altar and surrounded
by his nearest relations, the youthful novice received the consecrated
sword from the hands of the priest, promising always to wield it in the
interests of religion and honour. A higher position in the household of
his lord or lady was then assigned to the new esquire. He was admitted
to their private gatherings, he took part in all assemblies and state
ceremonies, and it was now his duty to superintend the reception, that
is to say, to regulate the laws of etiquette relating to the foreign
nobles who visited his master’s court.
[Illustration: Fig. 120.--The Game of Quintain: tilting at
a quintain (revolving effigy of a knight).--Fac-simile of a
Miniature in the “Chroniques de Charlemagne” (Fifteenth Century).
Burgundian Library, Brussels.]
A passage from the history of Boucicaut, a marshal of France in the
reign of Charles VI., will give an idea of the laborious and arduous
existence of the young esquire who aspired to become a worthy knight:
“Now cased in armour, he would practise leaping on to the back of a
horse; anon, to accustom himself to become long-winded and enduring,
he would walk and run long distances on foot, or he would practise
striking numerous and forcible blows with a battle-axe or mallet. In
order to accustom himself to the weight of his armour, he would turn
somersaults whilst clad in a complete suit of mail, with the exception
of his helmet, or would dance vigorously in a shirt of steel; he would
place one hand on the saddle-bow of a tall charger, and the other
on his neck, and vault over him.... He would climb up between two
perpendicular walls that stood four or five feet asunder by the mere
pressure of his arms and legs, and would thus reach the top, even if
it were as high as a tower, without resting either in the ascent or
descent.... When he was at home, he would practise with the other
young esquires at lance-throwing and other warlike exercises, and this
continually.”
Besides all this, it was necessary for an esquire who wished to fulfil
his duties properly to possess a number of physical qualities, great
versatility of talent and capability, and a zeal that never flagged.
At court, as in the larger seignorial households, there were various
classes or categories of esquires who performed totally distinct
duties, which in less important households were all entrusted to the
same individual. The first in importance was the body esquire, or
the esquire of honour; then the chamber esquire, or chamberlain; the
carving esquire, the stable esquire, the cup-bearing esquire, &c., all
separate personages, whose names sufficiently indicate their duties.
It is scarcely necessary to remark that esquires, besides the domestic
services expected from them within their master’s house, had especially
to give proofs of their vigilance and skill in the duties of the
stable--duties which, as an historian aptly observes, were of necessity
noble, since the military aristocracy never fought but on horseback.
It was the duty of all first esquires to break in their master’s
chargers, and to teach the younger esquires the routine of the stable.
The duty of attending to the arms and armour devolved upon another
class of esquires. We may add that, as each seignorial castle was also
a species of fortress, most of the esquires, in addition to their other
tasks, were required to perform certain military duties analogous to
those practised in a regular stronghold, such as rounds, sentry duty,
watches, &c. (Fig. 121).
When their lord mounted his horse, his esquires shared amongst them
the honour of assisting him; some held his stirrup, others carried
various parts of his armour, such as the armlets, the helmet, the
shield, the gauntlets, &c. When a knight was merely going for a ride or
on a journey, he usually bestrode a sober kind of hack that was called
a palfrey, but when he was going to take the field, one of his esquires
led at his right hand (whence the name of _destrier_ given to this
sort of steed) a charger or high horse, which the knight only mounted
at the last moment. Hence the expression, “to ride the high horse,”
which has become proverbial.
[Illustration: Fig. 121.--German Knight, engraved by Burgmayer
from designs by Albert Dürer, taken from a collection entitled
“Vita Imperatoris Maximiliani” (Fifteenth Century).]
As soon as the knight had decided to mount his charger, his squires
proceeded to arm him, that is to say, they firmly fastened together all
the different pieces of his armour on his body with straps attached
to metal buckles for the purpose; and it may be well conceived that
no slight care was required to properly adjust such a cumbrous and
complicated steel or iron casing; an esquire’s neglect, indeed,
frequently caused his master’s death.
When a single combat took place, the esquires, drawn up behind their
lord, remained for a few moments inactive spectators of the struggle,
but as soon as it had once fairly begun their share in the affray
commenced. Watching the slightest movement, the smallest signals
of their master, they stood ready to assist him in an indirect but
efficacious manner if he attained any advantage, without actually
becoming aggressors themselves, in order to assure his victory; if
the knight were hurled from his steed, they helped him to remount,
they brought him a fresh horse, they warded off the blows that were
aimed at him; if he were wounded and placed _hors de combat_,
they did their utmost, at the risk of their own life, to carry him off
before he was slain outright. Again, it was to his esquires that a
successful knight confided the care of the prisoners he had taken on
the battle-field. In fine, the esquires, short of actually fighting
themselves, a thing forbidden by the code of chivalry, were expected
to display the greatest zeal, the greatest skill, and the greatest
courage, and consequently had it very materially in their power to
contribute to their master’s success.
A long novitiate and the consciousness of an aptitude for a military
career were not always, however, sufficient to enable an esquire
to obtain the rank of knight. He was frequently obliged, in the
intermediate rank of _pursuivant-at-arms_, to travel through
foreign countries, either as the acknowledged envoy of some prince or
noble, or merely in the character of an ordinary traveller, and be
present at chivalric games and tournaments, without actually taking
part in them himself; he thus acquired, by constant intercourse with
distinguished soldiers and high-born ladies, a thorough technical
knowledge of the military calling, and an intimate acquaintance with
all the elegant refinements of courtesy.
In this way pursuivants-at-arms went about everywhere, one day being
ceremoniously received at the court of a powerful noble, the next being
simply entertained in the lowly manor of a poor gentleman; acting,
wherever they might be, honourably both in word and in deed, observing
scrupulously the precepts both of honour and virtue, showing themselves
to be noble, brave, and devoted, and seeking every opportunity of
proving themselves worthy of ranking with the noble knights whose deeds
and whose names were the theme of constant and universal praise.
Chance alone was not allowed to direct their wandering and adventurous
steps, they eagerly sought the most renowned princely and seignorial
courts, at which they were certain to meet with chivalry’s loftiest
traditions; they thought themselves fortunate indeed when they were
able to make their obeisance to some hero famous for his deeds in arms,
or to elicit a smile from some lady celebrated for her beauty and her
worth.
[Illustration: Fig. 122.--The Count of Artois, who has come
from Arras to take part in the tournament at Boulogne, presents
himself at the Castle of the Count of Boulogne, and is received
by the Countess and her daughter.--Fac-simile of a Miniature in
the “Livre du très-chevalereux Comte d’Artois et de sa Femme,”
Barrois Manuscript (Fifteenth Century).]
[Illustration: Fig. 123.--Knight setting out for the War.--“Il
prist le dur congié de sa bonne et belle femme, en si grans
pleurs et gemissemens qu’elle demoura toute pasmée” (“He said
farewell to his good and beautiful wife with such tears and
groans that she was ready to swoon”).--Fac-simile of a Miniature
in the “Livre du très-chevalereux Comte d’Artois et de sa Femme,”
Barrois Manuscript (Fifteenth Century).]
And while the most perfect respect and courtesy to ladies were the
first duties instilled into each youthful aspirant, it must be owned
that the education received by the former was one calculated to make
them in every way worthy of such homage. To fit ladies for the queenly
part they were destined to play in the world of chivalry, they were
taught from their childhood to practise every virtue, to cherish every
noble feeling, and generally to emulate the dignity demanded by the
social privileges of their rank. They were profuse in their acts of
kindness and civility to the knights, whether friends or strangers, who
entered the gates of their castles (Figs. 122 and 123); on a knight’s
return from tournament or battle, they unbuckled his armour with their
own hands, they prepared perfumes and spotless linen for his wear, they
clothed him in gala dress, in mantle and scarf that they had themselves
embroidered, they prepared his bath, and waited on him at table.
Destined to become the wives of these same knights who frequented
their homes, they did their utmost to bring themselves under their
notice by their modest demeanour, and to make themselves beloved by
the courtesy and the attentions which they lavished upon them. It was
theirs to respond, with admiration and tenderness, to the boldness and
to the bravery of the knights, who sought glory only to lay it at their
mistresses’ feet, and who asked for nothing better than to be subject
to the gentle sway of beauty, grace, and virtue.
It was thus, for instance, that in Provence, from the eleventh to
the fourteenth century, the most powerful nobles humbly obeyed,
in everything that concerned the heart, the decrees issued by the
_courts_ or _tribunals of love_, a kind of feminine areopagus
which was held with great ceremony on certain days, and at which
the ladies most distinguished by birth, beauty, intelligence, and
knowledge, met to deliberate, publicly or with closed doors, with
proper gravity and solemnity, on delicate questions of gallantry,
which in those days were considered highly important. These courts of
love, which appear to have been regular and permanent institutions in
the twelfth century, had a special code, in accordance with which the
sentences pronounced were more or less rigorously in conformity; but
this code has not been handed down to our day, and we only possess
its outline conveyed in the commentaries of the legal writers of the
fifteenth century. Causes in these courts were sometimes decided on
written evidence, sometimes the parties themselves were allowed to
appear in person. Among the celebrated women who at different epochs
and in different places presided over these romantic assizes, may
be cited the beautiful Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of France, and
afterwards of England; Sibyl of Anjou, who married Thierry, Count of
Flanders; the Countess of Die, surnamed the Sappho of France; and the
famous Laura or Lauretta of Sade, whom Petrarch, who chose her for the
lady of his love, has immortalised in his verse.
But to return to the esquire, who was left undergoing his laborious
novitiate. When he had at last performed all its numerous requirements,
the investiture of knighthood was conferred upon him, a symbolical
ceremony, as indeed were all that went to make up a chivalric
ordination, but one of a more serious and solemn character than the
rest.
We have already said that this word ordination (_ordène_) implies
that the arming of a knight was a kind of sacred ceremony. A very
curious poem entitled “L’Ordène de Chevalerie” is still in existence.
Its author, Hugues de Tabarie or de Tibériade, undertook the task
of explaining all the forms of the investiture. In order to make his
explanations more intelligible, Hugues de Tibériade supposes himself
before an aspirant entirely ignorant of all the usages of chivalry: he
pretends that the Sultan Saladin, whose prisoner he is, has forced him
to confer upon him the order of knighthood. The first thing Hugues does
is to order him to comb his hair and beard, and to carefully wash his
face:--
TEXT. TRANSLATION.
Caviaus et barbe, et li viaire His hair, his beard, and his face
Li fist appareiller moult bel; He made him carefully arrange;
Ch’est droit à chevalier nouvel. It is the duty of a new knight.
Puis le fist en un baing entrer. Then he made him enter a bath.
Lors li commenche à demander Then the sultan began to ask
Le soudan, que che senifie. What all this signified.
“Sire,” answers Hugues, “like the babe that leaves the font cleansed
from original sin,--
“Sire, tout ensement devez “Sire, it is thus that you must
Issir, sanz nule vilounie Emerge without any stain
De ce baing, car chevalerie From this bath; for knighthood
Si doit baingnier en honesté, Must be clothed with honesty,
En courtoisie et en bonté With courtesy, and with goodness,
Et fere amer à toutes gens.” And make itself beloved by all.”
“By the great God,” says Saladin, “this is a wonderful beginning!”
“Now,” answers Hugues, “leave the bath and recline on this great bed.
It is an emblem of the one you will obtain in paradise, the bed of rest
that God grants to his followers, the brave knights.” Shortly after,
whilst dressing him from head to foot, he says: “The snow-white linen
shirt with which I am clothing you, and which touches your skin, is to
teach you that you must keep your flesh from every stain if you wish to
reach heaven. This crimson robe indicates--
“Que votre sanc devez épandre “That you must pour out your blood
Pour Dieu servir et hounorer; To serve and honour God;
Et pour défendre Sainte Eglise; And to defend the holy Church;
Car tout chou doit chevalier faire, For all this must a knight do
S’il veust à Dieu de noient plaire; If he wishes entirely to please God;
Ch’est entendu par le vermeil. Such is the meaning of the crimson.
“These trunk-hose of brown silk by their sombre hue are meant to remind
you of--
(TEXT.) (TRANSLATION.)
“La mort, et la terre où gisrez, “Death, and the earth where you will rest,
Dont venistes, et où irez. Whence you came and whither you will return;
A chou doivent garder votre œil; This is what you must keep before your eyes;
Si n’enkerret pas en orguel, Thus you will not fall into pride,
Car orgueus ne doit pas régner For pride should never govern
En chevalier, ni demorer. A knight nor reign within him.
A simpleche doit toujours tendre. Humility should always be his aim.
“This white girdle which I place around your loins is to teach you to
keep your body pure and to avoid luxury. These two golden spurs are
to urge on your horse; imitate its ardour and its docility, and as it
obeys you, so be you obedient to the Lord. Now I fasten your sword to
your side; strike your enemies with its double edge, prevent the poor
from being crushed by the rich, the weak from being oppressed by the
strong. I put upon your head a pure white _coif_ to indicate that
your soul similarly should be stainless.”
Every pursuivant was perfectly well acquainted with the meaning of the
ordination of knighthood. The vigil of arms, the strict fasts, the
three nights spent in prayer in a lonely chapel, the white garments
of the neophyte, the consecration of his sword in front of the altar,
were sufficient to prove to the novice the gravity of the engagement
he was contracting under the auspices of religion. At last a day was
fixed for the great ceremony, and the neophyte--after hearing mass on
his bended knees, and with his sword, which he had not yet acquired
the right to gird to his side, suspended from his neck--received from
the hands of some noble or of some noble lady his spurs, his helmet,
his cuirass, his gauntlets, and his sword. The ceremony was completed
by the _colée_; that is to say, the investing knight, before
presenting him with the sword, struck him across the shoulder with its
flat side, and then gave him the _accolade_ as a sign of brotherly
adoption. His shield, his lance, and his charger, were then brought to
the new-made knight, and he was thenceforward at liberty to commence
the career of glory, of devotion, and of combat, to which for so many
years he had aspired.
[Illustration: Fig. 124.--Degradation of a Knight.--Fragment of a
Woodcut attributed to Jost Amman, bearing the date 1565 and the
monogram A. J. (Collection of M. Guénebault of Paris).]
The Christian symbolism, which had accompanied the first steps of the
novice, followed and surrounded him in some way or other during the
whole
of his knightly career. Indeed, it took part in his punishment and
degradation if he broke his plighted faith or if he forfeited his
honour. Exposed on a scaffold in nothing but his shirt, he was stripped
of his armour, which was broken to pieces before his eyes and thrown at
his feet, while his spurs were thrown upon a dunghill. His shield was
fastened to the croup of a cart-horse and dragged through the dust, and
his charger’s tail was cut off. A herald-at-arms asked thrice, “Who is
there?” Three times an answer was given naming the knight about to be
degraded, and three times the herald rejoined, “No, it is not so; I see
no knight here, I see only a coward who has been false to his plighted
faith.” Carried thence to the church on a litter like a dead body, the
culprit was forced to listen while the burial service was read over
him, for he had lost his honour, and was now only looked upon as a
corpse (Fig. 124).
Although the Church was the protectress of chivalry, and even invested
it with an almost sacred dignity, she always refused to extend her
protection to tournaments, tilts, and assaults of arms, brilliant,
but often dangerous manifestations of the chivalric spirit, and
particularly to judicial duels, which were of German origin, and
which dated from a period long prior to the institution of Christian
chivalry. When the Church found itself obliged to show indulgence to
these ancient traditions, which custom had interwoven with the habits
of the Middle Ages, she did so in as reserved a manner as possible. She
was always indignantly protesting against the barbarous custom which
compelled or allowed women, children, churches, and convents, to choose
from among the knights a special champion (_campeador_) who should
be always ready to sustain against all the patron’s cause. The Church,
while approving the generous protection which chivalry extended to the
weak and to the oppressed, always endeavoured to destroy the savage
doctrine of paganism which confounded might with right; but it was in
vain that she opposed all her influence and authority to the custom of
duelling; she was obliged to restrict herself to lessening the evil
effects of the opinions that generally prevailed, without hoping to
destroy the opinions themselves.
The _point of honour_ had no existence in the breasts of the
warriors of antiquity. They sacrificed themselves to their country
and to the commonwealth, and they loved glory--a sentiment which with
them was collective and not individual, for with them society, as a
whole, was everything, its unit, nothing. The modern duel, whether it
be considered a brutal and speedy method of settling private quarrels,
or a proper act of submission to the divine will which cannot fail
to crown right with success, springs from the strong individuality
of barbarism, and from the personal tendency of savage dignity and
independence.
[Illustration: Fig. 125.--Fight between Raymbault de Morueil
and Guyon de Losenne. The Abbot of St. Denis at the feet of
the Archbishop of Paris, taking oath that his cause, defended
by Raymbault, is a just one.--Fac-simile of a Miniature in the
“Romance of Charles Martel,” enlarged by David Aubert. Manuscript
of the Fifteenth Century, in the Burgundian Library, Brussels.]