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So when exactly did knights come to be? Well, during the early middle ages there was no shortage of men who fought on horseback. But it wasn't until the early 800's, after the Chinese invention of the stirrup reached Europe, that these mounted troops came to be known as knights. These 'knights' were considered an elite, special breed of soldiers. When we think of knights today we generally think of honor and chivalry, but it wasn't always like that. Early on, although they were a special elite group of mounted soldiers, they were just that, mounted soldiers. In fact it wasn't until the early 1100's that chivalry became the way of a knight. During the early 1100's, through Christian teachings, knights were finally expected to follow a code. The code of chivalry.
Chivalry is indeed what was expected of a knight, and through movies, games, and books, it is how we view their legend today. But in reality it was rarely how they lived their lives. Knights were highly regarded as powerful people and most of them took advantage of this. Most knights saw themselves as nobles, in every way superior to common folk. The majority were snobby, rude to the lower class, and considered themselves above commoners, as well as common deeds. Although many wanted to, it was only a selected
few that could become knights. First of all you had to be a man. Women
were not allowed to be knights, though it is said a few women went on
crusades. You needed money or land, and you had to come from an
aristocratic family, though some lied about the latter. Some men would try
to marry in to noble families in order to gain the wealth and status to
become a knight. Yet even if you were lucky enough to pass all these
political categories it was still not enough. You also had to prove
yourself worthy in battle, which was not an easy task. Due to this
non-negotiable test of proving yourself, training for some aristocratic
boys would start at a very early age, about six or seven.
The young boy would be sent to the castle and given the title "The Page" (hence the name of this web site by the way :). At the castle he would be educated, learn good manners, and he would train with other children in the art of knighthood. Training techniques during these early years included wrestling, and sword/weapon fighting (with blunted or wooden weapons). They also might have a wooden horse on wheels and use a blunt stick or broom handle as a lance for training. As the boy grew a little older he would learn horseback riding, as well as lancing and charging techniques. Upon reaching the age of about 14, the page would graduate to the title of "Squire". The squire was truly a trusted companion to the knight. He would help him in and out of his armor, prepare and tend to his horse, run errands, and in every way help prepare the knight for battle. The squire would even fight (and sometimes die) at the knights side if necessary. The boy would hold his status as squire for a period of four years, upon which time he could become a knight. When the squire would be dubbed a knight, a night of prayer would typically follow a huge ceremony. The dubbing was usually done by a king or another knight who would say a few words (often swearing the knight to the code of chivalry), tap the squire on each shoulder with a sword, and proclaim him a knight. So now the boy has become a man, a knight, and gains his own squire. He would then typically purchase a very expensive suite of armor. During the 1100's this consisted of chain mail and usually a shield. Over the next few hundred years the chain mail would be replaced, in certain areas of the body, by steel plates. By the 1400's knights had all but rid themselves of chain mail, save for maybe a chain mail shirt, and had replaced it with full suites of plate armor weighing about fifty pounds. This new full plate armor made the use of shields unnecessary.
The armor was hardly just for show. It was
inevitable that at some time in their career the knights would have to
deal with huge battles that often left thousands dead. Saying you'll
valiantly die for king, country, and the code of chivalry is one thing,
but doing it is quite another. Some knights would try to get out of battle
by paying huge sums of money. This very seldom worked, and in return very
few knights were fortunate enough to say they'd seen numerous battles, for
their first battle could very easily be their last...
Online Knighthood, Chivalry, & Tournaments. King Arthur & the Early British Kingdoms Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Links Links to texts from and about the medieval period Books Arms and Armor of the Medieval Knight The World of the Medieval Knight The book of the Medieval Knight The Knight in Medieval England, 1000-1400
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