MIDDLE AGES.
As the passion for conquest extended, warlike and predatory bands spread over Europe, seizing whatever they could take by force of arms. No other right but that of the strongest was acknowledged. Hence castles and fortifications became necessary; and the weak were glad to submit to any service to obtain the protection of the powerful. These circumstances were the origin of the feudal system. For a long time, women were not allowed to inherit lands, because the warlike barons required a military tenant, from whom they could claim assistance in time of need; but afterward women were allowed to succeed in default of male heirs, provided they paid a required contribution in money, instead of forces. If they married without the consent of their feudal lord, they forfeited their inheritance; and if he chose a husband for them, they were compelled to accept him. The law required that every heiress under sixty years of age should marry, and that her husband should perform feudal duties. If a baron did not provide when a girl was twelve years old, she might in open court require him to present three men for her selection; and if he did not comply, he had no right to control her choice afterward. She might likewise at that age claim from her guardian the uncontrolled management of her estates. The mother was guardian of an infant, and in case of her death, the next heir supplied her place. The widow’s dowry was half of her husband’s estate for life, and half of his chattels. If there was not sufficient to pay debts, the widow and creditors divided equally. In some places, the feudal lord claimed and enforced certain privileges with regard to the daughters of his tenants, which are too gross to be described. It is true there were beautiful instances of a patriarchal relation, where the noble-hearted baron received cheerful and affectionate service, and gave ample protection and munificent kindness in return; but these were exceptions. There was a vast amount of ignorance, degradation, corruption, and tyranny, as there ever must be where one portion of the human family are allowed unrestrained power over the other.
For several centuries after the fall of Rome, the state of society was exceedingly unsettled and turbulent. The priests and the powerful barons were continually at variance with the kings, neither of them being willing to consent to a division of power; and the settlement of the Saracens, or Moors, in Spain, produced a spirit of ferocious discord in religion. The daughters of princes and nobles lived in perpetual danger; for bold, ambitious men, who coveted their kingdoms, or their fortunes, often stormed their castles, carried them off, and compelled them to marry, without pretending to consult their inclinations. Thus the Saxon heiresses were divided among the retainers of William the Conqueror. The annals of Scotland furnish a curious instance of these warlike marriages. Sir William Scott made an incursion upon the territories of Murray of Elibank, and was taken prisoner. Murray, in accordance with the barbarous spirit of the times, sentenced his enemy to immediate death; but his wife said, “Hout, na, mon! Would ye hang the winsome young laird of Harden, when ye have three ill-favored daughters to marry?” “Right,” answered the baron of Elibank; “he shall either marry our mickle-mouthed Meg, or strap for it.” The prisoner at first resisted the proposal; but he finally preferred “mickle-mouthed Meg” to the halter; and the union thus inauspiciously formed proved exceedingly happy.
The father or guardian of the bride generally gave her to the bridegroom with these words: “I give thee ——, my daughter, or my ward, to have the keeping of the keys of thy house, and one third of the money thou art possessed of, or shall possess hereafter, and to enjoy all the other rights appointed to wives by law.” The bridegroom generally bestowed handsome presents on the bride, and she received a dowry proportioned to her father’s wealth.
The young couple were usually escorted to church by a troop of friends. The priest crowned them with flowers and pronounced a blessing. Maidens were married beneath a canopy; but this custom was not observed by widows.
Among the Franks, marriages were not legal unless solemnized in a full court, where a buckler had three times been lifted up, and three causes openly tried. Soter, the fifth bishop of Rome, is said to have been the first who declared marriages illegal unless solemnized by a priest. A magnificent feast was given in honor of noble marriages, where immense quantities of wine were drank, and music, dancing, and minstrel songs enlivened the scene. All the retainers, or vassals, of the feudal lord, partook of the banquet, which of course was spread in a spacious hall. The guests sat at table according to their rank; and a huge salt-cellar marked the dividing line between the noble and the ignoble. Below the salt-cellar, the food was coarser, and the liquors of a cheap kind.
The unsettled state of society made it exceedingly difficult to have any places of safe deposit for articles of merchandise, resembling the convenient stores and shops of modern times. For this reason, fairs were held; and gradually various shows, antic tricks, and minstrel songs, were added to the other allurements of the scene. Women visited these places, escorted by fathers or husbands, with a strong band of warlike retainers. In the absence of their natural protectors, ladies could not venture beyond the walls of their castle, even to visit a dying friend, without being liable to insult and violence. But in a short time every gallant warrior publicly declared himself the champion of some fair dame, and proclaimed that any offence given to her, either in his presence or absence, would meet with ample revenge at his hand. This was the beginning of the remarkable institution of chivalry, which has been compared to a golden thread running through the dark history of the middle ages. Women, who before this period had been subject to every species of rudeness and neglect, were soon worshipped as deities. Those of great beauty, wealth, or rank, of course had the greatest number of champions; but chivalry extended itself by degrees, until it embraced for its universal object the protection of the weak against the strong; and women of all ages and ranks were treated with deference, because their cause was known to be the cause of chivalry. No man was admitted into the order without the fullest proof of his bravery, integrity, and virtue. The least disparaging word against the female sex disqualified a knight for the duties and privileges of his profession. A lady having any cause of complaint against a knight touched his helmet, or shield, as a sign that she impeached him of crime, and applied to the judges for redress. If found guilty of any misdemeanor, the culprit was excluded from the order, and could never be restored, except by the intercession of the offended fair one, and the most solemn promises of amendment.
None but women of stainless reputation were included within the pale of chivalry; the principles of the order did not require that the sword should be drawn in defence of one who had forfeited her claim to respect. The cavaliers, as they travelled, often wrote sentences of infamy on the door of a castle where a woman of tarnished character resided; but where a lady of unsullied honor dwelt, they paused and saluted her most courteously. At public ceremonies, a distinction was made in favor of the virtuous. If a woman of impure character took precedence of one distinguished for modesty, a cavalier boldly advanced and reversed the order, saying: “Be not offended that this lady precedes you, for although she is not so rich or well allied as you are, yet her fame has never been impeached.”
The sons of gentlemen were generally placed with some friend, or superior nobleman, to acquire the education of a knight, which began as early as seven or eight years of age. The boy was required to attend upon his lord or lady in the hall, to convey their messages, and follow them in all their exercises of war or pastime. From the men he learned to leap trenches, cast spears, sustain the shield, and walk like a soldier. The ladies of the court gave him his moral and intellectual education; or, in other words, they instructed him in his prayers, and the maxims of chivalric love. He was taught to regard some one lady as his peculiar idol, to whom he was to be obedient, courteous, and constant. “While the young Jean de Saintré was a page of honor at the court of the French king, the dame des Belles Cousines inquired of him the name of the mistress of his heart’s affections. The simple youth replied that he loved his lady mother, and next to her his sister Jacqueline was dear to him. ‘Young man,’ rejoined the lady, ‘I am not speaking of the affection due to your mother and sister; I wish to know the name of the lady to whom you are attached par amour.’ The poor boy was confused, and could only reply that he loved no one par amour. The dame des Belles Cousines charged him with being a traitor to the laws of chivalry, and declared that his craven spirit was evinced by such an avowal. ‘Whence sprang the valiancy and knightly feats of Launcelot, Tristram, Giron the courteous, and other ornaments of the round table?’ said she: ‘whence the grandeur of many I have known rise to renown, except from the noble desire of maintaining themselves in the grace and esteem of the ladies? Without this spirit-stirring sentiment, they must have ever remained in the shades of obscurity. And do you, coward valet, presume to declare that you possess no sovereign lady, and desire to have none?’
“Jean underwent a long scene of persecution, but was at last restored to favor by the intercession of the ladies of the court. He then named as his mistress Matheline de Courcy, a child only ten years old. ‘Matheline is indeed a pretty girl,’ replied the dame des Belles Cousines; ‘but what profit, what honor, what comfort, what aid, what counsel for advancing you in chivalrous fame, can you derive from such a choice? You should elect a lady of noble blood, who has the ability to advise, and the power to assist you; and you should serve her so truly, and love her so loyally, as to compel her to acknowledge the honorable affection you entertain for her. Be assured there is no lady, however cruel and haughty she may be, but through long service will be induced to acknowledge and reward loyal affection with some portion of mercy. By such a course, you will gain the praise of worthy knighthood; till then, I would not give an apple for you or your achievements. He who loyally serves his lady, will not only be blessed at the height of man’s felicity in this life, but will never fall into those sins that prevent happiness hereafter. Pride will be entirely effaced from the heart of him, who endeavors by humility and courtesy to win the grace of a lady. The true faith of a lover will defend him from the sins of anger, envy, sloth, and gluttony; and his devotion to his mistress renders the thought impossible of his conduct ever being stained with the vice of profligacy.’”