instrument used in ancient war,) and the exercise of the bow, were taught to young men with as much and more pains than dancing, fencing, and music now require. Horsemanship, archery, &c. require great presence of mind and strength of body, and show elegance of person and quickness of thought to the utmost advantage.

For a long time Chivalry did much good, but at length it went out of use, because laws were made and enforced that compelled people to live peacefully together, so that the arts that belonged to Chivalry only served for amusement, and Knights or Champions used to practice a sort of mock fighting, as a mere trial of strength and skill, not intending to kill one another, but to spare the life of him who should be proved the weakest; and the most beautiful lady present at the encounter, used to give a prize to the victorious knight. These public spectacles were at last given up, but not all at once, for so late as the year 1600, and afterwards, we read of young gentlemen who were taught all the exercises of Chivalry

No nobleman, let his rank have been ever so great, could be considered a complete soldier till he was knighted, or acknowledged to be a knight-that is, a member of the order of Chivalry. There were many different orders of knighthood, in each of which different ceremonies and vows were used: but the chief formality was the kneeling down before some elder knight, who, giving a slight blow with his sword on the left shoulder, said: "In the name of God and St. George, rise up, Sir John!" or "Sir Thomas!" or whatever else the name might be. Amongst the different sorts of knights, were the knights-errant.

This order was first introduced in England in the time of king Stephen, by some young men, who, abhorring the tyranny of the lawless barons, bound themselves by solemn vows to devote themselves to the protection of the injured and helpless. The knights-errant were quite independent

Why did Chivalry go out of use?

How were knights created?

When did Chivalry commence in England?

of one another, and traveled about from place to place for the purpose of redressing grievances. This order of knight-errantry was of infinite service in softening the ferocious manners of the times. The spirit of chivalry seemed to belong wholly to the Norman character, no traces of it having been found amongst the plain and rustic Saxons.

Females in that age had not the liberty they enjoy in our time, but they were beloved and cherished by their families, and honored extravagantly by the knights. The daughters of noblemen were commonly educated in nunneries till they married: they then lived in their husband's castles, and were very often besieged, and taken prisoners, according to the chances of war. One of their occupations was that of surgery; and it was their office to make salves, and attend on the wounded; but their principal employment was embroidery and needle-work; and they used to sit in the great hall, surrounded by their damsels, working with them, and setting them their tasks.

When these ladies made a visit, they were furnished with a guard to protect them, lest they should be killed or carried off. But they had no want of society at home; for, besides the menials belonging to the castle, every lady had a number of damsels attendant on herself, who were the daughters of inferior knights and barons, or perhaps her own relations. And every castle was a sort of school for young nobles, where, first in quality of pages, and as they grew older, in that of squires, they learned the arts of war and hunting, which were the chief requisites for a gentle

man.

What were the occupations of ladies in the middle ages?
Who were the companions and attendants of ladies?

All the precautions which Henry had taken to secure the crown to his daughter were but vain. An usurper sprang up where he would least have expected one, in his favorite nephew Stephen, who was the second son of his sister Adela and the count de Blois. To him Henry had invariably shown the utmost kindness, and a preference above all his other relations. He had given him a large estate in Normandy; and had married him to the heiress of Boulogne, whose mother was Mary of Scotland, sister to his own queen, Matilda. But all these kindnesses could not inspire Stephen with gratitude. As soon as he heard of the king's death, he hastened to England; and though he met with a little opposition at first, yet he soon procured himself to be crowned at Westminster.

Stephen's deportment was popular and engaging, and he had much pleasantry in his conversation. He was a great favorite with the people; and to this, more than to any other cause, is attributed the success of his attempt on the crown. This usurpation had been so totally

Who succeeded Henry I. ?

What immediate effect had Stephen's usurpation?

unexpected, that no preparations had been made to guard against it; and the empress Maude, as she is commonly called, and her friends,were so unprepared for the event, that they knew not what to do. This gave Stephen time to strengthen himself, before any attempts were made to check his operations.

The first person who took up arms against him was David, king of Scotland, who marched an army into England to vindicate the rights of his niece. But Stephen contrived to win him over by ceding to him the greater part of the four northern counties of England, and giving to his son the earldom of Huntingdon. The wisest and most powerful baron then in England was the earl of Gloucester, a son of the late king. He was warmly attached to his sister; but as the other nobles acknowledged Stephen, he also was obliged to submit. For the next three years Maude appears to have made no direct attempt; but to have been lying in wait for an opportunity to assert her rights. Stephen raised great discontents by his A.D. 1139. severity to some of his barons. This encouraged Maude and the earl of Gloucester, who had joined his sister in Normandy, to come to England. They were received in an evil hour into Arundel Castle, by the dowager queen Adelais: and from this time, for several years, England was desolated by one of the most calamitous wars it ever knew. The barons sided with the two contending parties as their feelings, or rather as their interests, prompted .hem,

But, instead of an open war, it was a miserable vexatious kind of hostility, and displayed all the worst evils of the feudal system. Each baron, shut up in his own castle with his own retainers, kept up a sort of petty war with his nearest neighbor of the opposite party, to the destruction of all domestic comfort and civil order. "All England," according to an old historian," wore a face of desolation and misery; multitudes abandoned their beloved country, and went into voluntary exile others, forsaking their own houses, built wretched huts in church yards,

Who vindicated Matilda's rights?

Why did Matilda come to England?

What sort of war was carried on in England in Stephen's reign?

hoping for protection from the sacredness of the place Whole families, after sustaining life as long as they could by eating herbs, roots, and the flesh of dogs and horses, at last died of hunger; and you might see many pleasant villages without a single inhabitant."

After this contest had gone on for some

A. D. 1141. time, without any decided advantage to either party, the earl of Gloucester, who commanded the empress's army, appeared before Lincoln, where a fierce battle took place on the 2d of February, 1141, Stephen was taken, and carried prisoner to Bristol Castle.

Upon this great victory, Maude was acknowledged queen, and on the 1st of June entered London in triumph. But instead of acting with prudence, or even with gratitude, despising the counsels of her uncle, the king of Scotland, and of her brother, the earl of Gloucester, to whom she owed so much, she treated her friends ungraciously, and her enemies insolently. She insulted the citizens of London, instead of granting any of their requests; and disgusted all orders of people so entirely, that, even while she was making preparations for her coronation, she found herself compelled to leave London, and fly to Winchester.

Here she was soon besieged by Stephen's youngest brother, Henry, bishop of Winchester. With the utmost difficulty she escaped on a swift horse, to Devizes; but the earl of Gloucester, in endeavoring to follow her, was taken prisoner, and carried to Rochester Castle. He, however, was soon after exchanged for Stephen. Thus, by both being taken prisoners, they both regained their liberty.

Stephen, about this time, was seized with a fit of illness, and was disabled, for a time, from taking advantage of this turn of fortune in his favor. As soon, however, as he regained his health, he pursued the empress. She escaped, borne in a litter, like a corpse, to Oxford; and took refuge there in the castle, during the absence of the earl of

Was Stephen defeated?

How did Matilda conduct herself after the battle of Lincoln ?
How did Stephen obtain his liberty?

How did Matilda escape from Stephen?