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II.

"that they might be dedicated to God if they should chuse CHA P. "it; or that when full grown, he might present them in armour to the king, if they preferred it."

It was

When they reached the age of fourteen, the aspiring, or the better conditioned, prepared themselves for arms. after completing his thirteenth year that Wilfrid, who had not then decided on a religious life, began to think of quitting the paternal roof. He obtained such arms, horses, and garments, for himself and his boys, as were necessary to enable him to present himself to the royal notice. With these he travelled till he reached the queen of the province. He met there some of the nobles at her court, whom he had attended at his father's house. They praised him, and introduced him to the queen, by whom he was graciously received. As he afterwards chose the path of devotion, she recommended him to one of the nobles who accompanied the king, but who was induced, by the pressure of a paralytic disease, to exchange the court for the cloister."

The Anglo-Saxons distinguished the period between childhood and manhood by the term cnihthade, knighthood. It is stated in Ina's laws," that a cniht of ten winters old "might give evidence;"" and Bede's expression, of a boy about eight years old, is translated by Alfred “ wæs eahta "wintra cniht."" A king also mentions of a circumstance, that he saw it cniht wesende, being a cniht, or while a boy." It will be considered in another place how far the term bore the meaning of chivalry among the Anglo-Saxons. A daughter was under the power of her parents till the age of thirteen or fourteen, when she had the disposal of her person herself; at fifteen, a son had the right of choosing his path of life, and might then become a monk, but not before."

Eddius, p. 62.

9 Ib. p. 44.

10 Wilkins Leg. p. 16.

VOL. II.

"Bede, v. c. 18. Alf. Transl, 635.

12 Bede. Alf. Transl. p. 518.

13

1 Wilk. Concil. 130.

G

BOOK
VIII.

In this season of cnihthood, or youth, we find them striving to excel each other at a horse-race. A person in Bede describes himself as one of a party, who on their journey came to a spacious plain, adapted to a horse-course. The young men were desirous to prove their horses in the greater course, or as the Saxon translator expresses it, that we might run and try which had the swiftest horse. The individual spoken of at last joined them, but his animated horse, attempting to clear a concavity in the way, by a violent leap, the youth was thrown senseless against a stone, and with difficulty brought to life."

The Saxon youth seem to have been accustomed to habits of docility and obedience. The word cniht was also used to express a servant;" and Wilfrid is characterized as having in his youth attentively ministered to all his father's visitors, whether royal attendants or their servants."

The education of the Saxons was much assisted by the emigrations or visits of Irish ecclesiastics. We have mentioned Maildulf at Malmsbury; it is also intimated, in Dunstan's life, that some Irishmen had settled at Glastonbury, whose books Dunstan diligently studied. This great, but ambitious man, was arraigned in his youth for studying the vain songs of his Pagan ancestors, and the frivolous charms of histories."

After the prevalence of Christianity, a portion of the youth was taken into the monasteries. We have a description, in Saxon, of the employment of the boys there. One of these, in answer to the question, What have you done to-day?' says, Many things; when I heard the knell, I arose from 66 my bed and went to church, and sang the song for before day with the brethren, and afterwards of All Saints, and at "the dawn of day the song of praise. After these I said the

66

66

14 Bede, lib. v. c. 6.

1 Gen. c. xxiv. v. 65. Luke, xii. v. 45.

16 Eddius, p. 44.

17 MS. Cleop. B. 13.

66

" 18

"first and seventh Psalms, with the litany and first mass. "Afterwards, before noon, we did the mass for the day, and "after this, at mid-day, we sang, and eat, and drank, and slept, and again we rose and sang the noon, and now we are here before thee ready to hear what thou shalt say. They had afterwards to sing the even and the night song. On being questioned why they learnt so industriously, he is made to reply, "Because we would not be like the stupid animals, "who know nothing but their grass and water."18

1 MS. Tib. A. 3.

CHAP.

II.

BOOK
VIII.

THE

CHIA P. III.

Their Food.

EIR food was that mixture of animal and vegetable diet which always attends the progress of civilization. They reared various sorts of corn in inclosed and cultivated lands, and they fed domesticated cattle for the uses of their table.

For their animal food they had oxen, sheep, and great abundance of swine; they used, likewise, fowls, deer, goats, and hares; but though the horned cattle are not unfrequently mentioned in their grants and wills, and were often the subjects of exchange, yet the animals most numerously stated are the swine. The country in all parts abounded with wood; and woods are not often particularized without some notice of the swine which they contained, or were capable of maintaining. They also frequently appear in wills. Thus Alfred, a nobleman, gives to his relations an hide of land, with one hundred swine; and he directs one hundred swine to be given for his oul to one minister, and the same number to another; and to his two daughters he gives two thousand swine.' So Elfhelm gives land to St. Peter's at Westminster, on the express condition that they feed two hundred of these animals for his wife.'

They eat various kinds of fish; but, of this description of their animal food, the species which is most profusely noticed is the eel. They used eels as abundantly as swine. Two grants are mentioned, each yielding one thousand eels,' and by another two thousand were received as an annual rent. Four thousand eels were a yearly present from the monks of Ramsay

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4

III.

to those of Peterborough. We read of two places purchased CHAP. for twenty-one pounds, wherein sixteen thousand of these fish were caught' every year; and in one charta twenty fishermen are stated, who furnished, during the same period, sixty thousand eels to the monastery. Eel dikes are often mentioned in the boundaries of their lands.

In the dialogues composed by Elfric to instruct the AngloSaxon youths in the Latin language, which are yet preserved to us,' we have some curious information concerning the manners and trades of our ancestors. In one colloquy the fisherman is asked, 'What gettest thou by thine art?' " Big loaves, clothing, and money." How do you take them? "I ascend my ship, and cast my net into the river; I also throw in a hook, a bait, and a rod." "Suppose the fishes are unclean?' throw the unclean out, and take the clean for food." Where fish?' In the city." Who buys them?'

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do you sell your fish?' In the city."
"The citizens; I cannot take so many as I can sell." • What
fishes do you take?'"Eels, haddocks, minnies, and eelpouts,
skate, and lampreys, and whatever swims in the river.” Why
do you not fish in the sea?'"Sometimes I do; but rarely,
because a great ship is necessary there." What do you take
in the sea?'" Herrings and salmons, porpoises, sturgeons,
oysters, and crabs, muscles, wincles, cockles, flounders, plaice,
lobsters, and such like." 'Can you take a whale?'"No, it
is dangerous to take a whale; it is safer for me to go to the
river with my ship than to go with many ships to hunt whales."
'Why?' "Because it is more pleasant to me to take fish which
I can kill with one blow; yet many take whales without
danger, and then they get a great price, but I dare not, from
the fearfulness of my mind."

This extract shews the uniformity of human taste on the

* 3 Gale, 456.

5 Dugdale Mon. p. 244.

Ibid. 235.

7 In the Cotton library, MS. Tib. A. 3. The Saxon names for these are, alas,

hacodas, mynas, & æleputan, sceotan, &
lampredan. MS. ib.

Herinegas & leaxas, mereswyn & stirian,
ostrean & crabban, muslan, wine winclan
sæ coccas, fage, floc, lopystran. MS. Tib. A.3,

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