Sir Geoffrey Luttrell, seen above in a 14th Century illustration, was a product of knighthood in its final form. He was landed, leisured and literate; he followed an elaborate code of chivalry which obligated him to serve, first, his feudal lord, second, the Christian faith and third, a romanticized lady who was not his wife.
Sir Geoffrey was a far cry from the original knights of the Ninth Century, In that turbulent era, kings and lords who were hard pressed by barbarian invaders knighted practically any roughneck who owned a horse. Each knight was granted land in return for military service; each built a crude stronghold on his fief and many rode out plundering. One ruffian, Sir Bevis of Hamton, killed more than 650 people during his depredations. But in the period between Sir Bevis and Sir Geoffrey, while the brutish warriors became courtly aristocrats, knighthood enjoyed its halcyon days and poets preserved its ideals in a timeless literature.
IN HUMBLE SERVICE, the squire collects a monk's message for his lord. Youths were taught that chores such as running errands, cleaning armor and waiting on table entailed no loss of dignity.
AT BASIC PRACTICE, ftoo pages fence with toy swonis and shields. The would-he knight also sharpened his skills hy using lance, sword and hattle-ax on the quintain, a post or life-sized dummy.
ON MARTIAL DUTY, a squire holds a skittish war horse for his hel-meted master. The squire accompanied his knight everywhere hut seldom entered combat unless the knight was in mortal danger.
A KNIGHT IS ORDAINED in a solemn religious ceremony. As he is invested with sword and spurs, musicians strike up a tune on the lute and viol.
World History
