Charlemagne performed accolades (dubbing ceremonies) and in return for military service the men he dubbed would be granted a fief (a feudum or beneficium).Įssentially, knights were retainers and vassals. It wasn’t until the Carolingian Period (8th and 9th centuries) or the Early Middle Ages when knights as we know them today would rise to the occasion. They received military equipment and golden arm-bands from their king as payment for protecting him and staying by his side at all times like bodyguards. These burly men, chosen for their loyalty and heroic feats, slept in the gift-giving hall with their lord like dogs. The nearest equivalent would be members of a king’s comitatus like in Merovingian Gaul for instance (6th and 7th centuries). In the so-called Dark Ages or Migration Period in Late Antiquity, knights didn’t quite exist yet. So how can we make our fantasy knights more like the real knights of the Middle Ages? If there’s one thing reading dry history books and attending university lectures has taught me, it’s how to answer that question! So here are four ways you can make your fantasy knights a whole lot more realistic and historically accurate! And, thank the good gods, none of them have to do with tournaments and damsels in distress! #1: Accolades, Oaths and Fiefs! (dubs, allegiances, beneficia and the evolution of the knight) Not every knight was a hedge knight or a knight errant (none of them were). Generally speaking, however, they are very far from the real medieval knight and if they were presented more realistically we could learn a whole lot more. They are heroes of the battlefield, loyal to their kings, and there is a lot we can learn from the Middle Ages by reading about them. The classic fantasy knight is a wonderful invention, simple in design and easy to write.
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