Chivalry in the Middle Ages
The Making of a Knight and the Impact of Chivalry on Society
Mar 19, 2009
Previously, becoming a knight had been a relatively simple matter. But a new standard of conduct developed out of the crusades: chivalry.
Chivalry was largely inspired by the courteous behaviour and codes of honour observed by some Saracen warriors. These attitudes, combined with the honourable leanings of the knightly class, and the mixing of knights from northern and southern Europe that the crusades brought about, created chivalry.
The Knights of northern France, England and Germany were renowned for their rough, warlike attitude, whilst those from southern Europe were more fashionable, more wealthy, and seemed to possess a love of life more than a love of battle. Some of this love of softer pursuits, such as dancing, music, and games, rubbed off on their northern brethren.
Contact with the Saracens also provided Europe with an increased flux of exotic luxurious goods, such as cotton and sugar, spices, Persian carpets, paper, new fabrics, etc - commodities very much in demand by the aristocracy. For Knights to acquire such riches, they had to engage in trade. Trade demanded literacy. Increased wealth and improved architectural designs, also gained from the Arab world, transformed European manors from draughty, leaking halls shared with pigs into large stone castles hung with tapestries, where minstrels known as troubadours regaled feasting audiences with songs about love, love lost, sacrifice and tenderness. Northern minstrels had previously sung about the breaking of heads and bones.
The Making of a Knight
The son of a Knight may have commenced training as early as age 7 at the court of some powerful Lord. As a page, he would perform menial tasks, might be taught to compose verse, taught to read and write, wait at table, play a musical instrument and care for horses and hunting animals, like hawks and hounds.
As he grew older, he would train in full armour and learn to use the various weapons associated with his trade. He would learn how to carve different types of meat at table, maintain his Lords weapons and harness, learn to ride properly and how to train and maintain warhorses. As a squire, he would witness firsthand the spectacle of the tournament. Pages and squires would also help the ladies of the household in their duties, and time spent in feminine company would have helped develop courtesy and manners. It may also have comforted youngsters separated from their mothers. The Virgin Mary was a surprisingly popular patroness to a large number of Knights.
Where, previously, many had been knighted in crude fashion by a blow in the face on the battlefield, the bestowal of knighthood became a solemn ritual which might take several days. These rituals often included bathing, fasting and praying before being knighted in the company of priests.
Chivalry and Society
It is unknown how much these chivalric attitudes were actually practised in wartime. Certainly, one can see that chivalry generally excluded the common man and woman. Common men would as soon be slaughtered than spared, and war was still waged in the savage fashion of the past.
Also, all this increased wealth, education, and the elite code of chivalry began to create much sharper divisions in society. There was now a definite barrier between those of common birth and the nobility.
Sources:
Knights of The Crusades, Jay Williams, Margaret B. Freeman and the Editors of Horizon Magazine American Heritage Publishing, (1962)
Fighting Techniques of the Medieval World AD 500 - AD 1500, Equipment, Combat Skills and Tactics, Matthew Bennett, Jim Bradbury, Kelly DeVries, Iain Pickle, Phyllis G. Jestis, Spellmount Ltd, (2005)
