A guide to the history of physical education

Chivalry, or the body of law and custom relating to knighthood, prevailed almost universally throughout western Europe between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries. Its usages were international, and in its ideal of war, religion and gallantry was summed up the whole duty of the gentleman of that age. The system can be traced in part to various customs of the ancient Germans, developed later under the influence of feudalism; but its final form was not received until the time of the Crusades (1096-1270), when the Church, in order to further her own designs, adopted and modified its practices. It was in large measure the inroads of Mohammedan warriors in Christian territory and their profanation of the Holy City which led to a substitution of military Christianity for the ascetic ideal cherished hitherto, and caused war with the infidels to be pronounced a religious duty and the battlefield a direct road to salvation. This union of chivalry with religion—the consecration of military prowess to the service of the Church—is typified in the three orders of soldier monks, the Hospitallers, the Templars, and the Teutonic Knights, which had their origin in the twelfth century. The hermit of early Catholic legends had thus been displaced as a popular hero by the king and the knight who figure in the romances of Arthur and of Charles the Great. The decline of chivalry as a military system began soon after the last crusade (1270), and in the fifteenth century became complete; for the introduction of gunpowder in warfare, with the increased importance attached to infantry and artillery, made the arms and armor of the knight of no avail and lessened the opportunities for personal distinction on the field. At the same time the growing centralization of power in the hands of the sovereign was rapidly destroying the independence of the nobility of lesser rank.

The early training of a knight bore no resemblance to the ascetic type seen in the monastery and cathedral schools. Although the boy intended for such a career was sometimes brought up at home, it was the common custom to send him away, at the age of seven or soon after, to the court or castle of some nobleman, in whose household, among other young attendants of gentle birth, he might learn the principles, acquire the breeding, and become proficient in the practices of chivalry. As a page he was expected to render to his master and mistress personal service of all sorts, even the most humble and domestic, waiting on them at the table, carrying messages, following them to the chase or camp, and in visits to neighboring castles. Meanwhile, under the tuition of the ladies, he was mastering the rudiments of reading and writing, together with the rules of courteous behavior and the first principles of gallantry. He gained some familiarity with Latin and French, the universal languages, tried his hand at playing the harp and in games of chess and backgammon, picked up many facts of history, learned much of heraldry, and became acquainted with the songs and poetry of the troubadours. But the principal part of his training was carried on outdoors, where he was already imitating grown men in his play, learning the business of a squire, and seeking to prove himself worthy of advancement to that rank.

Promotion to this second grade did not come until after the age of fourteen, though it is probable that the change from page to squire was not a sudden one. The personal service to his lord became more responsible in its nature, and thus led to a more dignified position in the household; but vigorous sports and martial exercises, in which he had already made some progress as a page, now occupied his time increasingly. Instruction in dancing was a part of his discipline in polished manners. He was early taught how to train a falcon and handle him in hawking, and in the pursuit of the stag and wild boar found occasion for the display of greater skill and daring. Running, jumping, wrestling, swimming, climbing ropes and poles and ladders, hurling stones, casting the spear, shooting with the bow and cross-bow, wielding the battle-axe, and fencing, at first with dull wooden swords, helped to harden his body and give mastery of its powers for future need. The most essential exercise, however, was horsemanship, including the adroit use of shield and lance, and the ability to endure the weight and overcome the hindrance of full armor. There was practice in leaping into the saddle without the help of stirrups, dismounting quickly, and reaching down to pick up objects from the ground. Tilting at the ring or quintain, or afterwards with a living opponent, developed a firm seat and the skill required to govern the galloping charger with the legs alone while one received and parried a thrust with the shield upon his left arm, and with the right guided the lance so as to lift his antagonist from the saddle, if possible, by striking him squarely in the throat or upon the center of his shield.

The young squire also followed his master to the field, sharing with him all the dangers and privations of a military career. He helped him to adjust and fasten the numerous pieces that composed his armor, after taking care that these were in perfect condition, assisted him to mount, held extra horses, supplied fresh lances as they were needed, raised him if unseated, attended to his wounds, received and guarded whatever prisoners were taken, sought to release him if he were taken captive, or bore away his dead body to give it proper burial. After this long apprenticeship, in case he had proved his fitness for the dignity and possessed the means to support so costly a profession, the squire who had reached the age of twenty-one might hope to take the final step. By a blow upon the shoulder with the flat of a sword some knight or noble ended his tedious years of waiting and admitted him to the great brotherhood of chivalry.

A public spectacle no less brilliant and fascinating than the pan-Hellenic games or the gladiatorial shows of the Roman world, and equally characteristic of their age, were the tournaments common all over Christendom in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Originally the rough trials of strength and skill that were a natural occurrence whenever knights met at leisure, they were little by little modified and regulated until they became the chief pastime of nobles and gentlemen, a school of war in times of peace, where the young contestant not only displayed but developed his personal bravery, presence of mind, and ability to find at once the right means of attack and defense, the field in which he often won his first laurels or attracted the attention and interest of influential men. After the decline of chivalry as a military system tournaments lost their value as an image of war, and became more and more a means of mere amusement and an occasion for display, though they did not pass entirely out of fashion until toward the close of the sixteenth century.

In tournaments proper groups of combatants on each side fought together with lance and sword in a miniature cavalry battle; while in the joust, which was far more frequent although it also formed a part of many tournaments, two horsemen only met each other, with lance and shield, sometimes continuing the combat on foot with swords after one of them had been unseated. The contestants, in both cases, appeared in full armor, and commonly, but not always, the swords were blunt and the lances tipped with flat or slightly toothed plates of metal; but injuries, nevertheless, were not infrequent, and heavy falls or suffocation from heat and dust, or serious wounds when the lance struck fair and did not split cost many a life.