The young man, in the presence of his friends and kindred, then made oath to be loyal to the King, to defend religion, and to be the champion of every lady in danger or distress. Next, a high-born dame or great warrior buckled on his spurs, and girded the sword, which he priest had blessed, to his side. This done, he knelt to the prince or noble who was to perform the final ceremony. The prince struck him lightly on the shoulder with the flat of the sword, saying: "In the name of God, St. Michael,[2] and St. George [the patron saint of England], I dub thee knight. Be brave, hardy, and loyal."
[2] St. Michael, as representative of the triumphant power of good over evil.
Then the young cavalier leaped into the saddle and galloped up and down, brandishing his weapon in token of strength and skill. In case a knight proved false to his oaths, he was publicly degraded. His spurs were taken from him, his shield was reversed, his armor broken to pieces, and a sermon preached upon him in the neighboring church, proclaiming him dead to the order.
IV. Literature, Learning, and Art
154. Education; Use of Seals or Stamps.
The leaning of this period was confined almost wholly to the clergy. Whatever schools existed were connected with the monasteries and nunneries. Oxford had begun to be regarded as a seat of leaning (1120). The instruction was given by priests, though some noted Jewish scholars may have had pupils there. Very few books were written during this period. Generally speaking, the nobility considered fighting the great business of life and cared nothing for education. They thought that reading and writing were beneath their dignity, and left such accomplishments to monks, priests, and lawyers. For this reason seals or stamps having some device or signature engraved on them came to be used on all papers of importance.
155. Historical Works; the Bayeux Tapestry.
The chief books written in England under the Norman kings were histories. Of these the most noteworthy were the continuation of the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" in English (S99) and the chronicles of William of Malmesbury and Henry of Huntingdon in Latin.[1] William's book and the "Saxon Chronicle" still continue to be of great importance to students of this period. Mention has already been made of the Bayeux Tapestry (S75), a history of the Norman Conquest worked in colored worsteds, on a long strip of narrow canvas.
[1] Geoffrey of Monmouth's "History of the Britons" belongs to this period. It abounds in romances about King Arthur. Tennyson based his "Idylls of the King" on it.
It consists of a series of seventy-two scenes, or pictures, done about the time of William's accession. It was probably intended to decorate the cathedral of Bayeux, in Normandy, France, where it was originally placed. Some have supposed it to be the work of his Queen, Matilda. The entire length is two hundred and fourteen feet and the width about twenty inches. It represents events in English history from the last of Edward the Confessor's reign to the battle of Hastings. As a guide to a knowledge of the armor, weapons, and costume of the period, it is of very great value. The tapestry is preserved at Bayeux.
156. Architecture.
Under the Norman sovereigns there was neither painting, statuary, nor poetry worthy of mention. The spirit that creats these arts found expression in architecture introduced from the Continent. The castle, cathedral, and minster, with here and there an exceptional structure like the Tower of London, London Bridge, and the Great Hall at Westminster, built by William Rufus, were some well-known Norman buildings which mark the time. All were of stone, a material which the Normans generally preferred to any other. Aside from Westminster Abbey, which, although the work of Edward the Confessor, was really Norman, a fortress or two, like Coningsborough in Yorkshire, and a few churches, like that at Bradford-on-Avon, the Saxons had erected little of note.
The characteristics of the Norman style of architecture was its massive grandeur. The churches were built in the form of a cross, with a square, central tower, the main entrance being at the west. The interior was divided into a nave, or central portion, with an aisle on each side for the passage of religious processions. The windows were narrow, and rounded at the top. The roof rested on round arches supported by heavy columns. The cathedrals of Peterborough, Ely, Durham, Norwich, the church of St. Bartholomew, London, and St. John's Chapel in the Tower of London are fine examples of Norman work.
The castles consisted of a square keep, or citadel, with walls of immense thickness, having a few slitlike windows in the lower story and somewhat larger ones above. In these buildings everything was made subordinate to strength and security. They were surrounded by a high stone wall and deep ditch, generally filled with water. The entrance to them was over a drawbridge through an archway protected by an iron grating, or portcullis, which could be raised and lowered at pleasure. The Tower of London, Rochester Castle, Norwich Castle, Castle Rising, Richmond Castle, Carisbrooke Keep, New Castle on the Tyne, and Tintagel Hold were built by William or his Norman successors.
The so-called Jews' houses at Lincoln and St. Edmundsbury are rare and excellent examples of Norman domestic architecture. Although in many cases the Norman castles are in ruins, yet these ruins bid fair to stand as long as the Pyramids. They were mostly the work of churchmen, who were the best architects of the day, and knew how to plan a fortress as well as to build a minster.
V. General Industry and Commerce
157. Trade.
No very marked change took place in respect to agriculture or trade during the Norman period. Jews are mentioned in a few cases in Saxon records, but they apparently did not enter England in any number until after William the Conqueror's accession. They soon got control of much of the trade, and were the only capitalists of the time.
They were protected by the Kings in money lending at exorbitant rates of interest. In turn, the Kings extorted immense sums from them.
The guilds (S106), or associations for mutual protection among merchants and manufacturers, now became prominent, and in time they acquired great political influence.
VI. Mode of Life, Manners, and Customs.
158. Dress.
The Normans were more temperate and refined in their mode of living than the Saxons. In dress they made great display. In Henry I's reign it became the custom for the nobility to wear their hair very long, so that their curls resembled those of women. The clergy thundered against this effeminate fashion, but with no effect. At last, a priest preaching before the King on Easter Sunday, ended his sermon by taking out a pair of shears and cropping the entire congregation, King and all.
By the regulation called the curfew, a bell rang at sunset in summer and at eight in winter, which was the government signal for putting out lights and covering up fires. This law, which was especially hated by the English, as a Norman innovation and act of tyranny, was a necessary precaution against fire, at a time when London and other cities were masses of wooden hovels.
Surnames came in with the Normans. Previous to the Conquest, Englishmen had but one name; and when, for convenience, another was needed, they were called by their occupation or from some personal peculiarity, as Edward the Carpenter, Harold the Dauntless. Among the Normans the lack of a second, or family, name had come to be looked upon as a sign of low birth, and the daughter of a great lord (Fitz-Haman) refused to marry a nobleman who had but one, saying, "My father and my grandfather had each two names, and it were a great shame to me to take a husband who has less."
The principal amusements were hunting, and hawking (catching birds and other small game by the use of trained hawks).
The Church introduced theatrical plays, written and acted by the monks. These represented scenes in Scripture history, and, later, the careers of the Vices and the Virtues were personified.
Jousts and tournaments, or mock combats