As the non-feudal knights grew to be the more numerous, knighthood became a separate class of society. Like any other social institution, knighthood passed through the storm-and-stress period of adolescence. Knights in the tenth and part of the eleventh centuries were often enough no more than bands of lawless brigands. Living as they did outside the ranks of the feudal hierarchy, these “gentlemen” interpreted the fact of not being bound by fealty to any particular master as a kind of charter of freedom from all laws and prohibitions. As narrated in the medieval lays or ballads, the examples of lawlessness and cruelty among some knights are, of course, outstanding. Yet, this new social class was indeed a menace to society. It was understandable, in the long run, that the authorities should look for means to call a halt to the excesses. In this effort the civil authorities were strongly supported by the Church, which launched a kind of peace offensive, endeavoring to direct the crude energies of knighthood into right channels and make of the new class an instrument of good in the social structure. There was success so that little by little knighthood became respectable to a remarkable degree. The reaction described had set in at the end of the tenth century, and a century later a change for the better in the moral life of the knights was everywhere in evidence. The reform was, however, not due exclusively to outside forces. As a class, the knights had the same needs and the same aspirations; and the better elements among them would try to enter into some sort of common tie. That common bond was a code of honor for knighthood and came to be generally accepted by the end of the eleventh century, namely around the time of the first Crusade. The motto of a good knight was succinctly expressed in the following Italian rhyme: “_La mia anima a Dio, la mia vita al Re, il mio cuore alla Dama, l’onore per me_ (My soul to God, my life to the Crown, my heart to the Lady, my own the renown).” The duties of a knight broadened into that of protecting and defending the Church, the widows, the orphans and the oppressed, of vindicating justice, and of avenging evil. The catalogue of the cardinal virtues for chivalry included courtesy, valor, class loyalty, self-denial, munificence, and hospitality. The code was well-nigh theoretically perfect, even if all knights did not observe it in practice. As a matter of fact, the virtues to which the knight was dedicated sometimes led to exaggerations, distortions, and their very opposite.