The earliest form in which romances appear is that of a rude kind of verse.

The word "Chivalry" is derived from the French Cheval, a horse.

For Mythology is the handmaid of literature; and literature is one of the best allies of virtue and promoters of happiness.

The other classes of which society was composed were, first, freemen, owners of small portions of land, independent, though they sometimes voluntarily became the vassals of their more opulent neighbors, whose power was necessary for their protection.

Mail armor continued in general use till about the year 1300, when it was gradually supplanted by plate armor, or suits consisting of pieces or plates of solid iron, adapted to the different parts of the body.

The word knight, which originally meant boy or servant, was particularly applied to a young man after he was admitted to the privilege of bearing arms.

Without a knowledge of mythology much of the elegant literature of our own language cannot be understood and appreciated.