Thursday, March 11, 2010


During the middle ages, every free man was allowed to become a knight; however the process of becoming a knight was very expensive; so it was more likely that a knight would come from a noble or rich family.
The course to being knighted began before adolescence, in the potential knight's own home, there he was taught courtesy and manners. Around the age of ten, he would be sent away to train and serve at a grander house as a page. At this home he would serve as a waiter and as a type of servant to please and entertain the elders. He would learn hunting and falconry, and also an assortment of battle skills such as riding, training and caring for a horse. He also learned about weapons and amour.
At about fourteen years of age, the page was assigned to an actual knight to serve as his personal escort and aide, called a
squire. This gave the squire the opportunity to observe his master while he was in battle, so he could learn from his techniques. He also acted as a servant to the knight. As part of being in service to the knight the squire had to take care of his masters` horse and the equipment the knight needed in battle. He was around simply to serve and fulfill his duties as a squire. He would only truly learn what it was like to be a knight when he was dubbed but until that time he would have to observe. This was to uphold the knight's code that promoted generosity, courtesy, compassion, and above all, loyalty.
When the squire had acquired enough skill, he was dubbed a knight. There was no specific age for the happening; usually however this occurred between the ages of seventeen and twenty-one. In the earliest times the process began with the squire praying all through the night. He was then bathed, and in the morning he was dressed. The attire was a white shirt, a gold tunic, a purple cloak, and then he was knighted by the king. As the middle Ages continued, the process changed. The squire later had to vow that he would obey the rules of chivalry, and never run from a battle. A squire could also be knighted on the battlefield, in this case a lord simply struck a man on the shoulder and said, "Be thou a knight" this was the process known for a young boy to become a knight.

What are Knights?


Knights are warriors who rode on a horses back and fought with swords and spears. They were almost always men. Women normally weren`t trained to fight. well. knights lived in the Middle Ages from between 1000 A.D. to about 1500 A.D. Most knights cam from noble families, some were rich and powerful that lived in splendid castles, but some were rather poor. Kings and princes were trained as knights too but at the end of the Middle Ages, some knights became soldiers, fighting for anyone who would pay. It was a knights duty to fight bravely whenever the king needed his help, but knights had other duties too. They were expected to be courteous to their enemies, treat prisoners humanely, not attack civilians and protect the Church. During wartime, theses rules were often ignored. Knights were meant to respecting and loving to women.


Knights wore armor made of metal. padded cloth, and leather. but over time there amor changed. even though there armor was hot and heavy, it was strong. Being a KNight was rough and dangerous. Many Knights were killed in battle or died a few day later from infected wounds.


Wednesday, March 10, 2010



The best way to becoming a knight was to start at early age. At a young age of about 7, boys were often sent to another castle as a page serving a family and learning how to behave. In the yard, a soldier taught the young boys to fight using wooden or blunted weapons. A page's first horse was wooden and had wheels on it. The boys learned to joust on it. A growing page learned to ride skillfully on a real horse. He would then learn to charge at a quintain which was a wooden target. This target was sometimes designed to spin around and knock him down if he was clumsy or slow. At around his fourteen years of age the page became a squire, his job was to help a knight and battle at his side. After four years of experiencing battles and being at war a new knight would be dubbed. The squire would go through a vigil before the ceremony which was a night of prayers. Swords

and gilt spurs could, from that moment, be used as a symbol of knighthood.