The Knights Code of Chivalry and the vows of Knighthood

The Knights Code of Chivalry described in the Song of Roland and an excellent
representation of the Knights Codes of Chivalry are as follows:

 To fear God and maintain His Church

 To serve the liege lord in valour and faith
 To protect the weak and defenceless
 To give succour to widows and orphans
 To refrain from the wanton giving of offence
 To live by honour and for glory
 To despise pecuniary reward
 To fight for the welfare of all
 To obey those placed in authority
 To guard the honour of fellow knights
 To eschew unfairness, meanness and deceit
 To keep faith
 At all times to speak the truth
 To persevere to the end in any enterprise begun
 To respect the honour of women
 Never to refuse a challenge from an equal
 Never to turn the back upon a foe
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.
No single 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 terribly expensive
to be a knight. The war horse
alone could cost the equivalent of
a small airplane. Armor, shields,
and weapons were also very
expensive. 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 have to serve in the
king's army. The money was then
used to create a professional army © Chivalry Sports, Inc. Used with permission.
that was paid and supported by
the king. These knights often
fought more for pillaging than for
army wages. When they captured
a city, they were allowed to
ransack it, stealing goods and
valuables.
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 the
son of a noble:

When a boy was eight years

old, he was sent to the Pads worn under the armor to help ease the weight. They were
neighboring castle where he was called gambesons.
trained as a page. The boy was © Chivalry Sports, Inc. Used with permission.
usually the son of a knight or of a
member of the aristocracy. He
spent most of his time
strengthening his body, wrestling
and riding horses. He also learned
how to fight with a spear and a
sword. He practiced against a
wooden dummie called
a quintain. It was essentially a
heavy sack or dummie in the form
of a human. It was hung on a
wooden pole along with a shield.
The young page had to hit the
shield in its center. When hit, the
whole structure would spin
around and around. The page had
to maneuver away quickly
without getting hit. The young
man was also taught more
civilized topics. He would be
taught to read and write by a
schoolmaster. He could also be
A helmet of the type worn by knights during the crusades. One
taught some Latin and French.
can see the holes cut in the front. This made it easier for the
The lady of the castle taught the
knight to breathe.
page to sing and dance and how
to behave in the king’s court.

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
knight’s meals, caring for the
knight’s horse, and cleaning the
knight’s armor and weapons. He
followed the knight to
tournaments and assisted his lord
on the battlefield. A squire also
prepared himself by learning how
to handle a sword 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 or church'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 a knight. 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.

Chivalry:
Knights believed in the code of
chivalry. They promised to
defend the weak, be courteous to
all women, be loyal to their king,
and serve God at all times.
Knights were expected to be
humble before others, especially
their superiors. 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 of
war belied this code. Even though
they came from rich families,
many knights were not their
These are two examples of medieval shields made of either
families' firstborn. They did not
wood or metal. Normally these would have the knight's emblem
receive an inheritance. Thus they
or family seal on them.
were little more than mercenaries.
They plundered villages or cities
that they captured, often defiling
and destroying churches and other
property. Also the code of
chivalry did not extend to the
peasants. The "weak" was widely
interpreted as "noble women and
children". They were often brutal
to common folk. They could
sometimes even rape young
peasant women without fear of
reprisal, all because they were
part of the upper class.

Armor and Weapons

A knight was armed and armored to
the teeth. He had so much armor and
weapons that he depended on his squire
to keep his armor and weapons clean
and in good working condition. At first
the armor was made of small metal
rings called chain mail. A knight wore 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 200,000 rings.
However, chain mail was heavy,
uncomfortable, and difficult to move
in. As time passed, knights covered
their bodies with plates of metal. Plates
covered their chests, back, arms, and
legs. A bucket like helmet protected the
knight’s head and had a hinged metal
visor to cover his face. Suits of armor
were hot, uncomfortable, and heavy to
wear. A suit of armor weighed between
forty and sixty pounds. Some knights
even protected their horses in armor.

A knight also needed a shield to hold in

front of himself during battle. Shields
were made of either wood or metal.
Knights decorated their shields with
their family emblem or crest and the
family motto.

A knight'’s weapon was his sword,

which was about thirty-two pounds. It
was worn on his left side in a case An example of a more ornate piece of armor, used more
fastened around his waist. A knife was for show.
worn on the knight’s right side. Knights
used other weapons in combat as well.
A lance was a long spear used in jousts.
Metal axes, battle hammers, and maces
were also used to defeat the enemy.