the least symptom of passion in the person of king Don Fernando the Catholic.* The countenance of the middle ages is now chiefly to be found among the peasantry in Catholic countries,-the look of manly dignity, with innocent abandonment—the joyous and yet modest expression-the free and benign look which is never disconcerted by the presence of grandeur, and never clouded by the artifice of pride. All travellers remark the graceful dignity of the Tuscan peasant, and the respectful sweetness of expression which belongs to the youth of Ireland. It was, no doubt, these considerations, which made the holy men of ages of faith so indulgent and favorable to beauty. They would have reproached no one for being beautiful, but would have repeated the Homeric lines against those who should do so. οὗτοι ἀπόβλητ ̓ ἐστὶ θεῶν ἐρικυδέα δῶρα,

ὅσσα κεν αὐτοὶ δῶσιν, ἑκὼν δ ̓ οὐκ ἄν τις ἕλοιτο.

In proof of which assertion, it might be sufficient to appeal to that passage, where St. Ambrose evinces such a delicate sense of beauty and grace, in describing the human body; ‡ a subject which always draws from holy writers remarks of a similar kind. The ancient fathers had predicted evil of Julian, from observing the deformity of his countenance.

It is impossible to pass from this view of the meekness of men, during ages of faith, without delaying to cast a glance at the spirit and manners of that renowned chivalry which appeared in them, and which was the result of religion acting upon heroic minds, under circumstances which drew forth all the energies of human nature. So great was the meekness of noble manners, that spiritual writers used even to propose it as a model to those who wished to embrace a religious life. Thus brother John, a Carmelite, says, in his instruction to Novices: "There are as many degrees of patience as of gentleness, and noble manners rest on patience. How common is it in the banquet-halls of the world, where the sense of honor is delicate, that there should arise many provocations to anger, by looks, words, and actions, et tamen quo quis nobilior est et honoris expectatio major, eò patientius adversa ferre discit. Therefore the servants of God, who aspire to eternal honors, may well repress their anger, and show a pacific heart, to the contradictions of men." The knightly portrait is never without this feature, whether we look for it in history or in romance. From the former we are presented with an early instance in Boëmond the Franc, as described by Anne Comneneus, who observes, that he united in his person all the perfections of the human form; adding, that "he stooped a little, not from any defect of the spine, but from a custom of youth, which was a mark of modesty." This is curious, as the portrait of a youthful barbarian by a Greek; but even the heathens knew that, as Plautius says, "modesty became the young."

An example more to our immediate purpose, is that of John duc de Berry,

* Christian Prince, I. 351.

+ II. III. 65.

Hexameron, lib. VI. cap. ix.

Instructio Novitiorum, 209.

| Liv. XIII. cap. 6.

brother of Charles V. given by Christine de Pisan: "Il est prince de doulce et humaine conversacion, sans haulteineté d'orgueil, benigne en parolle et responce, joyeus en conversacion, et en toutes chose très traictable."* Again, of Louis duc d'Orleans, son of King Charles V. she says "Doulce response et amiable rent à toute personne qui à luy a à besoingnier." And respecting prince Charles, afterwards Charles VI., she dwells at greater length. "In his greater benignity, sweetness, and clemency, he is past compare; humane to all kinds of people, without the least pride; and, to speak briefly, so full is he of great benignity, and sweetness, and love, that God demonstrates it even on his countenance to such a degree, that he has so singular a grace of Divine Providence, that all people, who see him, whether stranger, prince, or others, become in love with him, and are rejoiced in his presence; so that, oftentimes, I have been seized with admiration, to see how the people, of all sorts, women and children, have flown through the streets, to see him pass." Don Diego Savedra Faxardo says, that in Spain, the royal young princes were always to be visited familiarly by every one, until Philip II. abolished the ancient custom, on occasion of his anger against Don Carlos. The writers of the old romantic histories love to paint the gracious meekness of their heroes in its most engaging colors, though it often presents a singular contrast with the scene which their imagination created for the development of their energies. Here we are only concerned with what is amiable in these extravagant portraits, and with what was most assuredly drawn from living manners. Of these books one of the most celebrated was the History of Gyron le Courtois, which seemed compiled for the express purpose of exhibiting the grace of courtesy, under every variety of circumstance, and of showing what a revolution had been effected in the manners of those same Gauls, with whom the væ victis! had once been the style of conquerors. Here both knight and varlet are equally meek, resembling Spenser's gentle squire,

แ

Of myld demeanure, and rare courtesee.

Their respectful manner of address is always described in this style: "Il le salua moult doulcement et humblement." Gyron's favorite expression is, “Je ne vaulx ung garcon au regard de vous." On one occasion such honor is shown to an old worthy, that the narrator is obliged to borrow a similitude from devotion: "Tous luy faisoient si grant honneur comme se il feust ung corps saint."|| The scenes which follow are not without beauty and instruction for those who regard gestures as proof of noble spirit. Brehus being interrogated respecting a strange knight, who accompanied him, replied, "Sire, I do not know his name; for he so carefully conceals it wherever he goes, that to no man of the world will he ever say any thing respecting himself. So he travels about, concealing himself. And if he is among knights he is so humble, and so coy, and so silent, that he never

* Livre des faits et bonnes meurs du sage roy Charles V. chap. xii. + Chap. xv. & Christian Prince, Tom. I. 78. IF. IX.

Liv. II. chap. xvi.

says a word, and never holds any parliament respecting any deed that he has performed. If you were to see him, then you would certainly think that he was not and could never be worth more than a poor boy. And when he is armed, and comes to perform any great feat, then you would behold wonders openly. We do not know whether he be of a king's lineage, or that of a count, or of low people; but he is the best knight that I know of at present among errant knights. And, in addition, he is so handsome a knight, that I do not believe there is another equal to him in all the world. Sire, I tell you of this man, that in my judgment, he is a perfect knight, and he has borne arms for xv. years." This was Gyron himself.* Dante evinces the same humility, when, on being questioned by Guido del Duca, he modestly declines giving his name:

To tell ye who I am were words mis-spent,

For yet my name scarce sounds on rumor's lips.t

To the manners of Dante, in this respect, Philip Villani bears a beautiful testimony, where he says, that "if it had not been for the courtesy which he always evinced, his countenance would have worn a melancholy tone." How admirable is that trait of a delicate and courteous heart when he beholds in purgatory the wretched souls of the envious, and being himself invisible, scruples to advance.

lt were a wrong, methought, to pass and look
On others, yet myself the while unseen.
To my sage counsel, therefore, did I turn.

He knew the meaning of the mute appeal,

Nor waited for my questioning, but said,

Speak, and be brief, be subtile in thy words.‡

But let us return to Gyron, the pattern of courtesy. When a contrary spirit was evinced, there is an amusing passage related, to show that it ought to be ascribed to some deformity of constitution, and only pitied as incurable. Messire du Luc knocks at the gate of a tower in the forest, and begs to enter: a voice from the top of the battlement begins to insult him: the knight replies that this person is not too courteous whoever he may be: the voice from over the gate answers, "Je suis tant courtoys en toutes guyses que je nay mye de longueur cinq pieds non mye quatre se comme je croy. Je ressemble a vous trop malement qui estes grant et long comme ung dyable et cuyde certainement que tout ainsi comme vous estes plus grant que ung autre, aussi estes vous plus maulvais du tout. Tous ces grans vilains toute suoyes et tous ces grans chevaliers veons nous maulvais, pour quoy je croy que vous soyez du tout maulvais. Et pour ceste raison vueil je que vous aillez vostre chemin et delivrez la nostre porte qui nest gueres plus grant de Autant estes vous grant comme elle est. Cest ung grant ennuy de vous veoir tant estes grant." The knight sees it is but a dwarf who thus speaks, a little old man, not four feet high, with a head as large as a horse." Sire, chevalier,"

vous.

*F. CCXXXVIII.

+ Purg. XIV.

+ Purg. XIII.

cries the dwarf, "ne vous est il mye avis que je soyes beau bachelier et bien fait de tous membres? Vrai est que vous avez en vous de vostre part la grandesse du monde et je ay de ma part toute la petitesse du siecle. Mais je ay tant de reconfort que je pourroye encores croistre, si Dieu vouloit pource que je suis encores trop petit, mais vous ne pourriez croistre, car vous estes plus grant que ung geant." Du Lac cannot help smiling; but the dwarf continues to revile him, and to imprecate evil on him : et messire Lac ne respond a ceste chose ne a ses parolles car il congnoist bien tout clerement que en cesluy me pourroit il trouer nul bien ne nulle courtoysie en nulle maniere du monde.”* The hero of chivalrous fable was, in this instance, more true to meekness than Don Alonzo III. in real history, who so resented the trifling incivility of Sancho of Navarre, in withdrawing after the battle of Arc without taking leave of him, that he had never rest afterwards till he deprived him of his state.

When Gyron le Courtois and the king Melyadus are engaged in battle, and some one leads a horse, and offers it to Gyron, that knight immediately presents it to his adversary, and says, "Sire, take that horse and mount upon it, and I will take another for myself and mount. You are so good a knight, that were I to mount, and leave you here on foot, it would be too great villany." When the king heard this word, he was abashed and replied, "Sir knight, do you really offer me this courtesy ?"—"Sir knight," answered Gyron, "certes I say truly, for I ought not to leave such a preudhomme as you are on foot."-"But, sir knight," continues the king, "I think that you ought not to offer it to me here, since I am in this place your mortal enemy and if I were mounted, and found you on foot, do you not suppose that I would seek to revenge the shame to which you put me at the tournament ?"-"Certes," said Gyron, "I believe verily that you are my mortal enemy, as I have lately seen quite clearly: but for all that you mortally hate me as I see, I do not believe that so good a knight as you are would do villany to me or to any one else, car bon chevalier ne doit faire autre chose que bonte et courtoisie pour nulle advanture du monde."t

:

All this representation of meekness and courtesy might be drawn from real history. At the magnificent tournament which took place at Florence in the square of the holy cross, Lorenzo de Medicis was declared conqueror. He speaks of himself on this occasion, with the modesty of a knight of romance: "I jousted upon the square of Santa Croce, and although I was not strong in arms or in blows, the first honor was still adjudged to me; that is an helmet all furnished with silver." Du Guesclin on his death-bed, after he had devoutly received the last sacraments, called the Mareschal de Sancerre and Messire Olivier de Mauny, and other knights, and said to them, "Seigneurs, par vos vaillance et non par moy m'a tenu fortune en grant honneur en toute France, en mon vivant, et a vous en est deu l'honneur, qui mon ame a vous reccommende.” The same style, so gracious from its hu

* Fol. LXX.

+ Fol. XXX.

Chronique de Du Gues. c. 442.

mility, was employed in speaking also of friends, as in the Homeric instance, where the son of Nestor says weeping, "My brother perished," and only adding of him, OUTI KάKIOTOS' Apyɛicov.* And Homer, in allusion to Patroclus, even furnishes language which might convey an idea of that mildness of manner, which belonged to men in Christian

ages:

πᾶσιν γὰρ ἐπίστατο μείλιχος εἶναι, ζωὸς ἐων.†

To all equally mild, not like those who have ever a smile for the great and a frown and denial for the poor, but one of those souls which Montaigne calls souls of different stories or floors, which can be shown freely to all men ; which can converse with a neighbor about his building, with a carpenter about his work, with a gardener about his plants, which can make itself one among the least of the persons that are present. John the Deacon relates a saying of St. Simeon a short time before his death. "Mi optime Joannes, neminem mortalium unquam sperne : sunt etiam inter rusticos et mendicos qui Deo sint charissimi." A French nobleman, who lately died, used to salute every poor person that he met on the way, and was the first to evince respect. Spenser describes a scene, drawn from the ancient manners of the Christian society, which might be studied with advantage by the moderns, who show so little regard to strangers when they do not find themselves in the vein to meet them in exchange of gracious conversation; and who seem to think with the old pagan :

Spenser says,

Lupus est homo homini, non homo
Quum qualis sit, non novit.

He comming neare gan gently her salute
With curteous words, in the most comely wise;

Who, though desirous rather to rest mute,
Then termes to entertaine of common guize.
Yet rather then she kindnesse would despize,
She would herself displease, so him requite.‡

It

In the middle ages, the respect shown to strangers was perfectly Homeric. was not then in the higher classes studied as a noble art to render to all persons unknown such aspect as cloudy men use to their adversaries. All were similarly disposed in this point; the poor man, or the domestic, said, "gaber chevalier estrange est trop grant vilennie."§ The nobleman said, with the Roman poet,

Cum te non nossem, Dominum regemque vocabam,

Cum benè te novi, jam mihi Priscus eris.

St. Pacomius was a young Roman soldier, whose conversion originated in his observing the extraordinary kindness with which he was treated by some Chris

* Od. IV. 200. II. XVIII. 671. Faery Queen, V. 6. § Gyron le Courtoys, LXVIII. | Martial, lib. I. epig. 113.