KNIGHTSThe Noble Warriors

THINK-PAIR-SHARE

With the people beside you come up with a list of everything you know/ believe about knights.

WHO WERE KNIGHTS?

Knights were almost always members of the nobility

They were landowners who gained their land through swearing fealty to a lord

Lived in castles, and made money of the taxes they changed peasants to use their surrounding land.

KNIGHTS AS WARRIORS

Knights lives revolved around fighting

They trained for combat almost their entire lives

Enjoyed pass times that improved fighting skill like hunting and jousting

ARMOURBy the late Middle Ages almost all knights wore plate armour

the entire body was covered in huge metal plates to protect them

it could way as much as 60 pound

Underneath this they wore chainmail to add further protection

added another 30 pounds

Knights usually wore full face helmets as well

protected the face, but limited vision

WEAPONS & EQUIPMENTKnights fought mostly on horseback

Their armour was too heavy to fight easily on foot

Primary weapons were a lance and a sword

Lance to run through enemies while mounted

Sword for any hand-to-hand combat

Other may have carried a variety of weapons including axes, maces or flails (morning stars)

BECOMING A KNIGHT

Becoming a knight was a lifelong process, and was made up of several stages

In order to begin the process you needed to be of nobel birth and have lots of money

Sometimes exceptions were made for bravery and other reasons

Especially during the Norman Conquest or the Crusades

STAGE 1: THE PAGEAt the age of 7 a noble’s son would leave his family to become a page

A page would live with another (usually respetable) knight who would educate him

They would learn to ride horses, fight, and about chivalry from their adopted knight

would also learn about literature and music from the ladies of the house

The page had duties in the house as well, he would be responsible for things like waiting tables

STAGE 2: THE SQUIRE

At around 14 or 15 Pages would be accepted as a Squire

Squires served as an assistant to an experience knight who would mentor them

Squires were responsible for looking after their knights horses, equipment and armour, as well as any other needs.

In battle they would fight alongside their knight

Squire would learn all about weapons, warfare, and heraldry while practicing under their lord

STAGE 3: BEING KNIGHTED

The final step was being “knighted” which was the ritual that made you officially a knight

The night before, the squire was meant to stand vigil (stay awake all night) and pray over their armour while fasting

In the morning they went to the chapel where the squire knelt before his lord who dubbed him a knight

this was done by taping him on the shoulders with a sword

CODE OF CHIVALRY

The code of chivalry was a code of honour knights were meant to follow

It had rules for how they should behave

In groups of 4 or 5, come up with your own modern code of chivalry

include all the rules you think it would be important for good people to live by

CHIVALRY COMPARISON

Knights must be brave, generous, merciful and pious

Duty to God and to protect the Church

Duty to uphold the Feudal Laws and protect their lord

Duty to protect women and serve their wives

Duty to protect the less fortunate

THINK-PAIR-SHARE

Do you think most knights followed the code of chivalry?

MEDIEVAL LINEAGE

The most important thing to determine a knights status was his lineage or his family tree

Coat of Arms were designed to show who the knight was, and what his family background was

KNIGHTS VS. MODERN SOLDIERS

What similarities and differences exist between modern soldiers and medieval knights?

CONCLUSION

Think-Pair-Share: Does the reality of knights match up with how we imagine them?

Complete Exit Slip.