Knights of Mayhem Facts: The Harder They Fall
- A lance is a long wooden stick with a metal tip used as a weapon on horseback.
- The term “mayhem” is a legal term meaning an offender deprives a victim the use of a part of their body rendering it useless and making them unable to defend themselves.
- Becoming a page, a position that served as apprentice and assistant to a squire, was the first step for a young nobleman toward becoming a knight.
- A young noble boy could be appointed to the position of page as young as age 7.
- The term “chivalry” in English law had more to do with real property holdings due to knights’ service than ideals like courtesy or generosity.
- Adding a stirrup to knights’ saddles increased the shock potential when using a lance in battle.
- Medieval battles usually had hundreds of one on one combats like sport jousting.
- Titling is sport jousting where noble horsemen ride a horse with lance in hand at full speed with the goal of inserting their lance through small metal rings.
- The term “joust” in the Middle Ages could also refer to the combat between two men on foot.
- Some of the favorite medieval pastimes included tournaments with knights, hunting, and hawking.
- A “tabard” was an article of clothing worn by crusading knights over their armor to prevent the sun from reflecting off the metal making them less visible to their enemies.
- Pages, the young apprentices of squires and knights, were able to attend functions of the royal family and court.
- A coat of arms was used to distinguish noble families from one another in battle and began in medieval Europe.
- Russia and eastern European countries brought the lance back into battle in the late eighteenth century.
- The destrier, a type of horse, was best known as a war animal in Europe during medieval times.
