Chivalry: a Military Order in the Middle Ages

The Middle Ages was a time of chivalry, romance, and darkness. For in the Middle Ages there was no such thing as a knight without chivalry. Chivalry was largely inspired by courteous behavior and codes of honor.
“Chivalry was a military order in the Middle Ages; the members called knights were pledged to the protection of the church and succor off all who were in distress or in anyway oppressed.” (Mills 153) Ideals of chivalry in the Middle Ages were Christian. They include ideals of service, of loyalty, of fearlessness in the cause of right, of integrity in word and deed, of courtesy and generosity, of consideration for those in need. Knights were not always faithful to their vows, they did not always live up to the highest ideals of chivalry, but false knights were always held up to contempt.
      Knights were not always noblemen, knights started off as a horse mounted solider, with no elaborated armor or weapon system. Being a mounted soldier was expensive, since it required enough income to buy and sustain a horse and the equipment to go with it. Thus, those who were too poor to provide this service became mere peasants, attached to the land. As time passed a knight became more than a mounted solider. He was a man of rank or service and generally possessing some independent means of support, but often relying mainly on the gratitude of those whom he served for the supply of his wants. (Martin 325)
      At the same time, becoming a knight was not such an easy task. Nor could anyone become a knight. When boys of a noble bloodline reached the age of, seven they were sent to live in the castle of another lord. This usually was a close friend of family. There the boy then began his education as a page running errands and performing humble services for noblemen and ladies. Good manners, reading, writing, numbers, singing, dancing, and strumming the lute, reverence for God, how to use the sword, and how to ride a horse were taught as well. When the boy matured,...