In the medieval period people lived in manors. A manor was a place of safety, and was usually made up of a village, a church, and a castle. The castle was where the lord of the manor, his family and some of his servants lived. Everyone who lived on the manor worked for the lord. There were peasants who worked the farmland, and then there were people who worked in the castle. A few people who worked in the castle were knights, messengers, squires, bishops, and chaplains. Unless someone was educated or of noble birth, they were a physical laborer. If you did not directly serve the lord in the castle as a servant, you were working his land for him.
First there are the lord and the lady of the castle. The lord could have whatever he pleased. He had a room of his own in the castle with a bed and chests for his clothes. He had nice clothes with buckles and jewelry. Many lords and ladies had servants that dressed them when they got up. They wore perfume and put herbs in the room that belonged to them to make it smell good. The lord of the manor had a variety of things to do. He has to handle the dealings of the people who live on his land as well as manage them. He also had and Oath of Fealty to the king. The oath is a way of promising loyalty. In war he was too fight and provide warriors from his land. If the lord had to leave the manor for any length of time his wife, the lady, would take over. The people who lived on the manor paid the lord for using his land by working the land for him. Any issues among the people were brought to the lord and tried by him. Most wrongdoings could be righted by paying a fine.
Lords often loved to hunt. They would spend hours hunting. Hunting was also the only way of getting meat for their meals. There were two main types of hunting: falconry and hunting of land animals. The lords tried to keep forests for their own private use. They made laws so that the peasants couldn't hunt in their forests. The other type of hunting was falconry. The lord would use a special bird to hunt and kill another bird or small animal. A falcon is the bird they used to hunt with. A servant called a falconer trained the bird. It was trained to kill other birds and small animals. The female falcon was larger and more vicious than the male so they were more commonly used for hunting.
The Church was very influential. The kings and local lords would bring members of the clergy like the bishops and priests into the castle, and the priests would help establish the rules of the land. The priests were not as influential as the bishops and archbishops who came from rich families. The priests did not have to pay taxes because what they did was noble. They cared for community and ran Mass. The priest was very important to the people of the manor, he took care of the baptisms and wedding ceremonies and he source of education. The priest was in charge of religious occasions and he performed the rites to the dying. The priest in charge of a chapel was called a chaplain. Chaplains in castles were also in charge of anything having to do with reading and writing including things like documents and records. The chaplain was one of the only educated people in the castle.
To become a knight in Medieval Times was a very hard task. Boys didn't get to become nights because they were the sons of nobles, they had to go through many steps to achieve knighthood, which required years of training. The steps began with the boy training as a page and then training as a squire. The sons of nobles were placed in service of the lord. They were sent to live in the castle lord and continue their education, and learn the skills required to be a knight. . They also had a special code that they followed. The Code of Chivalry was a system that went introduced the concept of Chivalrous behavior and courtly love. The qualities expected of knight were that they were brave, courteous toward women, and honorable. The Code of Chivalry said that a Knight is to be brave and fearless, but would also be loyal, courteous and generous. They promised to protect the weak, be loyal to their king, and serve God. The code did not include the peasants. The defending of the weak was interpreted as noble women and children. They were sometimes abusive to the peasants. Knights were humble in front of others, but especially people that were there superiors. The code demanded a knight show mercy to an enemy. Most knights came from noble families, but weren't firstborns so they would not receive an inheritance. They would plunder captured villages and cities, sometimes destroying churches and other property. Several ceremonies were attended and oaths were made before anyone could be a knight.
Being a squire was an important step to becoming a Knight. A squire was a servant to a knight. Squires had served seven years as a page before becoming a Squire at fourteen years old. As a page he was a boy, and ladies of the castle were in charge of caring for him. Squires were seen as young men. Squires moved from the care of the ladies to the Knights. The squires once handed over to the knights became the knight's helper. They did many jobs like accompanying the knights to the battlefield, they attended to their knight's horses, waiting the table, running the knights errands, and guarding the knights while they slept.
Of the many people who lived in the castle, all were there to serve the lord of that castle. Even those who did not live in the castle, but on the manor were his servants. The lord was a servant of the king. The lord owned that land to provide for the king whenever he was in need. The peasants worked the land to pay the lord for using it and the lord used that to provide the king with resources, battle supplies, and sometimes people. The people of the castle were all servants to someone higher than them.
