THE. Sotetory of Chivalry 8409 Knighthood and its times.- CHARLES MILLS, Esq Auther of the History of the Crusades Printed for Longman Murst, Rees, Orme. Brown and Groen: MDCCCXXV. PREFACE. THE propriety of my writing a History of Chivalry, as a companion to my History of the Crusades, was suggested to me by a friend whose acquaintance with middle-age lore forms but a small portion of his literary attainments, and whose History of Italy shows his ability of treating, as well as his skill in discovering, subjects not hitherto discussed with the fulness which their importance merits.* The works of Menestrier and Colombiere sleep in the dust of a few ancient libraries; and there are only two other books whose express and entire object is a delineation of the Institutions of chivalry. The first and best known is the French work called "Mémoires sur l'ancienne Chevalerie; considérée comme un Etablissement * The History of Italy, from the Fall of the Western Empire to the Commencement of the Wars of the French Revolution. By George Perceval, Esq. 2 vols. 8vo. 1825. |