Knight education has no special educational institutions and no full-time educators. Knight education is carried out in life and social activities. The standard of a knight is bravery, devotion to God, loyalty to the monarch and patriotism, and pampering a lady. Knight's occupation is war, but in the early feudal society, military technology was backward, and the victory or defeat of the war depended on the courage and strength of a single soldier. Therefore, knights must have the spirit of martial arts. In wartime, knights dressed in armor, riding horses and carrying swords rushed to kill the enemy to fight it out. Usually, hunting and competition are a pastime. Knights pay attention to credibility, and are ashamed of lying and breaking contracts. They will fight to the death to protect their reputation. Respect for ladies is also an important quality of knights. Noble housewives are often the educators of knights when they are young, and the special feelings of knights for ladies are called "knight's love". Knights should serve housewives, obey orders, take risks and pains, and regard ladies as their idols. This fashion gradually formed the so-called "chivalry".
The implementation of knight education can be roughly divided into three stages. Before the age of seven or eight, the children of feudal lords were raised and educated by their mothers at home. The main contents are preliminary religious education, moral education and physical maintenance. After the age of seven or eight, the feudal Lord sent his eldest son to the palace of a higher feudal Lord for education. The sons of kings and ministers were educated in their own courts, and some of them were sent to the homes of lower-class princes for education. In a higher feudal family, the children studied and lived with ladies and nobles for fourteen years, which was divided into two parts. Seven or eight years old to 145 years old is the stage of etiquette education. During this period, children followed the ladies as waiters, and in the process of serving their masters and housewives, they learned various manners and lifestyles of the upper class, and sometimes learned to sing poems, sing songs and play musical instruments to praise their masters' military achievements and the virtues and beauty of housewives, with the aim of forming obedience and respect for their masters. The host often appoints others to train waiters in riding, swimming and wrestling.
14, 15 years old entered the stage of regular classes. I began to learn the "seven skills of knight" from my master, that is, riding a horse, swimming, throwing a gun, fencing, hunting, playing chess and reciting poems. At the same time, he will take care of clothes for his master, keep and wipe weapons and armor for his master. Go out with the master in wartime and learn combat skills in actual combat. When the master is in danger, the attendants should help him out of danger. Slaves have to make beds, clean bedding, prepare meals and look after horses for their masters. When you are free, you should play chess and take a walk with the housewife. In the later stage of this stage, future knights will also receive the so-called "love education". They can choose an older woman and express their love to her in the form of poetry and dance. Love each other sincerely whether you are married or not.
At the age of twenty-one, the attendant education ends, and a grand ceremony must be held to confer the title of knight. The ceremony includes religious ceremonies such as fasting, prayer and priest's blessing, then swearing, and finally accepting the knight's symbol-sword and shield. From then on, it means that he entered adulthood, was accepted by the aristocratic society, and began to serve his lords.
The purpose of knight education is to cultivate a warrior who can protect the interests of feudal lords. Although its content also pays attention to cultivating religious moral quality, its main purpose is to cultivate military campaign ability. Therefore, knight education does not pay attention to reading, writing and calculation. Generally speaking, feudal lords were poor in cultural knowledge and many of them were illiterate. Many documents in the early Middle Ages were signed by priests when knights signed them. Chivalry originated in the 9th century, and flourished from the end of 1 1 century to the Crusade of13rd century. Later, due to the extensive use of new weapons such as artillery and gunpowder, the role of chivalry was dwarfed, and the knight education system gradually declined.