The History of Chivalry; Or, Knighthood and Its Times, Volume 2 (of 2)

Charles Mills

CHAP. I.

The History of Chivalry

Knighthood and its times.

By
Charles Mills, Esq^r.
Author of the History of the Crusades

IN TWO VOLUMES.

Vol: II.

Engraved by A. Le Petit from a sketch by R. W. Sievier.

London.
Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green
MDCCCXXV.

CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME.

CHAP. I.
STATE OF CHIVALRY IN ENGLAND DURING THE REIGN OF EDWARD THE THIRD.
	Page
Tournaments ... The Round Table ... Order of the Garter ... Courtesy of Edward ... Prevalence of chivalric taste among all classes ... English archers ... The Black Prince ... Story of the king’s chivalry ... England regarded as the seat of honour ... Instance of this ... Chivalric heroes in this reign ... The gestes and prowesses of Sir Walter Manny ... Chivalric vow of Sir Walter ... He fights for the love of his lady ... His rescue of two brother knights ... Instance of his joyous adventurousness ... His gallantry before Auberoche ... His filial piety ... Story of chivalric manners ... The gentle disposition of Manny ... His importance at Edward’s court ... His remarkable sagacity ... His liberality ... His death in 1372 ... Buried in the Charter-House ... Heroism of Sir James Audley ... His generosity ... Memoir of Sir John Chandos ... His gallantry to ladies ... Amusing instance of the pride of knighthood ... The importance of his counsel at Poictiers ... His exploits in Brittany ... And in Spain ... Is made a knight banneret ... Quits the Black Prince ... But returns ... The remarkable generousness of his conduct to Lord Pembroke ... The last circumstance of his life ... General grief at his death	1

CHAP. II.
PROGRESS OF CHIVALRY IN GREAT BRITAIN, FROM THE REIGN OF RICHARD II. TO THAT OF HENRY VIII.
Complaints of the unchivalric state of Richard’s court ... Influence of chivalry on the national character ... Scottish chivalry ... Chivalric kindness of Robert Bruce ... Mutual chivalry between the Scotch and English courts ... French knights’ opinions of Scottish chivalry ... Courtesies between English and Scottish knights ... Chivalric battle of Otterbourn ... Hotspur and the Douglas ... A cavaleresque story ... Reign of Henry IV. ... Chivalric parley between him and the Duke of Orleans ... Henry’s unchivalric conduct at Shrewsbury ... Henry V. ... Knights of the Bath ... Henry’s love of chivalric books ... His chivalric bearing ... Commencement of the decline of chivalry ... The civil wars injured chivalry ... Caxton’s lamentation ... He exaggerates the evil ... Many gallant English knights ... Character of Henry VIII. with reference to chivalry ... Tournaments in his reign ... Field of the cloth of gold ... Introduction of Italian literature favoured romance ... Popularity of chivalric literature ... English knights continued to break lances for ladies’ love ... State of Scottish chivalry at this period ... James IV. ... Chivalric circumstances at Flodden Field	64

CHAP. III.
THE LAST YEARS OF CHIVALRY IN ENGLAND.
The chivalric feelings of the nation supported by Spenser ... and by Sir Philip Sidney ... Allusions to Sidney’s life ... particularly his kindly consideration ... Chivalric politeness of the age of Elizabeth ... The Earl of Oxford ... Tilts in Greenwich Park ... Sir Henry Lee ... Chivalry reflected in the popular amusements ... Change of manners ... Reign of James the First ... Tournaments ceased on Prince Henry’s death ... Life of Lord Herbert of Cherbury ... Chivalric fame of his family ... His character ... His inferiority to the knights of yore ... Decline of chivalric education ... Important change in knighthood by the parliament of Charles the First ... Application of chivalric honours to men of civil station ... Knights made in the field ... Carpet knights ... Knights of the Bath ... Full account of the ancient ceremonies of creating knights of the Bath	125

CHAP. IV.
PROGRESS OF CHIVALRY IN FRANCE.
Chivalry in baronial castles ... Chivalry injured by religious wars ... Beneficial influence of poetry and romance ... Chivalric brilliancy of the fourteenth century ... Brittany ... Du Guesclin ... Romantic character of his early years ... His knightly conduct at Rennes ... Gallantry at Cochetel ... Political consequences of his chivalry ... He leads an army into Spain ... And changes the fortunes of that kingdom ... Battle of Navaret ... Du Guesclin prisoner ... Treatment of him by the Black Prince ... Ransomed ... Is made Constable of France ... Recovers the power of the French monarchy ... Companionship in arms between Du Guesclin and Olivier De Clisson ... Du Guesclin’s death before Randon ... His character ... Decline of chivalry ... Proof of it ... Little chivalry in the second series of French and English wars ... Combats of pages ... Further Decay of chivalry ... Abuses in conferring knighthood ... Burgundy ... Its chivalry ... The romantic nature of the Burgundian tournaments ... Last gleams of chivalry in France ... Life of Bayard ... Francis I. ... Extinction of chivalry	168

CHAP. V.
PROGRESS OF CHIVALRY IN SPAIN.
General nature of Spanish chivalry ... Religion and heroism ... Gallantry ... Blending of Spanish and Oriental manners ... Its beneficial tendencies ... Peculiarities of Spanish chivalry ... Forms of knighthood ... Various ranks of knights ... Spanish poetry ... Heroes of chivalry ... Pelayo ... Bernardo del Carpio ... And incidentally of Charlemagne’s expedition into Spain ... The life of the Cid ... His early ferocious heroism ... Singular marriage ... Enters the service of King Ferdinand ... The Cid’s chivalric gallantry ... He is knighted ... Death of King Ferdinand ... The Cid becomes the knight of Sancho, king of Castile ... Mixture of evil and good in the Cid’s character ... Supports the king in his injustice ... The Cid’s romantic heroism ... Sancho’s further injustice opposed by him ... Death of Sancho ... Instance of the Cid’s virtuous boldness ... Character of Alfonso, successor of Sancho ... Story of his chivalric bearing ... The Cid’s second marriage ... Is banished from Alfonso’s court ... Becomes the ally of the Moors ... But recalled ... Is banished again ... Singular story of the Cid’s unknightly meanness ... Fortunes of the Cid during his exile ... The Cid’s chivalric nobleness and generosity ... Is recalled by Alfonso ... The Cid captures Toledo ... and Valentia ... Story of Spanish manners ... The Cid’s unjust conduct to the Moors ... The unchivalric character of the Cid’s wife and daughters ... The Cid recalled by Alfonso ... The marriages of his daughters ... Basely treated by their husbands ... Cortez at Toledo to decide the cause ... Picture of ancient manners ... Death of the Cid ... His character ... Fate of his good horse ... Spanish chivalry after his death ... Gallantry of a knight ... The merits of missals decided by battle ... Passage of arms at Orbigo ... Knights travel and joust for ladies’ love ... Extinction of Spanish chivalry	230

CHAP. VI.
PROGRESS OF CHIVALRY IN GERMANY AND ITALY.
Chivalry did not affect the public history of Germany ... Its influence on Imperial manners ... Intolerance and cruelty of German knights ... Their harshness to their squires ... Avarice of the Germans ... Little influence of German chivalry ... A remarkable exception to this ... A female tournament ... Maximilian, the only chivalric emperor of Germany ... Joust between him and a French knight ... Edict of Frederic III. destroyed chivalry ... Chivalry in Italy: ... Lombards carried chivalry thither ... Stories of chivalric gallantry ... But little martial chivalry in Italy ... Condottieri ... Chivalry in the north ... Italians excellent armourers but bad knights ... Chivalry in the south ... Curious circumstances attending knighthood at Naples ... Mode of creating knights in Italy generally ... Political use of knighthood ... Chivalric literature ... Chivalric sports	303

CHAP. VII.
ON THE MERITS AND EFFECTS OF CHIVALRY	341

THE HISTORY OF CHIVALRY.

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