Ramon Llull

“ If a man having liberty to go out of prison, on condition that he should return upon such a day, re-enters again into the prison, fails in the day, how he should be punished? Whether it be lawful for one Prince to refuse another, with whom he is at peace, passage thorow his country? ”

“ Whether a man that has safe conduct promised to him and his attendants, can bring alongst with him a greater man than he himself is? If a man be taken prisoner upon another's safe conduct, whether he that had the safe conduct be obliged to relieve him upon his own charges? ”

“ Whether a man may be compelled to go to the wars? If one man fairly wounds another, and he wounds him again, whether he ought to be punished for the same? If a bondman or slave kills another by his master's command, whether he ought to be punished for the same? ”

“ Whether a Christian King may lawfully give a safe conduct to a Saracen King or any other Infidel Prince? Whether, if two Lords make peace, and the one breaks it, the other ought to break it likewise? Whether it be better to fight fasting, or before meat or after meat? ”

“ If a man at his own pleasure may make choice of another man's coat of arms? If a German finds a Frenchman in the field bearing the same coat of arms with him, if he ought to appeal him to a combat? How they ought to be punished that assume the arms of others? ”

“ If a man that is innocent ought to be punished by way of reprisal for the guilty? And how Princes ought to behave themselves in the cases of reprisals? How reprisals should be made against a city that owes allegiance to no Sovereign? ”

“ If a man is overcome in duelling, if he may be afterwards accused in law? Whether, if the company pleases, they may fight in plain field, without barriers? How they should be punished that owns their crime, and is openly overcome? ”

“ As in the lyke maner, gif a maister armoureur of Parise, that had renoun to be the best of that craft, that war in France, and in his werkis had a takyn that his werkis were knawin by, and ane othir of Troyes in Champaigne tuke that ilke takyn, sa that for the renoun of the Parisien, his werkis suld be the better sauld; and rycht sa of coultellin, or ony othir craft, or of notairis, gif ane dois falset vnder the sailign of ane othir, I say, all sik men suld be well and cruelly punyst be justice; and gif the contrary war tholit, it war grete damage to the realme. ”

“ And first and formast, a Knycht bot he be of gude Faith, all is for nocht that he dois; ffor he may neuer haue othir vertewe na gude custumes; ffor but faith all is bot syn that euer man dois: ffor be faith men has all gude knawlage and vnderstanding of God and his haly Sanctis; and but faith man is wer na nocht; ffor be oure faith we haue sight spirituale of hevin and hell, and all Goddis workis, visibilis and invisibilis. And be Faith men has Esperaunce, Cheritee, and Leautee, and ar servitouris to Veritee, and fault of Faith myssaris all thir thingis. ”

“ Quhilk gif he dois nocht, the King suld say him, "That sen he traistit nocht in Goddis help, he suld nocht traist that he war a gude Cristyn man, and that he suld haue the lesse fauour of him;" and than suld he ordane him a term within quhilk he suld put him in gude estate of the saule to Godwart, and syne spere, how thai had done at thair Confessoure, and sa suld he do to the tothir: And this is a takyn that a Prince is wyse, and lufis wele God, that begynnis at him to dispone all his gouernance and dedis. ”

“ Bot a Lord may put of his powere forssably agayn the noble lordis and Knychtis willis, a man in the Ordre that is nocht worthy: Bot he may nocht vndo that he has done, ffor suppose that he haue power to mak a Knycht, he has na power to vnmak him, sa mekle is the vertue of Knychthede; ffor na man but grete cause, and Juge with princis powar, may tak honour away quhare it is anys gevin. ”

“ Thare aw nane othir in that contree to tak the samyn to bere, na the Prince na the lord of that contree, suld nocht lat tham bere it on na wise, ffor than war the principale cause of Armes-taking all forletyn; ffor the principale cause of Armes-taking is for to knawe the personagis of noble men in bataill, or in armes, or in tournamentis, or to knawe a lord in felde be ane othir, with his men, and his frendis and wele willaris suld draw till him and knawe him be his takin, and sa suld the diuersitee of armes mak the knaulage of the diuersitee of personnagis ”

“ Item, Justice is till all Knychtis nedefull, ffor Knycht but justice is but honoure; for Justice and Knychthede is sa wele acordaunt that Knycht but justice is a body but saule, for but justice may na Knychthede be; ffor Knycht injurius is inymy of justice, and castis him self out of the Ordre, the quhilk reuys him and dispisis him in that cas.
Item, Prudence is a vertue als, that Knychthede may nocht be but; ffor Prudence is a knawlage that man has of all thing, bathe gude and euill, throu the quhilk he is maid inymy to euill, and frende till all gudenes ”

“ And tharfore is Courser gevin him or Destrere, to betakyn noblesse and hicht of curage, that Knycht suld haue aboue all othir peple, sen he has bathe maist hye and noble order, and syne maist noble habilliament of armoure, and syne maist hye and noble hors; sa sulde he haue maist hye and noble curage, with force to passe all otheris in vailliaunce of armes and honoure, and to be sene aboue all his men, and mare fere of, sa that men that had nede of his help suld se him of fere, to draw till him for help. ”

“ For sik cause men has gert geve ilke man his surname that makis the difference. Bot and mony men bare ane armes, how suld ony man, Haralde, or othir, knaw men, na geve the honoure of gude dede till him that had honourabily deseruit it, or to geve lak and dishonour till cowardis or flearis fra bataillis: And tharefore, in all sik debatis, the Prince suld ger sett remede. And gif ony complaynt war, se, be Harraldis and men of knawlage, quha had rycht, quha wrang, and do justice. ”

“ Sa that throu the grete honour of his electioun, first, that be the prince and the people, is chosin amang a thousand for the maist worthy, and syne the maist noble and worthy armouris put on him, and syne the maist noble and worthy beste that was in the world gevin and ordanyt him to ryde on, and otheris to gang on sut besyde him; than aucht he wele to lufe and drede God, and his Prince that sendis him that hye honour and worschip; and syne he aw wele to mak syk cause throu nobless of curage and gude custumes, that he be lufit and dred of the peple ”

“ And as for remede of this, thare is a vertew callit Fortitude, that is stifnes in hert aganis vice, that will nocht falde no mare na rank stele, quhilk is sa ferme in itself, that it will nouthir bow to frende na faa, to help thame at nede, bot he be requerit and askit, and that is for the hie stifnes that is in him, of the vertu of fortitude of curage; that sa grete honour it is worthi to have for his worthynes, that he is euer redy to be at bidding of worthy dedis and honourable, quhen he is requerit. ”

“ And because the Gold is comperit to the Sonne, as the propre effect of the Sonne, the quhilk is king and lord of all planetis, and alssua is figurit be Haly Wrytt be the visage of our Lord; and be that cause the ancien Princis, in ald lawis of armes, ordanyt that na noble man suld bere gold in his armes, bot Princis, Kingis, and Emperouris, for the nobless of him: And thus conclude we, that the maist noble coloure is Gold. And suppose sum ignorant men wald say, gold is metalle, and na coloure, that makis nocht ”

“ Item, Schelde or targe is gevin to the Knycht in signifiaunce that as office of schelde is to be the targe betuix the Knycht and the strakis, sa suld the Knycht be betuix the Prince or his Lorde and the strakis; as the schelde ressauis the strakis before the Knycht, sa suld the Knycht before his lorde, kepe strakis fra him. And as schelde is couplit to the Knychtis brest, thare his hert is, sa suld the Knycht be till his lord bound in lautee as till his awin hert, and is a myd moyen betuix him and his peple. ”

“ Bot sen thai ordanyt him to be a lorde: Bot quhat vnderstandis thou redare be a lorde? A man is nocht a lord supposs he haue neuer sa mekle of warldly gudis: bot he is a lord that has seignoury and jurisdictioun vpon other men, to gouerne thame, and hald law and justice apon thame quhen thai trespass. ”

“ And alssua quhen a Knycht defendis ane othir that is false and traytoure till his Prince or his naturale Lord, and will nocht thole him cum to justice, nor na punycione to be done apon him, he is were na he that did the dede: and the Ordre of Knychthede is dishonourit in his persone, that manetenis, and will nocht bring to justice a false traytour; and vnworthy war that he had justice in keping. ”

“ Item, Office of Knychtis is to manetene and gouerne landis and policy, and to defend thame; ffor the raddour and the drede that the peple has of the Knychtis, thai byde apon thair craftis and labouragis, and grathis lyfing for the Lordis, for dout to be vndone, destroyit, and desertit; and thus ar the Kingis dred for the Knychtis. And thare, sais the Doctour, that a fals Knycht, that will nocht help to defend his King and his Lord naturale, is lyke faith bot gude charitable workis, or Knychthede tume and idill bot office, or heretike aganis the faith. ”

“ The Secund cause is and resoun, For I se all Cristyndome sa grevit, and stroublit of weris, discensiouns, thiftis, and reueryis, haterentis, and envyes, that men kennys almaist na realme in Cristyndome bot it is in were. Thrid resone is, for quhy? That the land of Provence, of quhilk I am borne and vp brocht, is sa turnyt now for the renewing of new Lordschip, and for diuerse opyniouns that ar amang Lordis and the Communiteis, that with grete payne may ony wyse man here it be rehersit, the mekle sorowe that the Commouns sustenis for sik debatis. ”

“ In the seventh he shows the many advantages that Knights have above others by this honourable Order; and the last shows the great respect that ought to be shown to all that Order,—ending with these words, "EXPLICIT L'ORDRE DE CHEVALRIE. "After this follows our Author's translation of Dr Bonet's Book of Government of Princes, which is a translation of Aristotle's Politics, and contains 40 Chapters, with a Prologue, shewing into how many languages it had been translated, and how it was first found in the Temple of the Sun, built by Esculapius. ”

“ And thus nobless of curage is better pertenand to Knychtis na is force of corssage, or ellis suerenes and cowardise in mannis persone suld be of the propereteis of the Ordre. And hardynes and largess suld be contrarius till it, and that war mekle vnresone; bot be all gude way of ordere, quhen a gude Knycht is oure sett with oure grete powar, and lesse has of help and of falouschip to supple him, in sa mekle suld he haue mare hye curage and mare force of spirit, to oure cum all his aduersaris ”

“ And schortly to say, it is the reugle of all wisedome, and but it na Knycht may well gouerne his Ordre, na neuer sall men fynd temperance bot with wisdome and with vertu.
Item, Gude custume and vsage is till Knychtis to here every day the Messe, quhare euer he be, gif it may gudely be gottyn, and gif ony preching or teching of clerkis, or wyse men be proponyt, he suld be redy euer to here the Word of God, and euer be redy till honoure, anourne, and pray to God, and to lufe him, serue him, honoure him, and obeye him in all place, atour all thing ”

“ Na, how suld that persone discerne betuix honorable and dishonorable act or vndertaking of worschip, quhare wisdome is away, ffor wisdome will never mare mak fault till his honoure. And forthy, is it signifyit till all Knychtis of honour, that a Knycht may neuer be hardy, na haue the vertues that to Knychthede suld pertene, bot he haue wisedome in him; na thare is na man that may sa mekle honour do till his Ordre of Knychthede, as to stand to the vtterest with stark curage for the rycht fermely, and neuer consent to leve his lord ”