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The History of the Knights. The meaning of the word "knight" When the knights appeared

The History of the Knights. The meaning of the word "knight" When the knights appeared

The image of the Middle Ages is often associated with the colorful figure of an armed knight in armor. Knights - professional warriors - were a corporation whose members were united by a way of life, moral and ethical values, personal ideals ...

Knightly culture takes shape in a feudal environment. The feudal camp itself was heterogeneous. The small elite of the feudal class was created by the largest landowners - bearers of high-profile titles. These most noble, with the largest pedigree, knights stood at the head of their squads, sometimes real armies.

Knights of lower rank served in these squads with their detachments, appearing at the first call of the owner. At the lower levels of the knightly hierarchy were landless knights, all of whose property was contained in military training and weapons. Many of them traveled, joining the detachments of certain commanders, becoming a mercenary, and often simply hunted robbery

Military affairs were the prerogative of the feudal lords, and they did everything to prevent the participation of "rude peasants" in the battles as much as possible. Carrying weapons and riding were often prohibited for "bazaar merchants, peasants, artisans and officials." There were times when knights refused to take part in battles along with commoners and, in general, with infantry.

According to the spread of ideas in the knightly environment, a real knight had to come from a noble family. A self-respecting knight referred to a branching genealogical tree to confirm his noble origin, had a family coat of arms and a family motto.

Belonging to the camp was inherited, in rare cases they were knighted for special military exploits. The severity of the rules began to be violated with the development of cities - these privileges began to be bought more and more often.

In different countries, there were similar systems for educating knights. The boy was taught horseback riding, weapons - primarily a sword and a pike, as well as wrestling and swimming. He became a page, then a knight's squire. Only after that the young man was honored to go through the rite of initiation into a knight.

Knighting (1322-1326). Simone Martini.

There was also a special literature devoted to knightly "arts". The future knight was taught, in addition to another, and hunting techniques. Hunting was considered the second occupation worthy of a knight after the war.

The knights developed a special type of psychology. The ideal knight was obliged to have many virtues. It should be outwardly beautiful and attractive. Therefore, special attention was paid to clothing, decoration, physique.

The armor and harness, especially the parade ones, were real works of art. The knight required physical strength, otherwise he simply could not wear armor, which weighed up to 60-80 kg. Armor begins to lose its role only with the invention of firearms.

The knight was expected to constantly look after his glory. His valor had to be constantly confirmed, and many knights were in constant search of new opportunities for this.

"If there's a war here, I'll stay here", - said the knight in one of the ballads of the poetess Mary of France. There was nothing unusual in measuring strength with an unfamiliar opponent if he caused discontent at least in some way. Special knightly tournaments were organized. In the 11-13th century, the rules of knightly duels.

So, their participants had to use the same weapon. Most often, at first, the rivals rushed one at the other with a spear at the ready. If the spears broke, they took up the swords, then the mace. Tournament weapons were blunt, and the knights only tried to knock the opponent out of the saddle.

During the tournament, after many individual fights, which could last several days, they arranged the main competition - an imitation of the battle of two squads.

Knightly duels have become an integral part of the battles in the endless feudal wars. Such a duel took place before the battle, single combat ended with the death of one of the knights. If the fight was not held, then it was considered that the fight was started "not according to the rules." Standing solidarity was developed among the knights. History knows many examples of truly chivalrous behavior.

During the war between the Franks and the Saracens, one of the best knights of Charlemagne named Ogier challenged the Saracen knight to battle. When Ogier was captured by cunning, his opponent, disapproving of such methods, surrendered himself to the Franks so that they could exchange him for Ogier.

During one of the battles during the Crusades, Richard the Lionheart found himself without a horse. His rival Sayf-ad-Din sent him two war horses. In the same year, Richard knighted his rival.

The highest manifestation of knightly love for war, the aggressive desire of the feudal lords to seize new lands, supported by the Catholic Church, were the crusades to the East under the banner of protecting Christians and Christian shrines from Muslims.

In 1096 the first of them took place, and in 1270 the last. During their conduct, special military-religious organizations arise - knightly orders. In 1113, the Order of the Johnites, or Hospitallers, was founded. In Jerusalem, near the temple was the center of the order of the Templars, or templars. The order was ruled by the Grand Master, who submitted personally to the Pope.

Entering the order, the knights took oaths of obedience and humility. They wore monastic cloaks over knightly armor. The Teutonic Order played the main role in the aggression against the Slavic peoples.

The chivalric code was reflected in chivalric literature. Its peak is considered to be the secular lyric poetry of the troubadours in the vernacular, which originated in the south of France. They create a cult of the Beautiful Lady, serving which, the knight must adhere to the rules of "court".

"Courtoise", in addition to military prowess, required the ability to behave in a secular society, keep up a conversation, sing. A special ritual of grooming girls was developed. Even in love lyrics, in describing the knight's feelings for the mistress, characteristic terminology is most often used: oath, service, gift, seigneur, vassal.

Throughout Europe, the genre of chivalric romance is also developing. For his plot, ideal "knightly" love, military exploits in the name of personal glory, and dangerous adventures were obligatory. The novels broadly reflected the life and features of their time. At the same time, an interest in a separate human personality is already noticeable in them.

The most popular stories are about the Knights of the Round Table, about the legendary King of the Britons Arthur, the knight Lancelot, Tristan and Iseult. In many ways, thanks to literature, the romantic image of a noble medieval knight still lives in our minds.

Knighthood as a military and landowning estate arose among the Franks in connection with the transition in the VIII century from the people's foot army to the horse army of vassals. Being influenced by the church and poetry, it developed the moral and aesthetic ideal of a warrior, and in the era of the Crusades, under the influence of the spiritual and chivalric orders that arose at that time, it closed into a hereditary aristocracy.

The strengthening of state power, the preponderance of infantry over cavalry, the invention of firearms and the creation of a permanent army by the end of the Middle Ages turned feudal chivalry into a political class of untitled nobility.

Deprivation of knighthood

In addition to the knighting ceremony, there was also a procedure for de-knighting, usually (but not necessarily) culminating in the transfer of the former knight into the hands of the executioner.

The ceremony took place on a scaffold, on which the knight's shield was hung upside down (always with a personal coat of arms depicted on it), and was accompanied by the singing of prayers for the dead by a choir of a dozen priests.

During the ceremony, after each sung psalm, a knight in full dress was removed from any part of the knight's vestments (not only armor was removed, but also, for example, spurs, which were an attribute of knightly dignity).

After full exposure and another funeral psalm, the knight's personal emblem was broken into three parts (along with the shield on which it is depicted). After that, they sang the 109th psalm of King David, consisting of a set of curses, under the last words of which the herald (and sometimes the king himself personally poured cold water on the former knight, symbolizing purification. Then the former knight was lowered from the scaffold with the help of a gallows, the loop of which was skipped under the armpits.

The former knight, under the hooting of the crowd, was led to the church, where a real funeral service was performed on him, after which he was handed over to the executioner, if he was not prepared for a different punishment by the verdict that did not require the executioner’s services (if the knight was relatively “lucky”, then everything could be limited to the deprivation of knighthood).

After the execution of the sentence (for example, execution), the heralds publicly announced the children (or other heirs) “vile (literally, vilans in French vilain / English villain), deprived of ranks, not having the right to bear arms and appear and participate in games and tournaments, at court and at royal meetings, under fear of being stripped naked and carved with rods, like villans and born from an ignoble father.

Such a punishment was especially terrible for the German ministerialis, since even as knights (with the prefix background) they were formally considered “serfs”, and the deprivation of knightly dignity turned their descendants into real serfs.

Knightly prowess:

courage
fidelity
generosity
prudence (le sens, in the sense of moderation)
refined sociability, courtesy (courtoisie)
sense of honor (honneur)
liberty

Knightly commandments - to be a believing Christian, to guard the church and the Gospel, to protect the weak, to love the homeland, to be courageous in battle, to obey and be faithful to the lord, to speak the truth and keep one's word, to observe the purity of morals, to be generous, to fight against evil and protect good and etc.

Later, the novels of the Round Table, the Trouvers and Minnesingers, poeticized the refined court chivalry of the 13th century. Among the ministerial horsemen and squires who deserve knightly spurs at the courts of overlords, a cult of ladies could also arise.

The duty of obedience and respect towards the lord's wife, as a higher being, has turned into worship of the ideal of a woman and service to the lady of the heart, mostly a married woman, who is higher in social position than her admirer.

Hundred Years War between France and England in the 14th century. introduced the idea of "national honor" among the knights of both hostile countries.

Having already posted an article about two-handed swords, I realized that, in fact, I approached the issue from the wrong side. As the battle proved (yeah, on flambergs) in the blog. First of all, it would be worth deciding who a knight is. Not in the sense of a hero on a horse, clad in armor along with an animal, fighting in a tournament between the destruction of dragons. And who was generally called a knight.

I propose to deal with this issue. But I'm warning you now. The topic is in many ways boring to the teeth gnashing and of little interest. Because you will also have to dig into socio-legal and economic issues, the principles of organizing armies, etc., etc.

And for those who do not want to climb into the wilds, I will immediately give a result, to which I will summarize at the end of the post. The word "knight" means the following:

1. Just a heavily armed rider from the High Middle Ages. Warrior. Not an aristocrat.
2. A heavily armed rider who earns his bread and butter. The era of the late Middle Ages. Basically a mercenary. Maybe a nobleman (or maybe not).
3. An aristocrat without any "buts". Whose knighthood is all about naming (bearing material privileges) and maybe participating in tournaments.
4. An untitled nobleman who has the title of knight.

And now you can dive into the abyss of boredom.

The principle of vassal relations

Before you begin to understand chivalry, you need to decide on a few terms, without which nothing will be clear.

Vassal (French vassalité, from Latin vassus - “servant”) and overlord, seigneur (French suzerain from old French: suserain) is a system of hierarchical relations between feudal lords. It consists in the personal dependence of some feudal lords (vassals) on others (seigneurs).

Please note, "hierarchical relations". And not that "we are all servants of the sovereign." That is, it turns out such a ladder (specialists call it just that - “feudal ladder”). At the top is the ruler. For simplicity, let's call him the king.

One step below it are, say, dukes and earls. The accuracy of the titles is now unimportant - in different eras and in different states they were called differently. The essence is important - these are the owners of huge plots of land. Really big, not only with villages, but also with cities. And they are the owners. It is important.

So, the king is the overlord of the counts and dukes. They are his vassals. On the third step are the barons. These nobles could own their own land allotments (not owned by a count or a duke). Might as well not own it. Or they could just use them. But at the moment it doesn't matter. The important thing is that they were vassals of the count, he was their overlord. But! They were not considered vassals of the king. This is the whole essence of the expression: "The vassal of my vassal is not my vassal."

A step below the nobility is smaller, but the system is still the same. The baron is their overlord, they are his vassals, but not the vassals of the duke, and, moreover, the king.

Why is it so important? Because it explains the organization of troops, armies (and not only in Europe). The system of vassalage rested on a mutual oath (commendation, omazhe). According to her, the vassal was obliged to be on the council with his master, to carry out military service in the overlord's army (usually, for a limited time, for example, 40 days a year), to protect the borders of his possessions, and also, in case of defeat, to redeem the master from captivity. The lord was obliged to protect his vassal from a military attack.

Now let's see how, for example, the royal army was assembled. The king shouted at the earls and dukes. They called the barons. Barons are nobility. There is no regular army - it is not even close.
And what happens if one of the counts decides to send the ruler into the forest to catch squirrels? This happened frequently. The king simply lost a healthy piece of his army. And this situation spreads down the chain. Only the count was going to deal with the neighboring duke. I looked, and half of the barons are lounging around somewhere. And the second decided to change the lord altogether (it was possible). And it was not the count who dealt with the duke, but the duke of the count "explained".

How was knighthood paid?

Now you need to figure out what flax is, aka feud. Feud, fief (Latin feudum) or flax are lands granted to the vassal by the lord. And now, attention! Granted for use, with the right to receive income from them. And extremely rarely with the right of ownership and inheritance. That is, while you serve me - use it. You leave the service - everything will become mine again. Sometimes the lords were kind and left the right to use the lands for life.

By the way, sometimes a feud was simply called a fixed income (salary, in fact) or the right to receive income from land (only income - nothing more). But such a system was not very profitable for the seniors.
When the overlord transferred the feud to the vassal, the seigneur did not lose the right to own the same fief. As a result, the same fief was simultaneously owned by two or more persons. Appreciate the charm of such a solution.

And one moment. Feudal property was conditional and class character. The conditionality of feudal property was what I spoke about above. That is, while you serve, your flax is yours (well, or the right to receive income from it). But under such conditions, any person could manage the land, regardless of his social status.

But to own the land, completely and unconditionally, with the right to inherit, sell, transfer and all other rights, could only nobles - aristocrats, titled persons. Peasants and townspeople, even the rich, could not become owners of a fief without first receiving the nobility.

For further understanding: people who received a fief in use for military service were called ministerials (lat. ministeriales, from lat. ministerium - service, position). And the very fact of the transfer of flax as payment for the service was called beneficiation (from the Latin beneficium - good deed).

By the way, they were not always poor and unhappy people. A widely publicized fact. Werner von Bolland was a vassal of 43 different overlords, from whom he received a total of more than 500 fiefs, including 15 counties, and himself, in turn, had more than 100 fiefs.

And the last term worth considering. Let me remind you that the concept of "chivalry" arose in those days when there were no longer slaves, and there were no serfs yet. And there was a phenomenon called “precarium” (lat. precarium something given for temporary use, from lat. precarius temporary, transient) - the transfer of land with the condition of paying quitrent or working off corvee.

There were several types of precariae. But experts call the provided precarium the most influential on the development of society. Its essence was that the small owner of the land, under the pressure of certain, not always dependent circumstances, transferred the ownership of his land (that is, he gave his allotment) to a large land owner. And then he received the same land back, but already as a precaria, i.e., he was obliged to pay dues. This is how serfdom was born in Europe.

Where did the knights come from

Now let's decide who we will continue to call knights. Any dictionary will tell us that initially this word is translated as “horseman”. By the way, “cavalier”, “caballero”, “chevalier” are translated in the same way. Now this creates a lot of problems, because. often leads to confusion in translation. Especially if the source is translated, for example, from German into English, and then into Russian. What is meant? The same knight who is in armor and in the tournament? Just a rider? Nobleman?

But this is so, by the way. For now, I propose to simply talk about the knight as a heavily armed horseman. We will also keep silent about weapons and will not give a definition of "heavily armed".

It is generally accepted that the more or less formed foundation of chivalry is in the 8th century. And it was laid by Karl Martell - the mayor (senior dignitary) of the Frankish court. Frankish, not French. France didn't exist then. This man, who went down in history under the nickname of the Savior of Europe, became famous as a commander, strategist, economist, business executive. Quite successfully repelled the attacks of both the Germanic tribes and the Arabs. In the battle of Poitiers, the Arab expansion was stopped altogether.

But we are interested in the fact that it was he who appreciated the advantages of heavy (at that time heavy, of course) cavalry. But in fact, throughout its existence, this kind of troops faced the same problem - the cost of equipment and maintenance is too high. The price of one horseman was high, no matter how he armed himself - in chain mail, shell or, God forgive me, Maximilian armor.

Mr. Martel found a way around this problem. He, and later his descendants, began to distribute crown (belonging to the crown) lands to their warriors on the terms of beneficiation. That is, we give you land, and you serve us. True, most likely, the lion's share of the income received from the land went to pay for the existence of the temporary owner. But we are mainly interested in the fact that these combatants, who are now called for some reason the Italian word "gazinda", were not nobles.

The light cavalry was recruited from "non-free" people (vavassores, caballarii). Not yet serfs, but owning land according to the principle of precaria (paying dues). But from the quitrent class it was possible to rise to the ministerials.

That is, everything happened like this:

Step 1. Having received a position at the lord's court (or in his army) - get a precarium.
Step 2. Curry up to the status of a lightly armed horseman, distinguish yourself already in this field, and receive benefits.
Step 3. Move into the heavy cavalry and earn even more privileges and lands that you can use.

At this point, the term “knight” is already appearing, but so far it denotes only a heavily armed horseman who, for his service, was allocated flax on beneficiary terms. There is no talk of titles and nobility yet.

Next, I will almost verbatim quote the text from Wikipedia, because it is taken from the wonderful book by Rua J.J. and Michaud J.F. "The History of Chivalry". For the first time in Russia, it was translated from French and published in 1898 and republished in 2007 by the Eksmo publishing house.

The authors consider the development of chivalry on the example of Germany. This is due to the fact that, firstly, it was this country that actually became the "cradle" of the knights. And, secondly, most of the sources that have come down to our time are of German origin.

So, in Germany, ministerials from the 11th century. constituted a special class of dinstmanns (Dienstmannen), standing above the townspeople and the free rural population, immediately behind the free knights (meaning land owners who took a vassal oath and served the lord voluntarily). A sign of their unfree state was the inability to leave the service at will.

That is, heavily armed horsemen, knights, are already forming a privileged class. But you don’t know yet, yes, besides, they are dependent on their lord.

In northern Germany, where the princes distributed fiefs mainly to the dinstmanns, the nobility from the middle of the 12th century. began to move en masse to ministerials. That is, only from the 12th century. nobles, titled persons appear among the knights.

We translate into human language: noble, titled people, attracted by the opportunity to receive land plots and income from them, also wanted to be knights. At the same time, throughout Europe, knights are also given other "benefits". And chivalry, as an estate, is becoming more and more privileged. But this does not mean that a simple person cannot become a knight. Yes, making a career in this field is becoming increasingly difficult. But there are still opportunities.

But already in the 14th century. their non-free origin of the dinstmanns is forgotten.

Only aristocrats can now become knights, and this title itself takes on the character of an inherited one. And at the same time, an understanding of chivalry close to us is being formed: a rider in armor and with a spear, fighting for the honor of a beautiful lady. And certainly, at least, the count.

Now knighthood becomes impossible to "earn" - they are bestowed. And, for example, in England, even an untitled noble rank is a knight-bachelor. Elton John was knighted by Elizabeth II. Do you imagine him in armor?

And do not forget that at the same time (14-15 centuries) the value of a knight as a separate military unit comes to naught. Lenas are no longer distributed, chivalry becomes synonymous with aristocracy and generally takes on an ornamental and decorative character. Yes, there are still orders of chivalry and secret societies (knightly brotherhoods). But they should be discussed separately. And they practically do not participate in wars any more.

And now you can choose which knight we mean when talking about weapons and equipment.

In medieval culture, knighthood is not just a sign of honor, as in our world, when Queen Elizabeth knights Elton John. This is an occupation, a military profession. To be a knight, you need wealth - at least to buy yourself armor and a horse, and a knight has responsibilities. The knight must participate in battles, appear at the call of the lord, train and equip a squad of men at arms. Some people are physically unable to do all this (Willas Tyrell, Samwell Tarly), and they prefer the career of a septon, maester or just a lord in their estate. To others, the life of a knight is simply not interesting. Chivalry is also related to religion, and for this reason, followers of the Old Gods do not become knights, even if they are otherwise qualified as knights. Martin said so

History and spread of chivalry

Knight in plate armor and bascinet helmet. Ruisma illustration

The tradition of chivalry appeared at the time of the conquest of Westeros by the Andals. According to the annals of the Vale of Arryn - the first region of Westeros conquered by the Andals, the Andals already had heavy cavalry dressed in armor, and Andal heroes - for example, Artis Arryn - bear the title "sire" in the legends. Artys Arryn's silver armor and winged helmet made him easily recognizable among the Andal warriors.

Outside of Westeros, chivalry is associated with people from the Seven Kingdoms who have preserved chivalric traditions and faith in the Seven. On the lands of the Free Cities, knights - emigrants and descendants of emigrants who fled overseas for various reasons - are mainly engaged in mercenarism, fighting for one Free City, then for another: for example, Jorah Mormont fought in the war with the Braavos, and then entered the service to Viserys Targaryen, and Osmund Kettleblack served in the detachment of Glorious Cavaliers, fighting for the Fox, then for Tyrosh. Five hundred knights served in the mercenary unit of the Golden Company.

Qualities of a knight

Knight. Illustration by Jason Engle

Vows, books, songs, legends about famous knights given at knighthood created an ideal image of a noble warrior in the minds of Westerosians. In fact, very few people who wear a knighthood correspond to the bright image of a “true knight”. The manifestation of high knightly qualities arouses admiration and respect among others, while “false” knights, who have stained themselves with non-knightly deeds, are notorious.

The knight must:

In the songs, the knights never killed magical animals, such as, for example, white deer - they only approached and stroked.

It is worthy for a knight to achieve glory and honor, even if risking his life. To die fighting for your king is a glorious death for a knight.

A knight must guard his honor. It is unworthy to offend the weak and innocent; the belief that "true knights would do no harm to women and children" was not all that rare in Westeros. It is believed that no real knight will give consent to the murder of women. There are stories about knights and ladies who slept in the same bed, putting a sword between them - the knight thus demonstrated that he did not encroach on the honor of the lady. A knight must not kiss a lady without her permission.

The oath of one's knightly honor is sacred, the word of a knight is worth a lot. A good knight is honest in everything and always tells only the truth, even to enemies. A knight who has stained himself with robbery and violence can be deprived of his knighthood and put to death as a common criminal.

If a foot opponent comes out against a mounted knight for a one-on-one duel, it is worthy to dismount. It is shameful to win a duel in a dishonest way, for example, by killing a horse under an opponent; intentionally losing to a more noble and wealthy opponent is not considered a worthy deed, although it does not bring disgrace to the loser. It is dishonorable to lose weapons and armor in a tournament and not give them to the winner, even if this threatens the loser with the loss of a knighthood. Using the services of spies and informers dishonors the knight.

The knight is a sword on horseback. Everything else - vows, anointing and worship of beautiful ladies - are just ribbons that are tied to this sword. Maybe these ribbons make the sword more beautiful, but they do not prevent him from killing. Sandor Clegane // A Storm of Swords, Arya VI

Weapons and armor

The title of a knight implies more expensive weapons than ordinary soldiers. Although in general the descriptions of weapons and armor in Westeros are guided by the times of the Hundred Years War - the battles of Agincourt, Crécy and Poitiers, Martin easily and deliberately mixes elements from different centuries. For example, the word "halfhelm" (halfhelm), according to Martin, means a classic Norman helmet with an open face and a nosepiece - such were in use during the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century; conversely, full plate armor did not come into use until centuries later. Many knights use large topfhelm helmets, both visored and deaf; some characters even in war use unusual helmets that make their owners easily recognizable - such was, for example, the helmet of Robert Baratheon crowned with deer antlers, Jaime Lannister's lion helmet or the famous helmet of Sandor Clegane in the shape of a dog's head.

Martin sees some reasons for such a mixture in medieval practice - after each major battle of the Hundred Years War, changes took place in the armament of the parties, but at the same time old armor remained in use. In general, armor of a later era is used in the south of Westeros than in the north: while the knights of the Reach wear full plate, the warriors of the North are usually content with chain mail, and the wildlings behind the Wall wear even more primitive armor. Knights in Westeros make heavy use of crested shields, although in real history the combination of plate armor and off-hand shield was rarely used. Martin, in his own words, made this choice more for aesthetic reasons: "shields are cool."

Since knights usually fight on horseback, spurs serve as a knight's badge: knighting is said to "receive spurs". Wealthy knights and lords may wear golden spurs.

Pages and squires

Squire. RPG illustration by Pat Loboyko by Green Ronin

The preparation of the future knight begins at an early age. From the age of eight years and older, boys are given to be raised in another family - the house of a lord or a well-born knight, preferably a famous warrior. This practice is combined with the tradition of taking pupils and hostages from other houses. Small children often serve adults as pages(English) page) and butlers(English) cup-bearer), and this occupation is considered honorable and worthy even for people from noble houses. For example, Addam Marbrand served as a page at Casterly Rock as a child, and Merrett Frey at Crakehall Castle. Already at this age, children begin to be taught military affairs - to fight with wooden swords wrapped in cloth, ride a horse, exercise with stuffed animals, quintans and rings.

When a boy is old enough to be taken to war - by the age of twelve and sometimes even ten - he becomes squire(English) squire) of this or that knight. The squires are obliged to look after the weapons, armor and horses of the knight during the campaign, cook food, monitor the health of the knight, dress him in armor before the battle, and the like. Under the command of a knight, the squire must gain an understanding of the principles of chivalry, the foundations of knightly honor, duty, and fidelity; learn fencing, horseback riding and courtly etiquette. In reality, it all depends on which knight the squire serves. So, Podrick Payne was taught by his first knight owners how to clean a horse, choose pebbles from horseshoes and steal food, but they didn’t teach him how to wield a sword at all. On the contrary, Arlan Pennytree, even as a poor knight of the boundary, taught his squire Dunk to hold a sword and a spear, ride a war horse, trained him in heraldry and inspired maxims like “A true knight must be pure in body and soul” and “Always do more than that what is expected of you, and never less.

A squire who proves himself can be knighted by adulthood, although some especially noted squires are honored with this honor earlier - Jaime Lannister, for example, became a knight in his fifteenth year of life.

Having a squire is a matter of prestige for knights, and poor knights, like Arlan Pennytree, can take homeless boys as squires, promising to feed, teach and, in the uncertain future, knight them. On the contrary, rich and influential knights and lords can have several squires from noble houses at once - for example, Sumner Crakehall had at least four squires, including Jaime Lannister and Merrett Frey, and Jaime Lannister himself later took three teenagers of a noble family as squires — Lewis Piper, Garrett Pag and Josmin Peckledon. The friendship between a knight and his squire and the squires of one knight is for life; sometimes - as in the case of Renly Baratheon and Loras Tyrell - she turns into a homosexual affair.

The squire does not have to be a teenager at all. Manderly had squires under the age of forty , and the squires ' meal in the White - walled courtyard was dominated by old seasoned warriors . Such people never become knights - often they simply do not have enough money for their own weapons, armor and horses, sometimes they simply do not feel the desire to become knights, preferring to serve others faithfully.

... like an army sergeant who has no desire to become a lieutenant, much less a general. Martin said so

Knighting

Anointed Knight. RPG illustration by Pat Loboyko by Green Ronin

Any knight can knight any other person. The king can knight any of his subjects; not every lord can knight someone, but only a lord who is himself a knight. In other words, Baelor the Blessed, being a king, could knight people, and Eddard Stark, being a lord, but not being a knight, could not.

The usual way to become a knight is from childhood until the age of sixteen or eighteen to serve another knight as a squire, proving himself and proving his right to become a knight. Valor shown in a military campaign or a successful performance in a squire tournament may be grounds for knighting. This is true even for people who have never been squires, but who proved themselves in war and were rewarded with a knighthood for this: for example, the northerner Jorah Mormont was knighted as a distinction for bravery during the assault on Pike at the end of Balon Greyjoy's rebellion. Former smuggler Davos Seaworth received a knighthood in gratitude "for the bow" - during the siege of Storm's End, he secretly smuggled a cargo of onions and fish into the castle and thereby saved Stannis Baratheon and his people from starvation.

Fathers, uncles or older brothers, being knights, can knight younger members of the family, a knight can knight his squire, but more often it is done by another knight - as famous and famous as possible, which could only be found, best of all a knight of the Royal Guard , the prince or the king himself. So, Jaime Lannister served as a squire to Sumner Crakehall, but he received initiation from the famous knight of the Royal Guard Arthur Dane; Barristan Selmy served as squire to Manfred Swann and was knighted by King Aegon V Targaryen. Gregor Clegane was knighted by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. All who deserved a knighthood in the battle of the Blackwater - more than six hundred people - were initiated by only three knights of the Kingsguard: Balon Swann, Merrin Trant and Osmund Kettleblack, although many thousands of less famous knights were in the capital at that moment.

Martin compares initiation to earning a college degree in our world:

Why do people aspire to get into Harvard, and not get by with a college degree in their hometown? It is very prestigious to be knighted by a king, a prince, one of the knights of the Kingsguard, or some other celebrity. Getting a knighthood from a brother is like kissing a sister (Jaime Lannister and the Targaryens don't apply), and getting a knighthood from a county boundary knight is like graduating from barber school. You will get "crusts", but after that you should not aim for a university graduate school. Martin said so

No one forbids a knight to knight a commoner or even a bastard. However, social pressure usually prevents self-serving knights from knighting anyone they want for money: knighthood and the high status of knighthood are of great importance in the society of Westeros, and the knight who has stained himself with such an act, as well as those whom he dedicated, can easily be outcasts. Nevertheless, there were such precedents: Duncan the Tall heard stories of how knighthood was achieved by bribes or threats, and the knighthood of Glendon Flowers was bought by his sister's virginity - a penniless knight agreed to knight the young man in exchange for the opportunity to sleep with a virgin. However, Beric Dondarrion, guided by his idealistic views, knighted his entire partisan detachment - the Brotherhood without Banners - from young to old and regardless of the presence of weapons and armor.

Knight's anointing. Illustration by Nicole Cardiff

Before being knighted, the initiate is required to endure the all-night prayer in the sept, from dusk to dawn. The heavenly patron of the knights is one of the seven hypostases of God - the Warrior, and the future knights pray to him, laying down the sword and armor at the image of the Warrior and remaining in one white shirt made of undyed wool, symbolizing purity and humility. In the capital, the Great Sept of Baelor can be used for this, or when on the march, initiates can spend the night at the nearest village sept they can find.

In the morning, the initiate is obliged to confess to the septon and be anointed, according to the rite of the Seven, with seven oils. At best, confession and anointing are taken over by the high septon himself, which gives the initiation a special prestige; thus, for example, Ser Jorah Mormont received the anointing from the high septon. Those who have gone through this rite are called anointed knights.

Wearing the same shirt, the initiate goes barefoot to the place of initiation, where, in the presence of witnesses, he kneels before the initiating knight. The knight with a naked sword, turned flat, lightly strikes the shoulders of the initiate, alternately on the right shoulder and on the left, pronouncing the formulas of vows in the name of the Seven. The initiate must swear to keep these vows.

Raymun of the House of Fossoway,” he began solemnly, touching the squire’s right shoulder with his blade, “in the name of the Warmaster I oblige you to be brave. - The sword lay on the left shoulder. - In the name of the Father I oblige you to be just. - Back to the right. - In the name of the Mother, I oblige you to protect the young and innocent. - Left shoulder. - In the name of the Virgin, I oblige you to protect all women ... The boundary knight

The full text of knightly vows is not given in the books, only the general content is known: "... to be a true knight, honor the seven gods, protect the weak and innocent, faithfully serve my master and fight for your country." Obviously, the list of vows also includes some vows in the name of the Elder, personifying wisdom and insight, and the Blacksmith, personifying health, strength and stamina, and - with a much lesser probability - a vow in the name of the seventh face of God - the Unknown. The Unknown personifies death, and believers in the Seven avoid mentioning him in vain.

After the initiate in the name of the gods swears to fulfill these vows, the knight again strikes the initiate on the shoulder and says: “Arise, sire <имя> ". It is from this moment that the initiate becomes a knight, can rise from his knees and fasten his belt with a sword.

Of course, many initiations are performed away from the septa, without witnesses, under conditions of time pressure, even right on the battlefield, so the initiation is reduced to hitting the kneeling initiate with a sword on the shoulders and pronouncing knightly vows. This is how Duncan the Tall, Rolly Duckfield, and Osmund Kettleblack (if the latter was ever knighted) were knighted. However, even this truncated initiation gives a person the right to consider himself a knight.

COURSE WORK

Theme:

"Knighthood in the Middle Ages"

Introduction

FROM the Middle Ages ... more than 500 years separate us from this era, but it's not just about time. Today it is generally accepted that we know everything about the world. For schoolchildren of the 20th century, the ABC is what many minds struggled with in the 16th century. However, who among us at least occasionally did not dream of being in the Middle Ages!

In our rational souls lives nostalgia for bygone times for great people and ideas that are so lacking in our days. In addition, the Middle Ages managed to connect the functions of a concrete mind with the consciousness of the sacred, to understand the place of man in the universe and thereby recreate values based on the heritage of past centuries.

And, undoubtedly, one of the most remarkable phenomena of the Middle Ages is the system of chivalry, which absorbed the deep essence of ancient traditions and resurrected eternal values and the highest virtues to life.

And the main goal of my term paper is to present in the “original purity of the pearl” the idea of chivalry as a model of existence in troubled times. The stated goal of my work determined the choice of the following tasks. Firstly, the study of the knightly worldview and worldview, its traditions and way of life. It is through this system of views on the world, in my opinion, that one can more fully understand the essence of the phenomenon of chivalry. And secondly, consideration of chivalry in the form in which it should ideally be.

As the main source of information, I used, first of all, a book called "Knight's Encyclopedia" by A. Soldatenko, which, in my opinion, absorbed all the most basic things that you need to know to understand knightly life and customs. Ancillary literature for me was K. Ivanov's "Many Faces of the Middle Ages" and J. Roy's "History of Chivalry", as well as a number of other manuals on this topic.

1. Characteristic features of chivalry

1.1 Knighthood

chivalry phenomenon worldview middle ages

Medieval society was clearly divided into estates according to the ranking. Each of them served its purpose. The clergy were to ensure that everyone had communion with God. Peasants - to work for everyone. Chivalry - to fight for all and rule over all.

Both the “one-shielded” knight, who had nothing but an old weapon and a faithful horse, and the baron-landowner, and the king himself all belonged to this honorary class. But they were not equal. If you arrange the knights along the hierarchical ladder, that is, according to their position in the estate, the importance of the title, you get such a picture ...

At the very top, of course, is the king, the first knight of the kingdom. A step below is the duke, or prince. In terms of nobility, antiquity of the family, if they are inferior to the king, then very few - these are the descendants of ancient tribal leaders and elders. By inheritance from their ancestors, they inherited vast confluences - duchies.

Another thing is the county. Initially, it is not from the ancestors - from the king. Among the Franks, the governor of the king in the province was called a count. In the border provinces - the Marches - the Margrave, or Marquis, ruled. At times he wielded even more power than the count.

In the days of the Frankish kingdom, the count was entitled to a deputy who acted as governor in his absence - a viscount.

Rank below - Baron. He received in management and possession of land - benefices - from the king or another, more titled than the knight himself. Barons are sometimes referred to as all landed knights.

The baron, in turn, gave small benefices to other knights. They set up castles on this land and turned into chattels, that is, the owners of the castle.

And at the very bottom of the hierarchy are simple knights who have neither castles nor land. Their destiny is to serve with the barons and chattels for a salary.

Receiving a salary or land from the king or landowner, the knight became his servant - a vassal, and he became a seigneur, that is, a master.

The vassal swore an oath to remain faithful to the lord, to assist him in the fight against enemies, to appear fully armed at the first call. The lord promised not to burden the vassal with service for more than 40 days a year, to protect him from enemies, and if the knight died in battle, to take care of his family. He handed the kneeling knight a sword or a wand symbolizing him - as a sign of power over the land given to the beneficiary of the vassal.

Each knight was someone's vassal or lord. Only the king did not have a lord in his own country. Dukes and earls were considered vassals of the king, but he could not interfere in the affairs of their confluences or demand service from their vassals. There was an inviolable principle: "The vassal of my vassal is not my vassal." The only exception was England, where each knight was simultaneously a vassal of both the baron and the king.

So, a knight is a person standing between “free” and “not free”. Chivalry became a genuine phenomenon of the Middle Ages precisely because of a very special intermediate social status. A knight is not a completely free person, because he follows the orders of his master - whether it be a king commanding a ministerial, or a lord giving orders to a vassal. But the knight serves his master of his own free will, independently taking an oath of vassal allegiance. By virtue of his duties, he carries weapons, and this distinguishes him not only from dependent people, but also from many free ones.

But even more interesting is the division on a different basis. “A warrior is certainly not a person of a spiritual rank, since his profession is military affairs. But in the Middle Ages, knights were not included in the worldly people either. With all the desire of the medieval consciousness to divide the whole world into two parts (God and the Devil, worldly and heavenly, church and laity), warriors fall out of this harmonious and not devoid of internal logic system. Just such a division helps to understand the essence of chivalry in the Middle Ages.

1.2 Knightly upbringing

“True chivalry was the path of the mystical union of the soul with God, for which it was necessary, according to M. Eckhart, “to renounce oneself,” that is, a person had to renounce any of his own will that would separate him from God, in order to to become an instrument of truth and justice. The path of the knight is a path of inner transformation based on serving "God, woman and king", showing compassion and mercy, and guiding all enterprises with the duty of honor."

So how did they become knights? In the early Middle Ages, anyone who received possession of land, lived on income from it and could perform military service could become a knight. Often knighted and especially distinguished servants of large seniors. A large number of ordinary warriors were elevated to knighthood after the First Crusade. So many knights died in battles with the Saracens that they had to make up for the losses in this way - otherwise the crusader states formed after the conquest of the Middle East would have been populated entirely by ministerials and knights.

This indulgent generosity was not very expensive for the surviving born seigneurs: with the advent of new states, they themselves increased their rank, and the presence of new lands allowed them to produce even barons without prejudice to themselves.

But already in the XII century, people from the lower classes were not allowed into the knighthood. So, in France in 1137, King Louis VI issued a decree according to which all knighted commoners solemnly - on a dunghill - beat off the spurs. From that time on, only the son of a knight could be awarded a knighthood. But before you deserve it, you had to go through the difficult school of knightly education.

“It began when the boy was seven years old: the father gave his son to his lord, and the boy became a damuaso, a knight's apprentice. For the first seven years he served as a page. He lived among the seigneur's servants, served him at the table, cleaned his horse and at the same time gained experience, learned the wisdom of knightly life. Over the years of training, damuazo had to master the seven knightly arts: horseback riding, swimming, shooting from a fart, fisticuffs, falconry, adding poetry and playing chess. Only by excelling in these seven arts, one could become a full member of the chivalric society.

The page is a kind of novice, whose task was to silence his thoughts and emotional voices so that they do not distort the real picture of the world around him. Upon successful completion of this stage, the page was ordained as a squire by a special symbolic rite, in which he was first given a battle sword - a continuation of himself, an instrument of his will and higher spirit. The squire embarked on the path of struggle, where he had, first of all, to defeat the forces of chaos within himself and change internally in order to gain integrity and purity.

And here it becomes incomprehensible to me that the ability to read and write was not at all considered obligatory. “Why is it a brave warrior? Many knights were even proud of their illiteracy. They were quite enough of other virtues inherent in the knight himself, and not in some lawyer or scribe, who is no longer capable of anything!

1.3 Rite of knighthood

The rite of knighting became a sign of affirmation of the squire's victory over himself. The rite of initiation into warriors came to medieval Europe from the ancient Germans. From ancient times, this ritual was adopted among them: a young man who had reached maturity was solemnly handed weapons, in the presence of tribal elders and warriors. Usually the ceremony was performed by the leader of the tribe, the father of the future warrior, or one of the older relatives. Later, the initiation ritual passed to the Franks. It is known, for example, that in In 791, Carp the Great girded his son Louis with a sword. Subsequently, this event was arranged more and more magnificently. The initiation took place when the damoiseau reached the age of majority - 21 years old. The celebration itself was timed to coincide with the church holidays of Easter, that is, in the spring - or Pentecost - at the beginning of summer. Both the initiate himself and his entire family prepared for it. The day before, the young man carried the "night watch" - he spent the night in the church of the altar in concentration and prayer.

This poetic custom of spending the whole night under the vaults of the temple developed and dominated in France and from ancient times took place in judicial duels, in single combat between the offender and the offended. “So, the Latin water chronicle, ending in 1029, tells of a similar duel. At the same time, it is reported that the winner went on foot to thank one saint, to the very temple in which he spent the whole night preceding the duel. Then this custom was timed to coincide with the rite of knighthood.

In the morning the young man stood at Mass. Before the church service, he was to lay the sword on the altar. This meant that the future knight gave his weapon to the service of God. The priest consecrated the sword and gave the young man communion. Then the initiate took a bath and was dressed in special clothes made of linen and silk.

At first they put on a white shirt, and over it - a scarlet surcoat: a long sleeveless jacket. On her feet are brown stockings. Both the clothes themselves and their colors - everything was determined by stable symbolism. The white color personified the purity of the young man, scarlet - the color of the blood that the knight will shed for faith and goodness, brown - the color of the earth, to which every mortal returns, having fulfilled his life path.

The main part of the initiation is the girdling with a knight's belt and the presentation of the sword. The rite was performed by the lord of the future knight or his most respected relative. The sons of large barons - vassals of the king - were usually consecrated by the king himself.

The old knights tied the young man with gilded spurs, which, like the sword, could only be worn by a knight. Commoners were simply punished for it.

At the end of the ceremony, the new knight received an alapa from the lord - a blow to the neck or cheek. Alapa is the only blow that a knight could leave unanswered. Sometimes a blow with a hand was replaced by a blow on the shoulder with a sword blade - naturally, flat. This custom has been interpreted in different ways. First - as a symbol of the fact that, dedicating his servant to the warriors, the seigneur gives him freedom. Then - as a test of the knight's humility before the lord.

The ritual ended with a demonstration of the dexterity of the young knight. Most often it was a complex of ordinary tournament exercises. For example, it was necessary, without touching the stirrups, to jump into the saddle and hit the targets with a spear at a gallop. The celebration ended with a feast.

Ideally, such a system of education should have become "a real path of spiritual search, where numerous trials of faith, devotion, love and courage led to the complete transformation of a person."

In his further journey, the knight had to be guided by a code of honor or knightly charter, which gave the criteria for Good and Evil, established a hierarchy of values and norms of behavior that the knight swore to observe. “And there was no dishonor worse than violating the debt of honor or betraying the ideals of the brotherhood of knights. And there was no higher honor than to be known as a “knight without fear and reproach”, who glorified the name with countless deeds and high merits.”

2. Knight tournaments

The way of life of a knight is the way of life of a person who has completely devoted himself to military affairs. By the end of the 11th - beginning of the 12th century, there were relatively few among the knights who themselves worked in their own field: the knights either went bankrupt and started to wander, or became rich, acquired large feuds, received benefices for serving in the army of the lord and delegated economic affairs to their dependent people. The military duties of the knights included defending the honor and dignity of the suzerain, and most importantly, his land from encroachment both by neighboring feudal rulers in internecine wars and by troops of other states in the event of an external attack. In the context of civil strife, the line between defending one's own possessions and seizing foreign lands was rather shaky, and a champion of justice in words often turned out to be an invader in deed, not to mention participation in conquest campaigns organized by the royal government, such as, for example, numerous campaigns of German emperors in Italy, or by the Pope himself, like the Crusades.

In peacetime, the knight, as a rule, took part in jousting tournaments, which first began to take place in the 9th century.

In the XII and XIII centuries. tournaments were extremely dangerous for the participants, as they were held only on military weapons and in ordinary, non-reinforced armor (the main type of armor at that time was chain mail, which poorly held a piercing blow, especially spear). About where, when, on what occasion the tournament will be held, the messengers usually notified in advance - two or three weeks in advance (in especially solemn occasions - several months in advance). Tournament participants were divided into two teams, usually on a territorial or national basis. Often the Normans and the English united against the French. Other singles who arrived at the tournament either joined already established groups or formed their own.

The main form of tournament fights in the XII century. there were group fights (melee). The fight usually began with a horse-spear clash. The main goals of the horse-spear clash were to dislodge the enemy from the saddle or "break" his spear on his shield. In the first case, strength and dexterity were demonstrated, and a large distance was chosen. In the second case, the knight showed his ability to withstand a spear blow without falling off his horse.

In order for the knights not to use the tournaments to settle their own scores, the warriors took an oath that they would participate in the tournaments only to improve the martial art.

“By participating in tournaments, the knights pursued two goals: to demonstrate their prowess and earn extra money. The fact is that the winner received the armor and the horse of the loser. Their cost has always been incredibly high - it was 30-50 heads of cattle. Moreover, the knight himself was often taken prisoner in the hope of getting a ransom for him. William Marshall, who later headed the king's horse guard, made a fortune in tournaments (for 10 months in 1177, he, along with another knight, captured 103 rivals). Only in the XIII century. this custom became symbolic: the winner received only part of the armor, such as a spur or plume from a helmet.

"At the end of the thirteenth century. more secure tournament rules are introduced - StatusArmarium. In the middle of this century, a special blunted tournament weapon appeared, called the weapon of the world. . A special list of prohibitions determined the sequence of use of different types of weapons, as well as parts of the body that were allowed (or prohibited) to strike. Most often it was forbidden to attack the opponent's legs and his right hand, not covered by a shield. When hitting any forbidden zone, the knight was given penalty points, and if this blow led to a wound, then victory was automatically awarded to the wounded. It was also forbidden to act as a group against one knight (which was often practiced before).

Tournaments become not only battles of knights, but also acquire the features of theatrical performances. One of Ulrich von Liechtenstein's adversaries arrived at the tournament dressed in the black robes of a monk and even wore a wig with a shaved crown over his helmet! There is also a mention of the adventure of this knight and his companions, when they dressed in the clothes of King Arthur and his courtiers. Tournaments were accompanied by dancing and other games. The final duel began to be dedicated to the ladies.

At the beginning of the XIII century. ladies become patronesses of tournaments. This was obviously due to the emergence of the ideals of romantic love, sung in chivalric romances of the 12th century. (Novels about King Arthur and his knights were especially popular, which probably gave the idea of organizing a round table). Since that time, it has become fashionable among chivalry to wear the colors of their lady. As a special favor to the knights, the ladies gave them the accessories of their toilet.

“One of the battles of the Hundred Years War, the Battle of the Thirty, was very reminiscent of a tournament. It took place in 1350 in Brittany. The small French garrison of Joscelin Castle was surrounded on English territory. From the French and English sides, 30 people each took part in this battle: 25 on foot and 5 on horseback. After listening to mass, they began a battle in an open field. After some time, the soldiers were already so exhausted that the commanders took them to rest. Then the battle resumed again. Many were killed in this battle, and those who survived were captured by the winners, who turned out to be the French. The captives were courteously allowed to heal their wounds and then ransomed. Froissart, who saw one of the participants in the battle, reports that his face was so chopped up that it was hard to even imagine how hard this battle was.

The most important innovation of the XV century. there was a barrier that separated the cavalry opponents in a spear encounter. The use of the barrier made the fights much safer.

In the XV century. the form of a tournament called pas d "arms is becoming especially popular. Such tournaments were organized based on a story, and the fight itself was only part of it. Not only fights with a spear (jausts) were allowed, but also group foot and horse fights (mele) with swords or maces.In this type of tournament, an artificial embankment or a specially fenced place (platform) was often used, usually with a tree located inside or near it, called the "Knight's tree".On the platform or on the tree itself (if there was one), tenans hung out their shields, and the color of the shield corresponded to a certain type of battle.

An interesting fact is that it was at the tournaments of the first half of the 15th century. a tradition was born that still exists today - a handshake that the knights exchanged after the battle as a sign that they do not hold evil against each other.

Spear fights were the most common type of tournament, but far from the only one. Great popularity in the XV century. won horse fighting with maces and blunt swords, foot combat (single or group) without a barrier or with a barrier. During the so-called field tournament, the knights were divided into two groups and attacked each other in a linear manner, imitating a horse attack, as on a battlefield. Here all the fighters and their horses were clad in battle armor, and a spear with a sharp tip served as a weapon. Usually the purpose of the fight was to "break the spear", and the knights appeared without swords. But sometimes, after a spear clash, the knights switched to sword fighting.

The Italian duel was subdivided into a duel of peace and a duel of war. In the first case, special tournament weapons and spears with a root were used, and in the latter case, combat armor and sharp spears. After using spears, opponents removed additional plates and took up blunt swords. The melee fight was similar to this, except that many fighters took part in it. Foot tournament in the XVI century. often arranged before equestrian competitions. The fight was carried out through a wooden barrier, and the main weapon was a spear, which was held with two hands. The goal was to break the opponent's spear, and each participant was allowed to break 5-6 spears in battle.

"By the 17th century. Serious tournaments are almost non-existent. Only in some parts of Western Europe did they take place until the beginning of the 18th century. The general decline in interest in tournaments was associated with the advent of regular armies and the improvement of firearms. Maneuvering on the battlefield and operational possession of a musket came to the fore in the preparation of a warrior. The armor-piercing of the latter in the 17th century. increased so much that the armor lost its significance and was gradually abandoned. The ramming blow with a spear lost its meaning even earlier. All this made the tournament useless in terms of training a warrior, turning it into a theatrical performance, not a very dangerous game.

Types of tournament fights

Fight type	Propagation time	Types of weapons	The task of the participants
Spear duel	XIV-XVI centuries (XII-XIII centuries - a rarity)	A spear (lance)	Dismount the enemy from the saddle, "break" the spear or activate the spring mechanism
Group fight (mele)	12th–16th centuries	Spear, sword	Dismount the most opponents from the saddle, "break" the most spears, and/or land the most sword strikes
Mace fight	15th century - first quarter of the 16th century	Mace and blunt sword	Shoot down the crest
foot combat	13th–16th centuries (most popular in the 15th-16th centuries).	Swords, maces, alshpis, axes and axes, spears and bodywork, daggers, dusaks and battle flails	Inflict a certain number of blows or break the opponent's spear
Amusing siege (charmützel)	XIV-XVI centuries	Everything from swords and spears to flowers and hollow cannonballs	Capture a fortress or hold it

3. Knightly etiquette

Chivalric honor, chivalrous love, chivalrous behavior - all these concepts, now common nouns, were not originally inherent in chivalry at all. The principles underlying European etiquette have really spread from the European noble army. However, it, in turn, adopted them from the "infidels" - in the "pagan" East during the aggressive crusades.

It was at this time - in the XII century - that the former simplicity and even rudeness of knightly mores were replaced by strict and refined norms of courtly behavior.

“Courtoisie - a kind of set of rules of knightly etiquette - has developed in the south of France, in Provence. The Provençal poets-singers troubadours and trouvères were the first to use in their works the refined and figurative techniques of oriental poetry, previously not accepted in gloomy Europe. Their heroic and lyrical songs glorified knightly valor, among which martial art, courage and strength were only an addition to other virtues - fidelity to duty, generosity and selflessness, generosity, sacrifice in love. There were many forms of courtly poetry in Provence, but the most common were the canson, alba, ballad, pastorela, tenson, lament, sirventes.

Kansona ("song") in a narrative form set out a love theme. Alba (“morning dawn”) was dedicated to earthly, shared love. It told that after a secret rendezvous, lovers parted at dawn, and about the approach of dawn they were warned by a servant or friend on guard. The ballad at that time meant a dance song. Pastorela is a song that tells about the meeting of a knight and a shepherdess. Crying is a song in which the poet yearns, mourns his share, or mourns the death of a loved one. Tenson is a poetic dispute in which either two poets take part, or a poet and a Beautiful Lady, a poet and Love. Sirventes is a song that already raises social issues, the main of which is: who is more worthy of love - a courteous commoner or an inglorious baron?

The works of the troubadours were so popular that the images they created, the ideas carried through them, gradually formed a certain set of qualities of an ideal knight, a code of knightly morality, and norms of behavior.

Following the Provencal troubadours, these norms were popularized in the works of singers from other French regions, German minnesingers, in later chivalric novels, which, by the way, were also originally poetic.

So the now legendary chivalrous manners gradually formed - as the European chivalry learned the rules of courtly behavior. They assumed sophistication and courtesy, the ability to behave in society. Particular attention was paid to the art of serving the lady.

The ideal of courtly love is sublime and inaccessible. There could not be a decent knight without a lady of the heart , to whom he dedicated his deeds, with whose name he went to a duel, publicly swore love and fidelity, which he forced the defeated enemy to glorify. But there could be no question of uniting with the object of his passion.

The chain of chivalrous love is in service, in suffering, and not in possession. Therefore, as a rule, a married woman was elected as a lady of the heart - this was a guarantee of her inaccessibility. It is no coincidence that both Tristan and Lancelot languish in love with married women - otherwise it would be unworthy of the novel.

Nevertheless, the knight had something to achieve in love. He went through several stages of service. At the first stage - lurking - the knight was only supposed to sigh, not having the right to open up to his chosen one. Only when the lady herself noticed the inconsolable admirer, he could beg her for attention and indulgence. This is the next step - praying . And only then did he smile at the happiness of becoming officially recognized as a lover - a fan . In this status, he had the right to openly declare his love and devotion. And if a beautiful lady singled him out among all the men who sought her favor - she gave him all sorts of signs of attention like small memorabilia - a happy admirer passed into the rank of a lover . Sometimes he even deserved a kiss. A truly courtly knight did not dare to dream of more.

Which, however, did not at all prevent him from behaving much more freely in relations with other women, especially of the lower classes, and not neglecting violence during raids and wars.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, due to the narrow scope of the term paper, I was unable to grasp a lot, regarding chivalry. But nevertheless, having analyzed at least the questions raised, it is easy to understand how complex the structure of chivalry was. In the Middle Ages, chivalry constituted a fairly extensive stratum of the social stratum, and also occupied a fairly significant place in the estate hierarchy. Chivalry also plays an important role in the history of mankind, who among us is not familiar with the history of the Crusades?

Romance, strength and beauty were inherent in the knights in fact. And just as a new day is born in the deepest darkness of the night, so in the depths of feudal fragmentation and lawlessness a system of chivalry was born.

Serving God, the lady - the bearer of the highest wisdom and the keeper of virtues and the sovereign - the conductor and guarantor of the "cosmic" order in society for the knight was the highest duty, ideally performed on three planes - spiritual, mental and physical, which allowed him to become the perfect image of a deity .

In addition, it was under the influence of knightly culture that several new trends in Western European literature were formed - courtly literature appears. Courtly culture and courtly literature were one whole. Historians note that in the XIV-XV centuries such important elements of the life of feudal lords as knightly tournaments are guided by literary images and turn into a skillful and sophisticated game.

The canons of chivalrous love, service to a lady have left their mark on the etiquette of secular and cultural behavior in general, the manners of courting a lady, which are also accepted in modern society. However, like many other rules of good form observed today.

And now the man accompanies the lady to his right - this is what the knights did so as not to touch the companion with a sword or sword hanging on the left. When meeting, the men shake hands with each other, removing the glove - this is how the knights demonstrated that there are no weapons in their right hand. The salute of the military is nothing more than a repetition of the gesture of a knight who raised his visor. When meeting a friend, they showed their face so that he would be convinced that he was his own, and the enemy - so that he knew who he was dealing with.

It is quite difficult to give a clear definition of medieval chivalry. Chivalry, a phenomenon of the Middle Ages, one of the most striking features of that era, was too multifaceted a phenomenon to be reduced to a cover or a statue in a museum.

Bibliography

1) Koningsberger G. Medieval Europe. 400–1500 years. - M .: "The whole world", 2001

2) Ivanov K.A. "The Many Faces of the Middle Ages". - M .: "Alteya", 2001

3) Nosov K.S. "Knight Tournaments". - St. Petersburg: "Polygon", 2002

4) Rua J.J. "The History of Chivalry". - M .: "Aleteya", 2001

5) Soldatenko A. "Knight's Encyclopedia". - M.: ABC "MEDINVEST". 1994

Not easy; therefore, before wearing it, one must undergo training. To bear this weapon is an honor; therefore, before you put it on yourself, you must be declared worthy of this honor. No one is born a knight: a man becomes a knight by virtue of a solemn act; the king himself must be knighted. Let us briefly outline the customs of knightly education and initiation.

Armor and weapons of medieval knights

Every young nobleman who is to become a knight begins by learning the trade of a military man: learning to ride a horse, wield a weapon, climb a ladder. But he can be trained either in his father's house (especially the sons of noble parents do this), or with a stranger (as, apparently, they usually did). In most cases, the father sends his son to some lord richer than himself, who takes the young man into his service and feeds him; hence the word nourri (pet), often found in medieval ballads (senior says: mon nourri).

Knightly training is accompanied by service as a squire, and the service as a room servant, characteristic of knightly customs, is associated with the latter. The squire helps his master to dress and undress; he serves dishes and serves at the table; he makes beds. These services, which the ancient man considered humiliating and placed on his slaves, become honorable in the eyes of the medieval nobility (they were already so in the eyes of the Germans; Tacitus mentions this).

During this period, which lasts from five to seven years, the young noble, called a squire, or damoiseau (little lord), is not allowed to bear arms.

Knights. Fragment of the Ghent Altarpiece by Jan van Eyck

When he has completed his studies—usually between the ages of 18 and 20—if he is rich enough to lead the life of a knight, he enters the knighthood through the military rite that the chivalric poems describe.

Knights. Movie 1. Chained in Iron

A young man, having bathed in a bath, puts on chain mail and a helmet. The knight, sometimes the father of the initiate, but more often the lord who fed him, hangs a sword from his belt, which he will constantly wear from now on. This main part of the ceremony is called adouber. Usually the knight hits the young man hard on the back of the head with his fist; it's called colèe. Then the new knight mounts a horse, takes a spear and, at full gallop, strikes a pre-prepared effigy; it's called quintaine. Such is the procedure for knighting in the 12th century.

Sometimes it is limited to even one act - a blow to the back of the head: this is done when they want to avoid expenses. The historian Beaumanoir tells of one effect, which, in order to be considered valid, had to be produced by a certain number of knights. Since one knight was missing, a certain nobleman was immediately knighted. One of the knights hit him and said, "Be a knight."

Knights. Film 2. In the name of honor and glory