$ v ■■ ^ l VlSl { &i) ( f y ! Jl*\ {s GP C & \aX F intk l AM® f &%£ *•/ C 5- f l f ih m-iTy/c- &roaU ^tonc of honour ; In Four Parts : GODEFRIDUS; TANCREDUS ; MORUS; ORLANDUS. WYMAN AND SONS, PRINTERS, GREAT QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN’S-INN FIELDS, LONDON, W.C. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/broadstoneofhono01digb THE iJvoafcr £to»c of f^onout OR, THE TRUE SENSE AND PRACTICE OF CHIVALRY. je .first 33ooR. GODEFRIDUS. BY KENELM HENRY DIGBY, ESQ. LONDON : BERNARD QTJARITCH, 15 PICCADILLY. MDCCCLXXVII. ♦ ♦ This impression of the “Broad Stone of Honour” is limited to 500 copies . . . . Small paper. 50 „ . . . Large paper, numbered. SEMPER FUJT IDEM THE ARGUMENT. Page. I. Introduction, stating in what sense a truly philosophic history of Chivalry might be undertaken. The occasion which gave rise to this work ...... 1 II. That there was a deficiency, which it might be made to remove. Its title explained ...... 4 III. In what way divided . . . . . . .11 IY. The advantage and enjoyment which may be derived from such studies ........ 12 Y. Why examples of foreign Chivalry seem to have been preferred. England formerly renowned for its peculiar love of Chivalry. What general principles may have dictated this preference of foreign examples ; what par- ticular circumstances may have required it . . .20 YI. The importance of the imagination in the conduct of life. The application of poetry. How poetry is em- ployed in these books . . „ . . . .25 viii THE ARGUMENT. PAGE. VII. A respect for past times characteristic of Chivalry ; the opinion of the ancients on this point. Why the same should peculiarly belong to our age. Remarks upon its general character 30 VIII. Remarks upon the old literature of heroic times ; that a taste for it has revived. How ancient words and forms will be employed in these books . . .47 IX. In what manner history is employed, and what kind of histories are used 54 X. How far a regular plan will be observed. That the Catholic faith secures men from inconsistency. How the course will correspond with the symbolical wander- ings of the ancient knights ; the advantages and pleasure of such a course 61 XI . For what persons such a work may be designed ; that youth requires studies of this nature ; that they can only be of use when in perfect harmony with religion . . 69 XII. On what ground the employment of the chivalrous romances can be defended ...... 77 XIII. The propriety of classical allusions shewn from the custom of our old writers. That the old world must have had its Chivalry ; examples to prove this. How far such Chivalry must have been inferior to the Chris- tian .......... 95 XIV. Chivalry defined. That its age can never be said to have passed. Youth essentially chivalrous. A view of its character. That only what is accidental to Chivalry can become obsolete and lifeless ..... 107 XV. The features of Chivalry which seem to have an especial reference to the Christian religion : its ardour, and freedom from human respect ; its perfect fidelity ; its humility ; its generous spirit ; its need of a divine object ; its sense of the real dignity of the soul ; its piety ; its sense of beauty ; its constant readiness and promptitude ; its courage ; its loyalty j its disposition to admire all the circumstances of piety ; its willingness to serve ; its admitting religious motives in preference to all others ; its hatred of selfishness and calculation ; its spirit of obedience ; its delicate affections ; its sim- plicity and gentleness ; its liberal and comprehensive THE ARGUMENT. IX P4,OB < spirit ; its spirit of sacrifice ; its temperance and con- sistency ; its sincerity ; its susceptibility of love and reverence ; its desire of union and fellowship ; its charity ; its heroism ; its disposition to receive instruc- tion from the teachers of truth, and to revere the priest- hood and all sanctity and innocence ; its predisposition to admit authority. That it was the unity of faith which, in the middle ages, united all hearts in noble Chivalry 122 XVI. The symbolical character of the Christian Chivalry ; arising from the disposition of youth ; from the nature of all noble arts ; from the character of the Christian state ; from the sanction of religion in the disciple of the Church. The sentiments of the ancients respecting symbolical instruction. How general the usage adopted by the first Christians ; hence the employment of fiction in our romantic literature ; hence the symbolical character of our Chivalry. Examples .... 179 XVII. On the philosophy which belongs to Chivalry. How it is opposed to the spirit of ridicule ; the character of this spirit. Remarks upon Don Quixote. Aristophanes the Cervantes of Greece ; these two writers compared. That the philosophy which belongs to Chivalry must be opposed to the whole system of Epicurus; to the opinion that the senses are the only source of ideas ; to the doctrine of expediency and of refined selfishness; to that of pleasure being the best object of life ; to that which removes the importance of motives ; to the system of the Manichaeans; to that of the modern political sophists ; to all schemes which contradict positive law ; to the caba- listic philosophy of those who make unintelligibility the criterion of truth ; to the views of those who return to the doubts and argumentations of the heathen philoso- phers ; to the mind of those who do not believe in an especial providence. That it must be religious, mindful of death, and opposed to the arguments of sceptics and infidels. That heroic men may possess this philosophy without being conscious of it. That the philosophy op- posed to that of Chivalr}^ is destructive of the qualities of youth .......... 199 X THE ARGUMENT. PAGE. XVIII. That Chivalry is not dependent upon political no- bility. The character of this nobility ; how it was regarded by the ancients ; by the first Christians ; how it has appeared in later ages. That Chivalry may exist among the peasants of a Catholic land. Examples. That it was Chivalry which afforded the grandest distinction 251 XIX. On the origin and laws of nobility .... 276 XX. On the advantages arising from nobility, according to the sentiments of the ancient and of the Christian Chivalry, and the character of the Christian nobility . 290 XXI. On government, as connected with the spirit and in- stitutions of Chivalry. The necessity and power of government ; the disposition of Chivalry to obey it. That the form may vary. On the principles of a Christian government in the middle ages ; the kingdom of Jerusalem; the election of Godfrey. On the relation of the temporal and spiritual powers. On the freedom of men under the ancient kings of Christendom. That Chivalry may be no longer admitted to co-operate with the civil government ; that it may exist under every state but that of despotism and anarchy . . . 304 XXII. That the ideal form of perfect Chivalry is to be sought for in the mind ; that all objects symbolical of this knighthood are beheld with interest ; hence the pleasure with which we visit the ancient castles of Chivalry ; that the chivalrous mind cannot be affected by age . 341 “ Ista stadia, si ad imitaados summos viros spectant, ingeniosorum sunt; sin tantummodo ad indicia veteris memorise cognoscenda, curiosorum : te autem hortamur omnes, carrentem quidem, ut spero, ut eos, quos novisse vis, etiam imitari velis.” 1 It used to form a subject of surprise to a great orator, when treating upon history, that while there are so many works which describe the institutions and laws of knighthood, and so many memorials of its past greatness in all the records and institutions of Europe, there should not be one book composed with a view of giving a philosophic history of chivalry. Such a title, it must be confessed, has a very doubtful sound to those who are reminded of the compositions professedly philosophic in every branch of literature, which were so industriously circulated during the last century : but they who had ever the happiness of hearing the admirable man of whom I speak, whose dissertations were so full of eloquence and poetry, so accommodated to the common sense of all, and to the sweetest har- mony of nature, that each of them, like a book of Herodotus, might have been offered under the aus- pices of a Muse, will feel no hesitation to admit that there is a deficiency in the republic of letters, which may be thus expressed, and which it might be the desire of a real philosopher to remove. It is true, no subject can, at first view, assume an Godefridus. Cicero de Finibus, lib. Y, 2. B 2 GODEFRIDUS. aspect of less gravity, or appear farther removed from investigations concerning the intellectual his- tory of man, than that of chivalry ; and yet this impression will be found unsupported by any ground of justice. Not to speak at present of the many questions of deep importance to which it may give rise, there is always reason to suppose that a very high degree of interest will be awakened by every inquiry which recalls to the minds of men the manners and the discipline which were be- queathed to them by their ancestors : it might be concluded, that this consideration of itself would be sufficient to bespeak attention, especially when we observe with what delight men visit the scenes which bring back the images of our chivalrous age, even at times when there is no voice to awaken it but the silent eloquence of some ruined tower or of some deserted court, shadowed by the mossed trees that have outlived the eagle. Perhaps, indeed, in the first instance, the presence of such objects may be required to create that degree of attention upon which the success of attempts like the pre- sent must depend; and therefore I would invite all persons who propose to follow me in this re- search, to begin by visiting them, in order that they may gain a vantage-ground, as it were to make silence, and to have the disposition of their minds undisturbed by the objections of the sophists which now infest everything, so that they may engage in youthful meditation fancy free. “ Where do you wish that we should sit down and read this tale of ancient chivalry ?” said one of our company, as we walked on a spring morning through the delicious groves that clothe those mountains of Dauphine which surround the old castle of the family of Bayard. We proposed to turn aside along the banks of the stream, and there sit down in peace. We were all familiar with GODEFBXDUS. 3 Plato, and this spot reminded us forcibly of that charming episode where Phsedrus and Socrates are described as congratulating each other on being bare-footed, that they may walk through the water; and our light and careless livery was no impedi- ment to our march to the opposite shore, though the stream was rapid and of considerable depth. Upon the opposite bank we found a lofty chestnut with wide-spreading branches, and beneath it was soft grass and a gentle breeze ; and there we sat down : near it were shrubs which formed a dense and lovely thicket ; and many of them bearing now a full blossom, the whole place was most fragrant ; there was a fountain also under the chestnut, clear and cold, as our feet bore witness ; and that no- thing might be wanting to remind us of those banks of the Ilissus described by Plato, there were some statues, from which the ancients would have supposed that here too was a spot sacred to the Nymphs and to Achelous. But our Ilissus pos- sessed objects of a higher interest than the memo- rials of Boreas and Orithyia; for within a few hundred yards of the spot where we sat, lower down the bank, there was an altar and a rustic chapel, embowered in arbutus, where, in the summer season, a priest from the neighbouring monastery used to repair to say the holy mass, and to instruct the shepherd youth who had to watch the flocks during these months in places remote from any habitation of men. Who could describe with what refreshing and delicious sweetness the gentle breeze cooled our temples ! The summer song of the cicadse had already begun to resound in sweet chorus ; the grass was most beautiful and rich with varied flowers. Chaucer used to say, at dawn of day walking in the meadow to see these blossoms spread against the sun was a blissful sight, which softened all his sorrow. Prom this enamelled bank, B 2 4 G0DEFRIDU3. promising to receive so gently the reclining head, we could discern across the river the grey ruins of that majestic castle which recalled so many images of the olden time, and which was distinguished by a name so peculiarly dear to chivalry that it seemed symbolical of the very bent of honour. It was here, then, that we began to read aloud from a certain romantic volume which first inspired me with the desire to study the counsels and to retrace the deeds of chivalry. II. It is well known, that in times past it was the custom of our ancestors to frame and set forth certain books of examples and doctrines suitable to the various duties of men in the different ranks of life; books which, as St. Gregory says, ie while they were to be formed to agree with the quality of particular persons, were yet never to be removed from the art of common edification.^ The castle had its school as well as the cloister, in which youth was to be instructed in letters, arms, Fair mien, discourses, civil exercises, And all the blazon of a gentleman j wherein it should be trained to piety, heroism, loyalty, generosity, and honour ; that men might learn to emulate the virtues of their famous ances- tors, and as Christian gentlemen, to whom Chris- tendom was a common country, to follow the example of those ancient worthies who were the defenders of the Church, the patrons of the poor, and the glory of their times. It would be idle and presumptuous to remind men that they already possess for their instruction in gentleness and chi- valry the deeds of King Arthur and of his knights of the Round Table; of Sir Bevysof Southampton, and Guy of Warwick ; the histories of Sir Tristram (no longer the only good knight out of Cornwall), GODEFRIDUS. 5 of Charlemagne and Godfrey of Bouillon ; and many other similar volumes in French and English. High stories these; yet, sooth to say, no longer calculated fully to answer the purpose for which they were designed : though the delight of our ancestors, and deemed by them favourable to the increase of virtue, they are but little read by the present race of men, seeing that the language is often hard to be understood — for what they said, Thai sayd it in so quaint Inglis, That many wote not what it is ; that in some respects chivalry has adopted a dif- ferent form and imposed new obligations; and that, at all events, the truth of these renowned stories is questioned, albeit that most ingenious printer, who lived m the reign of King Henry the Seventh, was convinced, by many evidences, that “ there was a kyng of thys lande named Arthur, and that in all places, Crysten and Hethen, he was reputed and taken for one of the ix worthy and fyrst and chyef of the Cristen men whose deeds may be found in the book 1 which treats upon that noble fellowship”; and Holinshed testifies that (C surely such one there was of that name, hardie, and valiaunt in arms, who slew in syngular combats certayne gyaunts that were of passyng force and hugeness of stature.” But this will not content men, even though they could see “ his sepulture in the Monasterye of Glastyngburye,” or “ the prynte of his seal at Saynt Edwardes shryne at Westmestre,” or even the round table at Wynchester,” or Sir Gay- wayAs sckull in the Castel of Dover.” And there- fore it might seem a great pity, that, for want of some person to collect what was credible and suit- able to the good in the present age, and worthy of 1 Les neuf Prenx : Abbeville, 1487. 6 GODEFEIDTJS. acceptance, out of these and other noble histories, and to collect in like manner ensamples and doc- trines out of later history, the gentle and heroic deeds of honourable men should be forgotten, their memories sink into the depth and darkness of the earth, and the precious advantage of learning to admire and to emulate such glory, that rich in- heritance of a virtuous example, should be lost to ourselves and to our posterity. Wherefore, under the favour and correction of all ingenuous persons, these four books of ensamples and doctrines, form- ing, as it were, a moral history of the heroic age of Christendom, have been undertaken; and it seemed, that in accordance with the symbolic character which should distinguish all works connected with chivalry, the whole collection might be named “fcTf )t 15roatJ &tO»e Of iljOlIOUiV' seeing that it would be a fortress like that rock upon the Rhine which appears to represent, as it were, knightly perfection, being lofty and free from the infection of a base world. This, indeed, would be lofty, not to represent the height of an arrogant mind, but what St. Bernard calls “ the holy and humble eleva- tion of the heart ” : it would be broad, not in regard to the way that leadetli to it, which, like that of all divine virtue, is known to be so narrow that few can go in thereat, being the narrow way of those who are called to suffering ; it is not the broad road of the world, nor the wide gate that leadeth to its false enchantments ; this is strait and narrow, rough and craggy, and hard to climb ; they who entered it in times past gave but one counsel, “intrate per angustam portam,” — but it is broad in respect to its principles and to its law, “ latum mandatum tuum nimis 1 broad in acknowledging distinctly and broadly the eternal truths of religion. 1 Ps. 118. GODEFJEtIDUS. 7 that all men are equal before God; broad in its words, those of plain and holy innocence, and in its sentiments Whole as the marble, founded as the rock, As broad and general as the casing air ; Not cabin’d cribb’d, confin’d, bound in To doubts and fears. velut rupes, vastum quae prodit in aequor, Obvia ventorum furiis, expostaque ponto, Vim cunctam atque minas perfert coelique marisque, Ipsa immota manens. Have we not reason, then, to compare it to a majestic and impregnable fortress ? In league with God and with the universe, must it not be for ever triumphant ? Strong it is in the force of those who protect it ; for even the Greek had learned to say, Stivog og Oeovg aifiu : but a nobler voice proclaims it in a higher strain — If God be for us, who is against us ? 33 God sends his blessed angels to encamp about them that fear Him ; and how secure are they who are under the conduct and protection of those mighty spirits ! They may sit down in peace and sing, “ Qui habitat in ab- scondito.” Nor is it upon a narrow and barren rock, without means of delight and refreshment, that we are invited to take our stand, to resist the arms of the world. When the wide fields of litera- ture are made the domains of religion, there can be no feeling of confinement; for religion can sanctify all pursuits, and appropriate all beauty to itself. “ 0 quam magna est domus Dei, et ingens locus possessionis ejus ! magnus est, et non habet finem, excelsus et immensus.'” 1 Here are scenes of sylvan beauty, of loveliness and grandeur. The gleam, the shadow, aud the peace supreme, 1 Office for Holy Saturday. 8 GODEFBIDUS. the coolness of the grove, the fragrance of the violet- bed, the purity of the limpid wave, the divine ex- cellence of all the innocent creatures of God. Hie ver purpureum, varios hie fluminacircum Fundit humus Sores, hie Candida populus antro Imminet, et leotae texunt umbracula vites : Hue ades ; insani feriant sine litora fluctus Hie gelidi fontes, hie inollia prata, virensque Hie uemus, hie ipso tecum consumerer mvo. There are, indeed, two ways marked out in life — the one dark and rugged, in which the wretched Ulysses walked, the other more inviting, which Nestor followed — and Pythagoras was right in saying, that “ both may be allotted for virtue.” 1 Yet they who enter through this gate will assuredly arrive in the end at the most beautiful regions : generally they pass at once into a life of paradisiacal innocence, and playfulness, and freedom, and joy. The rock is So perfect that it will suffer no one to enter upon it who is not in perfect belief — it breathes an air like that sweetness which awakened Sir Lancelot, when “he was fulfylled w T ith all thynges that he thought on or desyred, and said, ‘ I wote not in what joye I am, for this joye passeth all erthely joyes that ever I was in/ ” 2 They who ascend with persevering ardour, and who mount the summit of this rocky nest, after toiling up the steep and narrow way through which all who have won the prize of excellency and honour, passed in times of old, will at length find themselves in security ; they will be received into habitations, which will lead to the accomplishment of all the wishes of the human heart, and to something more : that name which belonged to the Castle of Montiel in the Sierra Morena, which was called the Tower of Stars, might be engraven also over the portal 1 Stobeei Florileg. I, 38. 2 Morte d’ Arthur, II, 297. GODEFRIDUS. 9 here with a high symbolic meaning ; for there will be found within this fortress an assembly corre- sponding with the brightness of those stars which seem to crown its lofty battlements — a procession of angelic spirits, of which an exquisite and perfect emblem may be found in “ that host of white-robed pilgrims which travel along the vault of the nightly sky, than whom/"’ as an admirable writer says, “ the imagination is unable to conceive anything more quiet, and calm, and unassuming Y 1 More- over, like the enchanted palace of a chivalrous tale, we have only to seek this fortress with purity and faith, and we shall not fail to achieve the high ad- venture. How must Stephen of Colonna, whom Petrarch loved and reverenced for his heroic spirit, “ex cineribus veterum renatus phoenix, have struck dumb with astonishment the base and im- potent assailants who thought indeed that he was at length in their power, and so demanded, with an air of triumph, “Where is now your fortress ? ” when he laid his hand on his heart and answered, “ Here ; and one whose strength will laugh a siege to scorn Y Similar was the reply of Bias to those who asked him why he did not, like others of his countrymen, load himself with part of his property when all were obliged to fly: “Your wonder is whthout reason ; I am carrying all my treasures with me. ;; The security and excellence which are found here arise from the possession being unconnected with all that is subject to the rapid course of time: death only translates its guardians, as it were, to that higher capital, upon which this is an humble de- pendant. Even the ancients felt the need of such an asylum. When Crates the Theban saw men busily employed in rebuilding Thebes, he said, 1 J. C. Hare. 10 GODEFRIDUS. “ For my part, from this time forth, I want a city which no future Alexander can overthrow .” 1 “Vanitas est diligere quod cum omni celeritate transit; et illuc non festinare, ubi sempiternum gaudium manet.” 2 But no doubt all this is fanciful and romantic extravagance, or, at best, but yzv- valav tvriOeLav , smelling of the age of Saturn, to infidel philosophists and men of the new wisdom, who know of nothing Beyond the senses and their little reign ; and who despise the ancient sentences. That virtue and the faculties within Are vital, — and that riches are akin To fear, to change, to cowardice, and death ! Yet assuredly the object of these books will not be to induce men to follow the mere visions of a romantic imagination, and to desire a strange and enchanted world which exists but in a dream of fancy. No ; as Malebranche declares , 3 “ It is not into a strange country that such guides conduct you ; but it is into your own, in which, very pos- sibly, you may be a stranger.” To you perhaps the words of the divine Scripture are addressed — “ Inveterasti in terra aliena, coinquinatus es cum mortuis, deputatus es cum descendentibus in in- fernum. Dereliquisti fontem sapientiae. Nam si in via Dei ambulasses, habitasses utique in pace super terrain. Disce ubi sit sapientia, ubi sit virtus, ubi sit intellectus : ut scias simul ubi sit longiturnitas vitae et victus, ubi sit lumen ocu- lorum et pax .” 4 These images as symbols have a real existence, and are the only objects sub- stantial and unchangeable ; whereas, respecting the forms of the material world, independent of these images, that is, of the spirit which vivifies them, 1 JElian. Var. Hist. lib. Ill, c. 6. 2 De Imitat. Christi, I. 3 Entret. sur la Metaphys. 4 Baruch III, 9. GODEFRIDUS. 11 the most knowing of the philosophers are in truth ignorant, i III. In this first book I shall endeavour to give a general idea of the views and principles respect- ing chivalry which have guided me in the composi- tion of the whole work. And as there will be some express mention of degree and of Christian govern- ment, it will be presented under the name of that illustrious hero, Godfrey, whose kingly rule seems to have corresponded with the very ideal of per- fection in the social order, and whose personal qualities were so heroic, that, according to an ancient chronicle, an infidel king was heard to say, “ Quand tout Thonneur du monde seroit failly et assorbe, que le due Godefroy est suffisant pour le recouvrer et mettre dessus."” 1 The ground being thus prepared, the foundation will be laid in the second book, which will contain a view of the religion and the discipline which belonged to chivalry in the heroic age of Christianity, and the name of Tancred suggests itself as a representative of that spirit. This will unavoidably lead to a con- sideration of the objections which have been urged by various sects of innovators against the principles and practice of the Christian chivalry ; and in the third book, which shall be called Morus, after the great Chancellor of England who laid down his life to defend its glorious standard, these objections will be examined. In the fourth book the main subject will be resumed, by giving a more detailed view of the virtues of the chivalrous character, when it was submitted to the genuine and all- powerful influence of the Catholic faith; and Or- lando may be symbolical of this more generous chivalry. The whole, therefore, may be considered 1 Les Faitz et Gestes du preux Godefroy de Bouillon et de sea chevaleureux Freres, f. 53. 12 GODEFEIDUS. in the light of a history of heroic times, arranged chiefly with a view to convey lessons of surviving and perpetual interest to the generous part of man- kind, and occasionally made subservient to con- siderations of a higher nature than might at first have been expected from the professed object : “sunt enim base majora, quse aliorum causa fortasse complecteris, quarn ipsa ilia, quorum haec causa praeparanturY 1 IY. With respect to the advantages to be derived from a work of this nature, it may be well to offer some preliminary remarks. I know, indeed, as Dion Halicarnassus observes in his criticism upon Thucydides, it is a common disposition with men to affirm, that the object of their admiration pos- sesses all the qualities which they wish it to have ; but he would greatly err who should imagine that a similar observation could be sufficient to explain the high degree of interest with which many men pursue researches into the history and literature of chivalry. From such studies, even with reference to their immediate and, as it were, external object, they justly expect to derive both pleasure and benefit. In the first place, they serve their country by adorning its peculiar traditions and recollections; preserving alive in the memories of men the mag- nanimity and greatness of ages that are departed, and cherishing that poetry which lives in every people, until it is stifled by the various and factitious interests of a life devoted to luxury and avarice. As Friedrich Sclilegel says, “ such national recollec- tions, the noblest inheritance which a people can possess, bestow an advantage which no other riches can supply ; for when a people are exalted in their feelings, and ennobled in their own estimation by the consciousness that they have been illustrious in 1 Cicero de Legibus, I, 10. GODEFRIDUS. 13 ages that are gone by — that these recollections have come down to them from a remote and heroic ancestry; — in a word, that they have a national poetry of their own, we are willing to acknowledge, that their pride is reasonable, and they are raised in our eyes by the same circumstance which gives them elevation in their own.” 1 Such students promote their own advancement in honour by adopting the practice which Scipio said was the characteristic of a great mind, “ ut se non cum praesentibus modo, sed cum omnis gevi claris viris comparent,” 3 which preserves them too from being ensnared by a general error of language, “ id enim licere dicimus, quod cuique conceditur A 3 It is no small advantage, that by such a study men become acquainted with the character of their an- cestors, and of their country itself ; for the historical personages, who are made thus to pass in review, are the only real representatives of a nation as of an age ; not in consequence of their having obtained any political election or post in peace or war, but like Scipio and Cato, when they held no office and lived in exile, on account of their representing the general mind of their countrymen. In some re- spects, too, even single examples of this kind are a history of a whole race of men, as Cicero says of Regulus, when he returned to Carthage : “ ista laus non est hominis sed temporara ."” 4 As for the pleasure which is derived from such studies, it may be sufficient to appeal to the common feelings of ingenuous men in every age. “Who is there/* cries Cicero, “ that does not experience a delight when he hears of the deeds, and sayings, and councils of our ancestors, of the Africani, and of the other brave men who w r ere excellent in every 1 Hist, of Lit. T, 15. 2 Liv. lib. XXVIII, 43. a Cicero, Tuscul. V. 4 Cic. de (Mciis, III, 31. 14 GODEFKIDUS. virtue ? ” 1 With what high feelings did the heroes of Spain look back to Count Fernan Gonzalez of Castile, to the Cid of Y alencia, to Gonzalo Fernandez of Andaluzia, to Diego Garcia de Paredes of Estre- madura, to Garcia Perez de Vargas of Xeres, to Garcilaso of Toledo, to Don Manuel de Leon of Seville; the reading of whose brave actions instructs and animates the most judicious reader : these are the themes which should be familiar to the heroic men of all ages ; as Menelaus says to the young strangers Telemachus and Pisistratus, after alluding to his own history, Kal 7 rarepujv to.Se jueWet’ 6kov'e/iev , oL tiveq v/juv ELfflV . 2 The wise ancients, who resembled the mild old Nestor, 7T a\ai TTo\EflU)V EV ElS&Q, 3 were of opinion that this personal application of past events, as an extension of private experience, constituted the great end of history, whereby the virtuous might be excited by the prospect of endless renown, and the base (for even their base men had regard to the judgment of posterity) restrained, by fear of incurring the detestation of all future ages. 5- ’ 4 Plutarch observed, that young men were more ex- cited by instructions which had not the austere and laboured tone of the philosophers, but which were conveyed in the way of fables and poetry . 5 Plato said, that he would correct Speusippus by the ex- ample of his own life ; and Polemon having only beheld Xenocrates in the school, was induced to follow another course of life. Yet heroes were 1 De Finibus, lib. Ill, 11. 2 03. IV, 93. 3 II. IV. 4 Diodor. Sicul. lib. I, 2. 5 De Andiendis Poetis. GODEFRIDUS. 15 not to teacli others by implying that they were them- selves perfect, but, rather, after this manner : TvdeLdrj, tl ttclOovts XeXdapeOa Qovpidog aXicrjg ; thus Socrates corrected young men, not pretending that he did not himself need correction. It may be objected to me hereafter, that I present such a multitude of examples. True ; “ exemplis abundo, sed illustribus, sed veris, efc quibus, nisi fallor, cum delectatione insit auctoritas.*'’ As Aeschylus says of his own tragedy, “ the Seven against Thebes/* that whoever beheld it must needs become a hero, 6 Qeacrdpevog 7 rag av rig avrjp rjpdaQr] Saiog elvai, 1 so, it may be hoped, that the once beholding such examples as shall be here exhibited, will be suffi- cient to strike some shew of fire from the most insensible, and to kindle the spark of ancient honour in every ingenuous breast. For honour is the subject of my story ; ovru) Kcd ru>v TrpooQev hrsvQoptOa icXea dvdpdv rjpunov. 2 There are examples, as the Roman orator would say, “ ex vetere memoria et monumentis ac litteris, plena dignitatis, plena antiquitatis. Haec enim plurimum solent et auctoritatis habere ad proban- dum, et jucunditatis ad audiendum .** 3 Haec imitamini qui dignitatem, qui laudem, qui gloriam quaeritis : haec ampla sunt, haec divina, haec immor- talia : haec fama celebrantur, monumentis annalium mandantur, posteritati propagantur.** He then adds, “ Est labor ; non nego : pericula magna ; fateor .** 4 The Christian view is expressed with 1 Aristoph. Ranse. 2 II. IX, 524. 3 Cicero in Yerrem, II, in, 90. 4 Cicero pro P. Sextio. 16 GODEFRIDUS. admirable simplicity by Sir Thomas Malory, in the preface to his own History : “ Me thynketh this present boke is ryght necessary often to be redde. For in it shall ye fynde the gracious, knyghtly, and virtuous werre of moost noble knyghtes of the worlde, whereby they gate pray sing contynuall. Also me semyth by the oft redying thereof, ye shal gretely desyre to custome yourself in followynge those gracyous knyghtly dedes ; that is to saye, to drede Gode, and love ryghtwiseness, feythfully and courageously to serve your soverayne prynce. And the more that God hath geven you the tryumphall honour, the meker ye oughte to be : ever ferying the unstablyness of this dysceyvable worlde." “ The love of imitation/'’ says Aristotle, “ is in man's nature from his infancy ; and herein he differs from other animals, on /ni^rLKwrarov icrrt." Lord Bacon has pronounced of examples, such as are here submitted to the reader, that they may be of great service “to quicken and strengthen the opinions and persuasions which are true. For reasons/' he observes, “plainly delivered, and always after one manner, especially with fine and fastidious minds, enter but heavily and dully ; whereas, if they be varied, and have more life and vigour put into them by these forms and insinuations, they cause a stronger apprehension, and many times suddenly win the mind to a resolution." Nay, the manner of conveying knowledge, broken, and not arranged into a system, leaving men often to draw their own reflections, and presenting them only with detached facts, has been approved of by a great philosopher. Certainly, the most complete treatises are not always those which leave on the mind the most just idea of a subject. A rough unfinished sketch has often more spirit and resemblance to the original than the highly wrought painting ; a few words often suffice to remind men of the whole truth, — as a long GODEFRIDUS. 17 spear, when shaken from the rest, vibrates to the extreme point, the motion being instantly com- municated to the entire wood. It will need but a careless glance upon the scenes which we shall visit to justify our applying to them the words of Manlius Torquatus : “ si tot exempla virtutis non movent, nihil umquam movent.” Certainly, the more men reflect upon the noble and joyous images presented in heroic history, the more they will feel themselves confirmed in all those holy feelings which alone can give them dignity and security ; the more they will become persuaded that the principles which they illustrate and recommend are the most important that can be made the subject of their study ; and that they can be happy and honourable, can obtain the blessing of God Almighty for themselves, for their country, and for mankind, only in proportion as they adhere to them. It is reported, that a Duke of Burgundy “ had like to have died of fear at the sight of the nine worthies which a magician shewed him ” ; 1 and a sage was said to have brought before Charlemagne the spectres of Dietrich and his northern companions, armed, sitting on their war-horses, when Dietrich, the most gigantic of the number, leaped from his horse, and was followed by the others, who seated themselves round the em- peror’s throne. We do not want a magician's skill to bring those heroes before us ; nor ought their presence to displease or terrify the brave ; it should rather be sought after as an heroic vision, which would shed a lustre over our souls. The Lacede- monian youth, who resembled the great Hector, was crushed to death by the multitude who rushed to see him upon hearing of the resemblance. So should the generous youth of our times hasten to survey the majesty of their heroic ancestors, and to 1 P. Mathien, Heroik Life and deplorable Death of Henry IV. Godefridus. C 18 GODEFKIDUS. hear those precepts that would make invincible the hearts that conned them. Moreover, as he who beholds a beautiful picture gazes till he ardently wishes to see it move, and exercise the functions with which it seems endowed, so every one who con- templates the noble images of reproachless chivalry must feel anxious that they should be revived in the deeds of men, and must participate in the sentiments of the poetic sage, who was not satisfied after having described his republic, until he could behold in what way it would engage with other states, and how it would shew itself worthy of its education and discipline, in war and peace, as well in utterance as in action. 1 The study of these heroic pages enables the mind to behold the sons of ancient chivalry, even as if Arthur were, indeed, already come — Once more in old heroic pride, His barbed courser to bestride, His knightly table to restore, And brave the tournaments of yore. 2 We converse with them, we hear them, we follow them to danger and to victory, as in a season of calm weather, Though inland far we be, Our souls have sight of that immortal sea Which brought us hither, Can in a moment travel thither, And see the children sport upon the shore, And hear the mighty waters rolling evermore. Disputations, therefore, which are framed with such views, are not prosecuted for the sake of a theory • for we are invited to engage in them, not to discover what is honourable and good, but, as one of the greatest of the ancients said, tV ayaOo t ytvdjfisOa. 3 1 Plat. Timssus. 2 Warton’s Grave of King Arthur. 3 Aristot. Ethic. Nicomach. II, 2. GODEFRIDUS. 19 The object in view is not knowledge, but practice. “ Yosqne adolescentes,” said the Roman Orator, “ et qui nobiles estis, ad majorum vestrum imita- tionem excitabo, et qni ingenio et virtnte nobilitatem potestis consequi, ad earn rationem, in qua multi homines novi et honore et gloria floruerunt cohor- tabor." 1 I know, indeed, as an old German historian says of a later prince, who professed to take Charle- magne for his model, it often happens with men who pretend to follow the example of the excellent worthies of times past, that they sooner learn to cast their shadows than to scatter the lustre of their bright deeds ; therefore is there always need of judgment in receiving instruction by example. As in the case of orators, Cicero was obliged to point out, in speaking of the Attic Lysias, that what was Attic in Lysias was not his being slight and unadorned, but his exhibiting nothing dull or extravagant . 2 So should we mark well that the chivalry of our knights did not consist in the hasty violence of their passions, or in their over-eager propensity to war, but in their gentleness and self-devotion. Turenne in his youth, and Alex- ander in the midst of his glory, both professed to imitate a hero of the ancient world ; bnt with what a different spirit and effect ! Turenne mounted and tamed a furious horse to prove himself like Alexander ; 3 but Alexander thought to imitate Achilles by dragging the governor of a conquered town tied to the wheels of his chariot. It was no doubt with a high object that most of the writings connected with chivalry were com- posed. Practice and virtue were the end proposed by Sir Thomas Malory, who concludes his preface. i 3 Cic. pro P. Sextio. 2 Orator. IX. Hist, du Yiscomte de Turenne, par Ramsay, YI. C 2 20 GODEFRIDUS. “ humbly bysechying all noble lordes and ladyes, wyth al other estates,, of what estate or degree they been of, that shall see and rede in this book, that they take the good and honest actes in their re- membraunce, and to folowe the same. Wherin they shall fynde many joyous and playsaunt hys- tories, and noble and renomed actes of humanyte, gentylnesse, and chyvalryes. For herein may be seen noble chyvalrye, curtosye, humanyte, friend- lynesse, hardynesse, love, frendshyp, cowardyse, murdre, hate, vertue, and synne. Doo after the good, and leve the evyl, and it shal bryne you to good fame and renommee. Al is wryten for our doctryne, and for to beware that we falle not to vyce ne synne, but to exercise and folowe vertu, by the whyche we may come and atteyne to good fame and renomme in thys lyf, and after thys short e and transytorye lyf to come unto everlast- ynge blysse in heven, the whyche he graunt us that reygneth in heven, the blessed Trynyte. Amen.” 1 V. In collecting and disposing examples and doctrines from divers noble volumes, I have not confined myself to the records of English history ; for, although these alone would no doubt have furnished ample matter for a far more complete survey than the present, such a restraint would in some measure have been at variance with the ob- ject of my enterprise, since it has always been the spirit of chivalry, as it was in ancient times of Pythagoras, ut unus fiat ex pluribus,” — insomuch that it should ever be the desire of those who admire it, to connect, by ties of mutual affection and respect, the virtuous of every country. Polybius, that illustrious soldier and historian, has furnished me with a similar lesson touching the duties of my ministerial office ; for he affirms that 1 Preface to Mort d’ Arthur. GODEFRIDUS. 21 we must often praise our enemies, and dress np their actions to be the objects of the highest admiration; and that, on the other hand, there may be occasions when we shall have to censure and loudly condemn our friends and those who are upon our side. England was at one time the very land of chi- valry and of all its heroic exercises. La Colom- biere has remarked, that the greatest number of the old romances have been more particularly em- ployed in celebrating the valour of the knights of this kingdom than that of any other, because, in fact, they have always, in an especial manner, loved such exercises. The early French romances were written for the amusement not of the French but of the English nation . 1 2 The romances of Perce- f orest, Merlin, Lancelot, Gawain, Meliadus, Tristan de Leonnois, Giron le Courtois, Isaie le Triste, the Palmerin of England, and many others are quite filled with their prowess . 3 “ Moult ay ouy parler de ceste isle de Bretaigne et Pay ouy tenir a grant chose, et fort estimer a cause de sa bonne chevalerie /* this is what a knight says in Perceforest . 3 “The city of London/* says the author of the Palmerin of England, “ contained in those days all, or the greater part of the chivalry of the world.** Again, in Perceforest, when Sorus said he was a native of Great Britain, the young Demoiselle Lugerne said, “ Sire chevalier, je parle volontiers a vous pour ce que vous estes de la grant Bretaigne : car c^est ung pays que j*ayme bien pour ce qu*il y a coustumierement la meilleure chevalerie du monde ; c*est le pays au monde, si comme je croy, le plus remply d* esbas et joyeulx passetemps pour toutes gentilles pucelles et jeunes 1 Dunlop, Hist, of Fiction. 2 Theatre d’Honneur et de Chevalerie, I, 223. s Tom. I, c. 21. 22 GODEERIDUS. bacheliers qni pretendent a honneur de cheva- lerie.” 1 Perhaps this character will account for the state- ment advanced by Diodorus, that against the British isles not one of the ancient heroes, neither Bacchus nor Hercules, ever made war . 2 Our Christian chi- valry recollected with greater pleasure, that the first Christian king and the first Christian emperor were natives of England ; the first the very em- blem of the highest chivalry, adorned wkh its crown of majesty, and devoting himself to religion; for Lucius is said, by the German historians, to have gone abroad a little before his death, and to have preached the Gospel in Bavaria and the Grisons. Notwithstanding so many titles to pre- eminence in the list of chivalry, it will perhaps be found that the examples and sources of honour held forth in these disputations will be oftener derived from foreign lands than from our own. This may partly be accounted for by stating the fact, which it would be vain to deny, that it is more difficult to collect instances of the kind re- quired from our English histories than from those of the Catholic nations of Europe. In the barbarous dissolution of the religious houses, which led to such a destruction of libraries, that part of the literature of chivalry, which was chiefly interesting to religion from its being con- cerned with the devotion of our national heroes, was almost wholly lost ; for in England, as in every other Catholic country, each monastery had registers, from the date of its foundation, recording the lives of all the eminent men who had become celebrated in the particular province where it was situated ; and it is from these sources that men compiled those admirable biographical memoirs 1 Perceforest, vol. YI. 2 Lib. XXI. GODEFRIDUS. 23 which form so interesting a part of the literature of other nations . 1 The later writers of England, having embraced the new opinions, had no desire to preserve examples of the ancient piety, which they either omitted altogether, or disfigured through the prejudices of their sect; while Catholic writers, the Hardings, Sanders, Stapletons, Allens, Bristowes, Reynolds, Persons, Walsinghams, and Pattisons, were too much occupied in defending religion to have leisure to w T rite the lives of heroes. England, bound in with the triumphant sea, Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege Of watery Neptune, is always to be spoken of with affection and reve- rence, and treated as a mother ; for, though many of us have two countries, that which gave us birth, and that which has become the ruling state to which we are subject, yet, in some respects, it is necessary, as Cicero says, “ caritate earn prmstare qua reipublicae nomen universaB civitatis est .” 2 Nevertheless, there are many persons who need not be reminded, that times were when we might say in England, referring to other facts besides our geographical place, oiKso/itv S’ a7rdvtv0e y n oXvicXvffTq) kvi tzovt(j). z