The Training of a Knight

The training of a knight was based around common courtesy, especially to women, and added to that, strength. At around the age of seven, a young boy of noble birth would leave his home to become a page. The military apprentice traveled to the court of the King or a great Lord's house and learned military matters, honor, and behavior. At first he ran errands, helped around the house, and served the lady with courtly manner. Later, as he grew older, he learned about weapons, armor, and how to use them. Eventually, he began to learn about the favorite sport and necessity, hunting. At around the age of 14, the boy was apprenticed to a knight, where he served as a squire. The squire's main job was to do general tasks for his knight and help him in his duties, such as dressing and undressing, cleaning his armor, looking after his belongings, and making his bed. Squires also had to follow their master on the battlefield to protect and help him if he fell. They sometimes even fought beside them. When the boy was around the age of 21, he was qualified to become a knight. Some boys didn't want to be a knight, some couldn't afford it, and the rest acheived knighthood. The Knighting Ceremony The knighting ceremony, over time, became more and more complex. The day before the dubbing, the squire had his hair cut to remind him to humble himself in the eyes of the Lord. The hair was considered as the best feature therefore it was taken to pride. After that, they bathed and cleansed themselves from sin and were ready to begin a new life of pride and dignity. They then lay on their bed with black shoes on. The symbolism of the black was of death, to remind them that they would die someday and the bed reminded them that they would lay in heaven comfortably. After this, the squire attended a banquet where they had the last food they would recieve for many hours. that night, they laid their weapons on the altar of the chapel so they could be blessed by the priest. The spent the rest of the night praying. This part of the ceremony was called the Vigil at Arms and it reminded the squire to only use his weapons for the service of to only use his weapons for the service of God. The next morning, the squire would be brought before a crowd in front of the King's castle and the senior knight would be tap him on each shoulder with his sword. This was called accolade. A knight was not always dubbed in such a romantic, peaceful scene. Some ceremonies were done in the middle of a battlefields surrounded by dead men. But either way, acheiving knighthood was the greatest honor a soldier could receive. Chivalry A knight had high standards of courage and courtesy he was expected to live up to. These were all part of the code of chivalry, which was intended both to bring knights together and for women. Chivalry was not defined until Christian principles became important. The knight was to devote himself to the church as well as his Lord and Lady, protect the weak and poor, and treat all social classes with respect. Most knights failed to reach these standards because they treated the lower classes brutally and disrespectfully. Chivalry was also used on the battlefield. A knight sparing the life of an enemy would be considered an act of chivalry. Tournaments The tournament was an essential part to a knights life in sports as well as his training. They went against the code of chivalry but yet were popular. It was an exciting happening that many people attended to compete and to watch. In one part of the tournament, competetors made challenges against one another by riding up and hitting him with either the butt or the point of their lance. Using the butt indicated a friendly fight was wanted, but by using the point, a fight to the death. Another part of the tournament was called the tourney, or melee. Two teams fought over a huge countryside and the defeated had to give up their horses and/or armor because the better fighter deserved it more. Weaponry A knights chief weapon was his sword. A sword could bring terrible wounds upon an unprotected body. Chain mail could be broken with it, and it was easy to bring into battle because it was well-balanced and light. A sword weighed only about two and a half pounds. Daggers, maces, axes, hammers, and lances were other weapons carried by the knight capable of causing severe injury. Armor Armor, over the years, grew more popular and more and more of it was used during battle. By the end, the armor of a knight weighed up to 55 pounds, which was spread out over the body so that he could do everything he needed while in battle. The leg defenses were the most complex because they had to cover all parts of the leg while standing and squatting. The sabaton, or foot defense, used rivets that allowed the plates to move wherever the foot did. The cuirass, or armor for the main part of the body, was later used over a mail coat called a hauberk, and a surcoat to take away from the blows. Some knights wore a coat of scales under it also. Arm and shoulder (pauldron) defenses were among the most important because if the arm was hurt, it could disable the knight from fighting and perhaps ruin the knights career. The arms were more difficult to hit because the left arm was protected by the sword and the right arm was constantly moving with weapons. The gauntlet was the protection of the hands. It had 26 plates which were attched to leather or canvas. The fingers were even more so protected by double layer leather. The helmet was the first thing to be made completely out of metal. Which began by just protecting the skull part of the head, and then later adding face masks with vision slits, which protected the whole face and head.

Knights and Knight's Combat

Knights, after the lord on the social ladder came the knight. The path to knighthood began at the age of seven, when a vassal sent his son to the lord's house to become a page. For seven years a page was cared for by the women of the house, who instructed him in comportment, courtesy, cleanliness, and religion.At 14 the page became a squire, a personal attendant to a knight. From the knight he learned riding and all the skills of war, as well as hunting, hawking, and other sports.

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The Knightly Code

At age twenty the squire was knighted in a religious ceremony after spending the night guarding his armour before a church altar. He had to swear to the knightly code which asked him to "protect the weak, defenseless, and helpless, and fight for the general welfare of all." This code was rarely lived up to, but it remained the standard for chivalry and proper behaviour amongst the nobility for centuries. In theory the squire could be knighted on the battlefield for exceptional valour, but this event was much rarer than Hollywood would have us believe.

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Combat

Battles were usually small affairs, fought between the knights of individual lords. The object in a fight wasn't necessarily to kill an opponent, but to capture and ransom him. Your foe was worth more to you alive than dead.

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Tournaments

Imported from France in the 12th century, tournaments were an essential part of military and social life. These "war games" consisted of individual contests (jousts), and group combat. Lances and swords were blunted, but tournaments were a place where reputations were made, so the fighting was hard and dangerous. Prizes were given to the winners, and some knights, such as the famous William Marshall, made their fortunes on the tournament circuit, much as a modern rodeo rider might in the American West.

The armour worn in tourneys was different from regular battle gear. It was very heavy and padded inside. It was also extremely cumbersome.

Two 13th Century Knights in Tournement Combat

The object of the tourney was simply to unhorse your opponent, though often the fighting was so fierce that men were killed. Challengers erected tents at one end of the ground and hung a shield outside. A knight accepting the challenge rode up and touched his lance to the shield. The winner of the jousts was awarded a prize by the Queen of Beauty, elected for the occasion from amongst the women present.
By the 14th century tournaments became rousing fairs complete with singing, dancing, and feasting which might last for several days.

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