For what was the alternative? Was it not to go
forth as fugitives and vagabonds on the face of the earth--a prey
to every foreign noble--leaving her own dear people of Aescendune
to the wolf, without intercessor or protector.
And thus it came to pass that Winifred of Aescendune married Hugo
de Malville.
CHAPTER IV. THE NORMAN PAGES.
In the days of chivalry the first step towards the degree of
knighthood was that of page. Boys of noble birth, about their
twelfth year, were generally transferred from the home of their
childhood to the castle of some gallant baron to learn the customs
of war and peace at his hand, and to acquire habits of good order
and discipline. These lads fared harder by far than modern boys do
at our great schools; they slept on harder couches, rose earlier,
and had less dainty food. They were forced to pay implicit
obedience to their superiors; modesty in demeanour, as becoming
their age, was strictly required before their elders; and they had
to perform many offices which would now be deemed menial.
First they learned how to manage their horses with ease and
dexterity; next how to use the sword, the bow, and the lance. They
had to attend upon their lords in hunting--the rules of which, like
those of mimic war, had to be carefully studied.
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