age of chivalry chapter 13 section 3. new technology leather saddles & stirrups – through...

Age of Chivalry

Chapter 13 Section 3

New Technology

• Leather saddles & stirrups – through contact with Muslims in Battle of Tours

• Knights on horseback became most important part of army

Knight’s Role

• Fought to defend the territory of their feudal lord– Rewarded with land (fiefs)– Weapons & armor were $$$ - had to

afford to be a knight

• Knight’s main obligation was to serve in battle– Only 40 days of the year in combat!

Knighthood & Chivalry

• Code of Chivalry – ideals demanded of a knight– Be loyal to his feudal lord, obey God,

and be nice to the ladies– Protected the weak & poor– Brave, courteous

Age of Chivalry?

• Some took it seriously, others didn’t. It tended to break down especially towards the later Middle Ages.

• The Middle Ages wasn’t a time of fairy tale castles and noble, honorable knights. It was a nasty time of political intrigue, bloody wars, and brutish men exercising their limited power in order to gain more power. Just like any other time.

Training

The prospective knight went through three stages:

1) Page- Younger years (age 7) - Assistant to squire & Lord

2) Squire (age 14)- Was Robin to a knight’s

Batman- Took care of knight’s

equipment

3) Knight (age 21)- When he becomes a full-fledged

soldier who officially enters into a feudal arrangement with a lord.

Tournaments

Literature of Chivalry

• Themes = idealized castle life, glorified knighthood, knight’s undying love for lady

• The Song of Roland – famous epic poem– Praised French soldiers killed in battle

• Troubadours – traveling poet-musicians• Eleanor of Aquitaine

Roles of Women

• Noblewomen- Inherit estate- Send knights to war, defend castle- Still limited, confined lives

• Peasant women- Endless labor in home

& fields- No education

Enough about chivalry…What about the weapons and warfare?

Plate Armor

Shields

Triangular shields meant to repel blows.

“Coat of Arms” – symbols to represent family, manor

Crossbows & Longbows

• Mantlet

Siege Weapons

• Siege Tower

• Battering Ram

• Trebuchet