Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire vol 6 (1897).djvu/306

 284 THE DECLINE AND FALL The single combats, the general skirmish, the defence of a pass or castle, were rehearsed as in actual service ; and the contest, both in real and mimic war, was decided by the superior manage- ment of the horse and lance. The lance was the proper and peculiar weapon of the knight ; his horse was of a large and heavy breed ; but this charger, till he was roused by the approaching danger, was usually led by an attendant, and he quietly rode a pad or palfrey of a more easy pace. His helmet and sword, his greaves and buckler, it would be superfluous to describe ; but I may remark that at the period of the crusades the armour was less ponderous than in later times ; and that, instead of a massy cuirass, his breast was defended by an hauberk or coat of mail. When their long lances were fixed in the rest, the warriors furiously spurred their horses against the foe ; and the light cavalry of the Turks and Arabs could seldom stand against the direct and impetuous weight of their charge. Each knight was attended to the field by his faithful squire, a youth of equal birth and similar hopes ; he was followed by his archers and men at arms, and four, or five, or six soldiers were computed as the furniture of a complete lance. In the expeditions to the neighbouring kingdoms or the Holy Land, the duties of the feudal tenure no longer subsisted ; the voluntary service of the knights and their followers was either prompted by zeal or attachment, or purchased with rewards and promises ; and the numbers of each squadron were measured by the power, the wealth, and the fame of each independent chieftain. They were distinguished by his banner, his armorial coat, and his cry of war ; and the most ancient families of Europe must seek in these achievements the origin and proof of their nobility. In this rapid portrait of chivalry, I have been urged to anticipate on the story of the crusades, at once an effect, and a cause, of this memorable institution.*"^ March of the Sucli wcrc tlic troops, and such the leaders, who assumed the Constantino- cross for the dcliverancc of the holy sepulclire. As soon as 1096, Au^t they were relieved by the absence of the plebeian multitude, 1&-A.D. 1097, ^Yie.y encouraged each other, by interviews and messages, to accomplish their vow and hasten their departure. Their wives and sisters were desirous of partaking the danger and merit of ^ On the curious subject of knighthood, knights' service, nobility, arms, cry of war, banners, and tournaments, an ample fun(i of information may be sought in Selden (Opera, tom. iii. part i. Titles of Honour, part ii. c. i, 3, 5, 8), Ducange (Gloss. Latin, tom. iv. p. 398-412, &c. ), Dissertations sur joinville (i. vi.-.xii. p. 127-142; p. 165-222), and M. de St. Palaye (Memoires sur la Chevalerie). [Here the author anticipates a later age. At the time of the First Ciusade, there was no chivalry, as here meant ; knight signified a trooper.]