Posted by Sir Randal of Elstow on January 29, 1998 at 05:42:47:
Glimpses
Human exemplars of the god-like virtues of faith,
courage, gallantry, compassion, and aid to the weak
and oppressed. There are those who believe that knights
were only smelly brutal men in rusty armour, superstitious
and greedy, who lived upon the labour of the peasants and
went on wars of conquest on the excuse that they were obey-
ing their kings.
The reality was quite different. The orders and rituals
of knighthood were clearly established and the great brother-
hood would never have accepted such unsuitable members. A man
could not even become a knight unless he was a youth of noble
blood, and he had to beg an established knight to take him into
service. Acceptance was by no means certain, because a knight's
squire had to combine youthful beauty with the promise of superb
manhood. He had to entertain the knight by singing sweetly to
the lute, act as messenger between the knight and suitable ladies,
serve him gracefully at dinner, and generally act as body servant,
confidant, and admirer, always prepared to heap lavish praise
upon his master for some deed of gallantry.
Sometimes this apprenticeship was cut short when a knight
was captured in battle. It was appropriate for the squire to
offer himself for ransom, and stay in captivity while the knight
rode off and tried to raise the ransom.
If all went well, the time would come for the squire to win
his spurs. The armourers fitted him with his first armour and
made his lance, sword, and poignard, while the heralds worked
out an appropriate device for his shield. If the squire
could afford it he bought various magic charms to protect himself
against evil.
The young knight practised ardently in the tiltyard in order
to grow accustomed to his armour and weapons, until it was time
for his first tournament. The ladies in the audience assessed him
carefully as he took his place in the lists, and tittered mock-
ingly if his opponent unseated him with a great clangour of armour.
After the first tests of skill in courage the knight rode forth
in search of noble deeds. If he was fortunate there would be a war
against enemies of the kingdom, but if not then he had to sally
forth alone. By that time he would have fallen in love with some
demure virgin, and she gave him a glove or scarf to wear on his
helmet. Some older knights wore ladies' stockings streaming from
their helms, but a young knight was so pure in heart that such a
sight made him blush with embarrassment.
On this first knightly journey he had no need of a squire or
other retainers. His armour shone brightly without polishing and
the light of beckoning glory sustained him without food or sleep.
As the hooves of his charger beat along the forest paths he looked
eagerly for some fitting opponent.
When he entered a village he listened eagerly for news of a
dragon or wicked lord in the neighbourhood, preferably the abductor
of a fair damsel. He would not be averse to tackling sorcerers,
magical beasts who destroyed cattle by breathing on them, or even
giants who ate the children of widows. It was, however, preferable
to return home with a dragon's head slung behind him and a rescued
damsel upon his saddlebow.
Any acceptable feat won him the golden spurs of true knighthood,
and after that he could spend the time enjoyably in hunting, hawking,
fighting in tournaments, feasting, or defending his king against
enemies.
Unfortunately a young knight's purity of heart gave him many
uncomfortable moments. Every knight had to have his lady and he
treated her stricly in accordance with the rules. He sent troubadours
to serenade her, presented her with the mailed gloves of opponents
killed in the lists, and sighed beneath her castle windows on moonlit
nights. But the time would come when a lady expected more ardent
attentions. A knight would hardly dare to drink his wine for fear
that it contained a love potion, and he might be obliged to kill a
friend if the impatient lady looked kindly upon him.
It was even worse when the wife of a great lord, or even the queen
herself, began to languish for the attentions of a young knight. The
only rememdy was another knightly journey, on the excuse that he found
himself unfitted for love of women and must devote himself to the
pursuit of honour. It was always a relief when the king summoned his
knights for a battle with some neiboring enemey, and they could enjoy
the sport without being distracted by ladies.
The time would come, however, when a knight found his joints
creaking as loudly as his armour and his head growing bald from the
pressure of his helmet. There was no more need to resist the blandish-
ments of womankind and he could settle down with his mulled wine by
the the hearth. He exchanged stories of dragon hunts with other super-
annuated knights and showed the scars won in battle with the king's
enemies. They all agreed that modern squires and knights behaved
disgracefully. When a lady let down a silken ladder, so that a knight
might climb up into her chamber, he would actually use it. The age of
knighthood was doomed when knights began to pay more attention to women
than to damsels in distress.
Perhaps those ancient knights did not die out, perhaps they are
still with us. Perhaps they were just away on some long and distant
journey or quest. Maybe they have now returned to aid another kingdom.
Perhaps in a remote Nortic Kingdom known as Ladonia.