A candidate for knighthood, after serving as a page, often began his
apprenticeship at the age of 12 under a veteran knight, who instructed him
in both military and worldly matters. When his term as squire was over, he
followed his sponsor into battle as his bearer of arms; and when he was
judged to be ready for knighthood he was dubbed by his sponsor, who
tapped him on the shoulder with the flat of his sword. The initiation cere-
mony for knighthood varied in its formalities from place to place, but the
code of chivalry was firmly fixed in its ethos, if not always in its fulfillment.
The earlier pagan practice in which elder warriors bestowed arms
upon younger initiates, without benefit of prayer and benedictions, was
sanctified when the Church took part in the ceremony, adding religious
symbolism and solemnity. Eventually, the secular nobility and the clergy
shared the investiture ceremony of knighthood.
Chivalry 75A medieval knight in
full battle dress on
horseback. Knights
were bound to the
code of chivalry,
which charged each
knight with the
defense of the
Church, his sovereign
king, and the weak
and the poor. (The
Menil Collection)