The Era Of Knights, Lances, And Chivalry

By the time of the Crusades in Medieval Europe, Knights were nothing out of the ordinary. A knight's training began at around four or five. It involved them learning how to ride a pony. Around the age of eight, the young trainee would be sent to be a page for a lord or a relative with influence. At this point, they would refine their swordsmanship, improve their horse skills, and would be taught more about their religion. At the age of 14, pages were eligible to become a squire, where they continued their sword fighting skills. They would accompany a knight into a battle, care for him, care for his horses, and would simply hope to be chosen to

Literature of the Middle Ages can not be discussed without acknowledging the undeniable importance of chivalry. Chivalry in relation to the middle ages is defined as “the code of conduct adhered to by Medieval knights with gallant knightly values including honor, bravery, courteousness and honesty.” This key characteristic is essential in defining an ideal knight as well as his expectations. A knight must live by a chivalric code in which he becomes indebted to the people, his fellow knights, and most importantly, his lord. No other knight displayed more of a devotion to upholding the code then Lanval of Marie de France’s lai “Lanval.” Lanval demonstrates his chivalric nature in essential every action from maintaining comitatus amongst the

Social life in the Middle Ages was heavily influenced by the feudal system. The King was at the top of the society then the nobles, knights, and peasants/serfs. The King, nobles, and knights talk to each other the serfs/peasants are all by themselves (Doc. 1). If you were born as a serf, you would be a serf for the rest of your life. The kings controlled the land. The nobles were the assistants for the kings. The knights protected the nobles and the kings, and the serfs were farmers (Doc. 1). Another influence on the social lives of people was the Church. In a time of great political chaos, the Roman Catholic Church was the single, largest unifying structure in medieval Europe

There was a definite structure to society in the Middle Ages. In Medieval Europe, the life of a peasant was very difficult and grueling due to the Feudal system. Medieval peasants were forced to work a certain job due to this system. Peasants were also frowned upon by commoners and forced to serve under nobles or their lords. On top of the extremely hard working conditions, peasants lived in poverty. Since they were uneducated and unsophisticated, peasants were stuck doing farm labor and working other jobs. Even though it seems peasants had it the worst during the Middle Ages, they were a necessity for society. Without peasants, there would be no food, resources, or workers to keep up the economy. Medieval peasants were

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.

At first knights and soldiers in the armies were of little social status. “Many knights in fact possessed little more than peasants” (Spielvogel 244). War was looked as kind of a barbaric act in the beginning and many knights could be found fighting each other. While some of this was tolerated, as they were seen as “defenders of society”, the Catholic Church decided that there should be some ground rules. At the start of the eleventh century, the church urged knights to take an oath to protect churches, and to not harm noncombatants. These rules allowed for battles to follow a civil path and to be carried out in a noble way.

During the Middle Ages social class much different than modern day. In a feudal society “nobles were granted the use of land that legally belonged to the king,” (Doc. 1). The nobles, in return, would give the lord loyalty and military services (Doc. 1). As peasants or serfs worked for nobles and knights they received protection and a portion of the harvest to feed their families (Doc. 1).

When a young man was knighted, he was ready to help the military and to help the economy, and this helped to keep the system of feudalism flowing. Knights trained in areas surrounding the manor or castle of their lord, or even the monarch. The castle yard was the training space for a knight (Hackett). Tools were set up in the open space for each kind of knight. For example, archers had targets set up while

Ideas that have been taught in many societies since the first civilizations of Mesopotamia to the world now are duty, loyalty and bravery. No period relied on these ideas more than the Middle Ages time of Europe. The European societies were based on the nature of feudalism. Feudalism worked if everyone in the society did their duty and gave loyalty to everyone above the on the social latter. The knight was the backbone of the feudal society. He was the protector of the heavenly Lord, their lady and the earthly lord. The roles and duties of the knight are quotes as, “the most noble knight under Christ, And the loveliest lades that lived on earth ever, and he the comeliest king, that the court holds.” (P. 26) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight gives a perspective to view life from the courtly aspect of the European feudal

Upper middle, middle and lower, these are the modern day classes Americans are familiar with. But what many don’t know is between 1558-1603, the Elizabethan Era, the same social class system was already being used. The only difference was that they were more in depth. Although the social class system is still in place today during the Elizabethan era it was used to place people in categories based on their financial state, family history, and beliefs.

Have you ever wondered how much chivalry had evolved in the past hundred of centuries? According to Weiss, chivalry is a “beautiful fiction apotheosized version of oneself”. That means for oneself to be on their best behavior and be well mannered. They must have outstanding manners and to have respect for others. Chivalry had changed so much in the past hundred of centuries.

We will also use other types of weapons such as axes, war hammers and maces. We can use swords for every day use but is most difficult to use. There are many things that are bad with my life such as the barbers cutting my hair as blood was sometimes shed, and then the barber mopped up the blood with a rag then washed it and placed it outside of the shop to dry on a pole. This is how we get the red and white striped pole out the front of the barbers shops today. The best thing about my life, is the honour. I am looked upon highly by the peasants and serfs as a lord of legion, and the vassals bow down to me. If I had children, from the age of eight I would expect them to learn and practice how to fight every single day. My hopes for the future is to be awarded more castles, land and possibly a village. I am not afraid of anything. I mean, there are so many people and things that you can be scared or frightened of, but I’m not scared of anything. I stay warm in winter as I have heavy bedding, a fire and I wear lots of clothing. If someone invaded my land and took it from you that wouldn’t be good as the land was given to me for being in the army so if us knights didn’t fight back for our land we would have nothing. I have travelled to other cities and other places of important message or to capture the city. Nearly all knights in Medieval Europe were Catholic. My greatest achievement was achieving my knighthood. It took a lot of

However, Social Classes: The Middle Ages by William Chester Jordan compares the societies of both the Byzantine Empire, and Western Europe during the Middle Ages. This article does not show a biased opinion towards each of the societies, and briefly describes feudalism and how it differs in each society. This article shows how the social classes defined the societies during the Medieval time. This article also does not state if the church was was involved in society, or not.

The most important aspect of knighthood during the middle age where religion, prowess, and feudal loyalty. Chivalry refers to the lifestyle and moral code following by medieval knights they pledged their loyalty and services to their lord. The term feudalism is used to describe a variety of social, economic, and political obligations and relationships. The Greatest Warrior knight was Godfrey and if asked anyone who was the greatest warrior at the time they would say Godfrey.

These aspects changed during the Middle English era. Fighters went from almost barbaric attitudes to being chivalrous. Fighters also no longer fought for personal fame, and instead fought for god, the king, honor, and women. With this attitude we saw many more knights in the society.