The Age of Chivalry | Page 6

received their education
was usually thronged with young persons of the other sex, and the page
was encouraged, at a very early age, to select some lady of the court as
the mistress of his heart, to whom he was taught to refer all his
sentiments, words, and actions. The service of his mistress was the
glory and occupation of a knight, and her smiles, bestowed at once by
affection and gratitude, were held out as the recompense of his
well-directed valor. Religion united its influence with those of loyalty
and love, and the order of knighthood, endowed with all the sanctity
and religious awe that attended the priesthood, became an object of
ambition to the greatest sovereigns.
The ceremonies of initiation were peculiarly solemn. After undergoing

a severe fast, and spending whole nights in prayer, the candidate
confessed, and received the sacrament. He then clothed himself in
snow-white garments, and repaired to the church, or the hall, where the
ceremony was to take place, bearing a knightly sword suspended from
his neck, which the officiating priest took and blessed, and then
returned to him. The candidate then, with folded arms, knelt before the
presiding knight, who, after some questions about his motives and
purposes in requesting admission, administered to him the oaths, and
granted his request. Some of the knights present, sometimes even ladies
and damsels, handed to him in succession the spurs, the coat of mail,
the hauberk, the armlet and gauntlet, and lastly he girded on the sword.
He then knelt again before the president, who, rising from his seat, gave
him the "accolade," which consisted of three strokes, with the flat of a
sword, on the shoulder or neck of the candidate, accompanied by the
words: "In the name of God, of St. Michael, and St. George, I make
thee a knight; be valiant, courteous, and loyal!" Then he received his
helmet, his shield, and spear; and thus the investiture ended.
FREEMEN, VILLAINS, SERFS, AND CLERKS
The other classes of which society was composed were, first,
FREEMEN, owners of small portions of land independent, though they
sometimes voluntarily became the vassals of their more opulent
neighbors, whose power was necessary for their protection. The other
two classes, which were much the most numerous, were either serfs or
villains, both of which were slaves.
The SERFS were in the lowest state of slavery. All the fruits of their
labor belonged to the master whose land they tilled, and by whom they
were fed and clothed.
The VILLIANS were less degraded. Their situation seems to have
resembled that of the Russian peasants at this day. Like the serfs, they
were attached to the soil, and were transferred with it by purchase; but
they paid only a fixed rent to the landlord, and had a right to dispose of
any surplus that might arise from their industry.
The term "clerk" was of very extensive import. It comprehended,

originally, such persons only as belonged to the clergy, or clerical order,
among whom, however, might be found a multitude of married persons,
artisans or others. But in process of time a much wider rule was
established; every one that could read being accounted a clerk or
clericus, and allowed the "benefit of clergy," that is, exemption from
capital and some other forms of punishment, in case of crime.
TOURNAMENTS
The splendid pageant of a tournament between knights, its gaudy
accessories and trappings, and its chivalrous regulations, originated in
France. Tournaments were repeatedly condemned by the Church,
probably on account of the quarrels they led to, and the often fatal
results. The "joust," or "just," was different from the tournament. In
these, knights fought with their lances, and their object was to unhorse
their antagonists; while the tournaments were intended for a display of
skill and address in evolutions, and with various weapons, and greater
courtesy was observed in the regulations. By these it was forbidden to
wound the horse, or to use the point of the sword, or to strike a knight
after he had raised his vizor, or unlaced his helmet. The ladies
encouraged their knights in these exercises; they bestowed prizes, and
the conqueror's feats were the theme of romance and song. The stands
overlooking the ground, of course, were varied in the shapes of towers,
terraces, galleries, and pensile gardens, magnificently decorated with
tapestry, pavilions, and banners. Every combatant proclaimed the name
of the lady whose servant d'amour he was. He was wont to look up to
the stand, and strengthen his courage by the sight of the bright eyes that
were raining their influence on him from above. The knights also
carried FAVORS, consisting of scarfs, veils, sleeves, bracelets,
clasps,--in short, some piece of female habiliment,--attached to their
helmets, shields, or armor. If, during the combat, any of these