Knights





**//__The Fairy Tale Fighters By Alden Park__//**

Many people know knights as characters in a fairy tale, but they were actually real knights in early Europe, called the Middle Ages or the Medieval Times. The time period was 400’s -1400’s. These were the knights who guarded and fought for kings and queens. These were the times when people followed the Code of Chivalry. This is why people today make stories of knights long ago. In the Middle Ages, only boys could become knights. At the age of seven a boy, from a wealthy family, was taken away from his family to be trained to become a knight. He was called a page. By the age of fourteen, the boy would become the knight’s apprentice. When in training, a knight learned to ride horses and fight with all kinds of weapons, especially swords. They also played games, like tag to strengthen their muscles to prepare them for the weight of all the steel and iron worn by a knight**. **At the age of 21, the boy was //dubbed// a knight, if he had earned it in his training. A big ceremony was held when an apprentice is knighted. The day before the //dubbing ceremony,// the apprentice would pray all day and night. That morning the apprentice would take a bath and later that day was the ceremony. When knight received his sword, it was a symbol showing that he was a knight. A knight’s horse was very important to him. A knight used the horse for war and travel, which was very convenient. There were three kinds of fighters in the kingdom they lived in**.** There were the foot soldiers, the knights and archers. A knight’s main purpose was to protect his honor and to defend people in need. After the crusades, knights became less needed and important to lives of people. Early knights wore animal hides as armor. As time passed, people used stronger material like steel and iron. Using this material they made chain mail, an armor that was flexible with 200, 0000 iron or steel rings! There was also a different armor called plate armor, not very flexible. Most knights wore plate armor because of its protection in more places of the body. When a knight was armored, he was armored feet to the teeth. A knight had to bear a lot of weight. His armor alone weighed 40-60 pounds depending on the size of the knight. A knight’s sword weighed 32 pounds. All together a knight held about 72-92 pounds of iron and steel! When one became a knight, he had a certain //Coat of Arms.// The //Coat of Arms// was a symbol on the knight’s shield that identify what kingdom he came from. The origin of the //Coat of Arms// came from surcoat; a cloth worn over the shield to shield it from the sun’s rays and the shield was on the person’s arm. The surface of the shield was called the field, because it was flat like a field. The shield was also divided in to two things called the chief and the base. The chief was the top, and the base was the bottom. When someone held the shield, the left of the shield was called the sinister and the right was the dexter. During the //dubbing ceremony// the apprentice pledged to the //Code of Chivalry//. The //Code of Chivalry// were the rules that a knight followed. A knight was always to be generous to people in need. Knights also needed to have a strong faith in what they believed in and God. When there were two ways to go in life, the easy or the hard, a knight, most of the time, went the hard way, no matter what. When a knight followed the //Code of Chivalry//, this meant that they had to protect his nation and his lord. During a battle, a true knight gave mercy to a defeated opponent or enemy. Knights couldn’t boast about anything, or it was considered rude. Instead a knight had to be humble, especially to their superiors. A knight was loyal to only their king and served under God. Knights defended the weak, the poor and always courteous to all women. A knight had to have a role model to follow and wanted to be of great character. These knights served and lived the way we should today, but fought under great honor. This is why we, remember knights today.

__** D.”Knights” A code of Chivalry. 1997. 5-18-03 **        -- =         =  **__   Glory Road to Knighthood by Kippy Garino__**
 * Works Cited: **
 * A.** ** " **** Armor **** ." __Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia__. 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition. 25 Apr. 2008 < http://school.eb.com/elementary/article?articleId=390609 >.                      **
 * B. Christopher //Gravett__. Knights__//. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993 **
 * C. “Knights” __ThinkQuest.__ 1997. http://library.thinkquest.org/10949/fief/loknight.html__________ **
 * http://www.chronique.com/**__

During the Middle Ages, knights were an important part of society. If one’s father was a knight, the son became a knight. A member of the noble class could aspire to be a knight because he could afford it. Knights had swords, bows, spears, and lances. They used swords to fight battles, not guns. Journey back to the Middle Ages where knights were great and fearless. There were three stages to becoming a knight. The first stage was being a page, the second was being a squire, and the third was knighthood. Pages started training at age 10.When a noble was 15 or 16, he became a squire. A squire was apprentice to a knight so they cleaned and carried the armor and sword. Finally, a person was knighted at age 21. There were soldiers and knights in an army. A knight was more powerful than a soldier. There were special knights called Templars. They were knights in the Crusades. The Crusades were a war being fought for control of Jerusalem. Templar’s were holy knights. They were the strongest knights at fighting and were controlled by royal people. They wore white mantles with a red cross. Templar knights were made up of four grades, knights, chaplains, esquires and menial servants. Templars killed thousands of Muslims because of their religion. Richard the Lion-Hearted was a Templar. He was a very famous King of England. Templars were so wealthy that they were like a bank to kings. In 1307, Philip IV arrested all Templars in France. All Templars were executed in 1312 in France under Philips orders. In the Middle Ages, a knight would die quickly if he didn’t have armor and weapons. Armor was protection for a knight in combat. Early on a knight wore chain mail. Chain mail was the main armor form, made of 200,000 little rings of metal that were connected. In the 14 century, plate armor replaced chain mail. Plate armor had more protection than chain mail. Plate armor was made out of metal, horn, and wood. Plate armor disappeared by the 18th century. A knight had to wear 80 to 120 pounds of armor. Some knights protected their horses by putting armor on them. Knights had different weapons like swords, axes, knives, spears, lances and bows. Knights also had a sword on their left and daggers on their right sides. Swords were long and could weigh up to 32 pounds. Catapults, which were powerful weapons, were also used in battle. The Code of Chivalry came from Charlemagne, and the legends King Arthur and Lancelot. Knights were trained to believe in this code. The code was also applied to peasants. Some things in the code were ideas such as a knight shouldn’t ever boast. They were expected to be humble and give mercy to a vanquished enemy. Knights had to be loyal to their kings and serve God at all times. They had to be courteous to all women. They had to say an oath to he become a knight.  Knights were important in the Middle Ages because, they helped defend their city. They also help fight wars and fight for land but they couldn’t live forever. The Middle Ages ended in the 1450s, and time moved into a period called the Renaissance. Today, Knights live on in the imagination and stone of this time period __ Sources:  __ __"**armor**."__ Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia__. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. 6 May 2008 <__ http://school.eb.com/elementary/article?articleId=390609 >. “The Medieval Knight.” < http://library.thinkquest.org/10949/fief/loknight.html > Richard Dargie Knights and Castles__ Texas Raintree “Knights” http://wideopendoors.net/middleages_original/LifeTimes/KNIGHTS.html “Knight training” http://www.medieval-life.net/knight_training.htm “Templars” http://go.grolier.com/