Symbolic forms.

knight. It was a perfection that never was and never could be attained; but it was set before a young man, when he became a knight, or when he was first allowed to bear arms, as the perfection at which he should aim. The introduction of a young man to the military service was an essential element of feudalism and was the first germ of Chivalry.81

The sons of vassals were allowed to bear arms equally with the sons of their lords, and the barons' castles became schools of military discipline and chivalry, to which the young men considered it a privilege to be admitted. The vassals were glad to avail themselves of such a privilege, and the lords were equally glad to train up a body of brave and chivalrous supporters. Until the young man became of a proper age to bear arms, he served in the castle as cupbearer, page, or esquire; but, from the day that he was allowed to bear arms, he ceased to serve in mere household duties, had the privilege of fighting for and protecting his lord, his lord's family, and his lord's estate, and, in a word, became what is called a knight.81

Investiture of a Knight.

The ceremony of Investiture, or of presenting a knight with arms, was one of great solemnity, and was intended to impress him with feelings of religion and of honour. He first took off his clothes, and entered a bath, as a symbol of purification. He then put on a white garment as a symbol of purity; next, a red one, as a symbol of the blood he was ready to shed in defence of his lord, and lastly, a black one, as a symbol of the death he was ready to undergo in discharge of his duty. He then went through various

religious ceremonies, and finally he was girt with his sword. The oath he took bound him to fear God, to serve his King, to protect the weak, to do good for the sake of glory and virtue alone, never to fight a man at unfair odds, and to observe faithfully his plighted word.82

Above all, he bound himself more especially to the defence of women, whom he was supposed to love and obey with the utmost devotion.

Tournaments.

The knight also was constantly engaged in martial amusements, and it was his pride to show his valour

Tournament. (From Froissart, Harleian MS. 4379.)

and skill in the use of his weapons against all comers, on great and solemn occasions, not only in his own.

ments.

Tourna- country, but at foreign courts. Hence arose those displays of martial skill, called Tournaments, in which men, armed to the teeth, engaged in combat in the presence of Kings and Queens, Lords and Ladies. It would take too much space to describe to

Power of the Barons.

Knights Jousting. (Roman du Saint Graal. Royal MSS., 14 E. III.)

the various kinds of tournament, but I may menyou tion, that although intended as a sport, and usually fought with blunt weapons, yet this was not always the case. Sometimes deadly weapons were made use of, and life was often sacrificed.

Results of Feudalism.

The barons surrounded thus by armed retainers, all sworn to live for them and to die for them, and faithfully to obey all their commands, became a powerful body, and were, as you will find, a great check on the power and encroachments of the kings. It is true they fought for their own rights; but, without intending it, they thereby secured the rights of those beneath them. Liberty did not spring from below, was not lost by the usurpations of those above; but struggles of each class, from the nobles downwards, had to fight for its liberty and to extort it from those above it.

Liberty sprang from the

each rank

with that above it.

FEUDAL SYSTEM ESTABLISHED BY THE NORMANS. 95

Further Abuses of Feudalism.

instead of

Before leaving the subject of Feudalism, I must Payment notice the way in which its ruling principle became service. abused and degraded. This principle was, as you will remember, the personal discharge of military duties. In course of time many men found this to be an irksome duty, and a custom grew up of paying money to the king instead thereof; this was called scutage, escuage, or shield-money from the Latin word Scutage. scutum, a shield. This gave the King great power of oppression, for, if he wanted to go to war, he levied a scutage, and after a time, whenever he wanted money he levied a scutage, under the pretence of going to war. At last, however, it was provided by Magna InterCharta, that these scutages should not be levied ference of without consent of Parliament.

Magna

Charta to

prevent

In like manner, the aids and reliefs which were due abuses. when an heir entered on possession of his estate, when he married, when he became a knight, and on other occasions, were all made by the King means of extorting money.

Still, on the whole, the Feudal System suited the times, and although we may rejoice that, in its main elements, it has passed away, yet there can be no doubt that in its time it was the source of much good.

Feudal System established in England by the

Normans.

The Feudal System was not confined to England, nor did it begin here. There were traces of it in Anglo-Saxon times, as you have seen in the oath of

The way

in which William introduced the feudal system.

fealty, taken in the time of Athelstane, but it did not exist here as a system until the time of William the Conqueror, who introduced it from Normandy.

In order to understand the way in which he introduced it, we must go back to the mode in which men obtained possession of land in the Anglo-Saxon times.

Those to whom land was given, at the time of the Saxon invasions, held it as their own, and they had the power of giving or selling it to others. All such sales or gifts were accompanied by the giving of a document, called a charter, or land-boc. Whoever had possession of this land-boc, was held to be the owner of the property. These documents, or titledeeds as we should call them, were usually placed in a monastery for safety.9

When William came, the lands were no longer seized by a number of fierce warriors, each one claiming a share as his right, but they were distributed, as rewards, by the leader of a body of soldiers who were bound to obey him. William had promised his warriors to give them land, and one of his first He seized objects was to keep his promise. But he wished that all titles to land should spring from himself, and so he destroyed every one of these land-bocs, by which the Anglo-Saxons held their lands, on which he could lay his hands. He then took possession of the royal lands, which were very extensive, seized also the lands of those who had taken arms against him, and and grant distributed them among his followers, who were called

the title deeds of the landowners,

ed the lands on

feudal

tenure.

Barons, keeping, however, extensive lands for himself.21 The lands were not however, as in Saxon times, given in absolute ownership, but they were granted on certain conditions, viz., on what is called