Medieval Knights
In the fourth century A.D. the Roman Empire fell and Europe was invaded by various barbarian tribes. One of the dominant groups was the Franks of central and
Western Europe, who gradually expanded their power until their leader Charlemagne became emperor of the West.
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Powerful local lords and their mounted warriors offered protection to peasants, who became their serfs in return. By the 11th century a new social order was formed by armored knights, who served a local lord, count, or duke, and were in turn served by serfs. Serfs were people of servitude, serving as property care takers for hierarchy.
When males were about seven, a boy of noble birth who was going to become a knight was usually sent away to a nobleman's household, often that of his uncle or great lord, to be a page. Here he learned how to behave and how to ride. About 14, he was apprenticed to a knight whom he served as a squire.
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He was taught how to handle weapons and how to look after his master's armor and horses. He even went into battle with his knight, helping him put on his armor and assisting him if he was hurt or unhorsed. He learned how to shoot a bow and to carve meat for food. Young men who wanted to be knights had to keep fit. So squires trained constantly to exercise their muscles, and improve their skills. They practiced with each other and also sometimes with their knightly masters. Successful squires were knighted when they were about 21 years old.
1 Charles Phillips, The Illustrated History Of Knights & Crusades .(London:Anness Publishing Ltd.
2010),20.
2 Ibid. 60.

The main body armor worn my early knights was made of mail, consisting of many small iron rings. During the 12th century, knights started to wear more mail. Their sleeves got longer, and mail leggings became popular. A padded garment called an
Aketon or Gambeson was worn below the mail to absorb blows. In the 14th century knights added steel plates to protect their limbs, and the body was often protected further with a coat-of-plates, made of pieces of iron riveted to a cloth covering. A suit weighed about 40-100 lbs. and the weight was spread over the body so that a fit man could run, lie down, or mount his horse unaided in his armor. The only problem was that the armor quickly made you hot.
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By the 15th century, knights were protecting themselves with full suits of plate armor. The armor's smooth surface deflected the edges and points of weapons; this reduced the impact of blows, but still allowed the armor to be made reasonably light.
Plate armor was often made to imitate civilian fashions. Some armors were partly painted black, both to preserve the metal and as a decoration. Armor could be "blued" by controlled heating of the metal. Some pieces were engraved with a pointed tool, and from the 16th century on, designs were often etched into the metal with acid. Gold plating, or gilding, was sometimes used to embellish borders or bands of decoration and in some cases, entire armors.
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People often think that plate armor is clumsy and stiff, if it were; it would have been of little use on the battlefield. In fact, a man in armor can do just about anything a man can do when not wearing it. The secret lies in the way armorers made the plates so that they could move with each other and with the wearer. Some plates were attached to
3 James A. Corrick, Life of a Medieval Knight .(San Diego:Lucent Books Inc. 2010),13.
4 Ibid. 26

each other parts to pivot at that point. Others were joined by a sliding rivet, one part of which was set not in a round hole but in a slot, so the two plates could move in and out.
Internal leather connecting straps, called leathers, also allowed this type of movement.
Tube-shaped plates could also have flanged edge, or projecting rim, to fit inside the edge of another tubular plate so that they could twist around.
The sword was the most important knightly weapon, a symbol of knighthood itself. Until the late 13th century the double-edged cutting sword was used in battle.
5 As plate armor became popular, more pointed swords became popular because they were better for thrusting through gaps between the plates. The mace, which could concuss an opponent, also became more popular. Before drawing his sword or using his mace, however, a mounted knight usually charged at his opponent with his lance lowered. The lance increased in length during the medieval period and, from about 1300, began to be fitted with circular vamplates to guard the hand. Other weapons such as the short ax could be used on horseback, while long-staffed weapons, held in both hands, could be used on foot.
The horse was an expensive, but vital part of a knights equipment. Knights needed horses for warfare, hunting, jousting, traveling, and carrying baggage. The most costly animal was the destrier, or war-horse.
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This was a stallion about the size of a modern heavy hunter. Its deep chest gave it staying power yet it was also nimble. Knights prized war-horses from Italy, France, and Spain. In fact the Spanish Andalusian is more like a war-horse than any other modern horse. By the 13th century, knights usually had at least two war-horses, and other horses for different tasks. The Courser was a swift
5 Ibid. 19.
6 Ibid. 25.

hunting horse. For travel, knights often used a well-bred, easy-paced mount called a
Palfrey. Sumpter horses carried baggage. Richly decorated covering, or trapper, could be used to display heraldic arms and might be padded for extra protection. The "Great
Horse" or war-horse, wore armor on its head, neck, and chest, the latter partly covered in decorative cloth. Horse armor was expensive, and uncommon. If a knight could only afford part of the armor, he would usually choose the Shaffron, the piece for the head.
The Shaffron probably came into use during the 12th century. Both pieces are decorated with etched and gilt bands depicting animals and mythical figures.
Knights had very elegant, luxurious homes, which they enjoyed when they were not off fighting battles. Powerful knights owned at least one large estate or castle. They managed a large number of workers and they kept their properties in good condition.
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If they were lucky enough, some knights had a few large homes, and he traveled between the two. Lesser knights owned smaller homes; however, they were big enough to have a hall and a chapel.
Chivalry was a system of ethical ideals developed among the knights of medieval
Europe. Arising out of the feudalism of the period, it combined military virtues with those of Christianity, as epitomized by the Arthurian legend in England and the chansons de geste of medieval France. The word chivalry is derived from the French chevalier, meaning horseman or knight.
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Chivalry was the code of conduct by which knights were supposedly guided. In addition to military prowess and valor and loyalty to God and the
7 Charles Phillips, The Illustrated History Of Knights & Crusades .(London:Anness Publishing Ltd.
2010),76.
8 Thomas Streissguth, The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of The Middle Ages .(Farrmington Hills:Greenhaven
Press.2003),82.

knight's feudal lord, it called for courtesy toward enemies and generosity toward the sick and oppressed, widows, and other disadvantaged people.
Also incorporated in the ideal was courtly love, romantic devotion for a sexually unattainable woman, usually another man's wife. Veneration for the Virgin Mary played a part in this concept. Chivalric ideals influenced the founding of religious military orders during the period of the Crusades, among them the Templars and the Hospitalers, the
Teutonic Knights, and the Spanish orders of Alcannot ara, Calatrava, and Santiago.
9 In the late Middle Ages, rulers formed secular orders of chivalry such as the English Order of the Garter and the Burgundian Order of the Golden Fleece. By this time, however, chivalry had become largely a system of etiquette. Tournaments, in which knights had originally risked their lives in jousting combat before the ladies, became simply elaborate, stylized, and harmless entertainment. Moreover, the expense of this and other trappings of knighthood led many nobles who were eligible for knighthood, having served the customary apprenticeship of 7 years as a page and another 7 as a squire, or attendant, to a knight, not to become knights at all. From chivalry, always larger in literature than in life, comes the modern concept of the gentleman.
Chivalry, knighthood's code of behavior, was part of the knight's way of life.
10 He defended the church and was ready to die for it. He loved the land of his birth, and gave generously to everyone. A knight fought against injustice and evil, and never surrendered, blinked or flinched in the face of the enemy. His code of honor and loyalty was sometimes only shown to members of his own class. He usually acted how he wanted toward people in lower classes. The middle ages were so violent it was hard to
9 Antonio Santosuosso.
Barbarians, Mauraduers, and Infidels .(Oxford:Westview Press,2004),131.
10 Charles Phillips, The Illustrated History Of Knights & Crusades .(London:Anness Publishing Ltd.
2010),28.

stop knights from not following the code. A knight, who was proved guilty of cowardice or other serious misconduct, was disgraced by having his sword and his spurs broken.
The knights had a very different life from the peasants, kings, lords and emperors.
Knights had to be loyal, but that almost only applied to members of their own class.
Along with following the Code of Chivalry, a knight had to follow certain rules while in war.
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A knight was expected to always be intrepid while in combat. They had certain rules as far as fighting against other knights. A knight usually would not kill one of his own; rather, they were captured and brought back to the knight's home. The captured knight was to be treated with courtesy, as one would any other honored guest.
The knight was held until his lord or family paid the ransom, then he was returned to them.
Medieval knights lived exciting lives, in a particularly brutally harsh time of our history. Without this warrior the world would be a completely different place for us all. It is easy to romanticize these figures into great heroes doing unselfish deeds for the good of man. In the end, they were noblemen or upper class, doing what was best for themselves.
11 Walter Buehr, Chivalry and the Mailed Knight .(New York:G.P. Putnam’s Sons,1963),44.

Phillips, Charles. The Illustrated History Of Knights & Crusades . London: Anness
Publishing Ltd. 2010.
Corrick, James A. Life of a Medieval Knight . San Diego:Lucent Books Inc. 2010.
Streissguth, Thomas. The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of The Middle Ages . Farrmington
Hills: Greenhaven Press,2003.
Santosuosso, Antonio. Barbarians, Maraduers, and Infidels . Oxford: Westview Press,
2004.
Buehr, Walter. Chivalry and the Mailed Knight . New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1963.
Mills, Dorothy. The Middle Ages . New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1935.
Time-Life Books, ed. What Life Was Like in the Age of Chivalry: Medieval Europe AD
800-1500 (Electronic Book Vestavia Hills Library, no copy right information)
Williams, Jay. Knights of the Crusades . New York: American Heritage Publishing
Co., 1962