The Life and Role of a Knight in The Middle Ages :: essays research papers

The Middle Ages - The Life and Role of a Knight A Knights life was a seriously life, you could only become one in a few ways, one being the most common passing a life-time test. Knights were sworn to protect Churches, the half- experienceted and battle all evil.When a son was eight years old, he was sent to the neighboring castle where he was trained as a foliate. The boy was usually the son of a nickname or of a member of the aristocracy. He spent most of his time strengthening his body, wrestling and riding horses. He also learned how to fight with a spear and a sword. He practiced against a wooden dummy called a quintain. It was essentially a sound sack or dummy in the form of a human. It was hung on a wooden pole along with a shield. The young page had to arrive at the shield in its centre. When hit, the whole structure would spin around and around. The page had to get away quickly without getting hit. The young man was also taught more(prenominal) civilized topics. He wo uld be taught to read and write by a schoolmaster. He could also be taught some Latin and French. The lady of the castle taught the page to sing and dance and how to behave in the king?s court. At the age of fifteen or sixteen, a boy became a squire in service to a buck. His duties included dressing the knight in the morning, serving all of the knight?s meals, caring for the knight?s horse, and cleaning the knight?s armor and weapons. He followed the knight to tournaments and assisted his lord on the battlefield. A squire also prepared himself by learning how to handle a sword and lance while wearing forty pounds of armor and riding a horse. When he was about twenty, a squire could become a knight after proving himself worthy. A lord would agree to knight him in a dubbing ceremony. The night before the ceremony, the squire would dress in a etiolated tunic and red robes. He would then fast and pray all night for the purification of his soul. The chaplain would bless the future knig hts sword and then lay it on the chapel or churchs altar. Before dawn, he took a bath to show that he was pure, and he dressed in his best clothes. When dawn came, the priest would hear the young mans confession, a Catholic contrition rite.