Heroes of The Middle Ages by Eva March Tappan PDF
Heroes of The Middle Ages by Eva March Tappan PDF
Heroes of The Middle Ages by Eva March Tappan PDF
MIDDLE AGES
REFERENCg
MYPOBUCUBHAHY THE
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MOHAM-
VIII. CHARLES MARTEL
MEDANS AT TOURS .....
REPELS THE
732 56
IX. CHARLEMAGNE
ROMANS .
is
.....
CROWNED EMPEROR OF THE
800 68
8 Heroes of the Middle Ages
THE THIRD PERIOD
THE TEUTONIC INVASIONS
CHAP. PAGE
X. THE COMING OF THE TEUTONS TO ENGLAND A.D. 449 73
INDEX * 249
Countries and Topics referred to
in the Text
CHINA
CHAP.
XXX. MARCO POLO VISITS CHINA .... PAGE
190
11
85
1 2 Heroes of the Middle Ages
CHAP. PAGE
XIII. THE LEGEND OF KING ARTHUR . . 91
...
.
ITALY
I. ALARIC THE VISIGOTH . . . . . 17
III. GENSERIC THE VANDAL . 32
VII. THEODORIC THE OSTROGOTH. 53
XXXI. FRANCESCO PETRARCH ..... .
195
RUSSIA
XV. RURIK THE NORSEMAN BECOMES RULER
RUSSIA ....... IN
100
SPAIN
XXI. THE CID 135
SWITZERLAND
XXXVIII. WILLIAM TELL AND ARNOLD VON WINKELRIED 233
TURKEY
XXXII. THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE . . 200
Countries and Topics referred to 13
EARLY VOYAGES
CHAP. PAGE
XVIII. LEIF ERICSSON 123
XXXIV. COLUMBUS 209
XXXV. VASCO DA GAMA . 219
XXXVI. FERDINAND MAGELLAN 222
THE MOHAMMEDANS
VIII. MOHAMMED
XXI. THE MOORS
.....
IN SPAIN . . . .
56
135
XXVII. SALADIN 174
XXXII. THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE . . 200
GENERAL TOPICS
IV. THE TEUTONS AND THEIR MYTHS 35
XXIII. THE LIFE OF THE KNIGHT . . . 146
XXIV. COUNTRY LIFE IN THE MIDDLE AGES . 153
XXV. TOWN LIFE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 159
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Full-Page Illustrations
PAGE
PETER THE HERMIT PREACHING THE FIRST CRUSADE
MAP OF EUROPE
THE HUNS
........ .
Frontispiece
14-
23
THE VISION OF
....
PROCESSION OF A KINO AND CLERGY
......
MOHAMMED
49
6l
CHARLES MARTEL IN ...
THE BATTLE OF TOURS 65
SAINT GREGORY AND THE ENGLISH SLAVE CHILDREN . 77
SAINT PATRICK BAPTIZING TWO IRISH MAIDENS . . 87
MAP SHEWING ROUTES OF THE VIKING EXPEDITIONS . 107
DEATH OF EDWARD THE CONFESSOR . . . . Ill
WILLIAM ENTERING LONDON 115
CORONATION OF WILLIAM I . . . . . . 119
KING JOHN 141
MAP OF THE CRUSADES 167
THE STORMING OF JERUSALEM 171
RICHARD AND PHILIP AT THE SIEGE OF ACRE . . 177
THE CHILDREN CROSSING THE ALPS . . . . 183
COLUMBUS LANDS IN AMERICA . . . . . 211
SHIPS OF COLUMBUS 215
CORONATION OF BRUCE 229
GESSLER AND TELL 235
" SHE HEARD MYSTERIOUS VOICES " . . . . . 247
15
Heroes of
The Middle Ages
I
Chapter
Alaric the Visigoth
lengthy affair, for there was not only hot and cold bath-
ing, but there was rubbing and scraping and anointing.
At the public baths were hot rooms and cold rooms and
Alaric the Visigoth 19
rooms where friends might sit and talk together, or lie
on couches and rest. Dinner, the principal meal of the
day, came at two or three o'clock. Oysters were often
served first, together with radishes, lettuce, sorrel, and
pickled cabbage. These were to increase the keenness
of the appetite. Then came fish, flesh, and fowl, course
after course. Next came cakes and fruits, and last,
wine followed, mixed with water and spices. The
formal banquets were much more elaborate than this,
for a good host must load his table with as many kinds
of expensive food as possible and a guest who wished
;
ALARIC AT ATHENS
"
'
Attila was near their city. Aetius was calm and brave,
but he was without troops. Then Pope Leo I., courageous
as the Bishop of Orleans, went forth to meet the Huns,
and begged Attila to spare the city. Attila yielded, but
no one knows why. A legend arose, that the apostles
Peter and Paul appeared to him and declared that he
should die at once if he did not grant the prayers of Leo.
It is certain that before he started for Rome his friends
had said to him, " Beware ! Remember that Alaric
conquered Rome and died." He had no fear of a sword,
but he may have been afraid of such warnings as this.
Whatever was the reason, he agreed to spare Rome
if the Romans would pay him a large ransom.
A
derers.
FEW years after the death of Attila,
of the Baltic
their way from
Rome was
once more in the hands of an invader, Genseric
the Vandal. The Vandals were great wan-
They slowly made the shores
Sea to the Danube, passed through what is
now France, and went south into Spain. Only eight or
nine miles from Spain, just across what is now the Strait
of Gibraltar, lay Africa.
Northern Africa belonged to Rome. It was one of her
most valued provinces because, while Italy could not
raise enough grain to feed her people, Africa could supply
all that was needed. Genseric longed to add Africa to
his domain, and he was more fortunate than most men
who wish to invade a country, for after a little while he
received a cordial invitation to come to Africa and bring
his soldiers with him. The invitation was given by no
less a man than the brave general Boniface, who had
been appointed governor of the province. This is the
way it came about. Aetius was jealous of the success
of Boniface, and he persuaded the mother of the child
emperor to send the governor a letter recalling him.
"
Then he himself wrote a letter to his friend " Boniface
with the warning that the empress was angry with him,
and he would lose his head if he risked it in Rome.
32
Genseric the Vandal 33
Boniface was in a hard position. He concluded that the
safest thing for him to do was to remain where he was,
and ask Genseric to help him to hold Africa.
Genseric did not wait to be urged. He hurried across
the Strait of Gibraltar and began his career of violence.
A Vandal conquest was more severe than that of any
other tribe, for the Vandals seemed to delight in ruining
everything that came into their power. They killed
men, women, and children ; they burned houses and
churches and they destroyed whatever treasures they
;
could not carry away with them. Some said that when-
ever they conquered a country, they cut down every
fruit tree within its limits. This is why people who
seem to enjoy spoiling things are sometimes called
vandals.
After a while Boniface discovered that he had been
tricked by Aetius, and he begged Genseric to leave the
country ; but the barbarian refused, and Boniface could
not drive him away. Genseric and his followers settled
in Africa,making the city of Carthage the capital of their
kingdom, and they became a nation of pirates. They
built light swift vessels and ravaged the shore of any
country where they expected to find plunder.
All this time Genseric had his eyes fixed upon Italy,
and again he was fortunate enough to be invited to a
land which he was longing to invade. This time the
widow of a murdered emperor begged him to come and
avenge her wrongs. He wasted no time, but crossed
the narrow sea and marched up to the walls of Rome.
Behold, the gates were flung open, and once more Leo,
now a hoary-headed man, came forth \vith his clergy,
all in their priestly robes, to beg the Vandals to have
and what they did not care to take with them, they
broke or burned. The widowed empress had expected
to be treated with the greatest honour, but the Vandals
stripped off her jewels and threw her and her two
daughters on board their ships to be carried to Africa
as prisoners.
Genseric kept his people together as long as he lived ;
THOR
and harmless that she forgot it. There was a chance for
wicked Loki. It was a favourite
game of the gods to shoot arrows
at Baldur, for they knew that
nothing would harm him ? One
of the gods was blind, and Loki
offered to guide his hand, saying
that all ought to do honour to
so good a god as Baldur. In
all innocence, the blind one threw
the twig of mistletoe that Loki
gave him. Baldur fell down
dead, and had to go forever to
the land of gloom and darkness.
The Teutonic story of the
creation of the earth was this :
sunshine.
Poetical as the Germans were in some of their fancies,
fully that she fell to the ground. When she rose, she
caught up a stone, so heavy that twelve knights could
hardly lift it, and hurled it an amazing distance. Then
at one leap she sprang to where the stone had fallen ;
the girl after Clovis had asked that she might become
his queen. There was nothing to do but to send her to
the king of the Franks. Clovis was delighted with her,
and they were married with all festivities.
Clotilda was a Christian, and she was much grieved
that her husband should remain a heathen. She told
him many times about her God, but nothing moved him.
When was born, Clotilda had the baby
their first child
baptized. Not long afterwards, the little boy grew ill and
"
died. That is because he was baptized in the name of
"
your God," declared Clovis bitterly. If he had been con-
secrated in the name of my gods, he would be alive still/'
Nevertheless, when a second son was born, Clotilda had
him baptized. He, too, fell ill, and the king said, " He
was baptized in the name of Christ, and he will soon die."
But the mother prayed to God, and by God's will the
boy recovered. Still Clovis would not give up the gods
of his fathers. It came to pass, however, that he was
the king of the Franks, his sisters, and more than three
thousand of his warriors, besides a throng of women
and children, were baptized and marked with the sign
of the cross.
The times were harsh and rude, and even a king who
was looked upon as a Christian ruler never dreamed of
hesitating to do many cruel deeds. Clovis wished to
enlarge his kingdom, and he could always find some
excuse for attacking any tribe living on land next his
own. He cared nothing for his word, and to get what he
wanted, he was ready to lie or steal or murder.
Clovis died in 511, but before that time all the lands
between the lower Rhine and the Pyrenees had been
obliged to acknowledge his rule. He made Paris his
52 Heroes of the Middle Ages
capital, and went there to live. This was the beginning
of France. The descendants of Clovis held the throne
for nearly two centuries and a half. They were
called Merovingians after Merovseus, the grandfather
of Clovis.
Chapter VII
Theodoric the Ostrogoth
476, one year before the death of Genseric the
Vandal, a Goth named Odoacer became ruler of
IN Italy. He had taken the throne from the handsome
boy who had been ruling as Emperor, permitting him
to escape and allowing him six thousand gold pieces a
year. The Roman Senate, which had once been a
courageous and patriotic body of men, decided that
there was no longer any Western Empire, and that
its Emperor in the East, whose
rule belonged to the
capital was Constantinople. The Emperor accepted
this view, and left Odoacer in Italy to represent
him. This event is called the fall of the Western
Empire.
In this same year, 476, Theodoric became king of the
Ostrogoths, or Goths of the East. The Emperor in the
East had hired this nation to defend the lower Danube,
and Theodoric, a little boy of the royal family, had been
sent to Constantinople as a hostage, or pledge that his
people would keep their promises. When Theodoric
grew up and became king, the Emperor permitted him
to go and drive Odoacer out of Italy. Theodoric started
with his army, and with all the rest of his tribe, for they
meant not only to drive out Odoacer, but to make their
homes in Italy.
D &3
54 Heroes of the Middle Ages
There were three fierce battles. Finally it was agreed
that Odoacer and Theodoric should rule with equal
powers. Before long, however, Theodoric treacherously
murdered Odoacer and became sole ruler of Italy. He
meant to rule like the Romans, but more wisely. He
chose from the old Roman laws those which he thought
just. He broke up the vast estates of the very wealthy
and made many small farms, so
that much more grain was raised.
He built many handsome build-
ings, and he encouraged his subjects
to read and study. The emperors
in the East were doing their best
to keep back the hordes of Huns
and other barbarians, and it began
to seem as if Italy would grow into
a powerful, well -governed country
with Goths for its rulers.
That might have come to pass
ifa brilliant man named Justinian
had not become ruler in the
Eastern Empire after the death of
REMAINS OP THE PALACE
OF THEODORIC AT HA- Theodoric. His great wish was to
g back Italy and Africa to the
dour under the rule of
Empire.
* Fortunately
J for him, he
Theodoric)
had an officer named Belisarms,
who was not only a general, but who had
skilful
the power of making his soldiers eager to follow him.
Under his lead, Italy and Africa were regained, the
Vandals in Africa were scattered, and the Goths
in Italy were hopelessly beaten. Justinian brought
together all that was known of the Roman law, and
it is
upon his Code ofLaws that the governments
Theodoric the Ostrogoth 55
of the chief countries of Europe are founded. While
he lived, there seemed some hope that the Empire
would be mighty again but as soon as he died, it lapsed
;
WHEN
quarrel in
the kingdom among them much as if it had
been a farm. Then they quarrelled, and a
those days usually led to savage fighting.
Each ruler intended to get as much as he could, and if
"
any one stood in the way the first thought was, Kill
him." For instance, one of Clo vis's sons died, leaving
three boys. Queen Clotilda tried to protect the rights
of her grandchildren, but two of her sons sent her a
"
sword and a pair of scissors. That meant, Should you
rather have the boys slain or have them lose their long
'
hair ? To lose their long hair would shut them out
of the royal family, and Clotilda replied that she would
rather see them dead than disgraced. Two of the boys
were at once murdered by their uncle.
For more than a century, the Frankish kingdom was
rent by quarrels and fighting. During the following
century, a king was always on the throne, but he never
ruled ;and these sovereigns have been nicknamed the
"
do-nothing kings." The real rulers were officers called
" "
mayors of the palace. The mayor was at first only
a sort of royal attendant, but several of the kings were
children when they came to the throne, and the mayors
acted as their guardians with all but regal powers.
56
Charles Martel 57
Some of the kingswere stupid, and some cared only for
amusement, and hardly any of them were strong and
manly enough to govern. The mayors of the palace were
" "
rulers in peace, and as the do-nothing kings were of
course unable to lead armies, the mayors became also
commanders in arrangement suited the
war. This
Prankish nobles. They were always afraid that their
kings would get too much power over them but as a ;
about the lower Rhine and the Elbe. They and the
Franks were both Germans, but the Franks had had
much to do with the Romans, and had learned many of
their ways. Missionaries, too, had dwelt among them
and had taught them Christianity, while the Saxons
were still heathen. It was fully thirty years before the
Saxons were subdued. During those years Charlemagne
watched them closely. He fought, to be sure, when-
ever they rebelled, and he made some severe laws, and
saw to it that these were obeyed. More than this, how-
ever, he sent missionaries to them, and he built churches.
He carried away many Saxon boys as hostages. These
boys were carefully brought up, and were taught Chris-
tianity. They learned to like the Frankish ways of
living, and when they had grown up and were sent home,
they urged their friends to yield and become peaceful
subjects of the great king and finally the land of the
;
CORONATION OF CHARLEJIAGXE
metic, and grammar, and let the books which are given
them be free from faults, and let care be taken that the
THE home
in Asia in very early times and moved
from raiding the land which they ruled, they built two
great walls with watchtowers and strongholds across the
/mMMfo/yw
mmmtw mtMti
I
STONEHEXGE
(In the middle is a slab called the altnr. This was originally surrounded by circles
of stone posts connected by slabs resting on their tops)
77
Coming of the Teutons to England 79
the island of Thanet for their home, the Britons
promised.
The Jutes came first, under the two brothers, Hengist
and Horsa, it is said and they were followed by the
;
soon they found Thanet too small for them, and so, just
as one tribe had been driving another to the westward
for centuries, they drove the Britons to the westward.
Some were killed, some became slaves, and some hid
away in the mountains of Western England. The
Teutons called these Wealh, or Welsh, that is, strangers
or foreigners and it
;
is from this that the country of
Wales takes its name.
The Britons were not conquered all at once by any
means, for they fought most courageously, and it was
many years before the Teutons became masters of the
entire country. The Angles scattered so widely through-
out the land that it took its name from them, and became
known as the land of the Angles, or Angle-land, and
finally England. The Saxons, however, were strongest
of the three peoples, and therefore their name is generally
THE
to
old songs about a heronamed Beowulf. Those
of them who left their earlier home and came
grasp of Beowulf.
In the morning there was great rejoicing. The king
loaded the hero with lavish gifts. The queen brought
him handsome garments and hung about his neck a fair
golden collar and all were glad and happy.
;
A
Patrick.
FEW years before Alaric invaded Italy a boy
was born in Britain, probably on the western
coast, who was to become the famous Saint
It was a wild, rude country. There were
bears and wolves and wild boars. It was damp and
cold ; there was much fog and little
sunshine. There were worse troubles
than a disagreeable climate, for pirates
from Ireland or Caledonia sometimes
dashed Up to the shore, made savage
forays into the country, and sailed
away with bands of captives to be sold
as slaves. This fate befell Patrick
when a boy ofabout sixteen. For
several years he was a slave in
Ireland, and spent much of his time
tending cattle. He had been brought
SAJNT PATRICK
up as a Christain, and as he watched
his cattle on the hills, he prayed, some days a hundred
times. At length there was a chance to escape, and
he fled to his home. All his kindred welcomed him
and begged him, now that he was rescued from such
great dangers, never to go away.
Still his heart was with the Irish. He dreamt one
F 85
86 Heroes of the Middle Ages
night that a man him a letter which began,
held before
*' "
The Voice and as he read, he seemed to
of the Irish ;
87
Saint Patrick 89
straight swords, and that they had come to make
trouble. It was some little time before they could
be made to understand that the strangers were their
friends. There is a story that at one time the mission-
aries were in danger from Laoghaire, the chief king. At
twilight King Laoghaire wont out with his nobles to light
the fire of the spring festival. On the Hill of Slane he
saw another fire. It was forbidden on pain of death
that anyone else should kindle a fire so long as the king's
was burning, and Laoghaire sent men to learn who these
daring strangers were and to bring them before him. It
is thought that Patrick's
poem, called The Deer's Cry, was
written at this time. Part of it is as follows :
*, -
fe
There, don't you see the cakes are burnt?
Then wherefore turn them not ?
You're quick enough to eat them
When they are good and hot."
NORSE SHIPS
'
Franks had wise leaders, and all this time they were
boiling oil and pitch and pouring them down upon the
besiegers. The blazing Northmen leaped into the river
to extinguish the flames, but they never thought of
giving up. They collected food and encamped near
Rollo the Viking 107
the city. Month month the siege went on,
after
and still the king did not come to help his brave
people.
At last the valiant Eudes, or Odo, one of the chief
leaders of the Paris-
ians, determined to
go in search of aid,
and one stormy
night he managed
to slip through the
gate cf the city and
the lines of the
Northmen, and gal-
lop cff to the king.
Soon the king came
with his army and
went into camp !
After he had
dawdled a month
away, news came
that more Vikings
were at hand. The
king was so
frightened that he
offered the North-
men seven hundred
pounds of silver if KOTJTES OP THE VIKING EXPEDITIONS
they would depart,
and told them they might go farther up the river
and plunder Burgundy as much as they chose. The
brave defenders of Paris were indignant. They rushed
out of the city and struck one fierce blow at their
departing foes. The following year the cowardly king
io8 Heroes of the Middle Ages
was deposed, and at his death they chose the valiant
Eudes for their ruler.
The Northmen were bright, shrewd people and, wild ;
as they were, they could not help seeing that the Prankish
way of living was better than theirs, and that the worship
of the Christian God was better than that of Odin and
Thor. Hollo led them again to France some years later,
and this time the Vikings ranged themselves on one side
" "
replied, No, that is too swampy." Then you may
l
have the parts of Neustria nearest to the shore."
" "
No," declared Rollo, that is nothing but forest land."
At length it was agreed that he and his followers should
have the land which afterward took its name from them,
and to this day is called Normandy. They were to hold
1
The western kingdom of the Franks.
Rollo the Viking 109
it by what is known
as a feudal tenure, that is, it was
to be theirs so long as they were faithful to the king and
gave him loyal military service.
There is a story that the bishops told Rollo he must
kiss the king's foot in token of his having received this
BATTLE OF HASTINGS
(From the Bayeux Tapestry)
possible that the invaders might not have won the day
if they had not used a favourite trick of their pirate
gave. One was his driving away the tenants from many
thousand acres of land near his palace in Winchester.
He may have done this to prevent any sudden attack
upon him but the people believed it was in order to
;
spoken to-day.
The French people, then,
differed in language from the
Germans, and many of the
nobles were feeling more and
more strongly that they did
not wish to be ruled by a
German, but by one of them-
who would talk French
selves,
and feel and think like a
Frenchman, one who would
be satisfied with ruling France
and would not be ever think-
ing of forming an empire and A CELEBRATED FEUDAL CASTLE
IN TOURAINE, FRANCE
becoming emperor. (The original structure was built In
In 987 there was an ex- Hugh Capet's time b7 one of the
great nobles. The present castle
dates from 1460)
cellent opportunity to put a
new family upon the throne, for the last of Charlemagne's
direct descendants, Louis the Child, had The
just died.
great barons met together to choose a ruler. They
decided upon Duke Hugh Capet, and he became king.
He had little more power, however, than some of his
counts and dukes and it may be that he sometimes
;
"
independent vassal retorted, Who made you king ? '
"
I love my mother best and my sister next," he replied.
"
Yes, but who is your lady-love in chivalry ?
'
she
asked, and he finally chose a little ten-year old girl.
" "
That is not the way," declared his teacher. You
must not choose a child, but some lady of noble birth
who can advise and help you. Some day you must do
daring deeds for her sake, and you must be so humble
and faithful to her that she cannot help being kind to
you."
Most of the training of the page was given him by the
ladies of the household ;
but he was also taught to ride
and leap, to hurl a light spear, and to fight in sham
1
48 Heroes of the Middle Ages
battles with the other pages of the castle. He waited
upon his lord and the ladies at the table, and sometimes
he accompanied his lord to battle. He did no fighting
there, but simply served in any way that a boy could.
He was in no danger, for it would have been a disgrace
to any knight to wound
a page.
Of courseall this time
the boy was looking for-
ward to the day when
he would be promoted
and would become a
squire. That came to
pass when he was about
fourteen. Then he not
only served at table
and brought water for
the lord and his guests
to wash their hands
before and after the
meal, but he learned to
carve, he brought his
lord's special cup of
A SQUIRE BECOMING A KNIGHT wine at retiring, and
waited upon him in
every way. In a large castle where there were many
squires, one cared for the dining hall, arranged it for
singing, or made the tables ready for chess. A squire
was not permitted to sit at table with a knight, not even
if the
knight was his own father, but he might join in the
amusements. Each in turn was " squire of the body,"
and the one in office was he whom all the others envied,
for when his lord went to battle, this squire was his
The Life of the Knight 149
regular attendant. The young page might carry the
helm, but the squire bore the armour and shield, and it
was his task no easy one to encase his lord in the heavy
armour that was then worn. If the knight lost his
weapon, the squire must be ready with another. If he
took prisoners, they were handed over to the squire to
guard ;and if the knight was thrown from his horse,
the squire must help him to mount again.
Although a squire was rarely made a knight before he
was twenty or twenty-one, he had little chance to be
idle. He was still expected to keep up his attendance
upon the ladies of the castle
;
but he now learned to use,
not the light weapons with which he had practised as a
page, but the battle-axe and sword and lance of the
knight. He must become a master of horsemanship,
and be perfect in leaping and swimming and climbing.
He must learn to bear heat and cold and hunger without
a word of complaint, and he must accustom himself to
wearing the heavy armour of the time and to moving
easily in it. There was one exercise in particular which
he was expected to practise until he had become perfect.
This was called the quintain. A figure of a man, arrayed
with sword and shield as if for battle, was fastened to a
post in such a way that it swung about easily. The
young squire rode up to the figure full tilt and struck it
with his lance. If he hit it on the breast, nothing
happened, but if he aimed badly and hit the legs or the
arms or was slow in getting away, then the courtyard
re-echoed with shouts of laughter, for the figure whirled
about and the unskilful squire was struck a heavy blow
with a sandbag.
When the time had come for the young man to become
a knight, there was much ceremony, and every act had
150 Heroes of the Middle Ages
its meaning. He went into a bath and afterward put
on a white garment to indicate purity. A red one was
placed over it to show that he would shed his blood for the
right. One whole night he spent fully armed, praying
and meditating in a church. On the following day he
gave his sword to the priest, who laid it upon the altar,
blessed it, and returned it. He made solemn vows to
defend the church, to be true to the king, and to help
every lady who was in distress. Then the knight of
highest rank came forward. The young man knelt before
him with clasped hands and declared solemnly that his
earnest wish was to maintain religion and chivalry.
After this, the knights and ladies put on, first, his spurs,
then the other pieces of his armour. The chief knight
fixed on the sword and struck him upon the neck a slight
"
blow called the accolade, and said aloud, I dub thee
place that the}^ had just left. When the play had been
repeated in all the places chosen, the members of the
guilds went to their homes, feeling that they had per-
formed a religious duty that would be good for them and
for the crowds that had been listening to them.
Another later kind was known as a morality play, in
which characters representing the virtues and vices took
part. The incidents in these plays were not drawn
Town Life in the Middle Ages 163
directly from the Bible, as was the case with the mystery
plays. Ultimately this rude acting developed into the
great Elizabethan drama.
The merchants, too, had their guilds, and these were
very powerful associations. They won a great deal of
liberty for the towns ;
for when a king or noble was in
need of money, the rich merchant guilds would say,
"
We will provide it if you will agree no longer to lay
taxes upon our town at your own will." Sometimes the
guilds made rather hard bargains. If a king or a noble-
man wished to go on a crusade, or if he had been taken
prisoner and needed a large sum of money for
his ransom,
he was ready to give many privileges to the town that
would supply him with gold, or even to grant it the right
to govern itself in all things. Many a city literally
bought its charter with its
gold.
These merchant guilds were afterwards called corpora-
tions, ancf from them was gradually developed the Town
Council of the present day.
Chapter XXVI
Peter the Hermit leads the
First Crusade
"
many a man asked, What
centuries, if
DURING not only the priests but nearly all his friends
would answer, " Make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, to
the place where our Lord suffered and was buried."
To go from England or any part of Western Europe was
a long journey, and often dangerous, but it was not ex-
pensive, for all it a duty to give the pilgrims
Christians felt
food and lodging. Jerusalem was in the hands of the
Saracens. They were Mohammedans, but they had no
objection to allowing pilgrims to visit the city, especially
as the wealthier among them spent much money during
their stay. Good Haroun-al-Raschid even erected a
Christian church and a building in which the pilgrims
might lodge.
About the time that William the Conqueror took
possession of England, the Seljukian Turks captured
Jerusalem. Then it became a different matter to make
a pilgrimage to the Holy City, for the pilgrims were
robbed and tortured and sometimes put to death. The
Emperor in the East and the popes, one after another,
were most indignant. Finally Pope Urban II. deter-
164
Peter the Hermit '65
mined that the Church should be aroused to capture the
Holy Land from the Turks. He had a powerful helper, a
Frenchman known as Peter the Hermit. Peter had been
on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and on his return
he travelled about Europe in coarse woollen shirt and
advice.
The first company started under Peter the Hermit
and a knight known as Walter the Penniless. Not all
its members, however, were real pilgrims. Some went for
gain, some to see the world, and some were mere robbers
and thieves. Peter had no authority over them, and
they did what they chose. While they were passing
through Germany, the people were kind to them and
gladly brought them food ; but when they came to other
countries, they were not treated so generously. Then
they demanded food, often most insolently, and when
it was refused, they stole it. They killed flocks and herds,
and even their owners. Of course the people avenged
their wrongs with the sword. The pilgrims fought or
fled as best they might. On arriving at Constantinople
they were received kindly by the emperor and given
food but even there they stole from houses and gardens
;
16?
Peter the Hermit 169
Constantinople. Then they marched on into Asia Minor.
They were in need of food and even of water. Thousands
perished. The others were saved by some dogs that had
followed them. These dogs deserted their masters, but
paws !
They have found water cried the thirsty
!
'
salem Jerusalem
! !
They fell upon their knees, they
kissed one another with joy, they cast off their shoes,
for had not the very soil become holy where the Lord had
once walked ? They threw themselves down upon it
"
and kissed the ground. With shouts of God wills it !
"
God wills it !
they attacked the walls. After a savage
combat the city was captured. Then came a massacre of
Saracens as brutal as any in history ; for even the gallant
knights had not yet learned that it is better to convert
an enemy than to kill him.
THE STORMING OF JERUSALEM
171
Peter the Hermit 173
The most valiant leader among the crusaders was
Godfrey of Bouillon, and he was chosen king of what was
called the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He was escorted to
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and there he would
have been crowned, but he said, " No, I cannot wear a
crown of gold in the very city in which my Lord and
Master wore a crown of thorns." He was willing to be
called Defender of the Holy Sepulchre, but he would not
take the title of king.
Godfrey and a few other knights remained in Jeru-
salem, and the rest of the pilgrims went to their homes.
They had spent four years on this crusade ;
hun-
dreds of thousands of Christians, and perhaps as many
Saracens, had been slain ;
but the Holy City had been
taken from the infidels, and there was great rejoicing.
Chapter XXVII
Richard the Lion-Hearted
"
to be a bishop, obtained his wish ,
"
Amen !
'
The hot-tempered Richard had already
had trouble, not only with Philip but with Duke
Leopold of Austria ; for at Acre the duke had set his
banner upon a tower that he had taken, and Richard
had torn it down and flung it into the ditch. There was
also trouble at Ascalon. Richard was bent upon rebuild-
ing the walls. With his own royal hands he brought
stones and mortar. Leopold refused to follow his
example, and he declared, as the old poem puts it :
"
My father n'as mason ne carpenter ;
And though your walls should all to shake,
I shall never help hem to make."
BICHARD AND PHILIP AT THE SIEGE OP ACRE
177
Richard the Lion-Hearted 179
Then, as the story goes, Richard not only stormed at the
noble duke, but struck him. Naturally, the duke too
went home.
On the whole, none of the warriors seems to have
behaved in so praiseworthy a fashion as the Mohammedan
What,
'
Chapter XXVIII
The Children's Crusade
But the way grew rougher and rougher. The air of the
mountains was cold. They came to desert places where
there was no food. Thousands died, and when the others
reached the city of Genoa, they were only seven thousand.
Still the children did not lose courage. God would open
a way for them through the sea, they believed, and soon
they would be in the Holy Land. They would tell the
story of the good Jesus. The infidels would listen and
would become His followers.
The morning came. They waited patiently on the
shore at Genoa, but no path was opened through the sea.
There is a tradition that part of the children sailed for
Syria, but what became of them is not known. Some
pressed on to Rome. They told the Pope about their
journey and their sufferings. He said that it was of no
use for them to try to reach Syria, but, as they were
bound by their vows, they must go on a crusade when
they were older.
By this time only a few children were left. Many had
died, as has been said some had been stolen or sold as
;
ring into the water to indicate that the city had become
the bride of the sea. Venice had built ships and carried
the armies of crusaders across the water. She had
gained stations on the eastern shore of the Adriatic, and
might fairly claim to rule the whole sea. She had used
her ships for other purposes, however, than carrying
armies, for she had an enormous trade, as we have said,
Francesco Petrarch 197'
in the beautiful things that were made in the distant
lands of the East. She brought home cargoes of rich
tapestries and silks, jewels, glassware, and most exquisite
pieces of work in iron and gold and enamel. Her work-
men copied them and found in them hints and suggestions
for other work. These things were carried over Europe,
and even to far-away England.
The crusades not only taught people about other lands
and other customs, but they taught them to wish to see
more of the world, to know what men of other countries
were doing and thinking. People began to have more
interest in what was written in books. They had thought
that a man encased in armour, carrying a sword and a
lance, and seated upon a horse, was the ideal hero. Now
they began to have a glimmering idea that the man who
had noble thoughts and could put them into noble
words was greater than the man with the sword.
The most famous scholar of the age was an Italian
poet called Petrarch. Even as a boy he loved the
writings of the early Latin and Greek authors. His
father wished him to become a lawyer, and the boy
listened to some lectures on law but all the while he
;
ST SOPHIA, CONSTANTINOPLE
(The famous church huilt in the 6th century by the Emperor Justinian. It has been
used as a mosque since the capture of Constantinople by the Turks)
N
Chapter XXXIII
John Gutenberg
fall of Constantinople had brought the
Emperor.
208 Heroes of the Middle Ages
and well-made copies, which became known as the
Aldine editions. The crusades had aroused people and
made them ready and eager to learn. Now they found
in the ancient writings of the Greeks and Romans nobler
poems, more dignified histories, and more brilliant
"
orations than they had known before. By this New
Learning," as it was called, men were stimulated to
think. They felt as if they were brighter and keener
than they used to be, as if they were not their old slow,
dull selves, but were becoming quick and clear-minded.
They felt so much as if they had just been born into a
new, fresh world that the name Renaissance, or new
birth, has been given to this period.
Chapter XXXIV
Christopher Columbus
crusades, the Renaissance, the invention of
have felt as if his troubles were but just begun, for his
sailors were full of fears. They were not cowards, but
no one, they thought, had ever crossed the Atlantic, and
there were legends that in one place it was swarming
with monsters, and that in another the water boiled
214 Heroes of the Middle Ages
with intense heat. There was real danger, also, from
the jealous Portuguese, for it was rumoured that they
had sent out vessels to capture Columbus' s little fleet.
It is small wonder that the sailors were dismayed by the
fires of the volcanic peak of Teneriffe, but they were
almost equally alarmed by every little occurrence. The
mast of a wrecked vessel floated by, and they feared it
was a sign that their vessel, too, would be wrecked.
After a while, the magnetic needle ceased to point to the
north star, and they were filled with dread lest they
should lose their way on the vast ocean. One night a
brilliant meteor appeared, and then they were sure that
destruction was at hand. The good east wind was
sweeping them gently along ;
but even that worried
them, for they feared it would never alter, and how
could they get home ? Some of them had begun to
whisper together of throwing Columbus overboard,
when one day they saw land-birds and floating weeds
and finally a glimmering light. Then the sailors were
as eager to pressonward as their leader.
Early on the following morning land appeared.
Columbus wearing his brilliant scarlet robes and bearing
the standard of Spain, was rowed ashore. He fell upon
his knees and kissed the ground, thanking God most
heartily for his care. Then he took possession of the
land for Spain. The natives gathered around, and he
gave them bells and glass beads. He supposed that of
course he was just off the coast of India, and as he had
reached the place by sailing west, he called it the West
Indies and the people Indians. The island itself he
named San Salvador. It is thought to have been one of
the Bahamas. He spent some little time among the
islands, always hoping to come upon the wealthy
SHIPS OP COLUMBUS
(The vessels were the Pinta, the Nifia, and the Santa Maria)
215
Christopher Columbus 217
cities of the Great Khan. At length he returned
to Spain, dreaming of future voyages that he would
make.
When he reached Palos, the bells were rung and people
gave up their business to celebrate the wonderful voyage
but one had deserted, one had been wrecked, one had
been burned as unseaworthy, and one had fallen into
the hands of the Portuguese. The Victoria, the only
one that remained, pressed on to the Moluccas ; and
Ferdinand Magellan 225
when she sailed away, she had such a cargo as no vessel
had brought before, for besides all that the men had
bought for themselves, she carried twenty-six tons of
cloves. From some of the other islands they took
ginger and sandal wood. Then they crossed the Indian
Ocean and rounded Africa. They stopped to buy food
at the Cape Verde Islands, and here they were astounded
to find that while they called the day Wednesday, the
people on the Islands called it Thursday. They had
travelled west with the sun, and so had lost a day. At
length they reached Spain, and there they received a
royal reception. After Magellan's death Sebastian del
Cano had become captain. The courage and persever-
ance that had made the voyage possible belonged to
Magellan but he was dead, and the rewards went to
;
"
six times it failed. Just as many times as I have
failed," thought Bruce, and he said to himself, "If it
triesagain and succeeds, I, too, will try again." The
spider tried again and it succeeded. Bruce tried again,
and he, too, succeeded. Edward died, and before his
son Edward II. was ready to attend to matters in
Scotland, Bruce had captured most of the castles that
Edward had taken, and had brought an army together.
I.
bade the frightened governor, " and give him the helm."
Tell did know the lake, and he guided the boat through
the darkness to where a rock jutted out into the water.
Coming as near as he dared, he made a bold spring to the
rock, gave a thrust to the boat, and in a moment was
GESSLEB AND TELL
J. C. Dollman
235
Tell and Arnold von Winkelried 237
free on the land, while Gessler and his men were fighting
for their lives to prevent the boat from being swamped.
to be worthy of knighthood ;
and when
the battle was over the king kissed him
"
and said, You are worthy to be a
sovereign."
After this battle the English pressed on
to besiege Calais. One whole year the
French refused to yield, and they would
not give up the town until they were
EDWARD in. starving. Edward was so angry at the
(From a waii paint- j on cr resistance that he told the people of
ing, formerly t .
"
her knees and said, Since I crossed the sea with great
danger to see you, I have never asked you one favour.
Now I most humbly ask, for the sake of the Son of the
Blessed Mary, and for your love to me, that you will be
"
merciful to these six men." The king replied, Ah,
Edward the Black Prince 241
lady, I wish you had been anywhere else than here, but I
cannot refuse you. Do as you please with them." The
queen feasted them, and gave them new clothes and sent
them back safely to their homes. This story was told
by Queen Philippa's secretary, a man named Froissart,
renown for prowess that you have surpassed all the best
knights on your side. I do not, dear sir, say this to
flatter you, for all those of our side who have seen and
Edward the Black Prince 243
observed the actions of each party have unanimously
allowed this to be your due, and decree you the prize
3
and garland for it. At the end of this speech there
were murmurs of praise heard from every one. And the
French said the prince had spoken nobly and truly ;
weaker, and all saw that it must soon fall into their
hands.
The French were good soldiers, but they needed a
leader. They were fighting for the rights of the young king
Charles, but it did not seem to enter his mind that he
should do aught except wear the crown after they had
captured it for him. At length word came that a young
peasant girl named Joan, from Domremy, insisted upon
seeing him. She declared that she had seen visions of
angels, and had heard voices bidding her raise the siege
244
Joan of Arc 2
45/
of Orleans and conduct the king to beRheims to
crowned.
She was brought before the king but he had dressed
;
"
flashing around her standard, I work no miracles,"
"
she declared. Do not kiss my clothes or armour. I
am nothing but the instrument that God uses." She
continued to lead the army, but at length she was
captured and fell into the hands of the English. Those
were hard and cruel days, and the English fired cannon
and sang the Te Deum in the churches and rejoiced
as if they had conquered the whole kingdom of France.
Joan was kept in prison for a year, loaded with
irons and chained to a pillar. She was tried for witch-
craft and was condemned and sentenced to be burned.
Charles, to whom she had given a kingdom, made no
effort to save her. A stake was set up in the market-
place of Rouen. To this she was bound, and fagots
"
were heaped up around it. Let me die with the cross in
my hands," she pleaded ; but no one paid any attention
'SHE HEARD MYSTERIOUS VOICES
247
248 Heroes of the Middle Ages
to her request, until at length an English soldier tied
two sticks together in the form of a cross and gave it to
her. She kissed it and laid it upon her heart. Then a
brave and kindly monk ventured to bring her the altar
cross from a church near at hand. The flames rose
around her. Those who stood near heard her say,
' '
Jesus Jesus
! and soon her sufferings were ended.
!
--TION
Cl
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