Many kings formed armies using feudalism. One way of gathering an army, was through their nobles. Since the nobles received land from the monarch, they were obliged to get the knights the king had asked for ("What was the impact 2). To gather the amount of knights the lords were told to gather, the lords gave land to ‘sub-tenants’ ("What was the impact 2). And to lure knights into service, they were offered incentives. Knights received incentives in return for their service. One of the things they were given was wealth. Knights pledged loyalty and military services to a lord in exchange for clothes, food, a home (sometimes in the castle), other manor -made items, and wealth (Beil 14-15). These gifts were called fiefs. Some knights were given land as …show more content…
Also, when receiving land, the lord received power over the peasants of that village. Knights also got support, a share of the treasure and goods that were taken in battle, and a sort of insurance. This insurance was that if he died, his children were protected until the girl married and the boy became a vassal, and that the widow and the land were protected (Smith 3). Also appealing to would-be knights was the rise in status. Knights were given a fief, often land, making them a vassal, and therefore a lord (Beil 15). Knights were considered to be like the rock stars of their time as they were well off and thought as honorable, chivalrous, and wealthy (Nardo 29). Because of this they were sought after by high class ladies looking for a husband, and by troubadours who looked for the heroes of their songs (Nardo 31). Because of these advantages, the feudal oath became a political tool where it previously had been a vow of military duty (Beil 9). It was understood that if he did not uphold his promise it would all be taken back. (Beil 15). However, knights did not only gain as they also had to work or their king/lord. A common time frame expected from knights for
One of the elements that make the middle ages a time of progress is the governmental and societal reform that was enforced under the hand of Feudalism. This system allowed for order and protection for individuals who did rank high on the societal latter. Feudalism was a way in which a wealthy land owner, or noble, with the blessings of a monarch or king, would govern and protect the individuals that worked and lived on his land. These nobles offered hired protection in the form of Knights to protect their land and all who inhabited and served on it. Though nobles had much power and were essentially the most influential leader that many of the people who lived on the land would have any contact with, ultimately the Nobles served and enforced laws through the
As knights increased their social standing, with some becoming nobles, the idea of owning a castle became a common idea. War was often a way for one side to gain large amounts of wealth, which allowed more castles to be built. This allowed for the development of many different types of castles.
Before they could wield swords and fight battles they must start their training early in boyhood. First starting to care for horses and play the harp. Next they became a Paige. They learn archery skills and improve on other skills. Then a Squire who finally practice sword play and improve on horse riding. Last after being dubbed a knight by their king or queen they become a knight. They can now lead armies into battle and joust for the king, queen, lords, ladies, and rich nobles. They had many weapons including a battle ax, a lance, a crossbow, a longbow, a shield a sword and many more interesting weapons. There were also many pieces that made up their armor, but the biggest thing was chain mail. It was a brilliant invention that stopped warriors from getting stabbed but they could still feel the momentum of the blow. A few knights belonged to the king, but mostly the knights and armies belonged to the lords and ladies. Once they find out the king is out numbered by thousands they decide to rebuttal throwing the whole feudal system
Knights were essential for providing security and a sense of safety during the Middle Ages. Knights took a rigorous training process to learn every aspect of warfare and to acquire skills needed for knighthood. After training was complete, knights would have to abide by the Code of Chivalry, which was studied during their training. An ordinary knight’s life involved forty days of service in wars to their lord, and the activities which occupied a knight’s free time . Although knights were elite warriors and honorable men, as Europe crawled out of the Middle Ages, their services were no longer needed.
It was not easy to become a knight. They started off by becoming a page. A noble's son could start training to be a knight when he was seven years old. Nobles' sons had to train with weapons of course, but they also had to learn how to ride a horse, how to behave towards their liege lords and ladies, and even about music and the other arts. It was just like going to school, only their teachers were the squires. Once they reached a certain point in their training, they would be appointed as a squire. A squire, who was generally a teenager, had a different set of duties. They had to teach the pages of course, but they also had to wait on the knights. They continued their training in battle, but also were assigned to a specific knight who completed their training. As a squire you went into battle with the knight and fought at his side. This
Knights who performed well in battle, largely because of extensive practice, were given a fief, which is a portion of land granted by a king. Their extreme power and loyalty was greatly influenced by this reward (Alchin). Although the reward of land was highly sought after, knights were required to fight during times of war. Knights who had been given land where required to fight during times of war when they were "raised by the Feudal Levy when there was a 'Call to Arms'. Under the Feudal Levy soldiers and knights were required to fight for a limited period of 40 days” (Alchin).
Feudalism was a medieval government system that a King offered Citizens fiefs or units of land for military service. This discouraged a unified government. Lords would divide their land into smaller sections. Then they would give these lands to lesser people then those people would divide their land to even lesser Knights. Next is the steps to becoming a Knight
Those who fought were obligated to provide military services to their lord and protect those who worked and lived on the land. Those who fought were the vassals, dukes, the lesser nobility, and knights. They were responsible for handling any threats and fighting that occurred on their lords' lands. In return for their service, these knights, etc. received fiefs. Fiefs are grants of land from a lord. These knights, etc. also became vassals of the lord because when you receive a fief, you swear your allegiance to this lord and become a vassal. Although, there was an error that caused many problems with this system. This error was that knights and vassals could swear their allegiance to many different lords, which made for complicated relationships when it came to fighting. Those who fought were the backbone of medieval
In times before feudalism many towns were violently raided and destroyed. Attempts to stop the vikings failed, as anyone who stood up to the vikings were killed. The vikings were fierce warriors who used their longboats to attack villages who weren’t expecting attacks by water, this allowed them to easily raid many villages,“ In the same year the heathen broke in upon the Christians at many points, but more than twelve thousand of them were killed by the Frisians. Another party of invaders devastated Gaul; of these more than six hundred men perished” (845 of Annals of Xanten). Invaders could freely attack villages and kill because the villages didn’t have any protection against them, without knights in place to protect them many people lost their homes, possessions, and even their lives. Feudalism was able to stop this by training knights to fight and giving lords knights to protect their land, this worked out well because the lords and peasants on the lord's land were safe and the knights received food and payment for their
A knight in the middle ages was having possessed great combat skills and who adhered to the code of Chivalry. Any free man could become a knight but the process of becoming a knight and equipping a knight with a horse was very costly this meant that knights would generally come from a noble, or wealthy family. A potential knight had to have the right connections. The honour of being a knight eventually passed from a knight to his sons.
They were given the arduous task of protecting the pheasants. They also protected everyone else that lived on the land of the baron or noble. Knights were hired by the baron to protect his land from the vikings and barbarians. They were payed money for their services. If a viking raiding party tried to raid the land of the noble, then the knights would defend the fief. They would protect the pheasants, the baron, and the family of the baron. The easiest way to become a knight would be to be a son of the noble. They wore heavy metal armor and carried a sword. The knights lived in the castle of the noble, but on the lower
Monarchs owned the land and he would divide the land that he did not need up between the men who were called lords in return for loyalty to him in times of war. The lords enlisted soldiers who were called knights to be the fighting force in these wars. The lowest people in the feudal system were called peasants; these people farmed the land to provide food and provided other services for the kingdom in exchange for protection.
To become a knight in the Medieval world, it had taken a lot of training.Their training had started when the knight was seven years old. While there training,they would have to spend time with the ladies of the castle. They were called pages.In this time the women's if the castle taught the page how to dance, play songs, and sing.After seven years of being a page, the page becomes a squire. They would practice on how to fight, and learn how to take care of horses. After this around there early twenties, they could be crowned knight.Becoming a knight had taken a long period of time, but came with great rewards.The Church was able to say anything and make it a religious order.When the Black Plague had hit, and the Flagellant movement had started
During the Middle Ages, people across the lands thought of knighthood to be a holy calling which the noble knights of the land are bound by. The code of chivalry is the set of standards that controlled the knights’ behavior. When in war, the knights are to be tremendously brave in battle, loyal to his lord, and willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. At home, a knight is to defend the weak and to serve God at all times. A knight is also to be gracious and kind toward noble ladies. In truth, these knights did not always follow these standards. Many of them broke rules, became robbers, and turned to organized crime because they hungered for wealth and power. These knights also ransacked villages. Although
In the middle ages being a knight was a great honor and it was also a great title. On the other side of the social classes there were the peasants they had little to nothing, anything they had was never that nice. They usually barely had enough food to live on and linen scraps for clothes. As the knights had nice clothes and were treated with respect they even dined with the king if they did something werth the kings time. The king was usually nice to his knights but the knights were always disrespectful towards the king. While if the peasants did something to disrespect the king they would be in a lot of trouble.