There was a brave and selfless knight
His armour shone, exceeding bright
And sworn he was, for all his days
To do what he thought right
When once, upon a whim, he took
A shortcut ‘round a little brook
He came upon a pretty maid
And promise he forsook
For came a dragon through the field
The knight his mighty blade did wield
The worm, with flaming wings unfurled
Crashed hard against his shield
Escaped the knight into the wood
When save the girl, only he could
For life he deemed more precious, there
Than doing what he should
The dragon ceased her attack, when
Pursued by braver knights and men
She turned, at bay, and died to save
The young ones in her den
Judge not the greatest nor the least
Until you see the soul in deeds
But now decide, of these two, which
Was nobler... man or beast?
An aegis is an ancient greek type of shield. If someone's aegis was shattered in battle, his brothers-in-arms would protect him from the enemy with their own shields. Someone under such protection was said to be "under the aegis" of his friend. Over time, the word evolved to mean literally both the shield itself and the idea of protection in general.