Chivalry code encyclopedia
From the thirteenth century the squires also went armed and mounted and, passing from one grade to the other, were raised finally to knighthood, (4) Banners were also a distinctive mark of chivalry. These attendants, who were of low condition, were not to be confounded with the armed retainers, who formed the escort of a knight. escuyer, esquire) still another to aid his master to mount his battle horse or to raise him if dismounted a fourth to guard prisoners, chiefly those of quality, for whom a high ransom was expected. (3) The knight required several attendants: one to conduct the horses, another to bear the heaviest weapons, particularly the shield or escutcheon ( scutum, hence scutarius, Fr. the battle horse, or dexterarius, which was led by hand, and used only for the onset (hence the saying, “to mount one’s high horse”), a second horse, palfrey or courser, for the route, and the pack-horse for the luggage. (2) No knight was thought to be properly equipped without at least three horses, viz. These weapons were always costly to get and heavy to bear, such as the brunia or hauberk of the Carlovingian Era, the coat of mail, which prevailed during the Crusades, and lastly the plate-armour, introduced in the fourteenth century. The characteristic distinction of the latter, which really constituted chivalry, lay in their defensive weapons, which varied with different periods. His only offensive weapons were the lance for the encounter and the sword for the close fight, weapons common to both light-armed and heavy cavalry.
At all events, they were regarded as unfair in combat by the medieval knight. (I) The medieval army was poorly equipped for long-distance fighting, and bows and cross-bows were still employed, although the Church endeavored to prohibit their use, at least between Christian armies as contrary to humanity.
Chivalry code encyclopedia professional#
Four peculiarities distinguished the professional warrior: (I) his weapons (2) horse (3) attendants (4) flag. This preeminence of cavalry was correlative with the decline of infantry on the battlefield. The knight or chevalier was the professional soldier of the time in medieval Latin, the ordinary word miles (soldier) was equivalent to “knight”.
Military.-In the military sense, chivalry was the heavy cavalry of the Middle Ages which constituted the chief and most effective warlike force. Chivalry (derived through the French cheval from the Latin caballus) as an institution is to be considered from three points of view: the military, the social, and the religious.