Knights of Honor: Exploring Chivalry in the Middle Ages

1. Chapter 13 Section 3 The Age of Chivalry Homework Review

2. Tournament • A “mock war” or war games. • Where competitions were held between knights for honor and wealth. • The spectator sport of the middle ages! • Encouraged to keep your skills as a knight highly polished and ready for the real thing.

3. Chivalry • The Code of Behavior for the Medieval Knight emphasized that he should always be loyal, brave, and courageous. • A Knight had to honor 3 masters – his Lord, his chosen (ideal) lady, and God. • A knight’s code was to act in ways with honor – to protect the weak and act for good. • Not all knights lived by this code – there were few “perfect” knights – but like any ideal – it guides how one should behave.

4. Page • The first stage in becoming a knight. • At around age 7 a noble boy would be quartered in the household of another noble where they would first learn to serve. • A page was expected to master such skills as swordplay, horsemanship, and playing chess. • At around age 14 he would be promoted to squire.

5. Squire • The 2nd stage of knighthood. • A squire served the knight in battle, sometimes engaging in actual combat. • A squire needed to care for his knight’s armor, weapons, horses, and at times, his family. • At age 21, a squire was “knighted.”

6. The Song of Roland • A medieval epic poem about a brave band of French knights who must fight a vastly superior force of Muslim Invaders (think of the Battle of Tours). • Highlights the conflict between the Christian Franks and the Muslim Moors of France and Spain.

7. Troubadour • A medieval story teller / traveling poet-musician who would recite stories of great heroes and fantastic adventures to the inhabitants of the castle, manor, or village.

8. Noble vs. Peasant Nobles are the elite upper class of European society where their position was determined by birth. Peasants were free commoners (not serfs) but had no special birth status – low class.

9. 3. Two inventions from Asia that Changed Medieval Warfare? • The leather saddle – with high back. • The Stirrup. Both Inventions made the Armored Medieval Knight the most powerful force on the battlefield and propelled them to high social status. How? The Knight was able to harness the power of his horse and power through his target without falling off his horse – think of a knight jousting in a Tournament.

10. 4. Who were the occupants of a castle? • The Lord and his family lived in the Castle keep – the strongest and most heavily defended part of the castle. • Knights, men-at-arms, and servants also lived in the castle.

11. 5. What were some of the themes of Medieval culture? • Knighthood and Chivalry. • Tournaments & Battle. • A knight’s love for his lady.

12. 6. How important a role did the knights have in the Feudal system. • A Very Important Social, Economic, Political, and Military role – the knights were the local lords who made the manor system work (economic). They protected the people and their lords in times of war (military). They set the standard for moral behavior (the code of Chivalry - social).

13. 7. How was the code of Chivalry like romantic love? • Both are alike in that they just focus on the positive aspects of life– the good guys win, the knight saves the princess, the bad guys are destroyed, & they lived happily ever after! etc. • In reality love isn’t perfect – life is hard – not a fairy tale – you need to work on any relationship for it to work – just like in Chivalry there were disloyal and dishonorable knights!