It was by the bow that the English gained the majority of their
victories over their northern neighbours; who did not take to the
weapon, and were unable to stand for a moment against the English
archers, who not only loved it as a sport, but were compelled by many
ordinances to practise with it from their childhood.
Of other education he had none, but in this respect he was no worse off
than the majority of the knights and barons of the time, who were well
content to trust to monkish scribes to draw up such documents as were
required, and to affix their seal to them. He himself had once, some
six years before, expressed a wish to be sent for a year to the care of
the monks at Rothbury, whose superior was a distant connection of his
father, in order to be taught to read and write; but John Forster had
scoffed at the idea.
"You have to learn to be a man, lad," he had said, "and the monks will
never teach you that. I do not know one letter from another, nor did my
father, or any of my forebears, and we were no worse for it. On the
marches, unless a man means to become a monk, he has to learn to make
his sword guard his head, to send an arrow straight to the mark, to
know every foot of the passes, and to be prepared, at the order of his
lord, to defend his country against the Scots.
Pages:
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37