Q: How did one achieve knighthood?

A: You couldn’t become a knight unless your father was a knight, and it took years and years of training. First, when they were young, they would be taught manners and courtesy by their mothers or nurses. Then at age four or five, he was given a pony and trained in horsemanship. At about seven or eight years old, he moved in to the house of his father’s lord and trained there as a page (a knight’s apprentice). He helped with errands and chores, and he started training in swordsmanship. He would also go hunting to improve his battle reflexes. If he did well in training and was obedient, then he would become a squire. He was still just an apprentice, but he now trained with only one knight. He received more harsh training and was taught of chivalry and courtliness. At 21 years old, he was examined to see if he was fit to become a knight. If he was, he went through a lot of rituals before his dubbing ceremony, like confession, bathing, and sleeping. And then, at a large ceremony, he was dubbed a knight by his lord or the king.