Background
Many men in this time period were warriors. The society during the High Middle Ages included 3 kinds of people: the religious, working, and the warriors. These warriors were also known as the aristocracy. Some of these soldiers were very wealthy, while others were more on the poor end of the spectrum.
The Significance of the Aristocracy
These men were the vassals as well as the lords. Many of the lords held titles such as count, king, baron, duke, viscounts, bishops, and archbishops. These highly important men had vast amounts of wealth and political authority. Many knights were hired by these noblemen to fight for them in exchange for protection and care. Most of these knights started out as peasants, but eventually they became equals with the nobles and could be very wealthy. This meant that the terms noble and knight were used interchangeably. One of the only ways that it was possible to see a difference was if they fought or not. The nobles and the knights were the same people fighting for the same cause and upholding the same statutes.
The Men of War
Many of the noblemen and knights fought against one another, creating disruption in the society. For this reason, the Catholic church decided to create the "Peace of God". This meant that the knights had to agree not to harm any innocent bystanders, but to only fight each other. They also created the "Truce of God", which prohibited fighting on the Sabbath as well as major feast days. The church did other things on top of that. They tried to unite the warriors under one cause: The Crusades. This was a time when knights would travel and attack Muslims, taking over their cities and killing all in sight. This allowed the knights to fight, but it was justified, and let them feel good because they were fighting for the Christian kingdom. The church also made knighting a religious ceremony. They new knight was blessed by a priest, and some of the knight symbols were Christian symbols. The Crusades caused a lot of strife between those who believed that peace was the way to spread Christianity, and those who wanted to kill the non-Christians.
Castles
There were many castles that began to appear throughout Europe. The style of architecture varied from castle to castle, but many had things in common. The noble families as well as their servants lived there, they had large stone walls, were normally built in open fields. Castles had buildings called keeps at their center which were large and often contained stables, kitchens, bedrooms, a large dining hall, and business quarters. Because there were so many nobles who all had a lot of money, the castles became more grand as time went on. Because they were also built stronger, defending a castle became easier and attacking it became harder.
Aristocratic Women
The men often had power over women even though they were allowed to own land and other property. The men were often away at war, which meant that the woman was in control of the castle for the time being. This was no small task considering the size of some castles and the amount of people within their walls. The women had to have some knowledge of financing because they were in charge of the money when the warrior was gone. The woman also had to make sure that there was enough food, and had to maintain a good bounty of food for the castle and its inhabitants. Many aristocratic daughters got married at around 16, so they had to start learning how to manage at a very young age. These girls often went to foreign castles to study, and were also known as ladies-in-waiting. They were taught by the woman in charge of that castle how to sew and knit as well as reading, writing, music, and dancing. The women still had to submit to their husbands, but they held a lot of power when he was away.
There were, however, some women who were in charge of their husbands. A well known woman, Eleanor of Aquitaine was the wife of King Louis VII of France. She went on a Crusade with him, which would have been very rare for a woman, but she was not able to have children for him, so they divorced. She married King Henry II of England after that, and had sons and daughters for him. She was also a strong political figure and even rebelled against her husband. He put her in prison, but he soon died, and she began to help her sons with politics.
Another woman named Blanche of Castile was a very powerful French queen. In the 1220's and 30's, she ruled in France, while raising her son Louis IX. A few noblemen tried to take her son away, but she refused to allow it, and when King Henry III tried to take Normandy, she had none of that either. She was very powerful, and she assisted her son when it was time for him to become ruler. Many women held high power in Europe, especially when their husbands were off fighting in the Crusades. This allowed for some women to establish themselves in society.
There were, however, some women who were in charge of their husbands. A well known woman, Eleanor of Aquitaine was the wife of King Louis VII of France. She went on a Crusade with him, which would have been very rare for a woman, but she was not able to have children for him, so they divorced. She married King Henry II of England after that, and had sons and daughters for him. She was also a strong political figure and even rebelled against her husband. He put her in prison, but he soon died, and she began to help her sons with politics.
Another woman named Blanche of Castile was a very powerful French queen. In the 1220's and 30's, she ruled in France, while raising her son Louis IX. A few noblemen tried to take her son away, but she refused to allow it, and when King Henry III tried to take Normandy, she had none of that either. She was very powerful, and she assisted her son when it was time for him to become ruler. Many women held high power in Europe, especially when their husbands were off fighting in the Crusades. This allowed for some women to establish themselves in society.
The Way of the Warrior
When boys from aristocratic families were still young, they went off to study to become a nobleman. Many of their studies included jousting, hunting, riding, and weapons handling. They also learned to read and write. Once he was about 21 years of age, and had learned everything he needed to, he was knighted. This included being given a sword as well as being hit on the head or tapped with a sword thrice on a shoulder to symbolize a blessing of military valor on the new knight.
Chivalry became a big part of a knight's morals and ethics. They chose to follow guidelines such as defending the church as well as those who are vulnerable. They also did not attack one another when the other was weaponless. The knights were only supposed to fight for 1 reason: glory.
Once the man was knighted, he went back to his parent's dwelling and had to listen to his father until he died. Once the father did die, the young knight would take over as lord and could now marry someone.
Chivalry became a big part of a knight's morals and ethics. They chose to follow guidelines such as defending the church as well as those who are vulnerable. They also did not attack one another when the other was weaponless. The knights were only supposed to fight for 1 reason: glory.
Once the man was knighted, he went back to his parent's dwelling and had to listen to his father until he died. Once the father did die, the young knight would take over as lord and could now marry someone.
The Role of Tournaments
Instead of fighting each other to the death, tournaments were created where knights could come together in supervised competitions. The first tournaments only had melees, where the knights would use non-lethal weapons to fights each other in a frenzy. These knights would then take hostages and only return them if a payment was made. This allowed successful knights to become very wealthy. Then came the jousting, where only two knights on horseback tried to knock each other off. The church did not like tournaments, however, but they carried along as an alternative to real battles. There were hidden motives to tournaments such as the preparation it allowed for real combat. Tournaments continued to be popular among knights and nobles for many years to come.
Marriage Patterns of the Aristocracy
The point of marriages between two aristocracies was to bring them together in a bond so that more wealth could be created and there could be heirs to the positions. Because the men had to wait until their father died, there was a huge gap in the ages between husband and wife. Many times the wife would be a teen, and the husband would be in his thirties. Because of the constant work of the church, the divorce rate decreased immensely. Many couples stayed together, but if they wanted to split up, the church would annul their marriage. The way that this was allowed was if they did not really agree to the marriage, if one was not able to consummate the marriage, or if they could find a blood relationship. That was how aristocratic marriages worked.