A study of the origins of knighthood in ancient England through its role in the literature of the fourteenth century discussing how both knights and knighthood changed and evolved over time.

Discusses the actual practice of knighthood & the knight's role within society. First looks at the origins of knighthood in England & its evolution in late Saxon & Anglo-Norman times. The complex role of the knight between the mid-12th & the mid-13th centuries leads on to the rise of a more exclusive, chivalric knighthood, & its social functions, including the use of arms, effigies & seals. The impact of literature & the dissemination of ideas about the knight's role is also examined, in particular how the knight & knighthood were perceived in the late 14th century. Wide variety of illustrations. This book will interest academic historians, students, & general readers.

Their respective ancestral cultures in England and Spain, argue scholars Milo Kearney and Manuel Medrano, had common roots in medieval Europe, and both their conflicts and the shared understandings that may form the basis for their cooperation trace back to those days."--BOOK JACKET.

Dr Ayton has transformed understanding of Edward III's armies - compulsory reading for anyone interested in the Hundred Years War. WAR IN HISTORY [Michael Prestwich] The mounted, armoured knight is one of the most potent symbols of medieval civilisation; indeed, for much of the middle ages the armoured warhorse was what defined a man as a member of the military class. However, despite the status of the knightly warrior in medieval society, the military service of the later medieval English aristocracy remains an unaccountably neglected subject, and the warhorse itself has never attracted a major study based upon archival sources. This book seeks to open up new fields of research: it focuses on the horse inventories, documents which offer detailed lists of men-at-arms and their appraised warhorses, the valuation of which is a measure of its owner's social and military status. Dr Ayton is primarily concerned with the inventories and related records for Edward III's reign, a period which witnessed significant changes in the organisation of the English fighting machine. Thedocuments produced during this period of `military revolution' cast valuable light on the character and attitudes of the aristocratic military community at a time when its traditional role was in the course of re-evaluation. Dr ANDREW AYTON is senior lecturer in history at the University of Hull.

The 15th century was a time of change for knighthood. Knights no longer fought for their lords in return for land, since the feudal summons had long before given way to a system of contracts. Moreover, many knights now preferred the role of landowner, man-about-town or parliamentary representative. However, this was also the age of the knight in plate armour, of the battle of Agincourt and the conquests of Henry V, and of the Wars of the Roses, the bloody internecine struggle that tore medieval England apart. In this title Christopher Gravett describes the life of a 15th century knight, his equipment and experiences from his earliest days as a squire through to his experiences on the battlefields of England and France.

Focuses on the lady's role in medieval society, how she was perceived both by herself and by her male counterparts, and how she participated in the prevailing male culture of gentility.

Superbly illustrated history of medieval warfare including the origins of knighthood, the rise of the knight, Charlemagne's knights, castles, chivalry, the crusades, brotherhoods of knights, tournaments and jousts, legendary leaders, celebrated wars, and the end of knighthood.