Re: Glimpses

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: O come, Sir! : There must have been one or two bad eggs amongst their numbers. : I do believe that history rather supports your first description rather than your idealised version. : However, a new Camelot close to the Tower of Winds, with your good self oversseing which applicants of knight errantry should be admitted, is a cheerful vision. : Which reminds me of some lines : "A damsel with a dulcimer : In a vision once I saw..." : Coleridge. : Farewell for know, honourable Knight! : Laird Glenalmond : : : : Glimpses : : : : Human exemplars of the god-like virtues of faith, : : courage, gallantry, compassion, and aid to the weak : : and oppressed. There are those who believe that knights : : were only smelly brutal men in rusty armour, superstitious : : and greedy, who lived upon the labour of the peasants and : : went on wars of conquest on the excuse that they were obey- : : ing their kings. : : The reality was quite different. The orders and rituals : : of knighthood were clearly established and the great brother- : : hood would never have accepted such unsuitable members. A man : : could not even become a knight unless he was a youth of noble : : blood, and he had to beg an established knight to take him into : : service. Acceptance was by no means certain, because a knight's : : squire had to combine youthful beauty with the promise of superb : : manhood. He had to entertain the knight by singing sweetly to : : the lute, act as messenger between the knight and suitable ladies, : : serve him gracefully at dinner, and generally act as body servant, : : confidant, and admirer, always prepared to heap lavish praise : : upon his master for some deed of gallantry. : : Sometimes this apprenticeship was cut short when a knight : : was captured in battle. It was appropriate for the squire to : : offer himself for ransom, and stay in captivity while the knight : : rode off and tried to raise the ransom. : : If all went well, the time would come for the squire to win : : his spurs. The armourers fitted him with his first armour and : : made his lance, sword, and poignard, while the heralds worked : : out an appropriate device for his shield. If the squire : : could afford it he bought various magic charms to protect himself : : against evil. : : The young knight practised ardently in the tiltyard in order : : to grow accustomed to his armour and weapons, until it was time : : for his first tournament. The ladies in the audience assessed him : : carefully as he took his place in the lists, and tittered mock- : : ingly if his opponent unseated him with a great clangour of armour. : : After the first tests of skill in courage the knight rode forth : : in search of noble deeds. If he was fortunate there would be a war : : against enemies of the kingdom, but if not then he had to sally : : forth alone. By that time he would have fallen in love with some : : demure virgin, and she gave him a glove or scarf to wear on his : : helmet. Some older knights wore ladies' stockings streaming from : : their helms, but a young knight was so pure in heart that such a : : sight made him blush with embarrassment. : : On this first knightly journey he had no need of a squire or : : other retainers. His armour shone brightly without polishing and : : the light of beckoning glory sustained him without food or sleep. : : As the hooves of his charger beat along the forest paths he looked : : eagerly for some fitting opponent. : : When he entered a village he listened eagerly for news of a : : dragon or wicked lord in the neighbourhood, preferably the abductor : : of a fair damsel. He would not be averse to tackling sorcerers, : : magical beasts who destroyed cattle by breathing on them, or even : : giants who ate the children of widows. It was, however, preferable : : to return home with a dragon's head slung behind him and a rescued : : damsel upon his saddlebow. : : Any acceptable feat won him the golden spurs of true knighthood, : : and after that he could spend the time enjoyably in hunting, hawking, : : fighting in tournaments, feasting, or defending his king against : : enemies. : : Unfortunately a young knight's purity of heart gave him many : : uncomfortable moments. Every knight had to have his lady and he : : treated her stricly in accordance with the rules. He sent troubadours : : to serenade her, presented her with the mailed gloves of opponents : : killed in the lists, and sighed beneath her castle windows on moonlit : : nights. But the time would come when a lady expected more ardent : : attentions. A knight would hardly dare to drink his wine for fear : : that it contained a love potion, and he might be obliged to kill a : : friend if the impatient lady looked kindly upon him. : : It was even worse when the wife of a great lord, or even the queen : : herself, began to languish for the attentions of a young knight. The : : only rememdy was another knightly journey, on the excuse that he found : : himself unfitted for love of women and must devote himself to the : : pursuit of honour. It was always a relief when the king summoned his : : knights for a battle with some neiboring enemey, and they could enjoy : : the sport without being distracted by ladies. : : The time would come, however, when a knight found his joints : : creaking as loudly as his armour and his head growing bald from the : : pressure of his helmet. There was no more need to resist the blandish- : : ments of womankind and he could settle down with his mulled wine by : : the the hearth. He exchanged stories of dragon hunts with other super- : : annuated knights and showed the scars won in battle with the king's : : enemies. They all agreed that modern squires and knights behaved : : disgracefully. When a lady let down a silken ladder, so that a knight : : might climb up into her chamber, he would actually use it. The age of : : knighthood was doomed when knights began to pay more attention to women : : than to damsels in distress. : : Perhaps those ancient knights did not die out, perhaps they are : : still with us. Perhaps they were just away on some long and distant : : journey or quest. Maybe they have now returned to aid another kingdom. : : Perhaps in a remote Nortic Kingdom known as Ladonia. : :

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