Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/48

 the powers of endurance of the Arab horse became gradually known, and the admixture of this blood with that of the Spanish war-horse eventually produced an animal combining the good points of both races.

The destrier, or war-horse, was protected with armour on very much the same principle as his rider—the head, chest, and flanks being completely covered. The taste for ornamentation found an ample field in his caparisons, the bridle being the special point of adornment. On this head, as on others, the rule of the Order was stringent, the regulation being that the horse furniture of the soldiers of Jesus Christ should be free from all golden or silver ornaments.

In conclusion, it may be remembered that every part of a knight's armour had a symbolical meaning. His sword with its cross hilt was typical of the death of Christ, and reminded him that it was his duty to die for his faith; his spear was the emblem of truth, from its unswerving straightness, its iron head denoting that strength which is its distinctive property; the mace represented courage, the helmet modesty, the hauberk that spiritual panoply which should cover the knight from the frailties of the flesh, and the shield represented his own duty as a protection to his country.

There was much both great and noble in all connected with the laws of chivalry, and much also tending to soften and civilize the rude character of the times. Many an act of tyranny, aggression, or spoliation was checked by the feeling that injured innocence and oppressed weakness could claim a champion in every true knight, regardless of country or religion. In these days, when the laws give a ready redress for all injuries sustained, the intervention of the mailed knight becomes an absurdity; but in the days of our forefathers the power of the law was but feeble, and he who was not prepared to hold his ground by the strength of his own right hand would have fared but badly had it not been for the generous intervention of the chivalric code.