Part 15
_Son._ If such is the case, that some of the customs at court are so difficult to learn that both quick wit and continued observation are necessary, it seems evident that the men whom you have just now spoken of can have but slight knowledge of what constitutes deportment or good manners in the king’s house, though they be kingsmen, since they come but rarely into those of the royal apartments where good manners must especially be observed. But there is yet something that I am anxious to know concerning the duties of those men of whom you spoke last: what profit can such men as have an abundance of wealth and kinsmen find in the king’s service and in binding themselves to his service with the housecarle name as their only title? Why do not they rather seek the honor of being called hirdmen, or remain at home looking after their property as other husbandmen do?
_Father._ I should say that you have not inquired very wisely into this matter; still, as you do not appear to be well informed on this subject, I think it better for you to question than to remain ignorant, and since you have inquired I ought to answer. There are many reasons, as we have already said, why men would rather be kingsmen than be called by the peasant’s name only. The first reply must be that the king owns the entire kingdom as well as all the people in it, so that all the men who are in his kingdom owe him service whenever his needs demand it. Thus the king has a right to call upon every freeman, who seems fitted for it or is found to possess suitable insight, to serve in embassies to foreign lords; likewise, when the king calls upon the freemen to pilot his ship in warfare, each one who is appointed must attend, though he be the king’s henchman only so far as he is his subject. Even if a king should order a clerk or a bishop of his kingdom to fare as envoy to another king or to the pope, if such is his wish, the one who is called must set out, unless he is willing to risk the king’s enmity and to be driven from the kingdom.
Now since all the men of the realm are thus bound to the royal service, why should not every sensible man regard it a greater advantage to be in the king’s full protection and friendship, no matter what may happen in his intercourse with other men, and to be superior to his comrades and hold them loyal to the king if they will not otherwise obey, than to be called a mere cotter who is constantly under the control of others, though he still owes nearly the same duties as otherwise? Verily you must know that to be called a king’s housecarle is not to be despised as a title of derision; but it is a name of great honor to everyone who bears it. For neither landedmen nor hirdmen, though because of some infirmity or because they are tired of warfare they prefer to cultivate an estate in the country, are willing to surrender the housecarle name because of its honor and security. Now if there is any phase of this subject that seems insufficiently inquired into or explained, we may extend the conversation if you wish.
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XXIX
THE SUPERIOR ORDER OF KINGSMEN: THE HIRD
_Son._ This subject has been discussed almost too fully and has been cleared up for me with such good and complete answers that it looks to me as if a man cannot dispense with the king’s support, if he wishes to found his cause securely. For the multitude is fickle-minded and the one unfair toward the other, except those alone to whom God has given wisdom and rectitude; but they are few only and not the mass. However, as there are certain matters relating to the service and manners at court that are still unexplained, I should like to hear you discuss these further, lest I continue ignorant about subjects that I desire to know.
_Father._ We must now speak about those of the king’s housecarles who, if they give proper attention, are best able to acquire knowledge as to what is counted good manners in royal circles. They too, however, differ in character, and those are very often the fewer who should be the more numerous. These kingsmen that we are now to discuss have, in addition to the housecarle name, the title of hirdmen. Some bear that title rightfully, but to many it is a nickname. The one who originated the name placed it on a sound basis; for hirdman means the same as keeper and guardian; and those who wish to possess this title rightfully should be true keepers and guardians both of the king’s person and of all his kingship. They should guard the bounds of equity among all the men of the realm, wherever they are present when suits at law are heard. They should also observe good and courtly behavior and every useful custom, for they are at all times nearest the king in all matters. They guard the king’s life and person both night and day; they are always about the king at the table when he eats and drinks, at public assemblies, and at all general gatherings, like near kinsmen.
These men ought of right to be addressed as lords by all men who bear lesser titles than they do; for they are, in a sense, stewards of the realm, if they observe the customs that are suited to their title. They should be chosen from all classes and not from wealthy or distinguished families only; but those who are chosen to this dignity should be perfect in all things, both in ancestry and wealth, and in nobility of mind and courtesy, but above all in conduct. They ought, furthermore, before all others to observe righteousness in every form, so that they may be able to discern clearly what should be loved as belonging to honor and good deportment and what should be shunned as leading to dishonor and shame. For wherever they are present, the eyes of all men are turned upon their manners and behavior; all incline their ears to their words; and all expect, as they ought, to find them so much more excellent than other men in deeds and deportment as they stand nearer the king in service and regard than his other men. And if these men wish by right to enjoy the titles which are given them along with the housecarle name, they must shun vulgarity and rudeness; they must also, more than other men, avoid many things which a foolish desire might suggest. For many things become a disgrace both in words and deeds to well-bred men, which are not a disgrace to the vulgar who behave in that way; wherefore such men must keep watch over their tongues and their behavior.
It also frequently happens that well trained envoys from other lands come to visit the king and his court; and the more polished they are, the more carefully they observe the royal service as well as the manners of the king and his courtiers and all the customs that prevail at the court. On returning to their own lands, they will describe the customs and relate the happenings which they saw or heard at the court to which they were sent. But all the rumors that travel to other lands and are circulated about a lord, if they be truthful, will usually either bring him ridicule and contumely or be turned to his honor. It may also frequently come to pass that the kings themselves need to meet in conference to discuss such rules and arrangements as must be kept jointly by the kingdoms.[244] Wherever kings meet, there the best men are always assembled; for the kings bring their chief men with them to such conferences: archbishops, bishops, earls, landedmen, and hirdmen or knights. And the conduct and breeding of those who assemble are carefully noted, first the manners of the mighty ones, and then those of all the rest; for everyone watches closely the behavior of all the others. And if one of the kings or one of his principal men is found indecorous, he soon becomes the subject of ridicule and contempt and is regarded as a common churl. And if a king’s retinue is found to be poorly trained and is lacking in polish, especially if the service of the king’s apartments is not performed in a comely and proper manner, then the king himself is pronounced unfit; for it will be held that if he himself were polite and perfect in manners, all would acquire good breeding from him. Consequently it is possible for a courtly chief to suffer great shame from a vulgar and indecent man; wherefore it is very important that those who wish to bear a comely and honorable title in the royal presence should be well informed as to what is becoming or unbecoming. For one cannot hope for great honors from a king, if he has at any time disgraced him where many honorable men were assembled and where it seemed very important to maintain the king’s honor, which is everywhere, for a king must nowhere suffer shame. Heedlessness and evil conduct are therefore ill becoming to a man, if they bring him shame and enmity and cause him to lose his honorable name, his good repute, and his fair service, even though life and limb be spared. And he can even bring such deep dishonor upon his king that with many of his kindred he will be made to suffer a well deserved but ignominious death. Such grades there are both in the duties and in the titles at the royal court as you have now heard described. But if it seems to you that everything has not yet been thoroughly examined, you may inquire further, if you like.
Footnote 244:
Such meetings of two or three of the kings of the North were occasionally held all through the later middle ages. The conferences were often held at some point near the mouth of the Göta River, on the southwest coast of modern Sweden. See above, p. 30.
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XXX
HOW A MAN WHO WISHES TO APPLY FOR ADMISSION TO THE ROYAL HOUSEHOLD SERVICE SHOULD APPROACH THE KING
_Son._ It seems to me that we should not fail to continue this discussion and I shall now direct my remarks and questions toward some theme that may help me to see more clearly how one, who comes to seek honors, should appear in the king’s presence and how he must afterwards demean himself in order to attain all those distinctions of which you have just told. Now it may happen that I shall want to fare to court and join the king’s service; for since my father and my kinsmen served the king before me and gained honor and high esteem for their service, it is likely that I shall wish to do what my kinsmen achieved before me. Now inasmuch as that is likely, I want to ask you to tell me how I ought to begin my speech when I come to seek audience with a king. State it as clearly as if you were to accompany me to the royal presence, and inform me as to my gestures, my dress, my manner of speech and all matters of deportment that are becoming in the king’s company. Now this time I have asked as I thought best; but even though I have inquired less wisely than I ought, kindly do as before, giving thought to the questions on my part and to the replies from your side.
_Father._ Your questions on this subject are not so unwise that one may not very well answer them; for many have need to make such inquiries, if they mean to have their suits brought up before lords and to have them planned as carefully as need be. Now I shall try to clear up these matters that you have asked about, stating what seems most truthful and advisable. When you come, then, to where the king resides, intending to become his man, you should inquire carefully who the men are in the king’s company that are best able to present men’s business to the king in such a way that their speeches please him the most. As soon as you have learned who they are, you must first make their acquaintance and cultivate their friendship; after that make your errand known and ask them to undertake your suit. If they undertake your business, they can best find time and occasion for audience and speech with the king, as they often have speech with him. If you are to present your request at a time when the king is at the table, get sure information whether he is in good spirits and pleasant humor. If you should observe that his disposition is somewhat irritable, or that he is displeased about something, or that he has such important affairs to consider that you think your business for that reason cannot be taken up, then let your suit rest for the time being and seek to find the king in better humor some other day. But if you find that he is in merry mood and has no business to take up of such importance that you may not very well state your errand, wait, nevertheless, till he has nearly finished his meal.
Your costume you should plan beforehand in such a way that you come fully dressed in good apparel, the smartest that you have, and wearing fine trousers and shoes. You must not come without your coat; and also wear a mantle, the best that you have. For trousers always select cloth of a brown dye. It seems quite proper also to wear trousers of black fur, but not of any other sort of cloth, unless it be scarlet. Your coat should be of brown color or green or red, and all such clothes are good and proper. Your linen should be made of good linen stuff, but with little cloth used; your shirt should be short, and all your linen rather light. Your shirt should be cut somewhat shorter than your coat; for no man of taste can deck himself out in flax or hemp. Before you enter the royal presence be sure to have your hair and beard carefully trimmed according to the fashions of the court when you join the same. When I was at court it was fashionable to have the hair trimmed short just above the earlaps and then combed down as each hair would naturally lie; but later it was cut shorter in front above the eyebrows. It was the style at that time to wear a short beard and a small moustache; but later the cheeks were shaved according to the German mode;[245] and I doubt that any style will ever come which is more becoming or more suitable in warfare.
Footnote 245:
It is impossible to determine what style of beard this _jaðarskegg_ was; if we may judge from contemporary German illustrations, the German mode was a smooth-shaven face. See also Weiss, _Kostumekunde_, II, 581.
Now when you seem to be in proper state to appear before the king both as to dress and other matters, and if you come at a suitable time and have permission from the doorkeeper to enter, you must have your coming planned in such a way that some capable servant can accompany you. But though you are both allowed to enter, do not let him follow you farther than inside the door or, at the farthest, up to the staller’s seat, and leave him there to keep your mantle. Leave your mantle behind when you go before the king and be careful to have your hair brushed smooth, and your beard combed with care. You must have neither hat nor cap nor other covering on your head; for one must appear before lords with uncovered head and ungloved hands, with a blithe face and with limbs and body thoroughly bathed. You should also have the men with you who are to present your suit. Form the habit of holding your head up and your whole body erect when walking; strike a dignified gait, but do not walk too slowly.
When you come into the king’s presence, bow humbly before him and address him in these words: “God give you a good day, my lord king!” If the king is at the table when you appear before him, be careful not to lean against the king’s board, as so many a simpleton does; and above all do not lean forward across it as unmannerly churls do, but remain standing far enough away from it so that the service belonging to the royal table may have sufficient space to pass between the table and yourself. But if the king is not at the table, approach his seat only so near as to leave abundant space for all the service between yourself and the footstools that are before the king’s seat. When standing before the king, you should dispose of your hands in such a way that the thumb and forefinger of the right will grasp the left wrist; and then let your hands drop slowly before you as seems most comfortable. Thereupon the men chosen for that purpose shall present your errand to the king. And if fortune allows your suit to prosper immediately according to your wishes, you shall go to the king’s hand and thereafter enter the fellowship of the hird according to the customs which those who plead your case will teach you. But if the king makes promise and fixes a day when you are to appear and the matter is to be settled, it must rest till that time. If the king postpones the decision, saying as is not unlikely: “I know nothing about this man, either as to repute or manners, and cannot reply at once to his request but must first observe clearly his ways of thinking and doing;” then the matter is closed for the time being. But you may, if you are so disposed, continue your suit and try to find a more convenient time, when your affairs may have a more favorable outcome. However, while you are seeking to gain the king’s favor, you will need above all to keep close to the best and most discreet men, and you should often be seen in the company of those who are dearest to the king. But pay all the necessary outlay out of your own means, however long this probation may last, unless you should sometime be invited by the king’s order to his tables. And let it not be true in your case as is true in the case of many an unwise man, that the more often you find yourself invited, the more you begin to long for another’s fare, lest upright men come to regard you as selfish and impertinent, and those become hostile who were formerly your friends and comrades. Walk uprightly, therefore, and be heedful in all such matters, lest evil befall you through lack of foresight.
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XXXI
WHY ONE SHOULD NOT WEAR A MANTLE IN THE ROYAL PRESENCE
_Son._ If you permit, I will ask to be allowed a few words in this discussion. On what do you base your statement that it is considered good deportment among princes for a man to come bareheaded and without a mantle when he comes to seek audience with them. If anyone did thus in the country, the mob would say that the man was a fool to run about in that way without a cloak like a ninny.
_Father._ I told you a little earlier in our conversation that many a man goes about in ignorance as to what is fitting in a king’s house, because many things look stupid to the multitude which are considered proper in the presence of kings and other great men. Now you shall know of a truth, not only that it is fitting to come without a mantle when one appears for the first time before a king, but also that in many places it is as proper to wear one’s mantle in the royal presence as to leave it off. But since you have asked the reason why it should seem more decorous to appear before princes without one’s mantle than to wear it, it might be a more than sufficient answer to say that it is the custom wherever well-bred men appear in the presence of mighty lords to come without a mantle, and that whoever is ignorant of that custom is there called a churl.
But these facts may serve as an additional answer: if a man appears before magnates wrapped in his cloak, he shows in that way that he regards himself as an equal to them in whose presence he is; for he comes clad in all his finery like a lord, and acts as if he need not serve any one. But if he lays aside his cloak, he shows that he is ready for service, if the one who is entitled to receive rather than to do service is willing to accept it. Likewise there are instances of this other fact, which often necessitates caution, that many are envious of a king; and if his enemy is rash and bold, he can indeed come before the king with hidden perils and murderous weapons, if he is allowed to wear his mantle; but he cannot easily accomplish this if he comes without his cloak. It is therefore evident that he was a wise man who first ordained the formality that a man should appear without a mantle before great lords and especially before kings. For that custom has since led to greater security against secret treason which could easily be hidden under the cloak, if it were worn. The custom has also promoted fair dealing and concord among men, for in this matter they all enjoy the same rights; and this being the accepted custom, one is not suspected or searched more than others.
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XXXII
RULES OF SPEECH AND CONVERSATION IN THE KING’S HALL
_Son._ Although this custom seemed strange to me before I heard your comment, it now looks as if it were founded on good sense and is not to be dispensed with; and therefore it will be well if you will continue to recount and point out to me all the forms of speech and conduct which one needs to observe in the presence of kings and other great men.
_Father._ Keep carefully in mind, while in the king’s presence, that you ought not to engage in conversation with other men and thus fail to pay heed to everything that the king says, lest it happen, if he addresses a remark to you, that you have to ask what he said. For it always looks ill for one to be so inattentive that the words spoken to him must be repeated before he can hear; and it looks particularly bad in the presence of important men. Still, it can very often come to pass, when one is in a lord’s presence, that other men crowd about him and ask questions of many sorts; sometimes this is due to the stupidity of those who do thus, but often the reason may be that he who acts in this way would not be displeased if something should be found to be censured in him who has a plea to make.