CHIVALRY. This word indicates an institution which arose in Europe very soon after Christianity had destroyed the old religions and brought most of the nations under its benignant influence, and seems to owe its existence to several elements. Its military and outward form was derived from the Equestrian Order of ancient Rome. Its system of sym bols, and ceremonies, and fraternal bonds was contributed by the Masonic Order, and the spirit of reverence for woman, which it cultivated so earnestly, and illustrated with so many brilliant examples, was derived from the Teutonic and Scandinavian nations. In all countries of the world, except the north of Europe, woman had ever been regarded as a slave. But Tacitus informs us that the Teutons and Northmen held that there was something divine in the female sex, and therefore regarded woman with a love which ap pi-oached to reverence. In the worship which they paid to the goddess Frigga, they expressed their devotion to the sex. Frigga was the type of woman deified and enthroned in the bearts of men. Thus the Romans and Scandinavians, and Masons, contributed equal parts in the creation of this insti tution. The Rite of Induction was in the Masonic form; and
the Order was divided into three circles, corresponding to the three degrees of ancient Masonry. These three circles or degrees were those of Page, Squire, and Knight. The cere mony of reception took place in a room called a chapter, and strongly resembled the Masonic rites. The Knight, at the time of his full investiture, bound himself, by a solemn oath, to protect tne weak, defend the right., love God, and reverence and shield from harm the female sex. The influence of the institution on the manners of society was very salutary. It disenthralled woman; invested her with the charms of ro mance, and threw around her a drapery of poetic beauty. It elevated love from the character of an instinct to that of a sublime sentiment. It created the troubadours, and called into being, in European society, music and poetry, the most powerful agencies of human civilization. [See KNIGHTHOOD.]