ter of a brave man, fhould always attack two enemies* ftand firm and receive the attack of three, retire only one pace from four, and fly from no fewer than five." The Anglo-Saxons and Danes were rude and unpolished in their addrefs, and haughty in their deportment. Their own writers frankly confefs, that the French in those times very much excelled them, and all the other nations of Europe; in politenefs and elegance of manners. The manners of the Welth, in this dark period, muft have been even lefs delicate than thofe of the Anglo-Saxons; for they thought it neceffary to make a law," that none of the courtiers fhould give the queen a blow, or snatch any thing with violence out of her hands, under the penalty of forfeiting her majefty's protection." With regard to their marriage ceremonies, on the day before the wedding, all the friends and relations of the bridegroom having been invited, arrived at his houfe, and spent the time in feafting, and in preparing for, the approaching ceremony. Next morning the bridegroom's company mounted on horseback, completely armed, and proceeded in great ftate and order, to conduct the bride in fafety to the houfe of her future husband. The company proceeded in this martial array to do honour to the bride, and to prevent her from being intercepted and carried off by any of her former lovers. After the nuptial benediction was given, both the bridegroom and bride were crowned by the priest with crowns made of flowers, which were kept in the church for that purpofe. Marriages, on that account, and for feveral other reasons, were moft commonly celebrated in the fummer feason. The wedding-dreffes of the bride and three of her maidens, and of the bridegroom and three of his attendants, were of a peculiar colour and fashion, and could not be used on any other occafion. Thefe dreffes, therefore, were anciently the perquifite of the minftrels or muficians, who had attended the wedding; but afterwards, when the minstrels had fallen into dif grace. grace, they were commonly given to fome church or monaftery. At night the new-married pair were conducted to their apartment, and placed on the hymeneal couch, where they drank of the marriage cup with all who were prefent. Next morning the whole company affembled in their apartment before they arofe, to hear the husband declare the morning-gift; or what settlement and indulgences he would grant his wife; when a competent number of his relations became fureties. that he would perform what he promised. The feastings and rejoicings continued several days after the marriage, and feldom ended till all the provifions were confumed. To indemnify the hufband, in fome degree, for all thefe expences, the relations of both parties made him fome prefents. The laws of matrimony were obferved with great ftrictnefs. Examples of adultery were extremely rare, and punished with much severity. The husband of an adulterefs, in the presence of her relations, cut off her hair, stripped her almost naked, turned her out of his houfe, and whipped her from one end of the village to the other. A woman who had been thus expofed, never recovered her character, and neither youth, beauty, nor riches, could ever procure her another husband. Ladies of high rank generally nurfed their own children. This laudable practice, however, did not continue to be univerfal among them, otherwise there would have been no occafion for the following fevere remark." A certain wicked cuftom hath arifen among married people," fays one," that fome ladies refuse to nurse the children whom they have brought forth, but deliver them to other women to be nursed." As the Anglo-Saxons admired valour and intrepidity above all other qualities, they were very anxious to discover whether their fons would be poffeffed of them, and had various methods of putting their courage to the trial, even in infancy. Of thofe modes the following was the most common. Upon a certain day appointed appointed for that purpose, the family and friends being affembled, the father placed his infant fon on the flanting fide of the roof of his houfe, and there left him. If the child began to cry, and appeared to be afraid of falling, the fpectators were much dejected, and prognofticated that he would be a coward, but if he clung boldly to the thatch, and discovered no marks of fear, they were tranfported with joy, and pronounced that he would prove a brave warrior. As to rites of fepulture, it was fo much the cuftom of the Anglo-Saxons to depofit the bodies of their dead on the furface of the ground, and to cover them with earth and ftones, that they did this even when they buried them in churches; and the floors of fome churches were fo much incumbered with these little mounts, that they became quite unfit for the celebration of divine fervice, and were on that account abandoned. The inconveniencies of this ancient practice were at length fo fenfibly felt, that several canons were made against burying any in churches, except priests, or faints, or fuch as paid very well for that privilege. It was likewife decreed, that those who were buried in them should be depofited in graves of a proper depth under the pavement. The houfe in which a dead body lay before it was buried, was a fcene of continued feafting, finging, dancing, and all kinds of diverfions, which occafioned no fmall expence to the family of the deceased. In fome places of the north, they kept the dead unburied, till they had confumed all the wealth which they had left behind them in games and feaftings. This cuftom had prevailed in the times of Paganifm, and was difcouraged by the church; but it was too agreeable to their exceffive fondness for feafting and rioting to be foon abandoned. The Anglo-Saxon kings, queens, and nobles, lived in a kind of rude pomp and ftate, and were always furrounded with a crowd of officers, retainers, and fervants. Canute the Great, who was the richest and moft magnificent prince in Europe of his time, never appeared appeared in public, nor made any journey, without a retinue of three thousand armed men. The Teutonic or Anglo-Saxon language is fo ancient, that it is impoffible to trace it to its origin. Some learned men have difcovered a remarkable affinity be. tween the Greek and Anglo-Saxon tongues, both in their radical words, and in their general ftructure. With this view they have collected a confiderable number of words, which are names of the most neceffary and common things, and of a fimilar found and fenfe in both languages. The resemblance between "the Anglo-Saxon and modern English is fo great, that moft of the words of the former are still in ufe, though many of them are much changed in their spelling and meaning. The Anglo-Saxons and Danes long retained their fondness for bathing in warm-water, which they had derived from their ancestors the ancient Germans. In their laws, the warm bath is always confidered as one of the neceffaries of life; and no lefs indifpenfable than victuals, drink, or clothing. One of the most common penances enjoined by the canons of the church in those days, to fuch as had been guilty of great fins, was, to abstain, for a certain time, from the warm bath, and to give victuals, drink, clothes, firing, bath, and beds, to a certain number of poor people. On the other hand, they had a very great averfion to bathing in cold water, which was alfo enjoined as a penance. To bathe at least every Saturday was the conftant practice of all, who had any regard to perfonal propriety, and wished to recommend themselves to the favour of the ladies. The nobility spent the greateft part of their revenues in giving entertainments to their friends and followers. These feafts were more remarkable for their abundance than for their elegance. Some kinds of provifions were then used which would not now be touched, but in the greatest extremities of famine. The Danish inhabitants of Northumberland, in particular, were fond of horse-flesh, which they devoured in great quan tities tities*. Ale was the favourite liquor of the AngloSaxons and Danes, as it had been of their German anceftors. As trade was in its infancy, wine was both scarce and dear in Britain, during this period. Mead was also one of the luxuries of life, and could only be procured by perfons of confiderable opulence. Pigment was one of the richest and most delicious liquors of thofe times, and fo much admired both in England and on the continent, that it was commonly called nectar. It was a fweet and odoriferous liquor, made of honey, wine, and fpiceries of various kinds. Morat was also esteemed a delicacy, and was only found at the tables of the great. It was made of honey, diluted with the juice of mulberries. As war was the chief delight of the Anglo-Saxon thanes, and their followers, the amusements of their youth, and even of their riper years, were of a martial nature. A young warrior thus recounts the exercises by which he had acquired dexterity by conftant practice: "I fight valiantly; I fit firmly on horfeback; I am inured to fwimming; I know how to run along on fkates; I dart the lance, and am fkilful at the oart. Their fondnefs for games of chance has already been mentioned. When a young nobleman applied to a father for permiffion to pay his addreffes to his daughter, the parent generally made a trial of his temper, by playing with him at dice and chefs, before he gave him an anfwer. The game of backgammon was invented in Wales, during this period, and derives its name from the two Welsh words, back and cammon, fignifying little battle. * Wilkins. + Northern Antiquities. BOOK |