 Road to Knighthood
During the High Middle Ages, it was technically possible for every free man to become a knight, but the process of becoming one was very expensive; thus it was more likely that a knight would come from a noble (or wealthy) family. The olden candidates of knighthood would have to go through a long process to become a knight, which involving three tireless stages of tests: after starting as a "page", they then graduated to the status of "personal squire," and only after completing years of service in this position, would they have passed their training and finally earn the right to be knighted.
Teaching & Training
The process of training for knighthood began before adolescence, usually in the comfort of the prospective knight's own home, where he was taught standard politeness and courtesy, Such as how to honor and greet noble men and the king, and how to carry themselves in a way that made them deserving of respect. When a child reached his seventh birthday, he would be sent away to train and serve at a wealthy household as a page. Here, he would act as a personal servant, entertaining and waiting on his new mistresses and masters. A page was usually the son of a member of the upper-middle feudal class, who sent him to another lord's castle to start off as a page and try to advance his standing in the social classes that way, through upward mobility. For seven years a page was cared for by the women of the house, who taught him how to clean, cook, be gracious, and pray. He would learn how to hunt, ride horses, and use of weapons just by watching and serving his master and lord.
A page became a squire when he turned 14, by being assigned to or picked by a knight who wished him to become his own personal aid. This allowed the squire to observe his master while he was in battle, in order to learn from his techniques. He also acted as a personal servant to the knight, taking care of his master's equipment and horse. This was to help uphold the knight's code of honor, that held true to the virtues of courtesy, compassion, and most importantly, loyalty. Once the squire got a little older, he was expected to follow his master into battle, and nurse his master back to health, should he gain injury while fighting. Some squires were even catapulted to knighthood status for performing particularly brave deeds on the battlefield, but most were knighted by their knight-tutor once their training was complete. |
