Knights in the Middle Ages.

Authors Avatar

                                                              Moore                                                            

                                                        

Knights in the Middle Ages

To become a knight took several years of training.  A boy at the tender age of six or seven is ripped from his mother’s care and sent to a nearby castle to begin his training to become a knight.  It is here that he is trained by the lord of the castle.  From the time the boys are taken from their mothers to the age of fourteen they are referred to as a “page” or “varlet” which means “little vassal”.  He begins as a servant for the lord and lady of the castle.  The ladies of the manor teach him table manners.  The page waited on his lord and lady.  It was his duty and privilege to accompany his lord and lady at all times. He learned how to hunt and hawk. When his lord's armor was rusty, the page rolled the armor in a barrel of sand so that the rust was gone. He was taught to be quick, graceful, and flexible. He received religious training from the chaplain. He sometimes received training-in-arms from the squires. He also helps the lord dress and put on armor.  He plays many training games including wrestling piggy-back wresting and sword practice.  A knight in training or a “page” never learns to read or write because it is not seen to be “knightly” but he does learn the concepts of honor, bravery and chivalry.  (Harding 164-170.)          If the page showed promise, the next step in training is at the age of fourteen when he is considered full grown, he is made a “squire.”  The most important duties of a “squire” were to care for his knight’s horses and armor.  The squire had to become accustomed to heavy armor.  The squire would ride with his knight to battle carrying the knights extra weapons.  He was to stay near in the case the replacement weapons were needed.  This is a lesson of patience and study.  After a hard days work and training many squires can be found in the castle hall.  They will be chattering amongst themselves about whom had the better hunt or arguing over who witnessed a more bitter battle.        

Join now!

        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 ...

This is a preview of the whole essay