Knights of the 14th Century

Zastava-Arms

Zastava-Arms

Banned
Anybody a pro at knights?

I have a SOSE essay to do on knights of the 14th century, and I need to cover these points:

- Duties of a Knight
- Roles of a Knight
- Armour of a Knight
- Any code of conducts of a knight
- weapons of a knight

Im looking more info covering the armour. I am using books and websites but its always good to ask people here, for they can explain it more better :thumb:

Thanks in advance.
 
But ofc. If I use any information you lot give me ill just reference this site in the bibliography.

Thats if, of course, the mods have nothing against that.
 
Hm, 1st duty, to do what the superior told him to do.
Roles? collecting taxes, keeping the peasants at his property in line, showing up to fight if requested.
Armour? heavy leather and chainmail in the early middle ages up to full plated armour in the late middle ages, try to look up paintings at the net, e.g. maximilian of Bavaria (the last Knight).
Weapons: Sword, Dagger, Morningstar, Lance and no nay never a unknightly crossbow.
 
cisco said:
Hm, 1st duty, to do what the superior told him to do.
Roles? collecting taxes, keeping the peasants at his property in line, showing up to fight if requested.
Armour? heavy leather and chainmail in the early middle ages up to full plated armour in the late middle ages, try to look up paintings at the net, e.g. maximilian of Bavaria (the last Knight).
Weapons: Sword, Dagger, Morningstar, Lance and no nay never a unknightly crossbow.
Click to expand...

Thats a type of answer I wanted.

what did you need to know about armour?
Click to expand...

Well, ive been reading from some books and it says that in the 14th century Knights wore a mixture of chain mail and plate mail. So I guess like, if the armour was very well decorated, different types of armour they would have worn [Like, versions of plate and chain mail], stuff like that.
 
by the 14th century there were two main styles of armour- battle and decorative/ ceremonial. both were mainly composed of plate armour with the joints protected by layers of chain on the inner part and segmented plate upon the outer side. the ceremonial armour could serve in combat at a pinch; built ostensibly for show some of the more functional suits were made for the Tournament, but not the Joust where fluting was particularly dangerous. some decorationals were fluting, scrolling and enamelling. some suits might also be set with gold, silver and/ or gems to add to the knight's spectacle.
battle armour tended to be heavier and of a closer fit than ceremonial. a full suit, properly made, weighed about the same as the knight and should enable a fit knight to do a handstand! generally speaking a horse, knight and their collective armour came to about 500 kilos. fluting was sometimes employed to direct points away from joints in the armour; generally, however, no decoration was used on the armour itself.

by the fourteenth century armour was usually created and cared for by a specialist smith called an Armourer; in the employ of the most powerful lords he would answer to the Master Armourer who oversaw all smithing in the Lord's demesne. a separate smith was employed for weapons (sword smith usually or just weapon smith) on these larger estates but both could assist the other at a pinch.
the most common weapon of the knight at this stage was the mace aimed at the joints and a dagger at the eyes. sword and lance, though carried and used, were increasingly left to the Tournament and the Joust as armour had developed sufficiently to negate both in combat between knights. the morning star was a foot weapon only and therefore not favoured. an English weapon of note that became popular at this time with knights is the Lochaber (Lochabar) Axe. although it has an axe blade it was the other bits and pieces attached that made it devastating to the accomplished proponent.
any decent medieval history book will detail the rest for you. the various Oxford guides to medieval (Late medieval and reformation are other names for the period you are looking at) Europe/ England and Tudor England are both easy to read and highly detailed. more modern work by John Norwich (Lord North) and Michael Wood are incredibly readable.
one thing you must remember was that at this period the knight was much more than a soldier- though combat was his training and purpose most battles by this stage employed mercenaries who might be knights but usually not. the knight had become such an investment that his services and life were not to be risked recklessly.
 
Zastava-Arms said:
Thats a type of answer I wanted.



Well, ive been reading from some books and it says that in the 14th century Knights wore a mixture of chain mail and plate mail. So I guess like, if the armour was very well decorated, different types of armour they would have worn [Like, versions of plate and chain mail], stuff like that.
Click to expand...

The type of Armour depended on the purpose, eg cerimony or combat.
In general in the later middle ages the plate armour became more common than the chain armour wich was extensively used earlier, eg. during the crusades. The plate armour oferred a better prootection but was heavier.
I'm not sure if it also affected the agility. Some Reenactors I talked to claim a well made plate armour doesn't. On there other hand, there are examples like the Battle of Agincourt where dismounted Knights simply drowned in the mud because they were unable to get up.
The lance was, beside in the turnier fights, mainly used in a cavallry charge. I supose spiked weapons like the morningstar or a battle mace replaced the use of the sword with the more widely used plated armor because unlike a sword such a weapon could penetrate the armour. However, more common was it to take the knight down and finish him off with a dagger at the unprotected or less protected parts of the armour, eg between the legs, under the axles or the viewports of the helmet.
Helbards and similar weapons were used by infantry, they have been designed to pull a mounted fighter down from his horse.
About the knights duties, keep in mind there have been knights who where rich, poverfull and important positions and, especially to the end of the middle ages, those who were poor and without much or any property. The later ones than either worked as mere mercenaries or simple criminals.
Also, as shown in the battle of Agincourt, the knights armour lost its usefullness with the widespread use of armourpiercing Longbows and crossbows. AFAIK Kights also used the battle axe. But keep in mind there have been local differences. The Lochaber axe eg wasnt used on the continent and neither the Longbow (atleast not widespread). What I can reccomend is, not specific about knights but in general about the middle ages, Ken Follets Book Pillars of the earth.
 
"one thing you must remember was that at this period the knight was much more than a soldier- though combat was his training and purpose most battles by this stage employed mercenaries who might be knights but usually not. the knight had become such an investment that his services and life were not to be risked recklessly."

Interesting...mercenaries 2 kinds..


Thanks.
 
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