At a time when force was greater than
law, when the weak and defenceless were at the mercy of the powerful,
when women were never safe from the attacks of the brutal, a body of
men who were sworn to redress wrongs, to succor the oppressed, and to
protect women and children, could not fail to be highly beneficial and
to win the reverence of mankind. To be a good knight was to be the salt
of the earth. The church gave easy absolution to the champion of the
weak,--the soldier of God. Women smiled upon the cavalier whose
profession was her service, and whose deeds, as well as the glitter of
his arms and the fascination of his martial appearance, flattered her
pride and gratified her imagination.
Yet, in considering the period of chivalry, we must not yield too much
to the attraction of its brilliant show, its high flown sentiments, and
knightly valor. Beneath religion there ever lurked a bigoted
superstition; beneath valor, cruelty; beneath love, mere brutal
passion. The sympathies of the order were much confined to the higher
classes, and there was little feeling for the sufferings of the common
people. The reign of Edward the Third embraces the most brilliant days
of chivalry. About that period is spread a mist of manly gallantry and
feminine charms which conceals the darkness beneath.
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