Informal Training During The Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages, any young male who wanted to become a knight had to complete a prolonged process. Informal training started soon after youngster could walk. Formal training started when the boy became a page and later a squire. After all the duties were performed and all the responsibilities were upheld, then a prospective knight participated in a final ceremony where he was knighted.

A father of prospective knight started his son’s training soon after birth. Children’s play was the first step in learning how to become a knight. Toy pewter knights were given to young boys. “Edward I gave his son's toy castles and a nature siege engine to play with, and Richard II had miniature guns as a boy” (Prestwich 16). At age seven, prospective

After completing his training as a page, he would become a squire to a knight. Typically, a squire was at least fifteen years old. His duties would include: dressing the knight, serving the knight his meals, caring for the knight’s horses, and cleaning the knight’s weapons (Newman). In addition, a squire dressed fashionably, rode a horse well, and knew how to joust. Equipped for war in much the same way as a knight, squires were expected to have expensive armor and worthy horses. Because being a squire was quite expensive, most were sons of noblemen or they became a responsibility of noble males (Newman).

Some young men spent many years as a squire before being knighted. One such example was Philip Chetwynd. “Philip Chetwynd came of age in 1316, and was thinking about becoming a knight in 1319, when he entered the service of Ralph, Lord Bosset of Drayton, but did not actually do so until 1319” (Prestwich 22). There was no standard age at which one became a knight. Never completing all the steps to achieve knighthood, it was possible that a man would be a squire for the rest of his life (Prestwich

Some knighting ceremonies were for one person, but many included many young men. In 1306, three hundred Englishmen were knighted along with the king’s son. Knighting on the battlefield was a simple ceremony. Due to the urgency of wartime, it demanded nothing more than an oath and a tap on the shoulder. In need of knights, the king of Portugal issued a proclamation before the 1382 battle of Roosebeke. He asked anyone who wanted to become a knight to present themselves before him. Age was not a factor under such conditions. “The young Boucicaut at the age of [twelve] was knighted by the duke of Bourbon just before the battle of Roosebeke in 1382” (Prestwich 30). Also, a brave performance on the battlefield was the quickest way for a young man to become a knight (Alchin).

The road to advancement did not have to end here. Once knighted, a man could be promoted further. A banneret, identified by a square or rectangular banner, would command larger troops than a regular knight. Being appointed a banneret was a military promotion, and it took time to attain the honor. Nevertheless, it did not increase the knight’s social standings (Prestwich