1. Knights By: Lucas Metcalf

2. The Path To Knighthood A boy around the age of 7 could become a page but only if he was born in a noble family. A page is the first step in the training to become a knight. At the age of 14 they advance to a squire (a knights servant) and were trained to handle weapons, armor and horses. If the squire worked very hard and excelled at training he could become a knight at the age of 21.

3. Knights and Warfare Knights came into war around the 9 th century a.d.. This was after Charlemagne's large empire in western Europe broke apart after civil wars. Smaller areas needed local protection which was provided by armored warriors called knights. When a battle took place it was usually among small groups of knights and only lasted a couple hours.

4. Swords Pointed Swords were used to stab through the gaps in armor. The dual bladed sword was used mostly for slicing and slashing at an enemy. It was powerful enough to cut bone. Often rich people would have a special weapon of rank sword that would sometimes bear the owners crest.

5. Other Weapons Knights used daggers which were shorter knife-like weapons for close range fighting. It would allow a quicker strike to the face or neck. Some weapons like the short ax were lighter so they could be used while on horseback. The flanged mace became popular in the 14 th century when more plate armor was worn. This weapon could land a powerful blow to get through armor.

6. The Tournament The Tournament originated in the 11 th century, as training for battle. Two teams of knights would fight a battle on foot over a huge area of the countryside. At first, war armor and sharp weapons were used, but dull weapons replaced them in the 13 th century, to make it a more sporting event. A Defeated knight would lose his horse and armor.

7. Jousting Jousting was developed in the 13 th century. Two knights on horses would ride at each other trying to knock their opponent off of their horse with a lance. Sometimes they would use sharp lances in the joust. Those were called Jousts Of War. If they used blunt lances they were called Jousts Of peace.

8. Japanese Knights Japan had warriors like Europe too. They were called samurais, knights of the rising sun. Samurais fought on horseback, and served under a lord just like European knights. The military leader was called the Shogun. After the Gempi War, Japan split into two empires around 1550, they were the Daimyo Empire and the Barrens Empire.

9. Knights Of The Temple The knights of the temple a.k.a. Knights Templar became religious but unlike monks, they fought in battle. When the Christians lost control of the holy lands in 1291 the Knights Templar found that the Europeans didn’t like them. Since the Europeans didn’t like them they were disbanded (put out of work).

10. Heraldry Men have always decorated their shields to be able to be identified, because if they had a face mask on you couldn't tell who was who. Only one coat of arms (emblem) could be carried by a knight and when he died it went to his oldest son. Knights decorated their horses to aid in protection, especially the head and neck. It also showed pride and could demonstrate wealth.

11. Horses Knights needed horses for carrying baggage, jousting, warfare, hunting, and traveling. Knights usually had at least 2 war-horses plus other horses for different tasks. The courser was the name for a hunting horse, a destrier was a war-horse, a palfrey was a traveling horse, and a sumpter horse carried baggage.

12. Knights Of The Round Table The knights of the round table included, King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain, Sir Geraint, Sir Gareth, Sir Geheris, Sir Bedivere, Sir Galahad, Sir Kay, Sir Bors de Ganis, Sir Lamorak, Sir Tristan, and Sir Percivale. They were men of courage, honor, dignity, courtesy, and nobleness. They protected ladies and damsels, honored and fought for kings, and went on dangerous quests.

13. Record Breakers The longest ride in armor was over 200 miles by Dick Brown. He rode for over 35 hours. The most knights in one army was in 1154-1187. King Henry II had over 6,000 knights that he could call to serve him.

14. Bibliography Gravett, Christopher. Knight. New York, NY: DK books. Copyright 1993 Currin, Nathan. Kingarthursknights.com. Copyright 2009 The New Book Of Knowledge. Danbury, CT: Grolier Incorporated. Copyright 1999 Eastwood, Kay. The Life of a Knight. New York, NY: Crabtree Publishing Company. Copyright 2004