8/9/2019 Medieval Squires-good 2

1/2

Medieval Squires

Squires did many tasks for their

knights, but their were two specific

knights.

The Squire of the Table

worked in the court or about the castle.

They would dress the knight, or be

servants at the table.

The Arming Squire went with

the knight into combat on the

battlefield. They would assist the

knight in putting on his armor or aid

them taking it off. The Arming Squire

would also clean the armor for the next

battle.

Not all squires were Arming

Squires or Squires of the Table. Many

did general jobs about the castle and

on the battlefield. Squires would clean

the knights armor and prepare it for

battle. They also cleaned the stables

and readied the horses along with the

armor. A squire would also stand guardoutside the knights chambers at night.

Squires also had to follow the Code of

Chivalry, like the knights above them.

To help them in their duties,

squires would learn to joust, climb,

swim, swordsmanship, and other skills,

making a squire worthy of becoming a

knight.

On the quest to becoming a

knight, a boy must begin as a page on

his way to becoming a squire before

completing his journey to knighthood.

When a boy, born of a knight, turned

seven they were able to leave their

home life and enter into a life at the

castle. A pages duty was to do

whatever his lord commanded. Also a

page would take care of and watchover the women of the castle and in

turn they would teach the page table

etiquette.

The page would dress his lord

and also keep his armor clean. This was

to get him ready for cleaning a knights

armor as a squire. It was the pages

obligation to be with his lord and lady

at all times. If a page was lucky, he

would receive minimal training from

the upper ranking squire. Once a pagehad given his service for seven years,

at age fourteen a page became a

squire, if he proved he was worthy.

From Page to Squire The Duties of a Squire

By Nick

Eaton

8/9/2019 Medieval Squires-good 2

2/2

Arma PatrinaOnce a squire had completed its

service which to most squires was

seven years, they could become a

knight, but not all squires became

knights. There are two main reasons a

squire would not become a knight. One

being the squire was too old to become

a knight. The second reason would be

due to the fact that the squire could

not afford to be a knight.

These men, known as the Latin

words, Arma Patrina, could carry ashield and lance but they were not

given their emblem. They were allowed

to carry these objects even with the

ceremony pronouncing them a knight.

They had to follow the code of chivalry,

but it was restricted towards them.

Thought this was true, they would gain

more respect than a disgraced knight

who were not restricted int he areas of

chivalry. Arma Patrina were also viewed

in many aspects. Some were pitied or

even shunned by the higher ranking

knights.

There was yet a third way a

knight could become an Arma Patrina,

which was considered the worst way in

which to reach such a status. If you did

not get the knighting ritual correct, you

would not be given another chance and

you would be named an Arma Patrina.

Meanings of the Word Squire

The word squire comes from the

Old French word escuier which

comes from the Latin word scutarius.

Scutarius means shield bearer.

Over hundreds of years, the word

squire has acquired many different

meanings. It started off in history as a

meaning for knights in training. It then

grew to mean the leader of an English

village and also as a gentleman below

a knight. It was also used as a

slang word towards each otherafter the Middle Ages.

MEDIEVAL SQUIRES PAGE 2 .