The Age of Chivalry saw the rise of knights and a code of chivalry that glorified combat and romantic love. Knights served feudal lords and fought in battles and tournaments. They were to protect the weak and serve their feudal lord, God, and a chosen lady. Tournaments were mock battles where knights could gain fame and riches. Actual battles during sieges featured violent clashes and warfare technologies like trebuchets, battering rams, and mangonels. Troubadours composed songs about courtly love at castles. Over time, the role of women in society became less powerful.

1. The Age of ChivalryThe Age of Chivalry

2. The Age of ChivalryThe Age of Chivalry
The code of chivalry for
knights glorified combat and
romantic love.
Chivalry has shaped modern
ideas of romance in Western
cultures.

3. Terms to knowTerms to know
chivalry
tournament
troubadour

4. Where you’ve heard these termsWhere you’ve heard these terms
Cavalier and chivalry both
come from the French chevalier
which means knight
The final four is the nickname of
the NCAA basketball
tournament

5. Knights become an importantKnights become an important
part of battlepart of battle
 Charles Martel
organized the
Frankish army into
troops of armored
horsemen, knights.
 The development
of the saddle and
stirrups made it
easier to fight on
horseback.
The knight is still
seen as a symbol of
war and battle 1000
years later

6. Feudal lords raise private armiesFeudal lords raise private armies
 Knights were given fiefs in order to
protect feudal lords from other nobles
trying to take their land.
 By granting the knights fiefs, the
knights were able to use the wealth of
the land to buy weapons, armor and
warhorses
 A knight typically served in 40 days of
battle per year

7. ChivalryChivalry
 Chivalry is a complex set of ideas
which demanded that a knight
fight bravely in defense of three
masters.
• His earthly feudal lord
• His heavenly lord
• His chosen lady

8. ChivalryChivalry
 The chivalrous
knight also
protected the weak
and the poor
 The ideal knight
was loyal, brave
and courteous.
 Many knights
failed to live to
these standards

9. TournamentsTournaments
 Sons of nobles
began training for
knighthood at a
young age.
 After a year or two
of training, they
entered mock
battles called
tournaments Trumpets blared and lords and
ladies cheered. Tournament
winners could demand large
ransoms from defeated knights.

10. Bloody BattlesBloody Battles
 Unlike
tournaments,
actual battles were
quite violent and
bloody.
 Castle battles are
among the most
bloody.
The home of the lord and lady,
a castle under siege was a gory
sight. Defenders poured boiling
water, hot oil or molten lead
while archers on the roof fired
arrows and bolts at attackers.

11. Castle WeaponsCastle Weapons
A Siege Tower had a
platform on top that
lowered like a drawbridge.
It could support soldiers
and weapons
A Battering Ram was made
of heavy timber with a
sharp metal tip. It swung
like a pendulum to crack
castle walls or knock down
a drawbridge

12. TrebuchetTrebuchet
 A Trebuchet
worked like a
giant slingshot.
 It propelled
objects up to a
distance of 980
feet (More than
3 football fields)
A Trebuchet was used to launch
•pots of burning lime
•boulders
•severed human heads
•captured soldiers
•diseased cows
•dead horses

13. Castle and Siege WeaponsCastle and Siege Weapons
A tortoise moved slowly on
wheels and sheltered
soldiers from falling
arrows.
A mangonel flung huge
rocks that crashed into
castle walls. It propelled
objects up to 1300 feet.

14. Epic PoetryEpic Poetry
The Song of Roland is one of the
most famous medieval poems.
It praises a band of French
soldiers who dies in a battle
under Charlemagne.

15. TroubadoursTroubadours
 Troubadours were poet-musicians at the
castle-courts of Europe.
 They composed short songs about the joys
and sorrows of romantic love
Troubadours then and now.

16. Shifting Role of WomenShifting Role of Women
 The Church viewed women as inferior
to men.
 Romantic love placed women on a
pedestal
 As Middle Ages progress, noblewomen
possess less power than they had in
earlier years.