C H I V A L R V. 



547 



Ckivalry. zeal of the lady was so outrageous and indelicate, that 

 " T" ' she deprived herself of more than the ornamental parts 

 of her dress fur this purpose. But to suffer the favour 

 of his lady to be taken from him by his adversary, and 

 not either to preserve it, or if he did lose it, to lose it 

 by its being cut to pieces, was regarded as highly dis- 

 graceful, and as the certain cause of his mistress's 

 estrangement. 



The ladies also bore another conspicuous and import- 

 ant part in the tournament. They had the right to ap- 

 point a judge of the peace, the touch of whose lance, 

 the sign of the pleasure of the ladies, rescued those who, 

 through inadvertence, had violated the laws of the tour- 

 nament, from the attacks of his companions. 



But it was at the close of the day, when the sports 

 were finished, that the high privilege, and the most plea- 

 sing duty, of .the ladies was exercised. By them the 

 prize awarded by the judges was to be bestowed on the 

 fortunate chevalier. * It was their duty to take off his 

 armour ; and when he received from their hands the 

 prize, he was permitted to take, and the most noble and 

 scrupulous were not ashamed to receive, a kiss. He 

 was afterwards dressed in the richest robes, placed at 

 table in the seat of honour, and treated with every mark 

 of respect and dignity. His exploits were entered by 

 the heralds in a register ; and the minstrels celebrated 

 his victory. 



After the principal tournament was finished, it was 

 customary to engage in another, which was denominated 

 " the lance for the ladies." In this, if possible, the 

 knights exceeded their former efforts in skill, enterprise, 

 and valour. f 



Single Single combats were fought, either when one knight 



combats, brought an accusation against another, of "having bro- 

 ken the laws of God, of the land, or of chivalry ; or 

 between knights of different nations in time of war ; or 

 to revenge private quarrels ; or to prove the superior 

 beauty and qualifications of a mistress. 



Judicial In judicial combats, the accused person was obliged 



combat?. to appear before the judge of the field on an appointed 

 ilay ; and if he denied the accusation, the challenge was 

 thrown down, *nd accepted by each party. The judge 

 first took up the challenge of the defendant, and after- 

 wards that of the accuser. They were both immedi- 

 ately after that confined till the day of combat, or com- 

 mitted to the care of their respective friends, who be- 

 came bound for their appearance, dead or alive, till the 

 appointed day. If then either party did not make his 

 appearance, his surety was ignomimously, and sometimes 

 capitally punished. If he had died in the mean time, 

 the surety brought the dead body into the lists j if it 

 happen to be the accuser, the defendant has no other 

 mode of proving his innocence, but by throwing the 

 body out of the lists. Lindsay mentions a curious case, 

 where the dead body was so heavy, that the other party 

 could not lift and throw it without the barriers. The 

 surety of the dead person therefore contended, that as 

 ke had neither confessed, nor been cast out of the lists, 



and the peremptory day was past, his friend had won his c!ilv;:!,y. 

 action. J " v 



On the day of combat, the parties took a solemn oath, 

 that they had no weapons, but such as were allowed, 

 and had been assigned them by the marshall ; that they 

 carried about them no spell and enchantment ; and that 

 they trusted in nothing but God, their own prowess, 

 and the justice of their cause. Their hair was cut sh/irt 

 round the forehead and about the ears ; and their bodies 

 had been generally previously anointed with oil. Be- 

 fore the combat began, each party repeated his chal- 

 lenge, and his defence or denial. Immediately after- 

 wards they entered the lists, which were protected and 

 surrounded by four or more knights. An hour was 

 then spent in devotion ; and when this was finished, the 

 cry of the marshall, " Come forth," was the signal for 

 the rencontre. If, on the appearance of the stars, the 

 combat was not finished, the accused was deemed victori. 

 ous, and consequently his innocence was established; but 

 it was established less equivocally, and more honoura- 

 bly, by the death of his antagonist. The conqueror 

 was not obliged to show mercy, unless the vanquished 

 begged it ; the dagger was used to dispatch the fallen 

 foe. When either of the combatants was dying, a priest 

 attended to confess him ; and it was deemed honourable, 

 and a proof of high courage, to be confessed and die 

 without taking off the helmet. The accused, if van- 

 quished, sometimes was not put to death on the spot ; 

 but led forth, hanged, and beheaded ; even this was 

 done, in cases of murder and treason, to the dead body 

 of the culprit, who had been slain in combat. It some- 

 times happened, that one person engaged several ; in 

 this case, after he had defeated one of his antagonists, 

 he was led out of the lists by the judges, who disarmed 

 him, and gave him three sops, probably of bread steeped 

 in wine, before he renewed the combat. 



In simple affairs of arms or of gallantry, the dial- Simple af- T 

 lenge was given by touching the shield, as in the case ^ a ' rs <)f 

 of tournaments. There was generally a shield of peace an " " 

 and another of war hung up ; and the combat was to 

 outrance," or otherwise, as one or other of these was 

 touched. Sometimes the shield, adorned with an fiti- 

 prise, a ribbon or chain, was hungup: if the empri . 

 was snatched away, the combat was for outrance ; if 

 only touched, for simple feats of arms. During sieges, 

 single combat was often held on the drawbridge or bar- 

 riers of the town, between knights of the opposing par- 

 tie. " The former, as the more desperate place of bat- 

 tle, was frequently chosen by knights, to break a lance 

 for honour and their ladies love," (Scott's Minstrcl.ii/, 

 iii. 36.) ; and as this mode was very dangerous, the 

 mode of attack and defence was early and regularly 

 taught all knights. In simple affairs of arms or gallan- 

 try, the vanquished was generally disarmed, and led 

 forth out of the lists ignominiously. In affairs of gal-, 

 lantry, the vanquished was obliged to confess the supe- 

 rior charms of his antagonist's mistress. In combats, as 

 well as in tournaments, if either party was carried by 



The decision turned upon several circumstances : he who had broke the greatest number of lances ; or who had exhibited the 



t skill in attack and defence with the lance and the sword; or who had continued on horseback the longest; or who, in the 



thickest combat, bad been able to keep his helmet on the longest, without being obliged to take it off, for the purpose of breathing; 



wa, according to circumstances, or the opinion of the judges, declared victor. The prize was sometimes very valuaMe ; sometimes 



only a wreath placed oh his head by the ladies, and called in the language of romance, " The chaplet of honour." 



( The combat of the lauce on horseback was deemed the most honourable ; that with the sword the most dangerous ; the superior 

 onour of the combat with the lance was marked by the following circumstance : Whv-n a knight came to a tournament for the first 

 me, he had to give a certain sum to the herald ; if his first combat was with the lance, what he paid freed his future combat with 



; but hat hi- paid, if hi* first combat was with the latter, did not free his future combats with the lance ; hence, the max- ' 

 im m chivalry, the lance iY.:es the sword, but not the sword the lance. 



t Lindsay's MS. Heraldry, quoted by Dr Leyden, Complaynt of Scotland; Introduction, 4C. 



