KNIGHTS. 



every lustrum, under the superintendance 

 of the censors. 



When the Equites had accomplished 

 the term for which their services were 

 required, it was the established custom to 

 lead their horses to the place where the 

 two censors were seated in the Forum, to 

 whom they related the circumstances at- 

 tending" their various campaigns, and 

 under whom they served ; they were 

 theu discharged either with honour or 

 disgrace, as their conduct was approved 

 or considered disgraceful. 



It is generally admitted, that it is by no 

 means correct to suppose that all the Ro- 

 man soldiers mounted on horses were 

 knights. Sigonius, and others, made a 

 distinction in the cavalry between those 

 who served equo publico, and those who 

 served equo private ; " the former," says 

 Kennet, " they allow to have been of the 

 order of knights, the latter not. They 

 demonstrate from the course of history, 

 that from the beginning of the Roman 

 state till the time of Marius, no other 

 horse entered the legions but the true 

 and proper knights, except in the midst 

 of public confusion, when order and dis- 

 * cipline were neglected." 



Like all other institutions, this order 

 began to degenerate, the life and soul of 

 honour which supported it died and faded 

 away, leaving a mere shadow of its pristine 

 importance, indolence and avarice tempt- 

 ed individuals from the pursuit of mili- 

 tary fame to the more innocent, and, per- 

 haps, more laudable occupations of agri- 

 culture, and to partake of the emoluments 

 <o be derived from places of trust under 

 the government; those who retained suf- 

 ficient vigour of mind to consider them- 

 selves as still belonging to the order, 

 obtained commands, and the mass of the 

 cavalry was at length composed of foreign 

 mercenaries. Fully sensible of the de- 

 graded state of the Equites, who wished 

 to receive the honours due to them when 

 deserving of honour, and a horse from 

 their country, when that country no longer 

 was remunerated by their services, sub- 

 sequent princes deprived them of the 

 horse, but suffered them to retain the 

 golden ring. 



KNIGHTS' service, this species of servi- 

 tude was the consequence of the weak- 

 ness and decay of the feodal system 

 throughout Europe, and was invented as 

 a remedy. Fiefs, which had previously 

 been held for long terms of years, were 

 made hereditary, and the holder was com- 

 pelled to afford, without exception or a 

 possibility of denial, as many soldiers to 

 be maintained by the produce of the lands, 



as the lord proprietor was disposed to 

 think proper; this became the tenure of 

 knights' service ; but a single soldier de- 

 rived, as the service of a certain portion 

 of land was termed, a knight's fee, and an 

 estate furnishing a number of men trained 

 for the field was said to contain an equal 

 number of knights' fees ; this system, ex- 

 tending in every direction, rendered each 

 nation acting under it formidable and dan- 

 gerous to the adjoining, as numerous 

 armies might be assembled at a very short 

 notice, and much blood spilt before reason 

 had time to subdue sudden resentment, 

 besides the means of oppression it afford- 

 ed to men of large possessions. The armies 

 thus assembled were commanded by the 

 monarch, the nobles acted as officers, and 

 all the varieties of vassals were considered 

 and sorted as private soldiers. Exclusive 

 of the tyranny of exacting personal ser- 

 vice, the holders of knights' tenures were 

 subject to all the ancient hardships of the 

 old system, under the name of incidents, 

 for chief aid, escheat, wardship and mar- 

 riage, and they were compelled to bind 

 themselves to their oppressor by oaths of 

 homage and fealty. 



It is supposed that knights' service had 

 been universally established in Europe 

 by the year 987 ; if so, there cannot be 

 the least doubt that it was introduced into 

 England by William of Normandy obtain- 

 ing the absolute right of disposing of the 

 territory of the conquered chiefs of this 

 country ; the obvious policy of the 

 monarch was the distribution of it to 

 those persons who had adopted his for- 

 tunes ; and in what way could he more 

 firmly bind them to his future support 

 than by compelling them to furnish men 

 by the prevailing tenure ? 



Pursuing this policy, the old tenants 

 received fresh grants, and were thus se- 

 cured by the subtle king from attempting 

 to wrest his conquests from him ; indeed 

 it has been asserted, that the system was 

 generally approved, as but few of the 

 Anglo-Saxon fiefs were hereditary. The 

 knights were bound to appear completely 

 armed, with a lance, sword, shield and 

 helmet, and well mounted, at the shortest 

 notice from their superiors, and to re- 

 main in the field forty days at the expense 

 of the chiefs of their fees. At length 

 similar causes to those which have been 

 mentioned to have actuated the Roman 

 equites, induced the English knights to 

 commute their personal services for fines, 

 and hence arose the system of taxation. 



An act of parliament was passed in the 

 reign of Edward II. which required all 

 persons possessed of 201, per annjim to 



