Knighthood

In the church there was a group of people known for chivalry, they defended christianity and protected the weak. The founding values of chivalry were service and loyalty. Later the idea of knight-errantry was introduced, quests, adventures and combats at crossroads became a big part of knighthood.

Chivalry was divided into three groups, all made up of men of noble birth. Titles like baron and earl could only be inherited, but becoming a knight required training and had to be earned. Knighthood was the only path through which a peasant could rise to nobility, though such cases were extremely rare.

The knighthood training began at the age of seven when the boy would be named as page. The page would perform humble services for the castle household. He would learn good manners, counting, the calendar, reading and writing and also riding a horse, which would be necessary when was named knight. Once the page turned thirteen he was sent to a friend or neighbouring castle to complete his training as a squire. At this stage he would be instructed by a knight in the arts of a sword, lance and shield. He would also clean the knights armour, do his bidding and even sometimes accompany him to war. 

When the knight who had been training the boy—his father's squire—believed the training was complete, the boy would take part in a sacred ritual. On the eve of his knighting ceremony, he would make a confession and spend the night in the church in prayer. The next morning, dressed in white, he would stand before a priest and explain his reasons for wanting to become a knight. If the priest judged his intentions to be noble, he would bless the sword and tap the young man lightly on the shoulders three times, officially granting him knighthood.