There are many ways to become a knight in the middle ages. Many young boys dreamed of becoming a knight, but only a few could afford to become one. They needed weapons, armor and a warhorse. These items were extremely expensive and only the wealthiest nobles could afford them.
Pages Begin Serving
When a boy decided that he wanted to become a knight, He would go and live in the household of a knight when he was the age of seven. While there he served the knight as a page. A page was a servant for the knight, they performed tasks such as serving meals, cleaning his clothes, and carrying messages. While working in the knights household, the page learned the proper way to behave and good manners. They would also begin training in fighting. The pages would spar with each other using wooden shields and swords. Then they progressed to learn to ride a horse using no hands and carrying a lance.
Squires
Around the age of fifteen, a page would become a squire. As a squire, they would take care of the knight’s horse, clean their armor and weapons, and also accompany the knight to the battlefield. Squires had to be ready to fight at anytime. They trained with real weapons and were taught fighting skills by the knight. This means they had to be in great shape and be strong. They continued to practice their horsemanship,perfecting their skills at jousting and fighting on horseback.
From Squires To Knights
If a squire had proven his bravery and skills in battle, he would become a knight at the age of twenty-one. He gained the title at a ”dubbing” ceremony. At the ceremony he would kneel before another knight, lord, or king who would tap the squire on the shoulder with his sword making him a knight. They also took an oath to honor and protect his king and the church. As a finishing touch, they were presented with a pair of riding spurs and a sword.
The Life of a Knight
The daily life of a knight would follow a similar schedule of his lord or noble they served. They would guard castles manors, or fighting for his lord during the time of war. They would spend lots of their time honing their weapon skills and keeping their level of fitness high.
Their day would start when mass would be heard and prayers would be made. They would eat breakfast then would engage in weapon practice at the quintain and pell. They would discuss warfare strategies, increasing their knowledge of siege warfare and weapons. They would have a mid morning prayer and meals. During the afternoon they would improve their skills in horsemanship. They would also accompany their lords in hunting or inspect the estate. Finally the day ended with bedtime prayers
Sources:
Duckster:
“Middle Ages.” Ducksters Educational Site, https://www.ducksters.com/history/middle_ages/becoming_a_medieval_knight.php.
Daily Life of a Knight:
Daily Life of a Knight in the Middle Ages, http://www.lordsandladies.org/daily-life-knight-middle-ages.htm.
Knights:
Hopkins, Andrea. Knights. Sandstone Books, 1998.
You did a good job organizing the life of a knight. Your article flowed nicely and was not confusing to follow.
The heading for every paragraph were unnecessary in my opinion, the information also got a bit redundant, but overall I liked the article.
Introduction and outroduction was not very strong but this article was very informative. I was given all the important information needed and the usages of images were quality and relevant to the paragraph attached. Enlightening article about how knights lived their life.
I didn't know knights had to be servant, and thank you for defining the confusing definitions. But a little more in the intro paragraph.
Thank you for the definitions! It helped clear up the article. I thought it was very interesting. The intro was very short though, and felt unnecessary.