Knights

Essay I had to do for english class

Hearing of knights evokes images of shining armor and battles with dragons. Though there may not have been real fire-breathing dragons, some aspects of their lives were as hard to face as a dragon. They had a strict code of conduct they had to live by, and a prestigious role in society that they had to live up to. But before they could even think about fulfilling those duties, they had to actually enter the order or knighthood.

            The process leading to knighthood was long and ritualized. It was considered a deeply religious ceremony “with blessings from the church to go forward and protect the church by the use of arms.” Every knight had to swear “to defend to his uttermost the weak, the orphan, the widow and the oppressed; he should be courteous, and women should receive his especial care” (Order of Knighthood).

 Before entering knighthood, the person is a squire. He must begin the ceremony with a ritual bathing, “The body needed to be thoroughly cleansed as a symbol of purification” (Order of Knighthood).  The knight would wear a white vesture to symbolize purity, and a red robe to symbolize nobility. He would put a sword and shield on a church alter, and kneel before the alter, in silent prayer, for ten hours. The next morning, he would stay at the church to listen to mass, and a long sermon on the duties of a knight. The knight would take his oaths, and receive the sword and shield, which had been blessed by a priest. Last of all was the “dubbing”.

After you became a knight, you had to live by the code of conduct, or code of chivalry. The code included: having a fear of God and maintaining His Church, to protect the weak and defenseless, to speak the truth at all times, and to never turn your back to your foe. To name a few.  The Duke of Burgandy described the Code of Chivalry as having “Faith, charity, justice, sagacity, prudence, temperance, resolution, truth, liberality, diligence, hope, and valor” (Knights Code).

With being in the public eye, and maintaining the code of chivalry, a knight must have led an important role in society. In reality, the knights that Hollywood portrays only started appearing towards the end of the medieval period. In reality, the first knights were most likely just everyday people. Hired by the people who owned their land to protect the land. As time went on though, they became more and more like what we see knights as today; excluding battles with dragons. “By Charlemagne's day, a specialized type of mounted warrior had emerged: one who wore armor, who wielded a lance in addition to the usual sword or mace, and whose specialty was the massed cavalry charge. The Franks were the real originators of this sort of fighter, but the institution spread elsewhere. Increasingly, over the tenth and eleventh centuries, the aristocracy of Europe and the mounted warriors of Europe merged into a single group. By the twelfth century, the process was pretty much complete. No one could be a knight who was not also a nobleman, and all noblemen were expected to be knights (unless they entered the Church). The other elements were in place, as well: the fief, the stone castle, sophisticated armor and high-quality steel weapons” (Medieval Society). Once trained infantry was introduced in the 14^th century, knights lost their military superiority. And in another two centuries, the knight had become just a relic.

The life of a knight was hard, but the rewards, even if only in social status, made it worth it. The code of chivalry that you must adhere to was, the majority of the time, just common courtesy. You were important to society. Knights helped shape how and what we think today; in many ways that we do not realize.