With Spurs of Gold

m itdeals and the turbulent and picturesque times in which they lived.The endeavor of the authors has been to narrate events and portraycharacter accurately and impartially, but in the sympathetic spirit thatrecognizes the wide difference between modern standards of conduct andthe ideals of the Middle Ages,--the spirit that strives to depictvividly and adequately the fine, strong virtues and great deeds that wonfor these knights the unbounded admiration of their own age, rather thanto dwell upon those traits and acts that are justly condemned by thefiner moral sense of the twentieth century. Emphasis is laid upon thenoble in character and deed rather than the ignoble, on the great ratherthan the little.In the preparation of the book many histories, chronicles, and legendshave been consulted, and it is hoped that a fair degree of accuracy hasbeen attained where the narrative belongs to the domain of history. Thestories of Roland and the Cid, of course, are largely legendary, andthere is evidently a considerable admixture of fiction in thecontemporary accounts of Godfrey and Richard. The authors haveendeavored to follow recognized historical authority closely whenpracticable; but historians differ so widely among themselves that it isoften impossible to determine which version of events is most reliable.No important fact has been stated without good historical authority, butone or two minor incidents of Godfrey's life and crusade were taken fromTasso's "Jerusalem Delivered." In the treatment of a few unimportantevents, some imaginative details and circumstances strictly in harmonywith the meagre historical record of facts have been added to give colorand interest to the narrative. Also in several instances where thesubject-matter of a conversation or speech is purely legendary, or isgiven by historians in the third person, it has been put in the firstperson in order to render the story livelier and more vivid. No otherliberties have been taken with facts as related by historians oflearning and repute.