When the young men abandoned the position of pages in order to be made esquires, an event that never took place before their fourteenth year, their change of social condition was celebrated by a religious ceremony, which the Church appointed for the purpose of consecrating their knightly vocation, and of hallowing the use of the arms they were henceforward destined to carry. Standing at the altar and surrounded by his nearest relations, the youthful novice received the consecrated sword from the hands of the priest, promising always to wield it in the interests of religion and honour. A higher position in the household of his lord or lady was then assigned to the new esquire. He was admitted to their private gatherings, he took part in all assemblies and state ceremonies, and it was now his duty to superintend the reception, that is to say, to regulate the laws of etiquette relating to the foreign nobles who visited his master’s court. [Illustration: Fig. 120.--The Game of Quintain: tilting at a quintain (revolving effigy of a knight).--Fac-simile of a Miniature in the “Chroniques de Charlemagne” (Fifteenth Century). Burgundian Library, Brussels.] A passage from the history of Boucicaut, a marshal of France in the reign of Charles VI., will give an idea of the laborious and arduous existence of the young esquire who aspired to become a worthy knight: “Now cased in armour, he would practise leaping on to the back of a horse; anon, to accustom himself to become long-winded and enduring, he would walk and run long distances on foot, or he would practise striking numerous and forcible blows with a battle-axe or mallet. In order to accustom himself to the weight of his armour, he would turn somersaults whilst clad in a complete suit of mail, with the exception of his helmet, or would dance vigorously in a shirt of steel; he would place one hand on the saddle-bow of a tall charger, and the other on his neck, and vault over him.... He would climb up between two perpendicular walls that stood four or five feet asunder by the mere pressure of his arms and legs, and would thus reach the top, even if it were as high as a tower, without resting either in the ascent or descent.... When he was at home, he would practise with the other young esquires at lance-throwing and other warlike exercises, and this continually.”