the medieval knights and peasants

8/2/2019 The Medieval Knights and Peasants

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The Medieval Knights andPeasants


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The knight was one of three types of

fighting men during the middle ages:

Knights, Foot Soldiers, and Archers.The medieval knight was the

equivalent of the modern tank. He

was covered in multiple layers of

armor, and could plow through foot

soldiers standing in his way. Nosingle foot soldier or archer could

stand up to any one knight. Knights

were also generally the wealthiest of

the three types of soldiers. This was

for a good reason. It was terriblyexpensive to be a knight. The war

horse alone could cost the equivalent

of a small airplane. Armor, shields,

and weapons were also very

expensive.

The Medieval Knight


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Becoming a knight was part

of the feudal agreement. In

return for military service, the

knight received a fief. In the

late middle ages, many

prospective knights began to

pay "shield money" to their

lord so that they wouldn't haveto serve in the king's army.

The money was then used to

create a professional army that

was paid and supported by the

king. These knights oftenfought more for pillaging than

for army wages. When they

captured a city, they were

allowed to ransack it, stealing

goods and valuables.

Pads worn under the armor to

help ease the weight. They were

called gambesons.


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Becoming a Knight: There were only a few ways in which a person could become a

knight. The first way was the normal course of action for theson of a noble:There were only a few ways in which a personcould become a knight. The first way was the normal course ofaction for the son of a noble:

When a boy was eight years old, he was sent to theneighboring castle where he was trained as a page. The boy

was usually the son of a knight or of a member of thearistocracy. He spent most of his time strengthening his body,wrestling and riding horses. He also learned how to fight with aspear and a sword. He practiced against a wooden dummiecalled a quintain. It was essentially a heavy sack or dummie inthe form of a human. It was hung on a wooden pole alongwith a shield. The young page had to hit the shield in its

center. When hit, the whole structure would spin around andaround. The page had to maneuver away quickly without gettinghit. The young man was also taught more civilized topics. Hewould be taught to read and write by a schoolmaster. He couldalso be taught some Latin and French. The lady of the castletaught the page to sing and dance and how to behave in thekings court.


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At the age of fifteen or sixteen, a boy became a squire in service to a knight.

His duties included dressing the knight in the morning, serving all of the

knights meals, caring for the knights horse, and cleaning the knights armorand weapons. He followed the knight to tournaments and assisted his lord on

the battlefield. A squire also prepared himself by learning how to handle asword 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 white tunic and red robes.

He would then fast and pray all night for the purification of his soul. The

chaplain would bless the future knight's sword and then lay it on the chapel orchurch's 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

man's confession, a Catholic contrition rite. The squire would then eat breakfast.

Soon the dubbing ceremony began. The outdoor ceremony took place in front

of family, friends, and nobility. The squire knelt in front of the lord, who

tapped the squire lightly on each shoulder with his sword and proclaimed him aknight. This was symbolic of what occurred in earlier times. In the earlier

middle ages, the person doing the dubbing would actually hit the squire

forcefully, knocking him over. After the dubbing, a great feast followed with

music and dancing.

A young man could also become a knight for valor in combat after a battle or

sometimes before a battle to help him gain courage.


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Chivalry:

Knights believed in the code of chivalry. They promised todefend the weak, be courteous to all women, be loyal totheir king, and serve God at all times. Knights wereexpected to be humble before others, especially theirsuperiors. They were also expected to not "talk too much".In other words, they shouldn't boast. The code of chivalry

demanded that a knight give mercy to a vanquished enemy.However, the very fact that knights were trained as men ofwar belied this code. Even though they came from richfamilies, many knights were not their families' firstborn. Theydid not receive an inheritance. Thus they were little morethan mercenaries. They plundered villages or cities that they

captured, often defiling and destroying churches and otherproperty. Also the code of chivalry did not extend to thepeasants. The "weak" was widely interpreted as "noblewomen and children". They were often brutal to commonfolk. They could sometimes even rape young peasant womenwithout fear of reprisal, all because they were part of the

upper class.


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A helmet of the type worn by knightsduring the crusades. One can see the

holes cut in the front. This made iteasier for the knight to breathe.

These are two examples of medieval shieldsmade of either wood or metal. Normally

these would have the knight's emblem or

family seal on them.

Medieval Weaponry

A rather plain medieval sword.

An example of a dagger thatcould have been used. A mace used during the middle a


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Armor and Weapons

A knight was armed and armored to the teeth. He

had so much armor and weapons that he dependedon his squire to keep his armor and weapons cleanand in good working condition. At first the armor wasmade of small metal rings called chain mail. A knightwore a linen shirt and a pair of pants as well as

heavy woolen pads underneath the metal-ringed tunic.A suit of chain mail could have more than 200,000rings. However, chain mail was heavy, uncomfortable,and difficult to move in. As time passed, knightscovered their bodies with plates of metal. Platescovered their chests, back, arms, and legs. A bucketlike helmet protected the knights head and had ahinged metal visor to cover his face. Suits of armorwere hot, uncomfortable, and heavy to wear. A suitof armor weighed between forty and sixty pounds.Some knights even protected their horses in armor.


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A knight also needed a shieldto hold in front of himself duringbattle. Shields were made ofeither wood or metal. Knights

decorated their shields with theirfamily emblem or crest and thefamily motto.

A knight's weapon was his

sword, which was about thirty-two pounds. It was worn on hisleft side in a case fastenedaround his waist. A knife wasworn on the knights right side.

Knights used other weapons incombat as well. A lance was along spear used in jousts. Metalaxes, battle hammers, andmaces were also used to defeatthe enemy.

An example of a more ornate

piece of armor, used more for

show.


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Tournaments: Tournaments provided a means for knights to practicewarfare and build their strength in times of peace.Tournaments were essentially mock battles withaudiences. The audience was usually made up of"fair damsels". This was another way in which aknight was expected to act chivalrous. Thetournaments had different rules that had to befollowed. They were judged by umpires that watched

for dishonest play. Tournaments were usually foughtbetween either two people or two teams. If twopeople fought a tournament, it was usually by

jousting. The two knights would gallop across theplaying field at each other. They carried long, blunt

poles and shields. The objective was to knock theother person out of his saddle. Team play wasconducted with fierce mock combat between twobands of fighters. They fought with wooden orblunted weapons so as to reduce the risk of gettinghurt. However, this was often not the case. Manypeople did get hurt or die by accident.


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Medieval Peasant

The Medieval peasant together with freeman andvilleins, lived on a manor in a village. Most ofthe peasants were Medieval Serfs or MedievalVilleins. The small, thatch-roofed, and one-roomed houses of the Medieval Peasant would be

grouped about an open space (the "green"), oron both sides of a single, narrow street. Thepopulation of one of these villages often did notoften exceed one hundred people. The Medieval

Peasant shared a common life in the work of thefields, in the sports of the village green, and inthe services of the parish church. But there wastime for rest and entertainment in the life of a

Medieval Peasant.


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Medieval Peasant - Food

The life of a Medieval peasant changed with theseasons. Small animals required slaughtering

during the autumn as it was not economic orpractical to feed animals during the winter. Themeat was then preserved in salt. Bread was amainstay of the Medieval Peasant. Corn, grain,cabbage, ale or cider was obtained from the

local area. Daily Life of a Medieval Peasant on the Farms

The Daily Life of a Medieval Peasant whoworked on the land was often hard. A Medieval

peasant had to labor on the lord's land for twoor three days each week, and at specially busyseasons, such as ploughing and harvesting. Thedaily life of a Medieval peasant can be describedas follows:


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The daily life of a Medieval peasant startedat started in the summer as early as 3am

A Medieval peasant would start withbreakfast, usually of pottage

Work in the fields or on the land started bydawn and the daily life of a Medieval

peasant included the following common tasks: Reaping - To cut crops for harvest with ascythe, sickle, or reaper.

Sowing - the process of planting seeds

Ploughing - To break and turn over earthwith a plough to form a furrow

Binding and Thatching


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Haymaking - cutting grass and curing it forhay.

Threshing - To beat the stems and husksof plants to separate the grains or seedsfrom the straw.

Hedging - creating boundaries

Outside work finished at dusk, working hoursfor Medieval Peasants were therefore longerduring the summer months

Peasants made some of their own tools and

utensils using wood, leather and the hornsfrom cattle

Women generally ate when her husband andchildren had finished and had little leisure

time


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Medieval Peasant in a Castle

Servants and Medieval peasants had toprovide meals and undertake menial tasksfor their lord and his family. Many of theMedieval peasants who worked in the castles

were women. Women worked in the kitchenand were expected to cook, clean and waiton the lord. Other occupations were carriedout by the Medieval peasants within the

castles as stable hands to help with thehorses and kitchen staff. The horses wereextremely important to the Lord and Knights- the horses had to be fed, groomed andtheir stables kept clean.


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Medieval Peasant Clothing

The Medieval Peasant clothing was basic and practical. TheMedieval Peasants clothes consisted of:

A blouse of cloth or skin fastened by a leather belt roundthe waist

An overcoat or mantle of thick woollen material, which fell

from his shoulders to half-way down his legs Shoes or large boots

Short woollen trousers

From his belt there hung a sheath for his knife

Medieval Peasants generally went bareheaded, but in cold

weather or in rain he wore a woollen hat Gloves were only worn by Medieval Peasants for their

practical clothing value and were padded for use in taskssuch as hedging


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Medieval Peasant - Holidays

The Medieval Peasant had their days of rest andamusement. Medieval holidays were in fact muchmore numerous than at present. During the eraperiod the festivals of the Church were frequent

and were rigidly kept by the Medieval Peasant,as each festival was the pretext for a forcedholiday from manual labour. The MedievalPeasant therefore enjoyed many holidays; it hasbeen estimated that, besides Sundays, about

eight weeks in every year were free from work.Festivities at Christmas, Easter, and May Day, atthe end of ploughing and the completion ofharvest, relieved the monotony of the daily roundof labor for the Medieval Peasant.

the medieval knights and peasants

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