And Richard at that time gaf him a faire juelle. The good sword Caliburne, which Arthur luffed so well.[97] The romancers followed the practices of the northern scalds[98], of naming the swords of knights: that of Sir Bevis of Hampton was called Morglay; and that of the Emperor Charlemagne himself Fusberta joyosa.[99] The poets were also as faithful delineators of manners as their predecessors the romance writers had been, and therefore we find in Ariosto that the sword of the courteous Rogero was called Balisarda, and that of Orlando, Durindana. In the romance of Sir Otuel, the address of the same Orlando to his sword is perfectly in the spirit of chivalry. Then he began to make his moan And fast looked thereupon, As he held it in his hond. "O sword of great might, Better bare never no knight, To win with no lond! Thou hasty--be in many batayle, That never Sarrazin, sans fayle Ne might thy stroke withstond. Go! let never no paynim Into battle bear him, After the death of Roland! O sword of great powere, In this world n'is nought thy peer, Of no metal y--wrought; _All Spain and Galice_, Through grace of God and thee y--wis, To Christendom ben brought. Thou art good withouten blame; In thee is graven the holy name That all things made of nought."[100] Regarding inscriptions on swords mentioned in the concluding lines, there is a very interesting passage in the romance of Giron the courteous. On one occasion where the chaste virtue of that gentle knight and noble companion of Arthur was in danger, his spear, which he had rested against a tree, fell upon his sword, and impelled it into a fountain. Giron immediately left the lady with whom he was conversing, and ran to the water. He snatched the weapon from the fountain, and, throwing away the scabbard, began to wipe the blade. Then his eyes lighted on the words that were written on the sword, and these were the words that were thus written:--Loyaulte passe tout, et faulsete si honneit tout, et deceit tous hommes dedans quals elle se herberge. This sentence acted with talismanic power upon the heart of that noble knight Giron the courteous, and so his virtue was saved. * * * * * [Sidenote: The shield.] [Sidenote: Impresses.] Leaving those pictures of manners which the old romances have painted, I come to the defensive harness of the knight, a subject which has many claims to attention. The shield was held in equal esteem in chivalric as in classic times; for "To lose the badge that should his deeds display,"