Page:Horse shoes and horse shoeing.djvu/456

 Black Prince, was the most glorious, perhaps, in the annals of chivalry. Then, gentlemen scorned the idea of fighting otherwise than on horseback, and the universal motto of the knighthood of Europe was 'Tout l'amor, tout à l'honor;' then the squire, during his final period of probation, groomed, trained, and shod his own horses; practised leaping, running, and mounting on horseback, clad in all his armour, and resolutely attacked the quintain; and the most menial offices were raised to an honourable degree by the dignity of the person who performed them. But of all the services rendered by the squire to the knight, the most important were naturally those which were connected directly or indirectly with the grand object of the lives of both, war. 'When the knight mounted his horse, the squires of his body held his stirrup; and other squires carried the various pieces of his armour, such as the brassards, the gauntlets, the helmet, and the buckler, on the road behind him. With regard to the cuirass, or hauberk, the knight was no less careful of its preservation than the Greek and Roman soldiers were of their bucklers. Other squires bore the pennon, the lance, and the sword. When only on a journey, the knight rode a short-tailed, ambling-paced horse—a palfrey or a courser; and the war-horses were led by the squires, who by always leading them in their right hand, obtained for them the name of "dextriers." The war-horse was delivered to the knight on the appearance of an enemy, or when he was about entering the field of battle: this was what they called "mounting the great horse." '

When travelling, the squire carried his master's