KNIGHTHOOD

Warm-Up What do you know about knights in Medieval times? Yes, some information from Monty Python is actually accurate…

Knighthood Beginnings Knights first emerged in the Carolingian empire of the 9th and 10th centuries They were considered a separate social class (above peasantry, but due to humble origins, far below nobility) This status changed during events such as the Crusades and the creation of religious military orders Knights then became glorified Christian warriors, talked about in romantic tales (like Arthurian legend) As the status of knights grew, they began to acquire land, which blurred the class lines This blurring of classes created one large aristocracy

Knighthood Beginnings Cont. The original “purpose” of knights was for them to serve their lords during wars/battles Due to shifting ownership of territories, knights’ obligations decreased Knights could now just pay their lord instead of serving in battle (scutage) This money was then used to procure knights-for-hire or mercenaries who earned their livelihood through battle

Chivalry Creation Chivalry, or the code of “knightly behavior” came to be in the 13th century The code demanded courage, military prowess, virtue, service to God, and the loyalty to a lord (or his wife) or a king Knights also needed to be wealthy; it was not easy maintaining his position financially (armor was also pricey) Many men did not become knights because they simply couldn’t afford it

Late Middle Ages As time went on, the role of knights in the military decreased substantially The change in weapons and strategy made knights less important This caused knights to focus more on pageantry and elaborate tournaments

The Knighthood Process 3 stages to becoming a knight Page Squire Knight

Page Process When a boy of a noble family turned 7, they would leave their family to become a page as his first step in knighthood training The young boy would then join the household of another knight or nobleman Here, he would be trained to use small weapons Learning skills related to horsemanship, the two-handed sword, battle axe, mace, dagger and lance Manners and behaviors required for knighthood would also be taught

Squire Sequence When the boy reached the age of 15/16, a page would become a squire A squire would serve the knight who had become his master He also had a small servant role, being responsible for waiting on his lord at the table Squires continued their training on targets to develop knighthood skills (eventually would advance to a real person) Boys would typically remain squires for five years

Knighting Ceremony The night before the ceremony, the young man would be bathed and shaved, dressed in white by squires, and then led to the chapel The rest of his knight would be spent in prayer in order to obtain guidance in knighthood Praying was said to be important to do difficulties that knights had maintaining moral standards

Knighting Ceremony Any other knight could bestow knighthood on someone by placing his armor on the squire “I dub you knight” and the formal sword tapping was not always the practice

KNIGHT STATIONS Knight’s Prologue and other excerpts from Canterbury Tales “Chivalry” and “Knights of the Temple” from The Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages “The Tournament” from The Age of Chivalry Videos

Station Instructions Read the assigned excerpt for your station ALOUD with your group Then, answer the following questions in COMPLETE SENTENCES for each station Briefly summarize the information presented in the text What was the most interesting part of the text? Do you believe the information is mostly factual or is it romanticized? How are knights in general presented in the passage? How is chivalry presented in the passage? Is there any info./idea/ideal presented in the text that is still present in the 21st century?