itsuntide, wherever the Court happened to be. And at these times the
Anglo-Saxon, and afterwards the Danish, Kings of England lived in
state, wore their crowns, and were surrounded by all the great men of
their kingdoms (together with strangers of rank) who were sumptuously
entertained, and the most important affairs of state were brought
under consideration. There was also an outflow of generous hospitality
towards the poor, who had a hard time of it during the rest of the
year, and who required the Christmas gifts to provide them with such
creature comforts as would help them through the inclement season of
the year.

Readers of Saxon history will remember that chieftains in the festive
hall are alluded to in the comparison made by one of King Edwin's
chiefs, in discussing the welcome to be given to the Christian
missionary Paulinus: "The present life of man, O King, seems to me, in
comparison of that time which is unknown to us, like to the swift
flight of a sparrow through the hall where you sit at your meal in
winter, with your chiefs and attendants, warmed by a fire made in the
middle of the hall, while storms of rain or snow prevail without."

[Illustration: AN ANCIENT FIREPLACE.]

The "hall" was the principal part of a gentleman's house in Saxon
times--the place of entertainment and hospitality--and at
Christmastide the doors were never shut against any who appeared to be
worthy of welcome. And with such modes of travelling as were in vogue
in those days one can readily understand that, not only at Christmas,
but also at other seasons, the rule of hospitality to strangers was a
necessity.

To this period belong the princely pageants and the magnificent

CHRISTMAS ENTERTAINMENTS OF KING ARTHUR

and the Knights of his Round Table. We know that some people are
inclined to discredit the accounts which have come down to us of this
famous British King and Christian hero, but for our own part we are
inclined to trust the old chroniclers, at all events so far as to
believe that they give us true pictures

[Illustration: TRAVELLING IN THE OLDEN TIME, WITH A "CHRISTMAS FOOL"
ON THE FRONT SEAT.]

of the manners and customs of the times of which they write; and in
this prosaic age it may surely be permitted to us at Christmastide to
linger over the doings of those romantic days,

"When every morning brought a noble chance,
And every chance brought out a noble knight."[6]

Sir John Froissart tells us of t