Knights+and+the+Military

= **By Manny, Xavier, Zack, Sam LQ and Charlotte** =

= = = = =media type="custom" key="26716448" width="140" height="140"= = = = = = = = = = = =Jousting (modern day) By [|Jeff Kubina__] =

**The Military**
The Military was a very important part of life in the Medieval Times. Without an army, a city like Jerusalem would fall (like during the Crusades) or be taken easily and without a fight. There were many different types of soldiers in the Medieval army, but the main ones were Crossbowmen, Archers, Foot Soldiers and Knights. When put together they made an awesome army and an even better team!

There are only a few ways of becoming a knight. One way was this course of action... When a boy was eight he was sent to a nearby castle to be trained as a paige. The child was usually a son of a knight or a member of the aristocracy. The paige spent most of his time working out, wrestling and riding horses. He also learned how to properly fight with a sword and spear. The paige practiced against a wooden dummy called a quintain. It was usually a heavy sack or dummy in a shape of a human. It was hung on a wooden pole with a shield and the paige had to hit the shield exactly in the center. Once he hit it, it would spin around and the paige had to dodge the flailing arms to avoid being hit. The young man was also taught how to be civilized and was taught by a schoolmaster. He would also be taught how to speak Latin and French. The Lady of the castle near him would teach him to sing/dance and also how to behave properly when in the King’s presence. At the age of 15 or 16 the boy was upgraded from a paige to a squire.
 * Knights and How To Become One **

The squire had to do a lot of things including, dressing the knight in the morning, making all of the knight's meals, taking care of the knight's steed and cleaning his armor and weapons. He followed the knight to tournaments and helped the knight in battle. A squire also prepared himself by learning to handle a sword and lance while wearing 40 pounds of armor and riding a horse. When he was about 20 years old he could become a knight by proving himself to be worthy. The lord would agree to knight the young man him at a dubbing ceremony. The night before the ceremony the squire would wear a white tunic and red robes. After that he would fast (which is to go without food) and pray all night for purification of the soul. The chaplain would bless the knight's sword and then place it on the chapel or church. Before dawn he took a bath to show that he was pure, and dressed in his best clothes. When dawn came, the priest would hear the knight's confession which was a Catholic contrition rite. Then the soon to be knight ate breakfast and the dubbing ceremony began. The outdoor ceremony took place in front of family, friends and nobility. The squire who would soon be a knight knelt as a sign of respect in front of the lord who tapped him lightly on each shoulder and proclaimed him a knight. This was symbolic of what happened in earlier times.

In the earlier middle ages the person committing the dubbing would hit the  squire forcefully and knock him over. After the ceremony there was a great feast, singing, music and dancing. A young man also could become a knight for valor, fighting after a battle or sometimes before a battle to give him courage, or by being born into it.

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 *  "I am Sir Launcelot du Lake." Illustration for The King Arthur **=====

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 *  Picture By [|deflam__] **=====

Knights had armor allover their bodoes! They had so much armor and weapons, that they depended on their squire to keep the armor clean and in working condition. At first the armor was made of metal rings called chainmail. Knights wore shirts made of linen and linen pants as well heavy woolen pads underneath their chain mail. A suit of chainmail could have over 200,000 metal rings in it. However chainmail was heavy, uncomfortable and hard to move in. As time passed, the knights covered their bodies with plates of metal instead of chain mail. The plates covered their chests and the back of their arms and their legs. A bucket like helmet covered the knight's head and a hinged visor protected his eyes. Suits of armor were hot, heavy and uncomfortable just like the chain mail. A suit of armor weighed 40 to 60 pounds! Some knights even protected their horses with armor.
 * A Knight's Armor and Weaponry **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A knight needed a shield to hold in front of him to protect him during battle. The shield was crafted out of wood or metal. He covered his shield with his family emblem, or crest and family motto. His weapon was a sword that weighed around <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> 32 pounds. It was strung on his left side in a sheath fastened around his <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">waist. A knife was on the knight’s waist on his right side. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Knights used other weapons in combat as well. A lance was one of them. It was a long spear used in jousts. Metal axes, battle hammers and maces are other examples of weapons used to take over the enemy.

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= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">16th century armet helmet from the man-at-arms' harness = <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|Arutemu__]

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Archers and crossbowmen were important in the medieval army. There were more of them than there were knights. A lot of people went to the army because of all the money and status they could gain. Archers, crossbowmen and foot soldiers were from the peasant class while the knights were from the upper class. A conquering army would take all the wealth from the city or town they took over. So being a soldier could make a soldier rich, especially by plundering.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Archers and Crossbowmen **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A crossbow was shot with the power of tension along with a rubber band that was on a wood or steel frame. The crossbowman would wind up the rubber band and pull a trigger to release a small arrow. The speed and power of the arrow was amazing and the arrow could pierce a full knight's armor. An archer's arrow was not as powerful as a crossbowman’s arrow so it couldn’t pierce a knight’s armor. It was useful in sieges because sieges did not require fast attacks. When a crossbowman was reloading his weapon, he could hide under a merlon (or a shield that could move).

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Archers were better equipped for an all-out battle. The archers' shots were not as powerful as the crossbowmen’s shots, so the Archer's arrows couldn't pierce a knight's armor. The archers speed of fire made up for that.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Half of an English army was usually made up of archers. They were so dangerous that the English army were breeders of them. At one time a law was passed so that every Englishman had to practice archery at <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">least once a week.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bows were made from the Yew tree and had no other purpose. On the sides of their bows were small daggers for hand to hand contact. However that was not that effective against the knight's sword and armor. Both archers and the crossbowmen wore very little armor. They usually had leather jerkins and sometimes wore chain mail. Metal helmets were common too, but shields were not used generally.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Crossbowmen were important in sieges while archers were important in battles because of their rate of fire. Crossbows also take longer to reload than bows.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Medieval Army was all about strategy. Without excellent strategies the army would fall apart and die. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Click here for our other pages to find out more!

media type="custom" key="21349478" Prezi About the Life of a Knight

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Works Cited <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Facts about Knights." Middle Ages. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. <http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/facts-about-knights.htm>. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Knights." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. <http://library.thinkquest.org/J002390/knights.html>. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"THE MIDDLE AGES: THE COMMON SOLDIER." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. <http://library.thinkquest.org/10949/fief/medsoldier.html>. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"THE MIDDLE AGES: THE MEDIEVAL KNIGHT." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. <http://library.thinkquest.org/10949/fief/medknight.html>.

And Shirley, Our Teacher