Page 241 - Western Civilization A Brief History, Volume I To 1715 9th - Jackson J. Spielvogel

considerably, castles did possess two common features: they were permanent residences for the noble family, its retainers, and servants, and they were defensible fortifications. For defensive purposes, castles were sur- rounded by open areas and large stone walls. At the heart of the castle was the keep, a large, multistoried building that housed kitchens, stables, and storerooms; a great hall for visitors, dining, and administrative business; and numerous rooms for sleeping and living. The growing wealth of the High Middle Ages made it possible for the European nobility to build more com- plex castles with thicker walls and more elaborately decorated interiors. With their sturdier construction, castles were easier to defend and harder to seize by force.
THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR At the age of seven or eight, the sons of the nobility were sent either to a clerical school to pursue a religious career or to another noble- man’s castle, where they prepared for the life of a noble. Those learning to be nobles chiefly learned mili- tary lessons in how to joust, hunt, ride, and handle weapons properly. After his apprenticeship in knight- hood, at about the age of twenty-one, a young man for- mally entered the adult world in a ceremony of “knighting” during which a sponsor girded a sword on the young candidate and struck him on the cheek or neck with an open hand (or later touched him three times on the shoulder with the blade of a sword), a cer- emony that may have signified the passing of the spon- sor’s military valor to the new knight.
In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, under the influence of the church, an ideal of civilized behavior called chivalry gradually evolved among the nobility that represented a code of ethics for knights. In addi- tion to defending the church and the defenseless, knights were expected to treat captives as honored guests instead of putting them in dungeons. Chivalry also implied that knights should fight only for glory, but this account of a group of English knights by a me- dieval writer reveals another motive for battle: “The whole city was plundered to the last farthing, and then they proceeded to rob all the churches throughout the city, . . . and seizing gold and silver, cloth of all colors, gold rings, goblets, and precious stones ... they all returned to their own lords rich men.”2 Apparently, not all chivalric ideals were taken seriously.
After his formal initiation into the world of war- riors, a young man returned home to find himself once again subject to his parents’ authority. Young men were discouraged from marrying until their fathers died, at
which time they could marry and become lords of the castle. Trained to be warriors but with no adult respon- sibilities, young knights had little to do but fight. As the church stepped up efforts to curb socially destruc- tive fighting in the twelfth century, tournaments began to be organized. Initially, a tournament consisted of a melee, in which warriors on horseback fought with blunted weapons in free-for-all combat. By late in the century, the melee was preceded by a joust, or individ- ual combat between two knights. Gradually, jousts became the main part of the tournament. Knights saw tournaments as an excellent way to train for war. As one knight explained, “A knight cannot distinguish himself in [war] if he has not trained for it in tourneys. He must have seen his blood flow, heard his teeth crack under fist blows, felt his opponent’s weight bear down upon him as he lay on the ground and, after being twenty times unhorsed, have risen twenty times to fight.”3
ARISTOCRATIC WOMEN Although women could legally hold property, most women remained under the con- trol of men—their fathers until they married (usually at the age of fifteen or sixteen) and their husbands af- ter they married. Nevertheless, aristocratic women had numerous opportunities for playing important roles. Because the lord was often away at war, on a crusade (see Chapter 10), or at court, the lady of the castle had to manage the estate, a considerable responsibility in view of the fact that households, even of lesser aristo- crats, could include large numbers of officials and serv- ants. The lady of the castle was also often responsible for overseeing the food supply and maintaining all other supplies for the smooth operation of the household.
Although women were expected to be subservient to their husbands (see the box on p. 205), there were many strong women who advised and sometimes even dominated their husbands. Perhaps the most famous was Eleanor of Aquitaine (ca. 1122–1204), heiress to the duchy of Aquitaine in southwestern France. Mar- ried to King Louis VII of France (1137–1180), Eleanor accompanied her husband on a crusade, but her alleged affair with her uncle during the crusade led Louis to have their marriage annulled. Eleanor then married Henry, duke of Normandy and count of Anjou, who became King Henry II of England (1154–1189). She took an active role in politics, even assisting her sons in rebelling against Henry in 1173 and 1174.
Blanche of Castile (1188–1252) was another power- ful medieval queen. She became regent while her son
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