When knights were bold

Preface

This book is in no degree an attempt to relate the involved and intricate history of the Middle Ages. Its plan is, rather, to present pictures of the manner of life and habits of thought of the people who lived between the eighth and fifteenth centuries. Our writings and our everyday conversation are full of their phrases and of allusions to their ideas. M any of our thoughts and feelings and instincts, of our very follies and superstitions, have descended to us from them. To become better acquainted with them is to explain ourselves. In selecting from the enormous amount of material, I have sought to choose#those customs which were most characteristic of the times and which have made the strongest impression upon the life of to-day, describing each custom when at its height, rather than tracing its development and history. I hope that the volume will be found sufficiently full to serve as a work of reference, and sufficiently interesting to win its way as a book of general reading.

Eva March Tappan

Worcester^ Mass.

Chapter I. Page, Squire, And Knight

Pages brought up in the castles of friendly knights — their amusements — taught to sing, play backgammon and chess, to respect the Church, to be " serviceable," obedient, and courteous, to choose a "lady-love in chivalry." The page aids his lord in battle, learns to ride, to use weapons, to swim, box, and fence, \J and also to hunt and to hawk. The squire serves at table,

shares the amusements of the hall, practices more severe out-of-door exercises — the quintain — duties of the " squire of the body" — becoming a knight — the accolade essential — cutting the hair — the bath — bed — change of garments — fasting — the vigil of arms — arming the young knight — receiving the accolade — the blessing of the Church — the rejoicing . i

Chapter II. The Knight's Arms And Armor

The lance — sword — helmet — crest — chausses — hauberk — ring armor and its dangers from battle-axe and hammer — plate armor — the dagger of mercy — golden spurs — shield — baldric — tabard, or surcoat — coats of arms — names and significance of swords — Arabian horses i8

Chapter III. Jousts And Tournaments

The knight errant — the joust at castle and crossroad — the joust of peace and " to the extreme " — the proclamation of a tournament— lo4ging the knights — a merry courtyard — the final

vii preparations — the lists — the galleries — what weapons were allowed — how honors were counted — entering the lists — " Let go ! " — the " Queen of Love and Beauty " — bestowing the prizes — the ball — teachings of the tournament — the duel of justice — the test of endurance, of cold water, of boiling water, of hot iron — " benefit of clergy " . . . .28

Chapter IV. How To Capture A Castle

Fortifications of earth and of wood — sites of the Castle of Chillon and of Chateau Gaillard — outworks — "curtains" — moat — drawbridge — portcullis — outer court — middle court — inner court — buttresses — battlements — keep — batters — machicolations — postern gate — three methods of attacking a castle

— Greek fire — the "cat" or "rat" — the bosson — balista

— mantelet — cannon — trebuchet — mangonel — catapult — espringal — the siege of the "Saucy Castle" — its capture — the " Peace of God " — the " Truce of God " — the " right of sanctuary" — " abjuring the realm " 52

Chapter V. Daily Life In A Castle

The castle and its court — the hall — beds and bedrooms — their furnishings — discomforts — remarkable fashions of dresses and headdresses — men's clothes — lack of cleanliness — sumptuary laws — furnishings of the hall — tapestry — feasting — bills of fare — " subtleties " — recipe for serving a swan — bread — dishes — trenchers, knives, spoons, and forks — linen — filthy floors — music — minstrels — wandering singers — • jugglery — jesters — women dancers — home employments — the teaching of girls — visitors — " homage " — " above the salt" 75

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Chapter VI. Life On A Manor

Feudal tenure — the vassal — " doing homage " — " money-fiefs "

— military service — " aids " — " heriot " — " relief " — the feudal system a network of lords and vassals — the " liege lord" — slaves, villeins, free tenants — manor house — the " solar " — the three-field system — " balks " and strips — "extents" — u'ork required of the tenants — "boon works"

— dues — the manor court — the reeve, bailiff^, steward, and accountant — economic independence of the manor — hard life of the tenants — buying a release from service — entering the Church — eff^ect of Crecy, the Black Death, and the Peasants' Revolt — the survival of old beliefs and customs . . .102

Chapter VII. Pilgrimages And Crusades

Why people went on pilgrimage — the Canterbury Pilgrims — sights at Canterbury — ampullae — Canterbury bells — tokens of shrines — scallop shells — the " Pilgrim's Road," — the " Palmer's Way " — the Walsingham Green Way — shrines on the Continent — sham pilgrims — pilgrimage to the Holy Land — aids to the pilgrim — service before starting on pilgrimage— the common route to Palestine — dangers of the way — palmers — merchant pilgrims — cruelty shown to pilgrims— Peter the Hermit — the Council of Clermont — " God wills it!" — the first crusade — Jerusalem is captured — other crusades — Richard the Lionhearted — the children's crusade — changes wrought in Europe by the crusades . . . • 123

Chapter VIII. Military Orders, Monks, And Monasteries

The Order of Hospitallers — the knights as warriors — in Cyprus, Rhodes, and Malta — the Order of Templars — their suppres-

ix sion — the rule of Saint Benedict becomes lax — the foundation and customs of Cluny — the "Congregation of Cluny "

— the Order of Grammont — the Carthusians — the Grande Chartreuse — "Charter-houses" — the Chartreuse of to-day

— the Cistercians — Saint Bernard — plan of the convents — the copying of books — the work and care of a convent — the different officers — hospitality — struggles between monasteries

and towns — value of the work of the monasteries . . .149

Chapter IX. Hermits, Friars, And Missionaries

The hermit of romance — different kinds of hermits — hermits who dwelt by bridges — false hermits — recluses — The Ancren Riwle — Saint Francis and " Brother Matteo " — the work of the Franciscans — the sermon to the birds — the Poor Ladies — the Penitent Men and Women — the Dominicans — excommunication — interdicts — the Waldenses — the Albigenses — the Inquisition — the " secular arm " — Saint Patrick — the fire on the hill of Slane — Saint Augustine in England — Saint Boniface in Germany — the Oak of Thor — martyrdom of Saint Boniface — Charlemagne converts the Saxons — Wittekind becomes a missionary — King Olaf forces Christianity upon the Norwegians 175

Chapter X. Life In Town

The origin of towns — charters — the founding of Hull — free towns — Winchelsea — towns of Italy, Spain, and France — peculiar customs of towns — a city — the town as private property— town walls — houses, roofs, and windows — town halls — apprenticeship — the journeyman — the master — great merchants— small tradesmen and their houses — signs — streets —

X projecting stories — gardens — instructions for gardening — the moat around London — lofty towers — street rioters — the cookshop by the river — peculiar hospitals — giving away food — schools — rhetorical contests between the boys — " Paul's pigeons " — "Anthony's pigs" — cock fighting — athletics — sliding — skating — military practice — bear and bull baiting — the Smithfield horse market — pigs forbidden to roam about the streets. 206

Chapter XI. Merchant Gilds And Craft Gilds

Gilds for all purposes — objects of the merchant gilds — the wealth and independence of these gilds — craft gilds — their rules to secure good work — their care of the gildsmen — feast days and patron saints — origin of mystery plays — their character — Satan as clown — " Hell mouth " — mysteries pass into the hands of the gilds — acted on Corpus Christi day — pageants — cycles of plays — the plays become a burden — the Lord Mayor's procession the last survival of trade plays. 232

Chapter XII. How Goods Were Sold

Sale of goods from the houses of the makers, by pedlars, and at markets — customs of the market — the market cross — the "Rolands" — the court of pieds-poudres — tolls — shops in towns — the right to hold fairs — laws and customs of the fair

— all classes represented — amusements — prices kept steady by fairs — Stourbridge fair — Winchester fair — specialties of different fairs — Saint Bartholomew's Fair — Beaucaire — Leipsic — the fair of Nijni-Novgorod — bringing goods from the East to Venice — discovery of a new route to India — route from southern to northern Europe — "Merchants of the Staple"

— "staple towns" — wool — " Merchants Adventurers" — the

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Hanseatic League — piracy — the " factories " of the League — its power in Scandinavia, Denmark, Russia, the Netherlands — the League in England — "sterling" money — the Steelyard — English jealousy of the League — value of the League. 247

Chapter XIII. Schools And Literature

Severity of the schools — " the island of saints and scholars " — the " ollave " and his honors — the Venerable Bede — Charlemagne's care of the schools — the palace school — Alcuin — Alfred's interest in education — textbooks — the trivium — the quadrivium — how numbers were expressed — the " oblati " — the"externes" — the founding of universities — "nations" — wandering students — the growth of a heroic poem — Beowulf — the N'lhelungenlied — the Cid — romances of Charlemagne — "A Roland for an Oliver" — the Song of Roland — Taillefer — King Arthur — the Round Table — Galahad — the Holy Grail — the Hebnskringla — the Edda and the Younger Edda — Frithiof — romances of Alexander — the " beast epic " — "bestiaries" — Mandeville — crusade tales — the Romance languages— rhyme and accent — the langue d'oc and the langue d'oeil — troubadours — Froissart — the trouveres — Don Quixote — the minnesingers — Dante — Chaucer. 276

Chapter XIV. Science And Medicine

Interest in natural phenomena — mistaken basis of astronomy — comets — horoscopes — thebusinessof the doctor — medicines of the day — exorbitant charges — barbers as physicians — talismans— runes — philters — witchcraft — the "evil eye" — the four " humors " — fear of alchemists — Friar Bacon and the brazen head — false notions of the alchemists — the " universal solvent" — the " elixir of life " — the "philosopher's stone"

xii

— gunpowder — Roger Bacon's predictions — the earth a sphere — supposed wonders of distant lands — Prester John — imaginative natural history — the phoenix — the mandrake — methods of divination — the " Witches' Sabbath " — the belief in analogy — false beliefs — imagination rather than observation— the need of common sense. 312

Chapter XV. Architecture And The Arts

Saint Sophia — Byzantine architecture — Saint Mark — the horses of Saint Mark — the Alhambra — the Court of Lions — Romanesque architecture — the Gothic architecture — the pointed arch — characteristics of Gothic architecture — tessellated floors

— mosaics — fresco — Cimabue — Giotto — Yxz. Angelico — diptychs — triptychs — illuminating — cost of books — colored glass — enamel — sculpture — the church as a school — the amount of gold and silver used in churches — King Alfred's jewel — Saint Eloy — embroidery — tapestry — the Bayeux Tapestry — the organ — the pageant of Queen Isabella — coronation and reception of Henry VI — characteristics of the Middle Ages. 338

LEAVING THE CASTLE

Chapter I

It must have been a sight well worth seeing when a knight mounted his horse and galloped away from a castle. Of course his armor was polished and shining, and, as Lowell says of Sir Launfal, he ** made morn through the darksome gate." The children of the castle especially must have watched him with the greatest interest. The girls looked wistfully at the scarf or glove on his helmet, each one hoping that he who would some day wear her colors would be the bravest man that ever drew a sword. As for the boys, they could hardly wait for the day to come when they, too, could don glittering armor and sally forth into the world in quest of adventures.

Even the youngest of these children knew that a boy must pass through long years of training before he could become a knight. This began when he was a small child, perhaps not more than seven years old. It was not the custom for the son of a noble to be brought up in the

I home of his father. He was sent for his education and training to the castle of some lord of higher rank or greater reputation, sometimes to the court of the king. He was taught to look with the utmost respect upon the man who trained him to be a knight, to reverence him as a father, and to behave toward him with humility and meekness. Even if the time ever came when they were fighting on opposite sides^^the foster son must never harm the man whose castle had been his home. In those days of warfare and bloodshed, the king himself might well be glad to have as devoted supporters and friends a band of young men who had been carefully trained in the practice of arms. It is no wonder that kings and nobles looked upon it as a privilege to receive these boys into their castles. Indeed, when their fathers were inclined to keep them at home, the king sometimes demanded that they be sent to him.

The boys of the days of knighthood were not so very different from those of to-day, and many of their amusements were the same as now. They had various games of ball, they played marbles, they see-sawed, and walked on stilts, much as if they belonged to the twentieth century. Of course they played at being knights, just as boys to-day play at being merchants or manufacturers. There is an old picture of some pages, as these boys were called, playing that two toy knights mounted on wooden horses are having a contest. The two horses are pushed toward each other, and if either knight is struck by the spear of the other and thrust out of his place he is vanquished.

PLAYING AT TOURNAMENTS

This was only play, and there were many things that a page must learn and learn thoroughly before he was fourteen or fifteen. How much of " book learning" was given him is not known. Probably the custom differed in different places. In most cases, it could not have been a great amount, perhaps only a little reading, and it seems to have been regarded as no disgrace to a knight if he did not even know his letters. He must learn to sing, however, and to play his accompaniments on the harp ; and he must play backgammon and chess, for these games were looked upon as accomplishments which no gentleman could be without. He was taught to say his prayers and to have respect for the Church and religion. It was especially impressed upon him that he must be " serviceable," that is, he must wait upon the ladies and lords of the castle. He must run on errands for them and he must do their bidding in all things, for it was an honor to him to be permitted to serve them. A page who was disobedient would have been scorned and despised by the other pages, for they all hoped to become knights, and no true knight would refuse to obey the commands of his lord or the gentler behests of his lady-love. Such a one would have been looked upon as no knight, indeed, but rather as a rude, boorish churl. The page, or valet or damoiseau or babee, as he was also called, must always be gentle and polite ; for the knight was an ideal gentleman, and the gentleman must never fail in courtesy. There is a quaint little volume called "The Babees' Book " which tells just how a boy who wished to become a knight was expected to behave. When he entered the room of his lord, he must greet all modestly with a "God speed you," and he must kneel on one knee before his lord. If his lord spoke to him, he must make an obeisance before answering. He must not lean against a post or handle things, but stand quietly, listen to what was said, and speak when he was spoken to. When the meal was prepared, he must bring water for hand-washing, presenting it first to his lord, and must hold a towel ready for him to use, a most desirable part of the preparation for a meal, as it was the custom for two persons to use the same trencher, or wooden plate, and forks were not in use. When the time came for the page himself to eat, he must not lean upon the table or soil the cloth or throw any bones upon the floor. If he chanced to use the same trencher with any one of higher rank than he, he must take meat from the trencher first, but he must be especially careful not to take the best piece.

Thus it was that the indoor life of the page passed. Most of his indoor teaching was given him by the ladies of the castle. It was they who taught him to choose a lady-love for whose sake he was to be ever brave and pure and modest. The story is told of one shy little page at the court of France that when one of the court ladies asked whom he loved best, he replied, " My lady mother first, and after her my sister." ** That is not what I mean," said the lady. *' Tell me who is your lady-love in chivairy." The little fellow admitted that he had none. After a severe lecture because he was so unchivalric, he chose a little girl of his own age. " She is a pretty little girl," replied the lady, " but she cannot advise you or help you on as a knight. You must choose some lady of noble birth who can give you counsel and aid. Then you must do everything in your power to please her. You must be courteous and humble and strive with all your might to win her favor."

Out of doors, too, the page had much to learn. If his lord went to the field of battle, the page went with him to help him in every way that a boy could. He was in no danger, for a knight who attacked a page would have been shamed and disgraced. As for riding, of course he had not been allowed to reach the age of seven without knowing how to sit on a horse ; but now riding became a matter of business. It was not a mere canter on a pony whenever he took a fancy ; it was a careful training, for he must practice leaping over ditches and walls, he must be able to spring into the saddle without touching the stirrup, and, in short, he must learn to be as perfectly at home on the back of a horse as on his own feet. Light weapons were provided for him, and he must learn how to use sword and lance and bow, and how to swim and box and fence. He must meet the other boys of the castle in mock contests. These were carefully watched by the elders, who were eager to see whether or not the son

A KING RECEIVING A KNIGHT of some valiant knight bade fair to maintain the reputation of his father.

A most important part of the boy's instruction was hunting, or the " mystery of the woods," and hawking, or the ** mystery of the rivers," so called because it was often pursued on the open banks of streams. The page who understood hawking had conquered a most complicated branch of his education. He had to learn the different kinds of falcons, how to train the birds to throw themselves upon their prey, how to feed them, and what calls to use with them. There was a rule for every act; for instance, there was only one way in which a hawk might be properly carried. The master's arm must be held parallel with his body, but not touching it, and the forearm must be held out at a right angle as a perch for the bird. A man who would practice the mystery of the rivers and did not carry his falcon in the approved fashion would have been the laughing-stock of his companions. Even pages had their own falcons, and a taste for hunting and hawking was looked upon as a mark of noble blood. When a page was sent to bear a letter, he sometimes carried his falcon on his wrist for company on the way. There were possible dangers on every journey, but I fancy that the page was always glad to be sent with a message, especially if it was a pleasant one, for then he was sure of a warm welcome and generous gifts from the happy recipient.

During the seven or eight years that he was a page, the boy was always looking forward to the time when he would become a squire, for this was the next step toward knighthood. Now that he had grown older and stronger, more service was required of him, and his exercises became more severe. Within the castle he continued to serve at the table ; but he was now privileged to present the first or principal cup of wine. He still brought water for the hand-washing, and he carved the meat. He never sat at the same table with his lord. Indeed, in many places a knight would not permit his own son to eat with him until he, too, had been made a knight. In Chaucer's description of a squire, he makes it clear that the young man of twenty years was a brave young fellow who had had considerable experience in warfare, but

Curteys he was, lowly and servisable, And carf beforn his fader at the table.

After the meal was over, squires and pages together cleared the hall for dancing, or they brought tables for checkers or for the heavy chessboards then in use. Whatever amusement was on foot, the squire was permitted to share. Indeed, throughout all the training of a boy for knighthood, it was never forgotten that he must be taught to make himself as agreeable within the castle as he was expected to be courageous without its walls. An important part of his education was practice in composing love songs. He was expected of course to have his lady-love, for whom he must be ready to endure all hardships and meet all dangers.

He continued the exercises of his days as a page ; but he gave much more time to them. He learned to leap farther, to run longer distances, to climb jagged cliffs almost as perpendicular as the walls of the cities which he hoped some day to be able to aid in capturing. He learned to bear hunger and thirst and heat and cold and to keep himself awake through long nights of watching. His weapons were now made larger and heavier. He was taught to wield the great battle-axe, to endure the weight of armor, and to move about in it easily. A battle in the Middle Ages was more like a large number of duels than a contest between bodies of troops, and an exceedingly good preparation for this kind of warfare was an exercise known as the quintain. For this a post was set in the ground on top of which was a crosspiece that would whirl around at a touch. From one end of the crosspiece hung a board and from the other a sand-bag. The squire must ride up to this at full tilt and strike the board with his lance. But woe to him who was slow or clumsy, for quick as a flash the crosspiece whirled about, and he was struck a substantial blow by the sand-bag.

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Often the figure of a knight was used, so hung that unless the young squire was skillful enough to strike it on the breast it struck him — and the wooden knight never missed his stroke.

QUINTAIN

Each squire in turn became " squire of the body," that is, he was the closest attendant of his lord. When his master went to the field of battle, the helmet was often entrusted to a page, but to carry the shield and armor was the task of the squire of the body. A much more

I I difficult part of his duty was to array the knight in his armor with all its complicated fasteningsrtEvery knight had his pennon. If he had given long service and had many followers, the point or points of his pennon were cut off, leaving a square banner. He was then called a banneret. Both banneret and baron were privileged to act as commanders of little armies of their own. They were under the king, but each one had his own war-cry and called his men together under his own standard.^V Whether the squire served banneret or baron or knight, it was his honorable task to bear the banner or pennon. He needed to have his wits about him, for if the knight dropped his weapon, he must be ready to pass him a fresh one. If the knight was unhorsed, the squire must catch his horse if necessary, and help him to mount; and if the horse itself was wounded seriously, the squire must have ther one ready or must bring forward his own. If the ght took a prisoner, he was passed over into the charge the squire, that the knight might be left free for further contests. If the knight was getting the worst of the fight or was attacked by several at once, the squire must come to his aid ; if he was taken prisoner, the squire must rescue him if possible; if he was wounded, must carry him to a place of safety ; and if he was killed, it was the sad duty of the squire to see that he received an honorable burial.

/ Every year brought the time nearer when the squire was to be made a knight. The one thing necessary to bring this about was for the king or some other knight to give him the accolade, that is, a blow on his should-

KNIGHTS FIGHTING der or the back of his neck as he knelt to receive it. This was usually followed by the words, " In the name of God, of Saint Michael, and of Saint George, I dub thee knight. Be brave, ready, and loyal." Sometimes all that was said was, " Be a good knight." When a number of squires were to be made knights, as often happened just before or just after a battle, the ceremony was no more complicated than this. Sometimes on the very battle-field, when a squire had done some praiseworthy deed of bravery, he was knighted in this simple and direct fashion. When there was plenty of time, however, the process

CONFERRING KNIGHTHOOD ON THE BATTLE-FIELD

was much longer. First, the hair of the candidate was cut. To give up one's hair was looked upon as a mark of the devotion of one's self to God. Generally the cutting of a single lock was regarded as sufficient, but sometimes the head was shaved in the fashion of the tonsure of the priest. The candidate was put into a bath and then into a bed. Every part of the ceremony had a meaning, and these acts signified, first, purity, and then the rest which he who had been pure would enjoy in Paradise. He was now supposed to be cleansed from all sins of his previous life, and to symbolize this he was arrayed in a white shirt, or long tunic. Over it a red garment with long sleeves and a hood was thrown to indicate that he was ready to shed his blood in the service of God, and finally a close black coat was put upon him to remind him of the death which all must meet. After twentyfour hours of fasting, he spent a night in a church, keeping what was called the vigil of arms, that is, kneeling by his armor, praying and meditating. When the sun rose, he made his confession to a priest, heard mass, and partook of the Holy Sacrament.

This was his final preparation. Later in the day he and his friends went to the church or the castle hall. The young man gave his sword to the priest, and the priest laid it upon the altar, praying that God would bless it and that it might defend the Church and protect widows and orphans. The candidate took a solemn oath that it should be used for these purposes. The priest then returned the sword to him and made a little address on the duties that lay before him in his new life and reminded him of the happiness that awaited him who performed these duties with faithfulness and zeal.