In medieval Europe, titles such as Duke, Hou, Bo, Zi, Man and Knight were both titles and official titles.
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duke
As early as the Roman Empire, the title of Duke in continental Europe was usually awarded to senior commanders who defended their territories and made outstanding military achievements, but it was interrupted by major political changes. Hundreds of years later, the title of Duke was discovered in Germany. Around 970 AD, German Emperor Otto I first established the title of Duke. Soon France and other parts of the European continent also established a principality (duchy；; Grand Duchy, Grand Duchy). In Britain, the duke is the highest nobleman after the king or prince, which is different from the "Grand Duke" in continental Europe as the head of a country. The title of Duke of England appeared very late. 1337, Edward III upgraded Cornwall to a principality, and awarded seven-year-old Edward the title of Duke of Edward the Black Prince. Crown Prince 16 years old participated in the Hundred Years' War, showing sharp edges; 1355 went to France to command operations, with outstanding achievements. His father rewarded him with many titles, such as Prince of Wales in 1343 and Duke of Aquitaine in 1362. In order to highlight the special status of the duke, in the years to come, except for the queen's spouse and prince, other royal relatives are not allowed to be kings, and the highest title can be the duke. Subsequently, Edward III and his successors successively established the Principality of Lancaster (135 1), the Principality of Clarence (1362), the Principality of York and Gloucester (1385), the Principality of hereford (1397) and the Principality of Bateford. The leaders of these principalities are all relatives of the royal family. After gaining a high title, they stood out among the nobles and possessed extraordinary power, which laid a hidden danger for the future struggle for kingship, disrupted the imperial platform and created war. Since the establishment of 1483 Norfolk Principality, the title of Duke began to be awarded to people outside the royal family, but the principality was rarely established. Moreover, most of the commanders who can get this highest title are commanders with outstanding military achievements. Even if managers in the administrative field have served for many years and achieved remarkable results, it is difficult to win this honor.
On formal occasions, the duke also wore a crimson velvet coat with four minks in his hat. Its crown has a gold ring decorated with eight red gold leaves. The king called the duke "our truly trusted and beloved partner"
marquis
Marquis (also called Marquis). As far as etymology is concerned, it is German Markgraf [Bao Hou; Governor of border colonies; Evolved. Marquis's original intention is similar to "Fang Bo", which refers to a government official who runs a place. In England, the Latin "Marquis" originally refers to the Lord of the Welsh border. At that time, it only showed that their territory was close to the border, not that their status was higher than that of the count. The meaning of 1385 changed, and Robert de Weil, the 9th Earl of Oxford, was made the Marquis of Dublin. 1397, John, Earl of Somerset, was made Marquis of Dorset and Marquis of Somerset. Marquis's status and honor is not clear, about between the duke and the count, and they are not valued for a period of time. During the reign of Henry VI, John de Beaford was relieved of the title of Marquis by the king, and the House of Commons petitioned the king for this purpose, demanding the restoration of the title of Beaford. But he himself opposed begging for the king, saying: "Marquis is a new honorary title, which was completely unknown to his ancestors. So look at it coldly and don't think it is wise to accept it. " In the15th century, this title was valued by the nobles only after it kept the second position of the title. Compared with the other four classes of nobles, the number of Marquis has always been the least.
On important occasions, the Marquis also wore a Red Velvet coat with three and a half rows of mink on his hat and a silver ring with four gold leaves and four silver balls on his crown. The king called him Duke.
Count:
Of the five big noble in England, the Earl appeared first. Some scholars believe that the title of Earl comes from continental Europe. In France in 900 AD at the latest, the count became a vassal of the duke. However, more scholars believe that the British Earl and the French Earl have no inheritance or joint relationship. In addition, the title of British Earl is the only English word among the five noble titles, which is transformed from the old English eorl. Around the late Anglo-Saxon era, due to the lack of strong kingship, the vast area of England was divided into several large earl jurisdictions. However, the title of Earl was introduced to England by King Knut of Denmark at the beginning of 1 1 century. 11-1Before the middle of the 2nd century, Ors was mostly a vassal. Most people go to several counties by themselves, so they are also called "Fang Bo". After Norman Archduke William invaded Britain, he was worried that their power was too heavy, endangering the royal power and national unity, so he divided Fang Bo's power and gave it to his cronies. The jurisdiction of each count is limited to one county, and his relationship with the king is very clear. If the count dares to make an insurrection, he will be suppressed by Wang Jun or punished by other nobles. Earls' official titles can be inherited by future generations, but the total number will be reduced because some Earls lack heirs. When Stephen was in office, Auffray de Mainville was made Earl of Essex. Since14th century, the number of earl has increased. There are 9 in 1307. In 1327, there were only six when Edward III acceded to the throne, and it increased to 12 after 10; Edward increased to 14 in the later period of his reign. 141before the 1920s, the earl, as a senior aristocrat, was the "natural * * *" of the baron and was responsible for managing the barons and knights at the local level. However, in the political crisis of 1327, when Edward III deposed his mother Princess Isabella as the regent, the earl acted independently as a political group with "self-awareness", and his "sense of distance" with the barons suddenly appeared. After Henry III increased the territory of earl of march in 1328, the earl did not have to perform the duties of local administration.
On important formal occasions, the count will wear a deep red velvet coat with a white fur edge and three minks sewn on the soft hat to show the rank of the title. There is a gold-plated silver ring on the crown and eight silver balls on the upper edge. The king called the count his "truly trustworthy and lovely partner"
Viscount:
Among the nobles in the House of Lords, the viscount is the shallowest. Viscount originated in France, and was originally the county magistrate, ranking below the count, but sometimes it may also be a powerful vassal. In Britain, John of Bio-Mountain was made a viscount in 1440, ranking higher than all barons.
There are two rows and a half of mink on the viscount's hat, and a silver ring is added to the crown and decorated with six silver balls.
Baron:
The word Baron existed in Anglo-Saxon times, but without the title of Baron, its meaning is uncertain. It seems to mean "free man" or "servant of the king", but it has no noble meaning. English barons appeared in 1 1 century. By the beginning of 12 century, most of the king's senior secular nobles were made barons. Among them, a few people who are closely related to the royal family and have more fiefs are also called "big barons", and their status is between the earl and the baron. Soon, the big baron was divided, the outstanding one was promoted to count, and the rest were equal to ordinary barons. The word "Baron" has long been regarded as a collective noun of aristocrats because Baron occupied a high proportion among the secular aristocrats at that time. 11-14th century, barons' titles and fiefs can be passed down through blood and marriage, but they can't be bought or sold at will, and kings of past dynasties can't add or deprive aristocratic titles at will. 1387, Richard II added the title of Baron for the first time, and Kemp de Hart was named Baron Kidminster. Hundreds of years have passed, and the number of barons living at the bottom of the five-class aristocracy has been the largest.
On formal occasions, the baron wears the same coat as the count, two mink coats on his hat and a light silver ring decorated with six silver balls on his crown.
knight
Legends of medieval knights often exaggerate all kinds of romantic reverie. Most of this comes from our dissatisfaction with the status quo and our imagination: living in an antique castle and living a noble life; Defeat evil wizards and giants, protect kind but ignorant farmers, and fight bravely in the name of ladies or kings. The martial arts novels that turned Don Quixote upside down, or the improvisation of provence folk singers, fully explained the code of conduct of the ideal knight. However, even modern people cannot always follow their own conscience; Besides, in the past, when we spoke by force, knights often deviated from the limited track.
First of all, it is necessary to point out that the definition of chivalry, by today's standards, is nothing more than the following three:
First, as an integral part of the feudal system;
Second, as an independent social class;
Third, personal behavior, honor and moral standards.
Let's go back to that era. Europe is redrawing the pattern on the ruins. The glory of Rome has passed, and the dawn of the Renaissance has not yet arrived.
After the earliest barbarian unrest ended, Franks, Celts and Vandals successively established their own countries. Teutonic conquest swept the whole northwest Europe, and their soldiers were almost all infantry. From Tacitus' anthology, we can find that there was a grand rite of passage between Germanic tribes at that time. Men all over the country get together, and young people of school age are given a spear and a shield by tribal leaders or their parents, and formally become soldiers. This ritual was common among Gauls at that time. Franks follow these traditions, from Charlemagne to pious Louis to bold Charlie, they all get a sword at the bar mitzvah. We can think that this is the predecessor of chivalry.
As we all know, Carolingian dynasty was the first country to adopt the system of territory and fief. Charlemagne traveled in the north all his life, but he lacked enough funds to maintain a huge army. So he divided the conquered land into small pieces and distributed them to many followers with the farmers above. This is a feudal system, and people who own real estate also have political rights. Of course, there is a contract between the king and the Lord: the king provides protection for the Lord, and in return, the Lord pays taxes every year and serves regularly. The land is still owned by the king, and the Lord has only the right to use it. Charlemagne was powerful enough to frighten all directions, but his descendants did not keep centripetal force. The pious Louis made a big mistake: distributing the country equally to the offspring who are hostile to each other. So after his death, the huge empire failed to overcome the bottleneck and split into three. So the fiefs, large and small, became relatively independent kingdoms, and the aristocratic fiefs became hereditary and inseparable.
At that time, Europe was frequently invaded by foreigners, with Muslims in the south, Vikings in the north and magyars (the predecessor of Hungarians) in the east. 1 1 century, aristocratic children who worked far away from the Lore River and the Rhine River were trained in fighting and equestrian since childhood. There is no doubt that the earliest cavalry and knights were nobles and rich people. Because only they can afford expensive equipment: they have to take three or four horses in turn, and each horse has to eat a lot of food, especially when agricultural production is underdeveloped, which is a great expense; Armor should be tailored at the blacksmith's shop, as well as retinue equipment. Generally speaking, a person's military equipment needs about 20 bulls, that is, a farmer's family must plow at least 10 calf. Such expenses are beyond the reach of civilians. The samurai class on horseback is also an aristocratic class. The superiority of birth is bound to be accompanied by contempt for the lower classes. They found a common hobby: war. Similar to the Roman era, the nobles in the Middle Ages formed heavy cavalry and became the main force of the army in that era.
There is a saying in the era of Philip VI: "In order to avoid the coming disaster, people divide themselves into three categories: the first category is people who pray to God; The second category is people who do business and farm land; The third kind is a knight born to protect the first two kinds of people from injustice and harm. This is a typical division of the social structure in the Middle Ages. The word knight comes from Caballarii, a collection of Capitularies in Charlemagne, which originally meant jockey.
1066, William the Conqueror set foot on the land of Britain. The result of the Battle of Hastings is mainly related to this article in three points: it brought relatively advanced feudal system to the British Isles; Sarmat's small round shield was eliminated, and Norman soldiers formed a row of kite-shaped shields (long shields with a round top and a sharp bottom), which can effectively resist bow and arrow shooting, making friendship and mutual assistance an important part of knight training in the eleventh century; Norman independent cavalry units played a great role, and the word knight entered English, referring to soldiers riding horses. 1 1 In the middle of the century, the knight class was formally formed.
As a military mobilization system, feudalism is more conducive to defense than attack, and nobles everywhere have the obligation to be diligent at any time. To this end, countries have specially promulgated relevant laws and regulations to punish knights who failed to respond to the call in time. In Britain, since the era of Henry II, there has been a saying that military service is tax-free. The obligations of feudal lords have also changed. As long as they pay the central tax, they don't have to go into battle in person. In the era of Edward III, Henry V and VI, wars were frequent, and these funds were used to pay huge military expenditures. This reform was carried out slowly in the 13th and 14th centuries. Mercenaries began to account for an increasing proportion in the armies of European countries, and the structure of the armed forces also changed relatively. In the past, it was difficult to integrate the influence of the king into the territory of the Crusaders-they were only led by the church. Mercenaries now work hard for lords, for money, or to go to the East and become new noble. Naturally, veterans who participated in the Crusades and successfully returned can get better treatment.
Crusaders marked the arrival of the golden age of knight culture, and the Crusaders were considered as perfect knights. It is regarded as the highest duty of a knight to recapture the holy land from pagans and protect helpless pilgrims. In return, the church put the knights under its own protection, making them a multinational organization. Promised to give them church property and various religious privileges, exempting the Crusaders from repentance. One-tenth of the church's land income is paid to knights to protect pilgrims from going to the holy land. 1099, Jerusalem was conquered, but the holy land and the Latin countries in the East were still surrounded by Arabs and Turks. The need to establish a standing army is becoming increasingly urgent, so special military regulations have been formulated, which has become the so-called fourth dogma, that is, fighting pagans for a long time. Crusader groups were established one after another, and religion endowed the Knights Templar and Knights Hospital with noble aura.
Like Canon, the rules of order are equally binding on every member. Faith and dogma unite knights from different backgrounds, love each other, and have the same position and purpose. At the same time, it also stipulates their loyalty to faith, respect for lords, caution in words, justice and tolerance on the battlefield, and adherence to the principles of honor and humility.
So the place where chivalry was independent from feudalism came into being, and the rules of the Crusaders had many similarities with the canon. The Christian virtue in chivalry was formed at this time. Crusaders have both the piety of monks and the generosity of nobles. Generally speaking, there are only two suitable outlets for the children of the ruined nobles who have lost their territory or have not obtained the inheritance rights: priests or soldiers. Obviously, the latter is more attractive. The fanaticism of liberating the holy land and the huge benefits promised by the church are irresistible. Many civilians sell their property and buy equipment just to go to the East. So these professional soldiers joined big noble's guards one after another and followed the king or emperor to the East, eager for rich booty or rich ransom.
Dressed in plain clothes, these soldiers lived a poor monk's life, changed their names in the name of guardian saints, fought under the command of big noble, and became rich by donations. Knights who volunteered to devote themselves to this cause became perfect models, so Frederick I with red beard, Richard I with lion's heart and Augustus with Philip II all became models, while the latter was canonized as saints, although they all killed many Christians at home. These Crusaders were the forerunners of British Guardian Knight, golden fleece Knight of Burgundy, Anuniziata Knight of Savoi, Saint Michel Knight of France and Knight of the Holy Spirit.
14 and 15 centuries, the military organizations of European countries are similar. Under the king are the general manager and the marshal, whose powers are sometimes independent and sometimes cross. Then the herald, herald, plays the role of adjutant, clerk and staff officer. As the name implies, he is often sent to the other side's camp to accept the gauntlet or ask for a truce, and he is also responsible for counting his casualties after the war. He is an all-powerful position. The following combat troops are divided into squadrons, led by nobles or knights. Generally speaking, knights are divided into two grades, one is called Banneret, that is, knights. The name comes from their rectangular flag, which is the main force in the battle. A trainee knight is called a bachelor, or apprentice. They formed a smaller queue and followed the main force. They need to accumulate experience and master more combat skills. The flag of the trainee knight is also rectangular, but the end is forked into a dovetail shape. After they have made considerable achievements, they can ask the commander for an upgrade. So the herald cut off the dovetail on the flag and upgraded to a knight.
Both kinds of knights are guarded by attendants, whose spears and flags in the shape of the Yangtze River Delta are hung on their guns. These flags have uniform specifications and are painted with family badges. Accordingly, knights are divided into two grades, and attendants also have two grades. Attendants refer to the elderly attendants who join the battle with their masters; Page is equivalent to an orderly, mostly children who have received knight training. At that time, every castle was a knight school. After completing the training in youth, these attendants can become formal trainee knights after the adult ceremony. Some people can't afford the high expenses of knights, and they will be attendants all their lives. Of course, the famous prince and big noble's children are born knights.
There will naturally be a downgrade if there is an upgrade, but it is extremely rare. Up to 1793, there have been three downgrades in Britain. 162 1 year, Sir Francis Lin Kewei was robbed of his knight's head, jiaozi, and was detained in Westminster Hall, showing how serious the matter was. It was a great shame that his spurs were taken back and his sword belt was cut.
In contrast, there are two naming ceremonies for knights. First, it is relatively simple and common, and it is often held in wartime: the candidate kneels in front of an army leader or a prestigious knight, and the officiating person touches his shoulder with the back of his sword three times and offers proverbs and admonitions, and the whole ceremony is completed. In this way, from 1 1 to16th century, a number of knights will be produced after each world war. Simple forms are more accepted and widely used in peacetime.
Of course, there are more grand ceremonies. In15th century England, the knight's head jiaozi had to be presented by the lords: the master touched the back of the sword on each other's neck and shoulders, and then swore loyalty and honor in the name of guardian saints (St. George of England and St. Andrew of Scotland). Then the host sang "Avencez, Rise Sir", which is usually the Christian name of the knight. "The whole ceremony is over. After that, there are different celebrations, such as the king's banquet, giving cloaks, armor and spurs; Or the model of the church, in which every brother of the church blesses the new people and gives them bibles and crosses, and the new entrants themselves say that they will give up the respect and common names in the world, and so on.
The latter ceremony was gradually combined with other important ceremonies. For example, in Britain, knighthood is usually accompanied by royal celebrations. The so-called Knight Bath was knighted at the coronation ceremony of the king. This rule began with Henry IV, and it was not until the coronation of charles ii that the Order of Bath was established. These knights are also called Spur Knights because they are given gold and silver spurs.
Generally speaking, the essence of chivalry combined the aristocratic temperament, Christian virtue and respect for women at that time. The ideal knight should not only be strong, but also need absolute loyalty, generosity and tolerance. Like a hero in an epic, he served the kind people with his arms, fought bravely in the name of the church, and protected pilgrims going to the East.
After the Crusade, chivalry gradually lost its religious color and only represented the sense of honor of the aristocratic class. This spirit passed down from generation to generation was widely celebrated in the Hundred Years' War between Britain and France, and both knights maintained ancient etiquette. After the bloody battle, there will be gun races and military parades occasionally. In fact, such occasions are rare. After Edward I of England's death, Britain completely canceled the firearms competition, and a terrible accident happened in France: 1559, 1 In July, Henry II was competing with Count Montgomery, and the sheath on the gun head suddenly fell off. As Nostradamus predicted, the king was stabbed through the brain. The church then issued a ban, banning all gun competitions for two centuries.
No matter what brilliant achievements the knights have made, war will always be a blood-red flower without results. The collision of state machines caused a large-scale economic recession, and only the bottom people really suffered. As a result, peasant uprisings broke out in both countries, especially in Britain and Flanders, the center of the war. They have every reason to protest against tyranny and injustice, and state taxes and resources are used for aristocratic war games and extravagance and waste. So Gautier insisted that the golden age of knight culture was in 12 century. After all, for Europeans, killing pagans is more legendary.
With the fall of Ake, the last Latin kingdom in the East was destroyed, and eight Crusades ended in failure. No matter how much influence it has on future generations, chivalry will continue. The motivation of loyalty to the king was exhausted in the Hundred Years' War, and both sides, from the nobility to the poor, were tired of repeated sawing. So the bards in the south of France put away their chivalry-romanticism for the last time.
The theme of love in romantic literature deviates greatly from the original intention of chivalry, and influenced by it, the ideal knight should be loyal to the ideal woman. Please note that the ideal woman loves him deeply but can't get it. I may have only met once and never even said a word. It doesn't matter. Showing infatuation with pure spiritual love, the ideal lover is a saint worthy of worship rather than an object of ridicule. Don? Jacob's story is not funny. Such an idol should refer to the wife of another knight in reality. The greatest achievement of bending down to win credit for ladies is the establishment of monogamy in Europe. Knights in this era no longer pay attention to force as their predecessors did, but began to cultivate all kinds of advanced tastes. With the vigorous development of the Renaissance, they became the embryonic form of the gentleman class.
Ideal is ideal, and reality is reality. There are some deviations in the actual situation. Feudalism is the root of knight culture, which greatly limits all kinds of excessive demands on knights. Here are two concrete examples.
When it comes to respect for women, the rise of Christianity has improved the status of women to a certain extent, but as Gautier said, the feudal system tied the land with women and sold it by her parents or guardians as part of the transaction. In theory, knights have the obligation to protect orphans. But that's all. In fact, this protection is sold like a commodity. Small lords often betray their daughters in exchange for greater benefits through marriage. Such bourgeois contracts can be seen everywhere, and we are shocked by the explicit language and the universality of this phenomenon. This kind of arranged marriage, or contract marriage, indicates the misfortune after marriage, and domestic violence is common. Knights are disloyal to their wives. Gautier's "La Chevaleries" recorded a story: La Tour Landry, a knight of champagne, witnessed a friend beating his wife in the street and concluded to his daughter after returning home: "Arrogance and rudeness are not part of the engagement." This phenomenon is not only the result of demanding self-discipline everywhere in that era, but also the evil result of arranged marriage.
Ladies in the upper class will still be beaten, and children will be treated abnormally. John Simms recorded the history of an ancient family in Berkeley. From 1288 to 1500, there were five arranged marriages, and the average age of husband and wife was only 1 1 year. Lord Thomas of this family was only 5 years old when he became a knight in 1476! I got married when I was six! Viscount Maudis was only seven years old when he became a knight in 1338, all because his father died young. If the paternal relatives take care of it, there is no doubt that they will charge high fees and even annex the territory. Being a knight symbolizes adulthood, but at that time, the legal age of becoming a knight was 2 1 year at the earliest. Big noble, like the Berkeley family, stole honor to escape the guardianship of orphans, but young children had to take on the family business prematurely. Symth mentioned more than once that this is inhuman abuse of orphans.
At the same time, economic reasons led to the decline of romantic elements in knight culture to a certain extent. As far as the Berkeley family is concerned, since the middle of13rd century, jazz were not only courtiers and soldiers, but also ordinary squires. They sell the fruit produced in the castle garden, and housewives patrol around to collect land rent.
In addition, as we mentioned above, Esculer is tax-free, and neither tenants nor nobles are spared. So in the first half of 13 century, many small lords joined the army to avoid high taxes. According to the moral standards of knights, they should have fought for honor and loyalty. In any case, it provided a stable income and soldiers for the royal family. Wealthy civilians and squires always covet opportunities to improve their social status, so they buy their own equipment to join the team, and also have the opportunity to be promoted to knights because of their meritorious deeds, thus reducing the aristocratic color in knight culture. Of course, the plots of these sparrows changing into phoenixes have also been adapted by the bard in Provence, which has become a good theme for romantic novels. Poor aristocrats who have fallen into poverty can't become knights, but they can only complain helplessly that the door of honor is actually open to the new rich, no matter who their ancestors are, they are just professional illiterates.
As a result, the military romanticism on the battlefield gradually faded, and there was no decent duel anymore. The knights huddled in the observation post to speculate on the strength of their opponents, instead of standing in the forefront of the commando team like their predecessors. The Hundred Years' War brought a new way of fighting. Archers became masters of the battlefield and some knights became mercenaries.
The urgency of the war canceled the redundant decoration on the cavalry and the mobilization before the war, and only the nobles allowed it. The famous commanders of both sides, such as Robert Knowles of the British army, have vague backgrounds. Although they are knights, they are knighted instead of hereditary lords. Geisling, commander-in-chief of the French army, waited a long time to get jiaozi, the knight, because he came from a bankrupt lower aristocratic family. Edward III not only started the war, but also completely banned the instant gun race, but the Frenchman John strongly argued that the race was soon divided. On the eve of the Battle of Crixus, the French issued a chivalrous gauntlet to their opponents (knowing their absolute superiority, of course), while the British quietly left the Jedi during the truce, worthy of being pirates. This century-old war, which ended hastily, also declared the end of chivalry.
The age when chivalry prevailed was so far away from modern people. That kind of reserve and arrogance is a bit exciting and magical for us. The essence of chivalry is hard to grasp because you can't melt yourself into the past. Even in that great era, it was inevitably restricted by the social consciousness at that time. Just as the high prosperity of Greek and Roman times was based on slavery, the loyalty and self-discipline advocated by knight civilization has quietly faded, because the development of modern civilization needs to constantly break the restrictions. In fact, the most important essence failed to reach its peak even in the heyday of the Middle Ages; As a movement that combines religion with life, knights are no more successful than Puritans. But those noble qualities, such as modesty, tolerance, honesty and justice, as a spiritual heritage, have experienced the baptism of war, the corrosion of peace and all kinds of fleeting changes in human society, and will continue to survive.