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Knights

Facts about Medieval Times ©2007

TechnoQuest

A knight was a professional warrior who fought for his king or feudal landlord. Knights were men who fought on horseback. In return for the knight’s services the king or landlord would often give the warrior land.

How a Boy Becomes a Knight

 

To become a knight, a boy was usually the son of a knight or noble. There are three stages to becoming a knight. These are: page, squire, and knight.

 

Page

 

When a boy was about 8 years old he was sent to a neighboring castle to become a page. A page is a knight's helper. He would train to be strong and fit, learn how to wrestle, ride horses, and fight with a spear and sword. He also learned how to read and write, speak some French and Latin, dance and sing, perhaps play a musical instrument, and learn how to behave in the king’s court.

Squire

 

At the age of 15 or 16, the page became a squire to a knight. This meant that he would serve the knight by serving him all meals, taking care of the knight’s horse, helping him to put on his armor, and cleaning the knight’s weapons.

A squire was trained to fight against a wooden dummie called a quintain. This was made out of a heavy sack hung on a wooden pole. The squire had to hit the sack with his lance. When it was hit, the dummie would spin and the knight had to avoid getting hit.

 

Chivalry

 

Knights believed in a code of chivalry. The code declared that they would always do their best to be kind, courageous, generous, humble and respectful. They promised to be loyal to their king, help the weak, and be polite to women.

 

Knights even promised to give mercy to the enemy if they were defeated. For example, if the enemy dropped his weapon, the knight would wait until he picked it up before continuing the fight. When knights fought against one another, the aim was not to kill the enemy. A captured knight could be returned for a ransom, and so your enemy was worth more alive than dead.

A squire had to be strong. He would practice using a sword and lance while wearing 40 pounds of armor and riding his horse. This training would get him ready for the battlefield.

A squire also learned how to hunt with hawks. Hunting for small animals with hawks was a sport enjoyed by lords and ladies. However, when a lord and his knights went to war, the hawks were useful in finding food in faraway places.

 

Knight

 

At the age of about 20, if the squire could prove himself worthy, a lord would declare him a knight. This was celebrated in a dubbing ceremony.

The knight would dress in his best clothes and in front of his family, friends, and all the nobles, the lord would tap him lightly on each shoulder with a sword and proclaim him a knight.

 

In early medieval times, the lord would hit the squire hard and knock him over. This custom was changed in the later middle ages to a soft tap.

 

After the dubbing, there would be a feast with music and dancing.

 

Another way of becoming a knight was to perform a heroic deed in battle or to receive a knighthood before a great battle in order to gain courage.