of a modern antique romance is obliged to
confine himself to the introduction of those manners only which can be proved to
have absolutely existed in the times he is depicting, so that he restrain
himself to such as are plausible and natural, and contain no obvious
anachronism. In this point of view, what can be more natural, than that the
Templars, who, we know, copied closely the luxuries of the Asiatic warriors with
whom they fought, should use the service of the enslaved Africans, whom the fate
of war transferred to new masters? I am sure, if there are no precise proofs of
their having done so, there is nothing, on the other hand, that can entitle us
positively to conclude that they never did. Besides, there is an instance in
Romance.
John of Rampayne, an excellent juggler and minstrel, undertook to effect the
escape of Audulf de Bracy, by presenting himself in disguise at the court of the
king, where he was confined. For this purpose, »he stained his hair and his
whole body entirely as black as jet, so that nothing was white but his teeth,«
and succeeded in imposing himself on the king as an Ethiopian minstrel. He
effected, by stratagem, the escape of the prisoner. Negroes, therefore, must
have been known in England in the dark ages.
 
11 The original has Cnichts, by which the Saxons seem to have designated a class
of military attendants, sometimes free, sometimes bondsmen, but always ranking
above an ordinary domestic, whether in the royal household or in those of the
aldermen and thanes. But the term cnicht, now spelt knight, having been received
into the English language as equivalent to the Norman word chevalier, I have
avoided using it in its more ancient sense, to prevent confusion. - L. T.
 
12 Pillage.
 
13 These were drinks used by the Saxons, as we are informed by Mr. Turner: Moral
was made of honey flavoured with the juice of mulberries; Pigment was a sweet
and rich liquor, composed of wine highly spiced, and sweetened also with honey;
the other liquors need no explanation. - L. T.
 
14 There was no language which the Normans more formally separated from that of
common life than the terms of the chase. The objects of their pursuit, whether
bird or animal, changed their name each year, and there were a hundred
conventional terms, to be ignorant of which was to be without one of the
distinguishing marks of a gentleman. The reader may consult Dame Juliana
Berners' book on the subject. The origin of this science was imputed