By: Emma Finney
Knight: One upon whom a certain rank, regarded as corresponding to that of the medieval knight, is conferred by the sovereign in recognition of personal merit, or as a reward for services rendered to the crown or country (OED).
The years 476 AD to 1492 CE mark a time most commonly known as the medieval age in Europe or the Middle Ages. This time period is known for many things, the culture of knighthoods being one of them. To be a knight in the Middle Ages means you were “The retainer of a feudal lord who owed military service for his fief, usually the service of one fully equipped, mounted warrior” (Cedric).
Code of Chivalry
Once the men were officially knighted, the knights were held to an expected livelihood that they must forever uphold. This was the Knight’s Code of Chivalry. Chivalry is what we know today to be one of the most prominent features of the Middles Ages and a characteristic of being a knight, “The brave, honourable, and courteous character attributed to the ideal knight” (OED. There are different interpretations of the Knight’s Code of Chivalry, but they all include one thing, how the knights should always act. In one interpretation from the “Song of Roland”, knights were to
“To fear God and maintain His Church, to serve the liege lord in valour and faith, to protect the weak and defenceless, to give succour to widows and orphans, to refrain from the wanton giving of offence, to live by honour and for glory, to despise pecuniary reward, to fight for the welfare of all, to obey those placed in authority, to guard the honour of fellow knights, to eschew unfairness, meanness and deceit, to keep faith, at all times to speak the truth, to persevere to the end in any enterprise begun, to respect the honour of women, never to refuse a challenge from an equal, never to turn the back upon a foe” (Alchin).
Courtly Love as a Knight
In addition to the Knight’s Code of Conduct, knights during the Middle Ages also practiced courtly love. “The romance, rules and art of courtly love allowed knights and ladies to show their admiration regardless of their marital state” (Alchin). Courtly love became a widely practiced custom due to arranged marriages that had were not based on love. During this time, in order for a marriage to be successful there had to be beneficial for both families involved, as in the materials and leverage that the other brought to the agreement. The lack of love in arranged marriages would lead the two parties to seek love “outside [their] marriage – as long as the rules relating to chastity and fidelity were strictly adhered to (Alchin). The rules of courtly love include
Marriage is no real excuse for not loving; He who is not jealous, cannot love; No one can be bound by a double love; It is well known that love is always increasing or decreasing; That which a lover takes against the will of his beloved has no relish; Boys do not love until they arrive at the age of maturity; When one lover dies, a widowhood of two years is required of the survivor; No one should be deprived of love without the very best of reasons; No one can love unless he is impelled by the persuasion of love; Love is always a stranger in the home of avarice; It is not proper to love any woman whom one would be ashamed to seek to marry; (Alchin).
Process of Becoming a Knight
One is not given the title of knight just because of their noble birth, they must go through several steps in order to achieve such a worthy title. The first step in becoming a knight was to have money thus young boys of noble families were most likely to become knights. The money goes to equipping the young boys with armor, horses and the training conducted. The second step is the young boy’s childhood. The decision for the young boy to become a knight is predetermined at their birth. Until the age of seven, these boys live with their parents learning their manners and what it means to be a knight. The third step in becoming a knight is being a “page”. When the boys are seven, they leave their family home and move to a castle that houses a noble or lord. It is here where they “to wait at table, care for the Lord’s clothes and assist them in dressing” (Alchin).
“The page was also expected to act as servants to the ladies of the court or castle he served in. The page was provided with a uniform of the colours and livery of the Lord” (Alchin). This is the time where the page would receive his education and skills that would help them in becoming a knight such as “religion, manners, riding, hunting, hawking and strategic games such as backgammon and chess” (Alchin). The next step in becoming a knight is being a squire when they reach a certain age.
A squire is “a young nobleman acting as an attendant to a knight before becoming a knight himself” (Dictionary.com). The boys would become a squire at the age of fourteen. Some responsibilities of a squire include but are not limited to maintaining the knight’s armor, dressing him in his armor, accompanying the knight to tournaments and into battle, and carrying the knight’s equipment for them. “The duties of a squire were to learn about Chivalry, the rules of Heraldry, horsemanship and practice the use of weapons and the skills required of a Knight. It was also their duty to enter into the social life of the castle and learn courtly etiquette, jousting, music and dancing” (Alchin). The squire worked under the knight for seven years before becoming a knight himself. Allowing them to become a knight at the age of twenty-one. The steps in becoming a knight are now completed. The final thing before becoming a full-fledged knight is the knighting ceremony. The knighting ceremony was when the knights to be would pledge their oaths and vows of knighthood. They are then dubbed by the lord presiding over the ceremony.
This outline was seen as an exemplary portrayal of the Knight’s vow and Code of Chivalry. To be a knight in the Middle Ages, was not a career to be taken lightly. It was an ongoing tradition from page to squire and from squire to knight that would cycle throughout the years as will be shown through the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Lais of Marie de France Lanval.
Bibliography
Alchin, Linda. “Knights Code of Chivalry.” Middle Age Knights , 6 Feb. 2017, http://m.lordsandladies.org/knights-code-of-chivalry.htm.
Cerdic. “Glossary Of Medieval Terms.” The History of England, 4 June 2017, https://thehistoryofengland.co.uk/resource/glossary-of-medieval-terms/.
“‘Knight.’” Home : Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/104025?rskey=eoPInH&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid.