This illustration from the early thirteenth century Codex Manesse shores a knight and his squire The squire cares for his master's horse as the knight prepares to fight 10
his knight into battle to aid in the conflict should his lord be out matched and to lend his horse should his master lose his own The squire also had the distasteful duty of picking up a fallen knight or removing him from the field of battle if he had been killed or wounded Practicing to become a knight required tremendous skill and repetition in various military arts such as the proper use of the lance and sword both on horseback and on foot Squires spent several hours a day learning to ride horses and fight It took years for squires to master effective use of weaponry while galloping on horseback A squire would begin his training by riding ponies and fighting with wooden weapons before he graduated to a horse and real blades He learned to carry a lance and practiced jousting by thrusting lances through a wooden ring hung from a rope as he sped by on horseback He was taught to properly care for horses and to train horses for battle But warfare training was only one aspect of a squire's educa tion He also learned to read and write acquired basic math skills and was taught the essential tenants of Christian theology And a knight in training was versed in courtly manners His time as a page and squire taught him the customs and rituals of court life and he was also exposed to tales of chivalry Some of these tales were written down but most people in the Middle Ages heard them told aloud by travelling players and troubadours These chivalric stories told of knights who exercised modesty and self control despite their physical strength and power 11
Arthur's knights including Lancelot and Galahad depart on a guest Lancelot was a noble but flawed knight Galahad was the knightly ideal trants I DUB THEE Squires who performed well eventually became knights Early knighting ceremonies were rather simple a noble bestowed the arms and rank of knight upon his successful squire Over time the dubbing ceremonies became increasingly elaborate They involved solemn vows and religious sanction The honored began by taking a purification bath then kneeling or standing all night in prayer before an altar on which lay the armor he would don the next day A sermon followed in the morning in 12
A GOOD KNIGHT THE LEGEND OF KNIGHTHOOD The medieval image of a pure and virtuous knight was more a fantasy of fictional literature than a statement of reality Though many knights indeed lived up to the highest ethical standards many others did not Char acters such as Sir Galahad in the legend of King Arthur and Sir Roland in the Song of Roland were as pure as the driven snow But not all of the knights in the legendary tales were morally flawless Sir Lancelot who was the father of Galahad lusted for Arthur's queen Guinevere His adulterous love for Guinevere not only caused Lancelot to fail in his quest for the Holy A Trott Grail but it also set in EIN motion chain of a fatal events that ended King Arthur's reign and his fellowship of knights En A Sir Roland's stepfather Ganelon betrays him in battle causing Roland’s King Charlemagne finds the body of his death the death and of knight Roland after Ganelon betrays his men them to the opposing army Roland and his men fought to the death to protect the king and the rest of his army 13
