Medieval Knights

Author's note: To become a medieval knight took hard work and determination. 

When people think of the Middle-ages, the first thing that often comes to mind is knights. They wore heavy armor, rode strong swift horses, and fought for the king with their lives. What was the life like as a  medieval knight?

Knights were trained to defend the castle, the kingdom, and most importantly the king. They were  like our modern day military. From the time they were young, they were sent to train with other knights and there they were taught all about fighting. There were three types of medieval fighters : knights, archers and foot soldiers. The knight was for close quarter battles against foot soldiers  and the archer was for long distance combat.  Knights had the advantage over foot soldiers and archers because of their heavy armor.

To become a knight you had to be from a wealthy noble family and be bright. You had to be able to buy your own armor, horses, and weapons, which is like buying a plane now. Most knights were trained at age eight  when their family sent them to live with an older trained knight. They did simple things at first, like learn to ride horses, body build, and learn how to use weapons and work hard. At the age fifteen they gained knowledge of elder knight by cleaning armor, caring for horses, and learned advanced fighting skills.

Knights had heavy armor and heavy weapons. They carried  a  large battle sword with their left hand and a knife on their right. The armor weighed about 50 - 60 pounds in all, mostly because they wore many different layers.  Linen shirt, chain mail, heavy pants, woolen pads, metal armor. The knight's chain mail had more the 200,000 individual rings which took years to make. Some of the different types of weapons the knight used were the lance, sword, battle hammers, axes, maces and many more.

Knights lived by the code of conduct called chivalry. This was a vow to protect the weak,  helpless and for the general good of all. If a knight were to disobey this they could get expelled depending on the trial. Chivalry influenced social behaviors hundreds of years after knight's no longer existed. For example it tells us how a gentleman should behave today.

The knights responsibilities were difficult and challenging to overcome. Succeeding meant fame and honor to the society around them. There was danger and glory as a knight, but today we remember how they lived and learn from them.  Knights played an important role to many countries in the middle ages and now live in our own code of conduct all over the world.