'
Looking up, she saw poor Lucy's burning cheeks, and was sorry she had
not been silent. No one spoke for a few moments, but presently Anne
said, 'Alfred the Great is not buried in the Cathedral, is he?'
No one could tell; at last Helen said, 'I remember reading that he
was buried in Hyde Abbey, which is now pulled down.'
'There is a street at Winchester, called Hyde Street,' said Lucy.
'Yes, I know,' said Harriet, 'where the Bridewell is, I remember--'
'By-the-bye, Anne,' said Elizabeth, anxious to cut short Harriet's
reminiscences, 'I never answered what you said about Alfred and
Athelstane. I do not think that Alfred did more than present him
with his sword, which was always solemnly done, even to squires,
before they were allowed to fight, and might be done by a priest.'
'But when Athelstane is called a knight, and the ceremony of
presenting him with his weapons is mentioned,' said Anne, 'I cannot
see why we should not consider him to have been really knighted.'
'Because,' said Elizabeth, 'I do not think that the old Saxon word,
knight, meant the sworn champion, the devoted warrior of noble birth,
which it now expresses.
Pages:
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187