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TRANSCRIPT
KNIGHTSThe Noble Warriors
THINK-PAIR-SHARE
With the people beside you come up with a list of everything you know/ believe about knights.
WHO WERE KNIGHTS?
Knights were almost always members of the nobility
They were landowners who gained their land through swearing fealty to a lord
Lived in castles, and made money of the taxes they changed peasants to use their surrounding land.
KNIGHTS AS WARRIORS
Knights lives revolved around fighting
They trained for combat almost their entire lives
Enjoyed pass times that improved fighting skill like hunting and jousting
ARMOURBy the late Middle Ages almost all knights wore plate armour
the entire body was covered in huge metal plates to protect them
it could way as much as 60 pound
Underneath this they wore chainmail to add further protection
added another 30 pounds
Knights usually wore full face helmets as well
protected the face, but limited vision
WEAPONS & EQUIPMENTKnights fought mostly on horseback
Their armour was too heavy to fight easily on foot
Primary weapons were a lance and a sword
Lance to run through enemies while mounted
Sword for any hand-to-hand combat
Other may have carried a variety of weapons including axes, maces or flails (morning stars)
BECOMING A KNIGHT
Becoming a knight was a lifelong process, and was made up of several stages
In order to begin the process you needed to be of nobel birth and have lots of money
Sometimes exceptions were made for bravery and other reasons
Especially during the Norman Conquest or the Crusades
STAGE 1: THE PAGEAt the age of 7 a noble’s son would leave his family to become a page
A page would live with another (usually respetable) knight who would educate him
They would learn to ride horses, fight, and about chivalry from their adopted knight
would also learn about literature and music from the ladies of the house
The page had duties in the house as well, he would be responsible for things like waiting tables
STAGE 2: THE SQUIRE
At around 14 or 15 Pages would be accepted as a Squire
Squires served as an assistant to an experience knight who would mentor them
Squires were responsible for looking after their knights horses, equipment and armour, as well as any other needs.
In battle they would fight alongside their knight
Squire would learn all about weapons, warfare, and heraldry while practicing under their lord
STAGE 3: BEING KNIGHTED
The final step was being “knighted” which was the ritual that made you officially a knight
The night before, the squire was meant to stand vigil (stay awake all night) and pray over their armour while fasting
In the morning they went to the chapel where the squire knelt before his lord who dubbed him a knight
this was done by taping him on the shoulders with a sword
CODE OF CHIVALRY
The code of chivalry was a code of honour knights were meant to follow
It had rules for how they should behave
In groups of 4 or 5, come up with your own modern code of chivalry
include all the rules you think it would be important for good people to live by
CHIVALRY COMPARISON
Knights must be brave, generous, merciful and pious
Duty to God and to protect the Church
Duty to uphold the Feudal Laws and protect their lord
Duty to protect women and serve their wives
Duty to protect the less fortunate
THINK-PAIR-SHARE
Do you think most knights followed the code of chivalry?
MEDIEVAL LINEAGE
The most important thing to determine a knights status was his lineage or his family tree
Coat of Arms were designed to show who the knight was, and what his family background was
KNIGHTS VS. MODERN SOLDIERS
What similarities and differences exist between modern soldiers and medieval knights?
CONCLUSION
Think-Pair-Share: Does the reality of knights match up with how we imagine them?
Complete Exit Slip.