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.

The sunflower is a favorite emblem of constancy

The preparatory education of candidates for knighthood was long and arduous.

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

It was not till toward the end of the thirteenth century that the prose romances began to appear.

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

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.