Norman Conquest Encyclopedia

The Normanknight was a specialized, trained cavalryman, and a member of a society governed by feudalism which compelled military service in return for the right to hold land. Admission to knighthood was, originally, at the age of twenty-one by which time the boy, or puer , would have gained considerable knowledge of his craft. The ceremony was, in the 11th century, simple. A knight would give the puer a good whack around the head to which the young man had to submit, for this time only, without protest. A sword would be fastened about his waist and spurs to his feet, and that was that. He was now a youth, a juvenis , and when he had a family of his own, he was known as a man, a vir. With the passage of time the ceremonies became more elaborate, the person admitting the knight to his new rank more exalted and romantic and religious ideas embroidered the status of knighthood.

See also: cavalry; feudalism; Norman

Related Reading:

• Norman Knight AD 950-1204
  (Warrior 1)