Father. It cannot be called worthless curiosity to wish to know what customs prevail and must be observed at the king’s court; for all courtesy and proper conduct have their origin there, if the mode of life is as it ought to be and as it was ordained of old. Still, customs at court are by no means of one sort only, for there is a multitude of services and offices about the king, and those of his men who are less in rank are usually not held to strict manners. Those who are higher in the service often differ much in manners and deportment, so that the men who observe the better customs are, unfortunately, fewer, as a rule, than those who are moderately courteous, or scarcely so much. Now I do not know whose conduct you are interested in, that of the more mannerly or of the greater number.
XXV
THE IMPORTANCE OF COURTESY IN THE ROYAL SERVICE
Son. It would be most profitable both for me and for all others who are interested in unfamiliar subjects, whether good breeding or other knowledge, to learn what is best and most useful. For there are but few masters who can teach such things, and they are all more difficult to grasp than those subjects which are of but slight value or wholly worthless. Now since I hear that there are differences both in the duties of men and in the customs of the court, I shall ask you to inform me as to the regulations there and to explain how the services differ and what belongs to each; also to point out the customs which seem good to you and which are surely needful to learn, if one wishes to serve a king with honor, as well as those which one who wishes to be reputed a moral man should shun and beware of. I have this reason, too, for seeking this information so earnestly, that I have seen men come from a king’s household, whose conduct I have noted carefully, most of whom seemed only about as well-bred as those who had never been at court, or even less than they. Now I do not know which is the more likely, whether I do not understand what good breeding means, or that the facts are as they seemed to me.
Father. If it should be your fate to serve at court and you wish to be called courtly and polite, you will need to beware of what happens to those who come to court without manners and leave without refinement. But since you have asked how the services and the usages at a royal court differ, I shall now explain that to you, and also show why some return thence rude and unpolished. When a dull man fares to court, it is as when an ignorant fellow travels to Jerusalem, or a simpleton enters a good school. An ignorant man who has been to Jerusalem believes himself well informed and tells many things about his journey, though chiefly what seems worthless to a knowing man, or mere sport and foolery. In the same way the simpleton who comes from school believes himself to be perfectly educated; he struts about and shows great disdain whenever he meets one who knows nothing. But when he meets one who is a real scholar, he himself knows naught. So it is, too, when stupid men come to the king’s court: they promptly seek out men of their own kind and learn from them such things as are most easily grasped and into which they had gotten some insight earlier; but this is mere folly and unwisdom. And when they return from court, they will display such manners and courtesy as they learned there. And yet, many who come from strange places, whether from other lands or courts, will behave in this way; but when those who have remained at home find that these men bring great tidings, they come to regard them at once as thoroughly informed, both as to customs and happenings, seeing that they have visited alien peoples and foreign lands; and this is most often the case with dull men. Now if you aim at good breeding, beware lest you fall into such unwisdom. We may now take up the question how the duties of the men at court differ and what belongs to each service.
All the men who have gone to the king’s hand[[235]] are housecarles; but honors and authority are distributed among them according to the merits of each and as the king wishes to grant. Thus one class of housecarles is made up of men who are always present at court, but draw no wages, and do not eat and drink where the hirdmen take their meals. They have to do such service in the king’s garth as the steward shall assign, whether it be to go on a journey or to do manual labor in the garth.
XXVI
THE ADVANTAGES DERIVED FROM SERVICE IN THE KING’S HOUSEHOLD
Son. I pray you, sire, not to regard me as thoughtless or as wishing to interrupt your discourse, if I inquire briefly about the duties of these men.
Father. While we are on this subject, you had better ask what you like, or you may regret it later, having come away ill-informed about what you wanted to hear, because you did not inquire sufficiently.