Castles: Knights Of The Nineteenth Century

The word knight got this name from the Old English word cniht. The Knight’s duty were very similar to the samurai's. They were hired to protect land and the people that owned the land. They also had a code like the samurai. This code stuck them to their duties and made sure that they kept their morals. Knights controlled land and the land was managed by the peasants of the kingdom. It was the peasants who mostly fought the battles instead of the knights. The knights led the peasants into the battle they fought.

To be a knight, his fitness level had to be exceptional enough to last through a long, intense battle. Knights had to face a variety of challenges and were expected to handle them as any knight would. For example, some battles would last long periods of times, so these knights were expected to handle different weather changes, tiredness, and hungriness. The most important qualification that a knight had to have was modeling bravery due to the extreme battles that would be fought. Through these long battles, knights had to stay positive and not give up for what they are fighting for.

Knights are one of the most mistaken figures of the medieval era due to fairytales and over exaggerated fiction novels. When medieval knights roamed the earth, it was known that they were only human and, like humans, had faults. These knights did not always live up to the standards designated by society. However, in The Canterbury Tales, the knight is revealed as a character that would now be considered a knight in shining armor, a perfect role model in how he acts and what he does. Modern day people see them as chivalrous figures instead of their actual role as mounted cavalry soldiers. As time passes, the idea of what a knight is changes from a simple cavalry soldier to a specific type of behavior.

The castles were built to demonstrate the strong bond between the King and his nobility. They were seen as a reflection of a more stable and secure society with respect for law and the authority of the government.

In warfare today weapons have improved in accuracy and ease of use. With the simple pull of a trigger a soldier can take down his/her intended target. Rather than knights trying disarm their objective with a sword. With the ability to shoot long range it removes the necessity to ride horses, while in battle, to move quicker and more efficiently. However, the way one trains to defend for the common good is similar. Comparatively both knights and soldiers have to go through some degree of training to reach their rank. Although, to be a knight the men must have been born into nobility and women could not fight. While anyone over the age 18 can fight in current day. However, to be knight a young boy would start learning at the age of seven and would continue learning up to the age of 21. Where a soldier today will start training and only train for a couple months to possibly a year.

The historian Richard Kaeuper notes that prowess being crucial to honor may have contributed as much to the ‘problem of violence as it provided a solution’. Therefore, this appears to convey why the concept of chivalry began to be associated with violence and warfare as knights, in the pursuit of honor, became reliant on violence and battle to prove their aptitude. This idea is supported by a medieval knight Sir John Chandos, who stated that men brought up for martial calling ‘cannot live without war and do not know how to’. Maurice Keen argues that ‘chivalry was quintessentially bellicose’ as it presented those who fought has having a ‘pinnacle of honor’. As a result, the use of force by knights as a way of denoting their gallantry led to the belief that violence was intrinsic to the notion of chivalry.

This also brings with it the idea of being willing to give one’s life for another’s; whether he would be giving his life for a poor man or his lord. Under a better name, it is warrior chivalry. This is thought to be the most achieved duty of chivalry. A knight is not always portrayed as lady killer, but more popularly as a noble warrior. Were knights really as noble as they seemed? The logical of a human really doesn’t allow that to happen. Why would someone want to risk their own life for lives of others? The human mind doesn’t function like that. Knights still fight however, but this is based purely on the fact that there is no way around it. If a knight chose not to fight, treason was the only price. Knights did not have a willing attitude. To appeal to the human mind, why would one desire to throw his body out to a sure death? A man in his sane mind would not do so. This is clearly reflected in the medieval narrative Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The example begins with the knights of the round table all meeting in their hall during evening festivities. A mysterious green knight enters the hall and possesses a challenge. The challenge is that one knight of Arthur’s gets a unresponsive attack at the neck of this giant green knight with his own axe. The only loophole is that in one year and a day

There were many different types, such as jousting, combat on foot, and combat on horseback. They were entertainment for lords and ladies, and good fighting practice for knights. The knight could improve his skills and combat to prepare for the next war. Knights could also prove their abilities against fellow knights and establish their superiority over each other.

Knights were usually vassals who decided to fight for higher lords in exchange for protection. They were considered to be in the nobility class. They were usually just military officers. Knights were noblemen who rode on horseback and they followed the strict military code of chivalry, the code demanded that a knight was to obey his lord, to help people, be brave, show respect to women, and honor the church. Many of the good manners today come from the code of Chivalry.

The knights were the warriors of the time period in between the fall of Rome and the beginning of the Renaissance, also known as the Middle Ages. Knights had to undergo years of training starting as a young boy. Though they were well trained, knight still needed protection. To protect themselves, knights would wear complex armor that usually took over and hour to put on, and usually needed the help of his squire. In order to fight well, they needed strong weapons. A knight’s weapons were sharp and durable.

At this point in history the men who fought the wars were lead by their leaders with a code of chivalry. Chivalry can be explained as “the Anglo-Saxon code on steroids.” (McGee) Which is, explained further, a moral system for a good way to conduct fighting. The knights in Arthurian time went even further with that code to say that it was a way to conduct oneself not only in battle, but at all times. Knights, by being chivalrous, were kind to all people, fought well and true, kept faith and believed in the Christian God, and fought for their kings. Chivalry can be found across the Arthurian texts, The Song of Roland is one of the texts that has multiple examples of chivalry.

Also, when receiving land, the lord received power over the peasants of that village. Knights also got support, a share of the treasure and goods that were taken in battle, and a sort of insurance. This insurance was that if he died, his children were protected until the girl married and the boy became a vassal, and that the widow and the land were protected (Smith 3). Also appealing to would-be knights was the rise in status. Knights were given a fief, often land, making them a vassal, and therefore a lord (Beil 15). Knights were considered to be like the rock stars of their time as they were well off and thought as honorable, chivalrous, and wealthy (Nardo 29). Because of this they were sought after by high class ladies looking for a husband, and by troubadours who looked for the heroes of their songs (Nardo 31). Because of these advantages, the feudal oath became a political tool where it previously had been a vow of military duty (Beil 9). It was understood that if he did not uphold his promise it would all be taken back. (Beil 15). However, knights did not only gain as they also had to work or their king/lord. A common time frame expected from knights for

A knight was expected to have not only the strength and skills to face combat in the violent era of the Middle Ages but was also expected to temper this aggressive side with a chivalrous side to his nature. The ideals described in the Code of Chivalry were emphasised by the oaths and vows that were sworn in the Knighthood ceremonies of the Middle Ages and the Medieval era. These sacred oaths of combat were combined with the ideals of chivalry and with strict rules of etiquette and codes of conduct towards

Concentric castles were made of stone and built primarily for protection and defense. The building of these concentric designs began in the 1200s. The castles consisted of thick walls surrounding the main castle, usually one large wall surrounding a smaller one. The walls were designed to create obstacles for anyone trying to attack the castle. The hard, tall walls made it difficult for the attacker to get at the castle and made it easier for the defenders to fire at them from above. Its symmetrical shape also made it easier for lookout men to see across the surrounding countryside. The concentric castles, as beneficial as they were, were also extremely expensive and time-consuming to build. As opposed to motte and bailey castles, which only took a few weeks to build, concentric castles required years of

As a last defense, there is another drawbridge that can be put up to seperate the tower on top of the motte, if attackers get into the bailey. Also there were stables for horses and cattle, a chapel, small huts for the people, and some shops for merchants. Later on, these castles evolved into Concentric Circle castles. A simple description of these would be a castle within a castle. These consist of many buildings, walls, towers, and gatehouses. The main tower was called a Keep and that is where the Lord and his family lived. The Keep was the strongest part of the castle and it was located in the center and it was usually a round shape. There was a high wall that surrounded the Keep and the innermost bailey and there was another wall that surrounded that one. Along with that, there were many outer walls and baileys inside Concentric Circle castles with many gatehouses as the first line of defense. And finally the outermost line of defense was a moat. The walls were also significantly thicker that in Motte and Bailey Castles and there were obviously more of them. With all of these added defenses, the price of these castles increased, with today’s inflation it would be an estimated $40 million to