posted 03-15-2001 09:06 PM                  

Thy word must be thy bond, and thou art bound to it as with chains. Let thy words reflect thy heart, and be not false lest thy lips reveal not thy mind. As ye have said, so shall ye do, though it mean thy life, for sore misery shalt follow thee for the remainder of thy days should thou be foresworn. Thou must give freely of thy goods and thy service and withhold nought, for in giving shalt thou receive a hundredfold. Bask not before thy hearth while thy brother shivers with the cold without thy door. Sit not at thy board with meat and drink before thee in great store while thy comrade cries out in hunger at thy window. Share thy wealth and thou shalt be rich indeed. Thou must champion the right and defend the cause of justice from whatever quarter it may come. Turn thy sword even against a lord if his vassal hath a just grievance and turn not a deaf ear to the cause of the lowly for even a fool may speak great wisdom. Thou must bow thy head in humility though thou be noble, for true nobility is a gift of which thou must prove thyself worthy. Bear thy noble birth as a yoke of responsibility for in thy hands lie the fate of others and their misery the stain upon thine own mantle. Thou must wear thy honor as a blazon upon thy shield. Lift not thy lance nor pull thy sword from its scabbard unless it be to defend the weak or right the wrong. Let not thy heart shrink from championing the cause of the poor and wretched even though it mean thy life, for the more lowly and demeaning the task, the harder shalt thou strive, for therein lies true nobility. Thou must pledge thy sword and thy life in fealty to thy liege lord and the land of thy birth as thou would the woman who bore thee. Thy liege is thy head, thy homeland is thy heart. Serve them unto thy death and leave no insult unavenged. Thy foe must quail before thy courage and skill. Spring boldly into the fray, unmindful of thy spilt blood. Fight fiercely as the boar, bravely as the lion, and if the fearsome spectre of death come to take thee, embrace him as he were a long-lost friend. Let no task be too simple or too humble for thee. Perform thy duties as a servant, though thou be noble, and let no man suffer through thy sloth and neglect. For if the joint is to be roasted, a hand must turn the spit, be it royal or slave.
-----------------------

posted 03-23-2001 05:01 AM                  

From vague recollections I think Peter Idley's Instructions to his son give a fair assessment of what was expected of a man. I'll dig my copy out and have a look.
Cheers
Dave