Knight Needs Layers Upon Layers Of Armor example essay topic

Being a knight isn't quite as easy as they make it look. It takes many hours of grueling practice. If your are not born to a knight or a noble then you aren't going to be able to be a knight. Also if you are left handed you cannot be a knight because people believe you are a descendent of the devil. Now I will go into details about some things you will need to know if you are going to be a knight, or if you would like your child to be a knight. You will begin training just as a toddler.

Your nanny will teach you games which teach you how to act as a knight does. At the mere age of 5 you will have to make wooden horses and charge at your friends to show off to the girls. From the age of 7 to 14 you become a "page" and must go to a different nobleman's house and serve him. There you learn how to hunt, fish, ride a horse, handle hawks, read, fence, to play chess and music, to dance, and to behave properly. This is the age where a boy will learn the most in his path to becoming a knight.

As page you serve at the table to learn that the highest honor was to serve others. A women in the house is assigned to the page, so he learns how to treat a lady. Finally at the age of 14 you become a squire and are allowed to go on the battlefield. As becoming a squire you are blessed in a ceremony and given your first sword. During this period as being a squire (age 14 to 21), you get assigned with a knight.

The knight trains you to battle, joust, and handle a sword and a lance. Lances are very awkward so squires must try hitting a "quintain" or dummy over and over. If you are not quick enough a beanbag will hit you in the head as you ride by. In return you dress the knight for battle and clean his armor. The knight also teaches you the laws of chivalry.

You are given the responsibility to aid your knight on the battlefield and drag him out of battle if he may be injured. Squires do go into battle with the knight, but usually do not get injured because it is considered dishonorable to fight a squire. Squires learn how to act correctly at all times too. He learns a knight is supposed to act with mercy as well as courage on the battlefield and off the battlefield, to be courteous and pleasant to others. As you may see it takes many years to become a knight, there is only one other way to become one. That is to show a great action of bravery and courage on the battlefield.

To graduate to knight, you must perform a heroic deed in battle, or be a master at all of your skills. After you are of perfect skills any knight or lord that has watched you may knight you. Knighting can occur on the battlefield, but usually occurs during times of peace. When it happens on the battlefield it is before a battle to encourage the soldier to do better.

The day before knighting the squire takes a bath in clear water to wash away his bad deeds and shaves his beard to show his desire to serve god. He also wears a red and white cloak, white standing for purity, and red stood for willingness to shed blood in battle. The squire then spends the night in the chapel thinking, praying, and watching over his weapons and armor he will use as a knight. You usually must buy your own armor, or get it from an ancestor. The next morning the lord or knight dubs the squire by tapping him on his shoulder. The lord says to the squire "Let your sword be the defense of widows, orphans, the church, and all of God's servants.

By accepting this the squire vows to defend the poor and weak and to wage war against his lord's enemies. After the ceremonies are over the new knight receives his new armor, sword, and his fief, or land from his lord. Now as being a knight no one will stand in the "Sir Knights" way, he will do as he pleases, he is the mightiest power in the kingdom. Chapter 2 As a knight you will need many things, such as; swords, chain mail, shields, and a horse. You will also need to be courteous and respectful. All this can be summed up into the two things you need to be a perfect knight, armor and chivalry.

Sometimes your lord may buy all of the armor you, but this is very unlikely. If not you are required to buy all of your own. Knights were usually the wealthiest of the fighting men because all of the armor cost so much. That is only one of the many things that a knight must carry. The knight needs layers upon layers of armor, so you will prevail on the battlefield. If you aren't very rich you can settle with chain mail armor, although it is uncomfortable, heavy, and hard to move in.

If you have a lot of money you can buy plates of metal to cover you. This should include a helmet, face plate, and full body protection. A suit of armor weighs as much as 60 pounds. If you are very rich you can buy your horse armor too. Since the armor weighs so much the knight must be lifted on the horse by many men by pulley. The knight must be a great horsemen so that he does not fall off of his horse.

If he does, he must lie where he fell because he won't be able to get back up. To go to the bathroom on the battlefield, there is a hose in the suit to go out of. Also, you will need a shield, it can be metal or wooden, and should have your family crest pictured on it. The family crest is the only way to recognize another knight on the battlefield.

The shield serves as a stretcher too, to carry you off the battlefield if you are injured. A great sword is needed to complete the armor, one can weigh as much as 40 pounds! Extra weapons to carry can be a knife, axe, battle hammer, lance, and a mace. As being a knight you will now receive a squire, he should keep your armor washed and waxed. All the armor you must wear is not comfortable and doesn't seem like it's a necessity, worth wasting money on. It is though, if you don't have more armor then the next guy than you are in trouble.

As a knight you are expected to defend the weak, be courteous, be loyal, and serve God at all times. This is all part of the code of chivalry. These rules even apply while on the battlefield, the knight cannot mistreat a prisoner or leave an enemy to die of his wounds. The code of chivalry also stated that if a knight is a coward he must be punished.

Knights also learn to not boast and to be kind and gentle to women. "Courtly love", which became part of chivalry, stated this. Often a knight may sing songs, write poems, or perform heroic deeds for their loved one. There is even a tale of a man who wore his loved one's dress to battle, instead of his armor and got injured very badly. So there really are "knights in shining armor". Chapter 3 Knights and their army do not always have glorious, easily won battles.

To be a knights you must know all the techniques of battling. You always see knights coming home from battle with parties for them, but it is not a "party" on the battlefield. Things can get grueling and harsh on the battlefield, even biting, taunting, and scratching can happen. In battles there is always a winner and a loser. You just have to pray you are not going to be the loser. The first way to attack another kingdom is by surprising your enemy in a siege.

This is a long and costly process though. Sometimes a soldier may be able to climb the drainage pipe and lower the enemies drawbridge, but this is a rare occasion. During a siege the defenders have the advantage because they have a castle to defend them. The army will often hurl 300 pound stones over enemy walls. Or lunge dead horses and men's heads over the castle walls to spread disease inside.

If this assault does not work an army will try to starve its enemy out. The defender will eat dogs and rats to stay alive, even starve their own children. As many attackers die from starving an enemy out as from injuries in battle. This death rate is from the heat, flies, and dysentery. Eventually the defenders will all die or give up. Knights barely ever get a chance to fight on horseback, but when they do they are unstoppable.

Those are the many ways of battling. Battle brings many ways of death along with the glitz of being a knight. Often armies will try to capture enemy soldiers for ransom money, but battles still are not bloodless. Since armor is so heavy and hot knights often get tired in long battles. This makes a knight with even the best armor vulnerable. Sometimes when a knight is injured he gets taken to the surgeons, but still usually dies from blood poisoning.

Knights nearly always fight with bravery, but are cowardice in other times. In this case they would die when they return to their home for not obeying the code of chivalry. All of these dangers of battle come along with the great title of being a knight. Chapter 4 As a grown knight you and your lord have an unwritten agreement to the feudal system. Every year you are to perform a certain number of days military service for your lord.

In exchange you get to live on his land and have his protection (legally and militarily). You are also expected to fight bravely for and be loyal to your lord. Some lords give their knights equipment and time to practice skills. In return you would be the lords vassal, expected to fight in your lord's army, give him financial aid, act as his ambassador, and serve on his council. The lord has much control over his knight's life, career, and future.

The lord can even decide who the knight marries! If the knight performs an outstanding, heroic, corrigible deed in battle, then a rich king may even give the knight his own castle. Then the knight would become a lord. As you can see being a knight isn't all that and a sack of potatoes, but it would be an honor to have one of your children be a knight, defending your kingdom...

Bibliography

I. Books A. Sanders, I.J. "Knights and Knighthood". The World Book Encyclopedia: K 1969 Ed.
B. Edge, David, and John M. Paddock Medieval Knight. Bison books (c) 1988 C.
Szarmach, Paul E. Medieval England. Library of Congress (c) 1998 D.
Sobol, Donald J. The First Book of Medieval Man. Franklin Watts, Inc. (c) 1959 E.
Darg ie, Richard Knights and Castles. Raintree Steck~Vaughn (c) 1999 F.
Weisberg, Barbara The Big Golden Book of Knights and Castles. Western Pub. (c) 1993 II.
Internet Sites A. The Middle Ages. "The Medieval Knight", web Org/10949/net / med knight. html, Chivalry Sports Inc. (c) 1995 B.