Secular feudal lords. Knights
A place of honor in the medieval theory of the three classes is occupied by “those who are at war”, that is, the secular feudal lords. There was a system of vassalage, a kind of hierarchical feudal ladder.
At its top was the king – the richest landowner. He was considered the supreme lord, or suzerain of all feudal lords. Below there are large secular feudal lords – dukes, marquises, counts, which the earth itself was endowed with by the king. Therefore, as vassals, they formally submitted to the king. Accordingly, their vassals – barons – occupied a lower step of the feudal ladders. The last step belonged to the knights, who might not have their vassals.
Each European country, despite the general characteristics of the vassalage system, had some peculiarities. For example, in France there was a rule “vassal of my vassal is not my vassal”. This, in particular, meant that the vassal served and was faithful only to the one from
The transfer of the feud took place in a solemn atmosphere. In the castle of the lord all his vassals gathered. In their presence, the seigneur handed a new vassal a flag, a ring, a glove, a tree branch or a vine, a handful of earth, etc. These symbols indicated that the vassal was given the right to own land. This procedure was called the Investiture. She was preceded by a rite of initiation. The applicant fell on one knee before the seignior and took him by the hand. Then he proclaimed himself a vassal and swore a suzerain for fidelity.
Vassal pledged to protect the honor, life and property of the seignior, to march on his orders, redeem his treason, take part in a meeting of the seigniorial council, that is, a kind of judicial and administrative body. Among the vassal duties were gifts to the seigneur, his eldest son at the time of the young man’s knighthood, and also to his daughter on the day of her marriage.
For his part, the seigneur undertook to
In the XI-XII centuries. internecine wars were waged, therefore, in order to control the feudal freedom, the church adopted several decrees on God’s peace, which prohibited feudal lords from fighting during religious holidays and every week from Wednesday to Monday.
In the endless internal and external wars, psychology and the ideology of medieval chivalry gradually developed. At first “knight” was just a warrior who carried a vassal, usually mounted, military service. Later, this concept acquired a broader meaning – it became synonymous with nobility and nobility. The knights formed their ideals, an understanding of honor. The knight had to fight for the Christian faith, protect the weaker, keep his word, be loyal to his lord, be able to stand up for himself. Over time, the basis of chivalrous behavior was Courtesy, that is, compliance with the rules of good taste. The Courtois Code provided not only courage, but courtesy, courtesy, gallantry, generosity, tact, ability to compose poems and play musical instruments,
Honorary title of the knight needed to be earned. This could happen after the initiation into knights for special merits on the battlefield or after a special military formation before reaching adulthood. For the sake of obtaining such training, the future knight at an early age was given to the service of the court of the seignior. The boy served as a page, from 15-tit years became the squire of the knight-patron and accompanied him everywhere. In the battle, the young man stood near the knight’s horse, held his shield, served spare weapons and fought. If the boy did a good job, he was knighted.
Before the dedication, the future knight prayed all night. After the confession, the sacrament and the obligatory bathing ritual, white clothes were worn on him. They symbolized the purity and sincerity of intentions.
The young man swore: “Putting my hands on the Holy Gospel, in the presence of my Lord and my lord, I promise and swear to carefully observe all laws and cherish our glorious knighthood.” After this, one of the oldest knights took out his sword and touched the rookie’s shoulder three times. Then, just as thrice, he kissed him. Finally, the boy was surrounded by a belt with a sword, with which he had never dared to leave, put on spurs, handed a shield and a helmet.
Scenes from the life of knights
The initiator of the future knight beat him with the palm of his hand, either on the back of his neck, or on the neck, or on the cheek, saying: “Be brave!” It was the only blow in the life of a knight, to which he had the right not to answer. The ritual of initiation ended with a demonstration of the dexterity of a new knight. He jumped on his horse and on the fly was to fall into a scarecrow in a scarecrow. In wartime, the procedure of initiation into the knights was more modest. The ceremony of knighting was even for the king.
Hunting and military exercises took the knight all the time. Subsequently, they added to the knight tournaments. These were military contests, where the knights fought either in individual fights, or in groups in front of a noble audience. Honorable places among spectators were given to notable ladies. The main task of the knight was to stay on the horse and knock out the opponent from the saddle with a blunt end of the spear. It happened that the tournaments had to resolve the issues of chivalry honor. Then the struggle could go not to life, but to death. Winners received fame and recognition, honorable prizes, as well as horses and the weapons of the vanquished. To remain a knight without weapons and a horse was considered a shame, because the victor returned them to his unfortunate rivals for ransom. Many poor knights, marching from the castle to the castle, made themselves fortune.
At tournaments, the knights came out wearing helmets that completely covered their faces. They were recognized and distinguished by the arms, that is, by signs and drawings on a knight’s shield or on a flag. A complex science of the arms was well known to the tournament managers – Herolds, that is, the Herald. The knight, arriving at the tournament, stopped at the barrier and, announcing his arrival, blew a horn. Then the herald came out and loudly told the audience about the arms of this knight. With the heralds is associated and the development of a special science on the compilation and interpretation of arms – Heraldry.
Each feudal lord wanted to have his own coat of arms. At first the arms were only among the big feudal lords. Simple knights wore shields with the coat of arms of their lord. Later they got the right to own a coat of arms. In the middle of the XIII century. Emblems appear among clergymen, merchants, townspeople. The addition to the coat of arms was often the motto – a short inscription on the arms, a shield about the moral principles of the knight, events in his life, etc. For example, “I go my own way” is the motto of the Counts of Nemours of the Savoy; “The other will not be” – the motto of the Burgundian Duke Philip the Good. Own arms also had medieval cities.
Now the coat of arms is one of the national symbols of each state.
XI century. From the letter of the Bishop of Chartres to the Duke of Aquitaine on the mutual duties of the vassal and lord
Whoever swears in loyalty to his lord should always remember six such things: not to harm the body of the lord: not to reveal his secrets and not to destroy his fortifications… not to obstruct the law, the court and all the others as regards his position and rights.. “Do not harm his possessions.” Do not prevent him from achieving what he can easily achieve, and not make it impossible for him what is actually possible. If the faithful will be protected from this harm, as justice requires, then neither he deserves a feud, because it is not enough not to repair Besides, in order to fulfill the above-mentioned six, he advised and helped his lord without deceit, if he wanted to be awarded a feud, and he was always faithful to this oath, and the seigneur should do everything in the same way with respect to his faithful.
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)