When a squire reaches the age of twenty-one, he has been proven worthy of the title knight. This is a day of joyful celebration for all. The journey filled day begins with a bath, “mark of purification” (Harding 170) is the idea behind the bath. The squire then adorns his body is fabrics of clothing in the colors of red, white and black. The red stands for the blood he is willing to shed, the white is a reminder of purity and the black a reminder of death. The next step is referred to as “watching of the arms” where the squires keep watch all night while fasting and praying. They can kneel and stand but they may not sit or sleep. The priest comes at dawn s they can confess their sins to him. Finally, all the squires assemble in the courtyard of the castle where they find a great many people gathered to witness their “knighting.” He knelt before his lord. Then his lord would slap him with his hand or the flat of the sword. As his lord was doing that, his lord would say, "In the name of God, and St. Michael, and St. George, I dub thee Sir Knight" (Harding 171.) Then the new knight would receive his sword, lance, and golden spurs. Each of the weapons had a good meaning. The lance had a saying. It was said, "As fear of the lance drives back the unarmed, so the knight drives back the enemies of the church." As for the sword, it was said that, "The two edges of the sword show that the knight serves God and the people." Then the knight was free to roam. He usually rode off on quests of adventure. He either stopped by the road and challenged any knight that passed by or he did battle for a damsel in need. (Harding 165-175.) The armor of the knights went through many changes. During the 12th century it was referred to as mail. Mail consisted of numerous tiny chains that were linked together to form one suit of armor. It took someone an average of five years to make one of these and it weighed about twenty to thirty pounds. During the 15th century, suits began to be made of plate armor and were full bodied (Power.)
Chivalry was an important idea that knights followed which also occurred during the Age of Feudalism. Feudalism can be described as the economic and political system in which Europe as ruled and chivalry was the code that knights and warriors conducted themselves regardless of being on or off the battlefield. Feudalism was also used as trade. The boys were promised to lords for protection as a trade off. These boys were to become knights after swearing an allegiance to a lord for their fathers to receive help from the said lord (Corrick 10-11.) The code of Chivalry is a code that people in the court were supposed to live by and probably everyone thought or pretended they did live by those laws. Like all societies the laws that are supposed to be followed do not always get followed.
Chivalry laws were difficult to follow because they were a lot of them. A knight had to keep his word no matter what and even remember to follow these laws while in battle. A knight could try to escape if captured and they had to be kind to their defeated enemies. These were probably two of the toughest laws to obey (Blackwood.)
Medieval warriors used many kinds of weapons. For example, a knight’s favorite weapon was his sword. There were many kinds of swords, such as the great sword. Great swords were two handed swords. They were larger versions of the ordinary sword. They were swung with both hands to deliver a powerful blow. Large swords began to become popular in the 13th century. A knight would hang a sword in his saddle in addition to his regular sword. Knights used a weapon called a lance. Lances were long and came in many sizes. They were made of wood and were painted. Maces were also another wooden weapon used by knights. They were shaped like clubs with spikes stuck into them (Canton.)
"Not all knights, though, accepted their role as warriors without reservations, for war meant misery and deprivation as well as glory and profit" (Blackwood 64.) "Knights who are at the wars are forever swallowing their fear. They expose themselves to every peril; they give up their bodies to the adventure of life in death. ...Today enough to eat, tomorrow nothing...a bad bed, poor sleep with their armor still on their backs, burdened with iron, the enemy an arrow-shot off...Such is their calling" (Blackwood 64-65.) Some knights who were kept prisoner were kept from battle but they were also kept healthy and happy. Captive knights were often found among the same rooms as the knights of the castle (Blackwood 14, 19, 64, 77.)
In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, the two knights who are held prisoner are Palamon who is a member of Creon’s army, conquered by Duke Theseus. Palamon is wounded and taken prisoner and sentenced to life in bondage. He falls in love with the beautiful Emily (sister-in-law of Duke Theseus) and the other is Arcite who is a close friend to Palamon, and imprisoned likewise, he too falls in love with Emily. Emily who is Theseus’ beautiful sister-in-law is instrumental in driving the storyline of the Knight’s tale. The two Knights fall in love with her, which causes the break up of their friendship. The two are forced by Theseus to battle and the winner is given Emily's hand in marriage. Whereas Arcite does not want to lose the battle he prays to the god and is granted his request to win the battle but only wounding Palamon. Arcite dies from injuries after falling off his horse and is given the hand of Emily in marriage. She never wanted to marry either one but hoped and prayed she would wed the one who loved her the most in her prayer to Diana. The three main characters form a triangle of relationships. The friendship of the two Knights turns into hatred when they both fall in love with the same girl. It is interesting that the prayers of all three are answered – Arcite wins the battle; Palamon wins his love; and Emily marries the one who loves her most, which is all she could really hope for. In the end both knights had their wish (Tatlock 15-51.)
At one point Palamon says to Arcite, “Though I have no weapon here . . . either you shall die or you shall not love Emily." The love that Palamon feels for Emily is so overwhelming that he is willing to take on an armed man, in mortal combat, just for the love of a woman. Perhaps he feels that without her he will die, so why not die trying to win her. I think Arcite would be more destroyed if he lost the battle even if losing the battle meant he would get the girl. I think that the idea of chivalry is very strong her but in different ways. Palamon is true to himself and his love for this woman. Arcite is honorable before anything else. He chooses to win the fight and get the girl as a consolation. Palamon gets the girl because he loves and honors her. Chivalry holds true when Arcite wins the battle and then falls off his horse and dies. With his dying breath says that he would love for the Emily to be with Palamon. This is the model of chivalry and of sportsmanship (Hussey.) "For a man's glory, then, is it best to die when he is highest in fame. To think the contrary of all this is willfulness" (Tatlock 51.) I thought it odd that when Arcite prayed to Mars to win the battle that Saturn decided the fate of both men at that moment. But in all reality both men lived and died as they should of, Arcite, the honorable knight, the hero, the winner of the battle. Palamon, the honorable knight, the lover, the winner of Emily's hand and heart.
In my readings of King Arthur, The Mists of Avalon in particular the knights did not always show this compassion. When Uther Pendragon disguised himself as the Duke to create a child, this child the future King Arthur was nothing but deceitful. He showed no honor or compassion for the Duke. They do not demonstrate any kind of qualities that a person living under the chivalric code should live by. Truth be told not all knights were corrupt but a good majority of them were. These two readings of the same time period are contradictory. I am quite sure as with any story that we read or are told there are many sides - good and evil, true and false. After all they are stories left for us to pick apart and explore for entertainment, knowledge, history and understanding.
Works Cited
Blackwood, Gary L. Life in a Medieval Castle. San Diego: Lucent Books, 2000.
Canton, Norman F. Inventing the Middle Ages. New York: William Morrow, 1991.
Corrick, James A. The Late Middle Ages. San Diego: Lucent Books, 2000.
Harding, Samuel B. The Story of the Middle Ages. Chicago: Scott Foresman, 1912.
Hussey, Maurice. Chaucer's World. London: Cambridge University Press, 1967.
Power, Eileen. Medieval People. London: Richard Clay, 1963.
Tatlock, John S. P. The Complete Poetical Works of Geoffrey Chaucer. New York: Macmillan,
1938.