The institution of knighthood
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The institution of knighthood had its roots in the ninth and tenth centuries and vestiges of it remain in place even today. From a practical arrangement in which the principle of vassalage was extended to include military service, the institution grew to the point where a grant of arms was the equivalent of ennoblement. In the course of five centuries during which knights dominated the practice of warfare three important modifications of the system made it a complex historical phenomenon that affected everything from the nature of warfare to fashions in literature. One such modification was the gradual evolution of knights as a privileged, hereditary class. A second was the development of the chivalric code that ritualized their practice and defined the knights' unique social role as a military elite transformed into an aristocracy. The third is the uses to which the Church, especially in terms of the Crusading ideology, put the institution of knighthood. In general terms these aspects of the development of knighthood explain the enormous significance of the institution in Medieval societies. Because knighthood was an international phenomenon, involving most Western European societies, and because it extended over so many centuries, there is no typical set of circumstances, behaviors, or developments that universally defines knighthood. Yet the ideals and practice of knighthood everywhere in Europe had enough in common that the phenomenon can be discussed as a whole
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ugh he was brought up in ignorance of knighthood. Though Perceval, by nature a knight, acquires all he needs to know with miraculous speed, "in reality, a knight's skills needed many hours of practice to bring them to an acceptable standard (Barber, Reign 22). At the age of 14 the page was promoted to the position of squire. Though the development of various useful skills had preceded this change, it was not until they reached at least this age that boys were capable of entering into the rigors of intensive training. The squire was taught to hunt and hawk, and improved his riding and management of the horse. But the most grueling parts of his training involved learning "to bear the weight of knightly armour," to manipulate the heavy and deadly weapons and the defensive shield, to joust, and "to endure the utmost fatigue of all kinds" (Abram 806). The extent of the physical strength and dexterity the squire needed to acquire is exemplified by the program which Marshal Boucicault imposed on himself. He trained himself to walk and run long distances, and even to dance, while wearing his coat of mail. He also trained himself to "spring from the ground onto the shoulders of a man on horseback," riding there by holding on with o
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 4740
Approximate Pages = 19 (250 words per page)
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