In chivalry, religion and the profession of arms were reconciled. In early Christianity, although Tertullian's teaching that Christianity and the profession of arms were incompatible was condemned as heretical, the military career was regarded with little favour. In the ceremonial of conferring knighthood the Church shared, through the blessing of the sword, and by the virtue of this blessing chivalry assumed a religious character. Where the condition of birth was lacking in the aspirant, the sovereign alone could create a knight, as a part of his royal prerogative. From the thirteenth century, the candidates, after they had attained the rank of squire, were allowed to take part in battles but it was only when they had come of age, commonly twenty-one years, that they were admitted to the rank of knight by means of a peculiar ceremonial called "dubbing." Every knight was qualified to confer knighthood, provided the aspirant fulfilled the requisite conditions of birth, age, and training. In boyhood they were sent to the court of some noble, where they were trained in the use of horses and weapons, and were taught lessons of courtesy. Knighthood, however, was not hereditary, though only the sons of a knight were eligible to its ranks. These fees, like other feudal grants, became hereditary, and thus developed a noble class, for whom the knightly profession was the only career. When land was the only kind of riches, each lord paramount who wished to raise an army divided his domain into military fiefs, the tenant being held to military service at his own personal expense for a fixed number of days (forty in France and in England during the Norman period). The career of a knight was costly, requiring personal means in keeping with the station for a knight had to defray his own expenses in an age when the sovereign had neither treasury nor war budget at his disposal. These armorial bearings afterwards became hereditary and gave birth to the complicated science of heraldry. Each flag or banner was emblazoned with the arms of its owner to distinguish one from another on the battlefield. There was a sharp distinction between the pennon, a flag pointed or forked at the extremity, used by a single chevalier or bachelor as a personal ensign, and the banner, square in form, used as the ensign of a band and reserved to the baron or baronet in command of a group of at least ten knights, called a constabulary. They were attached to, and carried on, the lance. Flagsīanners were also a distinctive mark of chivalry. From the thirteenth century the squires also went armed and mounted and, passing from one grade to the other, were raised finally to knighthood. These attendants, who were of low condition, were not to be confounded with the armed retainers, who formed the escort of a knight. a fourth to guard prisoners, chiefly those of quality, for whom a high ransom was expected.still another to aid his master to mount his battle horse or to raise him if dismounted.another to bear the heaviest weapons, particularly the shield or escutcheon ( scutum, hence scutarius, French escuyer, esquire).Our modern notion of knights is very much based in the ideas of chivalry, and it is the survival of medieval romantic writings that tend to show knights as the chivalrous ideal, that sways our view of medieval knighthood. However well intended this “chivalric code” was, it rarely affected most knights, who plundered, slaughtered, and looted often when given the chance. This same code of conduct did not apply to non-knights (archers, peasants, foot-soldiers, etc.), who were often slaughtered after capture. In combat when nobles and knights were taken prisoner, their lives were spared and were often held for ransom in somewhat comfortable surroundings. The protection of the poor, women and children, and defense of the church were just some of the chivalry codes that a knight was supposed to always obey. By bestowing the title of Christian warriors to the knights, the pope had begun the evolution of a code of conduct that all knights were supposed to follow. With the crusades as a “holy war” the pope needed the support of the nobles and knights of Europe to help him with his agenda of ridding Jerusalem of Islam, and returning the “land of Christ” to Christian sovereignty. It was around the time of the preaching of the first crusade (1095 C.E.) that the Christianization of knights began in earnest. As the Middle Ages progressed, the term “chivalry” began to take on new meanings. The ability to handle a horse, especially in combat, was of utmost importance to a medieval knight. The word, “chivalry”, comes from the French word, “chevalerie”, which means “skills to handle a horse”.
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