The ceremony of inauguration was generally performed in a church, or hall of a castle, on the occasion of some great religious or civic festival. The candidate advanced to the altar, and, taking his sword from the scarf to which it was appended, he presented it to the priest, who laid it upon the altar, praying that Heaven would bless it, and that it might serve for a protection of the church, of widows, and orphans, and of all the servants of God against the tyrannies of pagans and other deceivers, in whose eyes he mercifully hoped that it would appear as an instrument of terror. The young soldier took his oaths of chivalry; he solemnly swore to defend the church, to attack the wicked, to respect the priesthood, to protect women and the poor, to preserve the country in tranquillity, and to shed his blood, even to its last drop, in behalf of his brethren. The priest then re-delivered the sword to him with the assurance that, as it had received God's blessing, he who wielded it would prevail against all enemies and the adversaries of the church. He then exhorted him to gird his sword upon his strong thigh, that with it he might exercise the power of equity to destroy the hopes of the profane, to fight for God's church, and defend his faithful people, and to repel and destroy the hosts of the wicked, whether they were heretics or pagans. Finally, the soldier in chivalry was exhorted to defend widows and orphans, and to restore and preserve the desolate, to revenge the wronged, to confirm the virtuous; and he was assured that by performing these high duties he would attain heavenly joys.[75]