Knights

If you were not from a noble household, being a knight was prohibited. It was a complex and detailed process, which took about 7-8 years. Firstly, at the age of 7, the young boy would leave his own household to join another’s where he would become a pageboy. Throughout this stage, the boy will develop education and be apart of ordinary lessons. Next, when he is 14, the regular teachings will come to an end and he will have training for growing into a great knight including learning how to ride horses, wrestle, swim, they played fighting games against each other, examined weapons and how to correctly use them and of course, improved their fitness to prepare them for their futures. He is now a squire and to he must do several traditional things before he is a knight. They involve:

• ·      Bathing to wash away his sins
• ·      Dressing in white tunic to show pureness (also a red robe which symbolized he is ready to be wounded in God’s service)
• ·      Fasts for 24 hours straight, spending the whole night praying
• ·      At dawn he confesses his sins
• ·      His sword is blessed by a priest
• ·      He makes a promise to stay loyal, brave and protect the poor/weak
• ·      Finally the king strikes the knight with the flat of his sword

Knights had the job of protecting people and fighting in the king’s army, which in return, they were given land. Although as the years went on, war started dying out a little and knights started becoming bored and uninterested, so they decided to have a little fun. The tournament called “jousting” was invented, where two knights on horses run towards each other with a lance (3m stick like object) and the whole aim is to knock the opposition off his horse.