The medieval knight was one of three different types of soldier or fighting man in the Europe of the middle ages. The other two, in addition to the night, were the foot soldier and the archer. Of course, the night was the highest-ranking of the three and, in his armor, could be a very effective weapon. Often he served a lord and did his bidding when it came to military matters in exchange for land given to him by his lord. This was known as holding a fief, and it was usually known as a fiefdom of the knight.

Usually, a medieval knight -- at least in the early middle ages -- had to be relatively wealthy because it could cost quite a bit of money to maintain a battle horse, armor and other weapons. The knight was allowed to tax those on his land and to profit from the labors of those peasants and other people. This was in exchange for his granting them protection under his shield, which was sometimes known as a coat of arms.

 

In general, there were only a few very specific ways in which a boy could eventually become a knight. The first was as part of a birthright because he was the son of a nobleman. Starting at about age 8, this son would be sent for early military and other training. This would consist of duties that he carried out as what was called a page. He would learn to ride a horse, handle weapons and other basic military skills. He would also eventually be taught how to fight with a sword and how to use military tactics to succeed in battle.

 

Over time and as he began to age, the page would eventually become a squire to another knight. This was usually at around age 15 or 16, for the most part. He would serve this knight faithfully, including dressing the knight in his armor and assisting him at jousting tournaments and even in battle. At this point, it might be better to think of this period in a hopeful knight’s life as him being a kind of apprentice to his master (the other medieval knight). At about age 20, the young man would be ready for knighthood, and would be dubbed a knight by a lord, sometimes his father and sometimes not.

 

This new medieval knight would be trained in many different things besides military action. This might include literature and the arts and sciences, but his primary role was to serve as a fearsome battle master at the service of his lord. The other way in which a person could become a knight was to distinguish himself in battle as a foot soldier or archer. Sometimes, if a lord was short of knights for battle, he would dub several or more to be knights in his service and to give them courage before battle.