A Little History of the World

Gombrich begins his chapter on the Age of Chivalry by acknowledging that the reader has likely heard many wonderful tales about brave knights and damsels and says that “the best thing is that all of it really existed” (137). This era came about around the year 1000 and flourished for centuries in Germany, England, and particularly France. Gombrich begins his description of knighthood by first describing the fortresses that held them, built by peasants on hills or cliffs, surrounded by moats. He then explains how one would become a knight. The son of a knight would be sent as a child to another castle as a page and would become a squire to a knight at 14. If successful in his training, he would be dubbed a knight at 21 in a solemn and sacred ceremony. Gombrich suggests that the ritual and solemnity of knighthood made them not just soldiers, but also members of an order, like monks: “A monk served God through prayers and good works and a knight served God through his strength” (140).

Gombrich then turns to describe what chivalry, or behavior befitting a knight, would entail. One important aspect of chivalry was the defense of women. Knights battled in their honor and obeyed their whims out of respect.