#MEDIEVAL EUROPE KNIGHTS DAILY LIFE HOW TO#

Listen to a recorded reading of this page:.Take a ten question quiz about this page.Before the dubbing ceremony to become a knight, squires were required to spend the night alone in prayer.Some were awarded knighthood on the battlefield. Not all squires were made knights through an elaborate ceremony.Squires would practice jousting using a wooden dummy called a quintain.Knights were an elite class of warriors that specialized in armored combat from horseback and used weapons such as the longsword, lance, dagger and various blunt weapons. Wealthy knights would have had several pages and squires to assist them. The primary role of a knight in medieval society was to fight battles for his lord, similar to that of the samurai of Japan.

The word 'squire' comes from a French word meaning 'shield-bearer.'.

#MEDIEVAL EUROPE KNIGHTS DAILY LIFE HOW TO#

They would need to know how to defend their own castle as well as how to attack an enemy's castle.

Squires often learned about castle and siege warfare from their knight.

Interesting Facts about Becoming a Knight He would be presented with a pair of riding spurs and a sword. At this ceremony he would kneel before another knight, lord, or king who would then tap the squire on the shoulder with his sword making him a knight.Īt the ceremony, the new knight would take an oath to honor and protect his king and the church. He gained the title of knight at a 'dubbing' ceremony. If a squire had proven his bravery and skill at battle, he would become a knight at the age of twenty-one. Most future knights worked as a squire for five or six years. Squires continued to practice their horsemanship, perfecting their skills at jousting and fighting from the saddle. They trained with real weapons and were taught fighting skills by the knight. He would take care of the knight's horses, clean his armor and weapons, and accompany the knight to the battlefield. As a squire, the young man would have a new set of tasks. He also would start to learn how to ride a horse using no hands and carrying a lance.Īround the age of fifteen, the page would become a squire. He would practice with other pages using wooden shields and swords. While working for the knight's household, the page learned the proper way to behave and good manners. As a young page he basically was a servant for the knight, performing tasks such as serving meals, cleaning his clothes, and carrying messages. There he would serve the knight as a page. When a boy, or more likely his parents, decided that he wanted to become a knight, he would go to live in the household of a knight when he was seven years old. Knights were also people from the noble or aristocratic classes. These items weren't cheap and only the very rich could pay for them. The first requirement of a knight was someone who could afford a knight's weapons, armor, and war horse. No doubt many young men growing up in the Middle Ages dreamed of becoming a knight, but only a few could afford to become knights.

Medieval europe knights daily life