78 MEDIAEVAL CIVILIZATION brave man, proud and loyal, who never retreats, who never fails to keep his word, and who never endures an insult. Bravery, loyalty and pride were henceforth and would ever remain the chief traits of the noble- man. Bravery was esteemed not only for the service it rendered, but because it was thought to be beautiful in itself. The knight would let himself be killed use- lessly rather than to be suspected of cowardice. "Mieux vatidrait etre mort que couard appele" (Better be dead than to be called a coward), says an old poem. The knight had to be loyal, to keep his word. He was especially dishonored in violating the oath of fidelity which he had taken to his suzerain; he would have "departed from his fealty1' and have become a traitor to his lord. "He who through some motive has done violence to his suzerain, either by hand or by tongue, or has taken from him his castle," said the custom of Barcelona, "has committed the greatest of felonies/' Many poems of the Middle Ages were inspired by this sentiment. Renaud dc Mnntauban, forced to make war against Charlemagne, his suzerain, avoided doing him any hurt, and when he had taken him prisoner fell on his knees and demanded pardon for the act. l»er- nicr, vassal of Raoul de Cambrai, having received affronts from his suzerain, was asked by the other knights how it was possible to continue in his service. He replied: "Raoul, my suzerain, is more of a felon than Judas, but he is my lord/' and they answered: "Bernier, you are right" Honor,—The knight was proud of being a gentle- man and a soldier. He was conscious of his dignity. 3Nfo oiie dared doubt it, nor even have the semblance of