Knights

Knights were like the Grand Prix drivers of the Middle Ages: celebrities, risk-takers, and showmen. Yet, theirs was not just a man's world: female knights were not unheard of, including Joan of Arc. The realities of life as a knight are more than a little surprising!

Gaining honor, respect and glory was all-important to the medieval knight. Joining a Crusade was one dangerous way of achieving fame and renown. Courtly love also played an important role in the life of a knight, and names from medieval tales like Tristan and Lancelot resonate in the present day.

We examine the demise of the time of the knights and explore the rise of the robber knights. Peasant revolts, armies of mercenaries, and a new way to fight wars using muskets and cannons make the mounted knight in his cumbersome armor a thing of the past.