Knight
Topic: Medieval Europe: Feudalism and the Three Orders · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 4 "The Three Orders"
Meaning
A knight was a soldier who fought on horseback. Knights became important from the ninth century. Small local wars were common then, and part-time peasant soldiers were not good enough, so lords needed skilled horsemen (cavalry). A knight was tied to his lord through land and service.
Example
A lord gave a knight a fief, which was land that could be inherited. In return, the knight paid the lord a regular fee and promised to fight for him. Knights practised fencing every day. A knight could serve more than one lord, but his first loyalty was to his own lord. From the twelfth century, French minstrels (travelling singers) sang songs about brave knights, such as the thirteenth-century poem Doon de Mayence.
Don't confuse with
- Feudal levies: troops that nobles raised from their own peasants, who fought on foot. Knights were trained soldiers on horseback who held fiefs.