In the Middle Ages when horses were being caught and trained to pull chariots, they did not look quite as they do today. There were so many differences in size, build and breed to today’s modern horse – generally they were, on average, smaller. In those days, the horse was trained to be able to be ridden in war and to be used for farming and of course for transport.
In the Middle Ages, people did not say what breed the horse was but what the horse could be used for and so their names of the types of horses were Chargers or Coursers, which meant war horses; Palfreys, which were the horses for riding, Cart-horses, which pulled carts, and Packhorses, which were the horses and donkeys, mules and ponies that carried lots and lots of stuff on their backs in side bags (panniers).
The horses of the medieval era came from many regions including Spain, Scandinavia and France, and Arab countries like Iran and Anatolia. Horse breeding for good war horses meant that planned breeding programs were undertaken with special influence of Islamic culture through both the Crusades and the Moorish invasions of Spain.
Horse breeding was really all about horses going to war. But who rode those horses? In those days, these horse riders, who went off to battle, were called knights!
To begin his career as a knight, a young man had to be able to afford to be one. A knight’s weapons, armour and horse cost a lot of money so it was mostly only the very rich, born into the noble or aristocratic classes, who could afford to become knights.
These men who could afford to go to war and pay for all the war equipment did not automatically become a knight, they had to earn their knighthood by fighting bravely on the battle field. The king was usually told about the man’s bravery and would then award him his knighthood.
There was another way of becoming a knight. This was when a very young lad, called a Page, would become an apprentice to a knight and earn his knighthood through hard work and training.
When a boy decided that he wanted to become a knight (he would have to get his parents’ permission first) he would go to live in the household of a knight when he was about seven years old.
This very young lad would then serve the knight, performing tasks such as serving meals, cleaning his clothes, and carrying messages. While working for the knight’s household, the page learned good manners and the proper way to behave. Pages usually came from the poor classes.
The page would also begin to train to fight. He would practice with other pages using wooden shields and swords. He would learn how to ride a horse using no hands and carrying a lance.
By the time he turned 15, the young page would get the title of “Squire.” And he would learn a new set of tasks, like taking care of the knight’s horses, cleaning his armour and weapons, and would go to the battlefield with the knight.
Squires were trained to fight with real weapons and were taught fighting skills by the knight. They had to be really fit and strong. They practiced their horsemanship and their skills at jousting and fighting from the saddle. Squires usually worked for five or six years before getting their knighthood, if they were good enough.
Squires had to learn about castle and siege warfare from their knight. They would need to know how to defend their own castle as well as how to attack an enemy’s castle. Squires would practice jousting using a wooden dummy called a quintain.
The word “squire” comes from a French word meaning “shield-bearer”. Before becoming a knight, squires were required to spend the night, before the special ceremony, alone in prayer.
Not all squires were made knights through an elaborate ceremony. Some were awarded knighthood on the battlefield.
Coming of age at 21 in the medieval days meant that if a squire had proven his bravery and skill at battle, he would become a knight. He would be made a knight at a special ceremony called a “dubbing” ceremony.
At this ceremony, the squire would kneel before the king (sometimes it was another knight or a lord who performed the service) who would then tap the squire on the shoulder with his sword making him a knight.
The new knight would take an oath to honour to protect his king and the church. Then the king would present the new knight with a pair of riding spurs and a sword. (Spurs are sharp pointed metal spikes that are worn on the heel of a riding boot. They are not very nice things because they are used to dig into the side of the horse to make them go faster – they have been banned in many countries these days.)
Finally, the young man who spent years as a page and as a squire would now become a knight. Wealthy knights would have had several pages and squires to assist them.
