For me, the best case would be becoming a monk. There is servitude, blind faith and rejection of material desires (love, fust, communication in some cases). But on the other hand, the road to many arts opens. Learning how to read and write puts you on the top 10% of the Medieval society. Mathematics, Physics, Music, Literature and History are lessons that I as a Medieval serf would probably never even hear of. As a monk I would be expected to learn them and teach them to others when I come of age. Meanwhile performing tasks like farming the land and growing some animals. Definitely not as hard labour as a peasant, but the work for the mind and the protection/solitude of the monastic orders make up for it.
This video actually painted Knighthood even more romantic than the "romanticized" popular version people knows, remember, romanticism doesnt always mean "love" but intense devotion, will and duty to the extreme, all the hardships the Knight has to endure without any recognition is what actually makes it Romantic.
A knight was a member of the nobility. They often got recognition. Consider the knight in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The romanticism of knighthood, however, comes from French literature of the high middle ages, primarily the King Arthur tales. Only when King Arthur, if he existed, was around during the Anglo-Saxon invasion, long before the concepts of knights as we think of them.
So in other words, being a medieval knight is like being a professional soldier and landlord with a big stone house and villages to look after while dealing with all the pleasantries of medieval times. Recognition is worthwhile as it means people will agree to your dealings and lords/kings will grant you privileges but at the same time you are still just a well paid soldier who may die even for the most arbitrary reasons like diseases or getting kicked by a horse. Lots of opportunities, management and your main job is every once in a while, only prepared for you to fight but you may die for all sorts of reasons.
Knights aren't really Professional Soldiers by their own Right, since most people often forget the other type of soldiery being Retinue Soldiers which existed for a long time, from the Celtic/Gallic/Germanic Tribes having their Chiefs being surrounded by their own Retinues, to Medieval Knights, Rus Druzhina, Arabic Faris and even the Japanese Samurai aren't really Professional Soldiers since they often lacked the versatility and administration of the real Professional Soldiers like the Roman Legionaries who can branch out to become the Engineer, Musicians, Surgeon and even Smiths. Retinue Soldiers are basically a way to get quality troops which is often too expensive for the common soldiers to go for so the Chiefs would choose their most trusted men to become the heavily equipped and well trained Retinue Soldiers.
Basically for short a Group of Knights would have their Knight Banneret leading his own Retinue of Bachelor Knights accompanied with their Squires and Men-at-Arms. While a Century of Legionaries(100 Men) would have their Centurion(Leader), Optiones(Second in Command), Aquilifer(Imperial Standard Bearer), Signiferi(Legion Standard Bearer and Administrator), Armorum Custodes(Equipment Manager) and Librarii(Those who keep written records)
Excuse me sir are you insinuating that I'm not going to be 6'6 Beautiful and Herculean knight loved by every woman I've ever met like Daemon Blackfyre was?
8 дней назад+3
That would depend LARGELY on the tricky question of getting enough to eat in a primitive, pre industrial world with no global transport network to secure your food supply, no farming industry, manufactured fertilizer, no johndeers, no giant silos, no corporate farming conglomerates, no ability to irrigate beyond praying for rain in a lot of cases. Then there’s genes and frankly the issue of women in this time also going without the benefits of easy access to food, soap, feminine products, hair salons, bras, plastic surgery or even parasite meds from all the lice ticks and fleas likely to come from all the animals you live in close proximity to.
As a person, who specifically studies knights, religion, medieval history and warfare - feasts and baths were not that rate, lol. And wearing armor, walking in it all day and even doing stuff like running by themselves are not that exhausting (that one is coming from experience). Weight is very naturally distributed, if the armor fits you well. The real problem is breathing and seeing in a helmet.
what? brother, a full armor suit weights from 30 to 60 lbs... the police gear i wear weights 30lbs and it may not be heavy at first, but wearing it every day of work really gives a toll on your body. no way you can say its not that exhausting in your experience
This video is nice in many ways, but it's also highly exaggerated. In essence, knights were simply low nobles with a title and duty. They had many jobs to do, and serving their lord in battle was just one of them. In fact, fighting in wars was very rare, and those chaotic pitch battles were *extremely* rare. Little squirmishes composed the vast majority of most conflicts in Feudal Europe, but being in a state of war wasn't the rule, but the exception. In fact, the main reason why tournaments existed was simply due to boredom. So much train with no one to fight, gotta find ways to gamble prestige and have some good memorable time.
medieval armor was heavy but it was spread out over your full body, their movement was not hampered that much at all, there are people who performed various sports in such armors to prove this, they were still pretty mobile despite offcourse being a little slower
polishing armor is absolutely about esthetics, repairing it is another important task but polishing has a psychological impact as well, the knight in shining armor is a potent sight, also it lowers the chance of developing rust
Polishing armour is mostly practical because -less rust, means less weakness and less likely for anything to buckle and be penetrated -Polished armour was smoother and weapons would more often glance off. Unpolished and dented armour had more places were weapons and missiles could bite and exert force, maybe even penetrate if the armour was bad quality or rusty.
Just living back then was hard, much more harder for the serfs or peasants at the lowest levels who worked the fields. Life only started to get better for many after the plague.
The simple act of existing was quite exhausting at that time, afterall there was no concept of "human rights", so there wasn't the mitigation we have today (without which, it would just be the same as back then, but with air pollution)
Look on the bright side. At least you aren't born from a hanged corpse and adopted by an abusive mercenary who sold you for coin and eventually you kill your attacker and later on your abusive adopted father in defense and you become a solo mercenary until you're forced into another mercenary group and you eventually become a knight but your best friend says you aren't his equal so you leave but come back to rescue him but he uses a magic necklace to turn himself into a demon god, sacrifices most of the group you grew to love, r***d your girlfriend and corrupted your unborn child and marked you for death and torment while he becomes a beloved king. I'll take being a regular knight over that.
Okay. There is a few issues here right away. 1. Most knights were not of common birth. They were nobles or something akin to that. 2. A medieval knight were a noble that was given land in exchange of having to serve in war, or pay a fee to hire mercs with instead. 3. A page is not the first step of being a knight. A page is just a servant. A servent that can become a knight if the noble wishes it. 4. It was not common for a page to become a squire. That happened mostly when the page was from an important family. 5. Life as a page is most likely not any worse than life as a peasent. Doing chores and cleaning up after the animals. That is what you just had to do back then. 6. A knight might not just "choose" to train a page. That page was most likely their own child, or some other knights child that they trained as their successor. Remember. A knight as a noble.
1:55 Knight's Armor weren't that heavy even in Later Medieval age, though ironically during earlier Medieval age the Chainmail is far heavier but only when not worn/just grabbing that slab of Iron Shirt. Though from the look of the theme it could be around 13th century so the Armor the Knights would be wearing are mostly Partial Plates. Squires are there to help carry and even help their Knights in wearing their armor as most armor requires a helping hand to wear. 2:42 Not all Squires turn into Knights, most of them turns into Men-at-Arms who are in some way Retinue Soldiers like Knights but is often paid instead of owning lands. Fun fact: most word for Knights are often similar to Riders, from the Germanic Reiter/Ritter to the French Chevalier, Basically most word for Knights are just "Riders" or "Horseman", since it's a tradition of Men Chosen by Kings and Lords should have the wealth to own a horse and Training to be the King's and Lord's Elite Retinue Force.
Every knight was a men-at-arms but not all men-at-arms were knights. Being a knight meant that they were part of the nobility. Anyone can be a men-at-arms as long as they have the skill and money. Also if a squire has the skill to become a knight then they will be knighted. They might not inherit land but you can still be a knight without land. There were a bunch of knights without land and that's why they fought really hard on the battlefield to gain the favour of their lords so that they may gain land. But please correct me if I'm wrong preferably with a source since I'm just saying stuff from memory.
@@Immerciful Did that, and I'm pretty skinny and not that strong. The armor has anchor points all around the gambeson (the padded shirt you wear under the armor) to keep the plates still and distributing the weight of the entire armor. You're wearing 60lb of armor but it's distributed so evenly that you don't really feel any discomfort and the better fit the armor was (trust me they had the money to make it PERFECTLY fit their bodies), the less friction you have between pieces, so your mobility is full. It's less comfortable moving in an over or undersized coat than in perfectly fit early/middle medieval armor
@@brettjohnson536 Except worse climate, worse food, clothes, housing, really stupid haircuts (especially the half bald one), and your armor is made out of wood or lacquered paper with only some metal bits if at all (funnily enough, often imported from europe) so good luck surviving a battle when all weapons are 5x more effective against you...
5:19 - wrong, just look at the various videos of HEMA guys having duels in full suit of armor, rolling and wrestling after they're done with bashing each other with their weapons
Small nitpick, but medieval horses were small. Without the intense breeding programs we have in modern times, medieval horses didn’t get much bigger than a racing horse which is quite small when it comes to modern horses. On average a medieval horse was about as large as a modern riding pony
@@BLOCK_MASTERprobably a millennial who finds doing a normal work day too physically and psychologically exhausting, preferring to live with their parents long after high school or college.
@@admincxs1670 Yeah, please explain how it's better than modern jobs. In a time where we have electricity, plumbing, medicine and we can order food to our doorstep from our phones
Thank you so much for using accurate historical data when discussing knights on armor. So many people think that it makes you a big stiff walking tin can.
Wow, I love it. It's pretty accurate and less in some but thats just nitpicks, way better than whatever I can manage. Everybody here saying "armor isnt that heavy" Yeah, it isn't, it's about endurance not strength. Fighting another man, training even walking in 15-30 kg armor is pretty hard, man. I think it was a profession like any other. It paid very well, feasts and baths, lands paid to you. Overall it's nice gig for it'a time considering everyone else was working their asses off while knights had some time to rest inbetween battles (a lot of time depending on when and where you were). End note: Knights were people who were really fucking strong (mentally and physically). to work for other people your whole life and to take on younglings to do the same for their lifes after your death. I look up to them.
7:09 not really, you were allowed to regularly drink beer let that sink in making alcohol wasn’t really refined scientifically until around the 1700 people were just throwing fruit in a barrel with juice maybe doing some stuff with mold yeast gas and seeing what sticks most of the time batches were botched and people that were good at making it we’re not keen on sharing the recipes Knights were regularly allowed to drink the stuff nowadays I can go crack open a cold one for my fridge, but it wasn’t always like that peasants did not get to drink alcohol eat cheese or meat because cheese and alcohol was hard to produce The fact that nights were regular with the stuff says a lot
What i've heard, everyone drank beer at that time. Wasn't particularly rich in alcohol, but safer than drinking water. Making beer really isn't that hard.
This video (and videos like it) could really stand to use better sources and context. I don’t think it benefits anyone to say that being a knight was miserable. It was just a profession like any other
It was a sought after position, granting you a position in the noble class, though many were already born into the noble class. The other sought out life was being in an abby or working as a cleric, but again, many of these were from nobility.
The weight of the armor and swords have long been sold to me as something you needed to be crazy strong for, but they test your endurance far more than your strength. One-handed swords are usually well under a kilogram, and two-handed ones weigh only a few kilos. I have a training vest and ankle/wrist straps that add up to 25kg. It's as heavy as one of the heavier armors. Even in mediocre shape, I can still do pullups with it, but only about 1/3 as many. I promise you could move with it. It just makes everything incredibly tiring, like being overweight. But knights would be in good shape and well adjusted to it, and their weight distribution would be better. I think this is the least of their troubles. As long as they don't have joint pains or poorly healing injuries from their fights, that is...
wooden poles would be common in training too like training to use a handgun for a war compared to a rifle if you focus on blades (sidenote, perhaps one should do a lil more research into armour and weaponry of the period if you speak of military history) (modern larp helmet depicted) small defects causing catasrophic faliure is almost never happening you slow down the corrosion of maille armour and stop plate slowly rusting with care the weight of your armour isnt that much of an issue, as a knight you are a literal noble and as such you will often have a supply train to carry parts of it, also the fact that you walk at casual pace on the march or have a broad horse to ride on before dismounting on field or swapping to a war horse, weight is spread over your entire body if a knight is fighting on foot as is depicted they dont often have closed helmets or visors as you need to focus on less as opposed to on horseback where you ride up to a crowd, hold your lance at them then ride to an assistant to get another friend from foe is easier as everyone has some distinguishing features like armour style, shield pattern, banners they crowd round and a literal 2 metre gap between armies where they swing and jab at
early medieval knights were mostly completely illiterate, even later most knights were illiterate. Literacy was not considered essential. In fact at medieval period literacy was quite rare outside of clergy
This is highly motivating, in the present age we men cry and whine at petty issues while back 500 something years back, men were "men" Honor, sacrifice among men are rare these days
Armor really wasn't that bad to wear, those 27 kgs distributed evenly across your body with your hips holding the weight makes you far more nimble than you think. The added weight tires you out faster, but that's what all the physical training was for
Good or bad at what? It depends on the time period. Knights were initially paid warring thugs for a lord, but by the 11th century, being a knight meant becoming a low member of nobility. Knights fought in wars and wars were ruthless.
Imagine being 24. Cut, stabbed and broken in your armor. Watching the sun rise slowly as the soft heat of light hits you. Closing your eyes one more time and feeling the peace of the days won in that moment. Surprisingly this is a peaceful passing
The life of a Knight sounds way better than the life of your average Westerner. Atleast a knight will not have to worry about what his purpose in life is. Sure its a hard life but I'm sure it would be equally rewarding
i gather from the video that being a knight is pretty good, and only bad from the whole wars thing, and you're framing everything bad you possibly can, and the comments say you don't even get that, so, y'know, I'm clicking [don't recommend this channel] now
Yes, the horses were huge as they had to be strong enough for battle and wear armour as well. They were very expensive, along with the armour and weaponry.
There’s an objective middle ground and nuance to this that all parties aren’t concluding. Firstly, war horses weren’t “just” horses. They were horses specifically bred and trained for battle. They were larger, stronger, more endurable, and braver than other horse breeds save draft horses debatably. War and draft horses often overlap in strength and size due to both their roles being very labour intensive. That being said, they’re very different from other breeds like standard riding horses. But secondly, yes, like humans, they’d be shorter, but horses saw a greater extreme. Horses averaged around the 4 foot range. Some of the tallest horses throughout history were 5 feet tall. The standard height for many modern horses is 6 feet tall. Unlike humans, our height never really changed. The average height for a man in the middle ages was 5’7 to 5’8. Today, it’s often considered 5’9 to 5’10, but 5’8 is still a larger percentile in studies, though there is greater height diversity. This is also solely focusing on Europe and European descendants. If we took a world average, then 5’7 would be the average height.
@@rlanious maybe in 1450 and after, before then it would be rare for horses to have chainmail. They’d usually have a caprison and metal cap. They wouldn’t be any bigger than the horses used to plow fields in the early 1900s.
Being a Knight was a much sought after position, since the hardships of being a common peasant were far superior, all the while still being consider a servant...afterall, life in the middle ages was way harder than today, and this has to be seen in perspective. Plate armor was actually less heavy and cumbersome than one would think, surely less than chainmail, and granted a great freedom of movement and speed, made the wearer virtually invulnerable to bladed weapons, at the expense of visibility.
This reminds me in Gate JSDF. (Basically good modern army vs evil medieval empire) The medieval empire has these Oprichiki as Military Commanders. Not sure how accurate in real life history but these Oprichiki as handpicked by the ruler from impulsive, arrogant and entitled "noblemen" as a result their disciplinary actions on their own soldiers are torture, hazing and in one scene a Oprichiki killed more than half of his own brigade just to set an example.
The life of a squire = jabroni Then when you get a pop in battle the king puts you over to be a boring face = knight Then overbooks you to the point you get burned out
6:19 20-50% of knights died in battle Contrast to 10-20% of foot soldiers But it’s more like being a surgeon versus being a hospital custodian Nights were wealthy often the children of nobles and from your explanation, it takes as much as 14 years of combat training to produce a single knight They don’t need to attend to the needs of peasants, because they just wasn’t a thing in monarchies they collect taxes they get wealthy and rich and they insure their families future Notes were not often known for their grand feast, but they certainly ate better than the soldiers knights coming from noble families had the potential Direct relations with the king, or marry into royalty because of their status Their life was harder than our lives today but proportionally better than the lives of most people kinda like I was surgeon works 60 hours a week but gets paid significantly more than a teacher who works 40 hours a week and only works 180 days a year So proportional to training and activity knights died less often armored cavalry was extremely effective Their lives were not terrible
You would probably be killed your self before you were sent to burn your home as their rebellion is ultimately your fault as the knight in charge of the village
This video seems to focus more on demonizing knighthood than anything else. It was one of the most sought after positions in the middle ages and a tremendous honor. Of course it comes with an equal amount of responsibility. That isn't miserable or bad. It's living your life for a higher purpose, usually God. The highest feats of human achievement have been attained by men that were divinely inspired, and the great deeds of tenacity and valor that knights were known for are no excetions. They were warriors through and through. Of course their lives were harder than working 9-5 and watching netflix like the worthless animal that is the modern "man".
I'd still take that over serf peasant or even merchant. It'd be hard, but when crap happens, be the guy in 60 lbs of metal. Also you can improve your station by marrying the daughter of a lord with higher rank than you. Won't get his first born, but if he has spares...
Another thing that happens that cause a bunch of new Knights to be created, taxes. A knight had to pay taxes and a Knight pays more taxes than a common person.
Knighthood, rarely is the title given recognition these days for its fundamental characteristic of selflessness. The concept has nearly been erased from European pop culture.
What's really incredibly fascinating though was how knights who regularly exercised whilst wearing their armor actually conditioned their body extremely well and they were able to perform remarkable feats of athleticism fully armored. Conncork does a great video on the topic: ruclips.net/video/qzTwBQniLSc/видео.html
The weight of the armor isn't actually that much. If you look at what US infantry had to carry in WW2, the armor a knight had was lighter. Rifleman = 32.2kg BAR Gunner = 44.77kg Having a suit of armor isn't only there extremely trained can do. The weight is well distributed on your body. The biggest issue is breathing and not the weight.
I'd much rather be a gladiator, You get to do way more show boating You are more renown You have less responsibility And you are less likely to die in combat (There are variable) And I don't have to travel like a nomad made out of filth
As long i can ride on my Horse, in my Armour, along the Street and look at some Peasant with the thinking in Head "Lazy Peasants..." i am more than willing to bring wine to whatever old dude make me a Knight. And if you threw Fantasy in it... FOR THE LADY.
@spacepimpkevin1184 we are the lucky humans, not everyone can do what we do currently, also I agree and disagree, if we where born then we would or maybe, nor saying we'll live long but we would have different mindset and way of living 🤔
Do you want to know how it is to be a Medieval Sanitation Worker? Check this out: ruclips.net/video/eOnr5hqs42I/видео.html
Still a whole lot better than being a peasant or a serf
True. A knight was a member of nobility. Life for peasants was brutal up to the high middle ages.
True serf are basically slaves.
For me, the best case would be becoming a monk.
There is servitude, blind faith and rejection of material desires (love, fust, communication in some cases). But on the other hand, the road to many arts opens. Learning how to read and write puts you on the top 10% of the Medieval society. Mathematics, Physics, Music, Literature and History are lessons that I as a Medieval serf would probably never even hear of.
As a monk I would be expected to learn them and teach them to others when I come of age. Meanwhile performing tasks like farming the land and growing some animals. Definitely not as hard labour as a peasant, but the work for the mind and the protection/solitude of the monastic orders make up for it.
@@fourikaunix5407 Until a viking comes a calling!
@@williamy3947 Not like being a peasant would offer more protection compared to that
This video actually painted Knighthood even more romantic than the "romanticized" popular version people knows, remember, romanticism doesnt always mean "love" but intense devotion, will and duty to the extreme, all the hardships the Knight has to endure without any recognition is what actually makes it Romantic.
A knight was a member of the nobility. They often got recognition. Consider the knight in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The romanticism of knighthood, however, comes from French literature of the high middle ages, primarily the King Arthur tales. Only when King Arthur, if he existed, was around during the Anglo-Saxon invasion, long before the concepts of knights as we think of them.
Bro just join the army already.
Yeah judging by the channel name he's probably one of those zoomers jerking off to marcus aurelius, the ultimate sigma
@@1Orderchaos who you said that to?
Romantism just means unusual, counter trivial, not boring, new or exciting
So in other words, being a medieval knight is like being a professional soldier and landlord with a big stone house and villages to look after while dealing with all the pleasantries of medieval times. Recognition is worthwhile as it means people will agree to your dealings and lords/kings will grant you privileges but at the same time you are still just a well paid soldier who may die even for the most arbitrary reasons like diseases or getting kicked by a horse. Lots of opportunities, management and your main job is every once in a while, only prepared for you to fight but you may die for all sorts of reasons.
Knights aren't really Professional Soldiers by their own Right, since most people often forget the other type of soldiery being Retinue Soldiers which existed for a long time, from the Celtic/Gallic/Germanic Tribes having their Chiefs being surrounded by their own Retinues, to Medieval Knights, Rus Druzhina, Arabic Faris and even the Japanese Samurai aren't really Professional Soldiers since they often lacked the versatility and administration of the real Professional Soldiers like the Roman Legionaries who can branch out to become the Engineer, Musicians, Surgeon and even Smiths.
Retinue Soldiers are basically a way to get quality troops which is often too expensive for the common soldiers to go for so the Chiefs would choose their most trusted men to become the heavily equipped and well trained Retinue Soldiers.
Basically for short a Group of Knights would have their Knight Banneret leading his own Retinue of Bachelor Knights accompanied with their Squires and Men-at-Arms.
While a Century of Legionaries(100 Men) would have their Centurion(Leader), Optiones(Second in Command), Aquilifer(Imperial Standard Bearer), Signiferi(Legion Standard Bearer and Administrator), Armorum Custodes(Equipment Manager) and Librarii(Those who keep written records)
Excuse me sir are you insinuating that I'm not going to be 6'6 Beautiful and Herculean knight loved by every woman I've ever met like Daemon Blackfyre was?
That would depend LARGELY on the tricky question of getting enough to eat in a primitive, pre industrial world with no global transport network to secure your food supply, no farming industry, manufactured fertilizer, no johndeers, no giant silos, no corporate farming conglomerates, no ability to irrigate beyond praying for rain in a lot of cases.
Then there’s genes and frankly the issue of women in this time also going without the benefits of easy access to food, soap, feminine products, hair salons, bras, plastic surgery or even parasite meds from all the lice ticks and fleas likely to come from all the animals you live in close proximity to.
@@ythandlename no
As a person, who specifically studies knights, religion, medieval history and warfare - feasts and baths were not that rate, lol. And wearing armor, walking in it all day and even doing stuff like running by themselves are not that exhausting (that one is coming from experience). Weight is very naturally distributed, if the armor fits you well. The real problem is breathing and seeing in a helmet.
Running in armor is made to look way more difficult than it really is
Their deit could play a part too since they mostly only relied on bread and salted meat
The way you express yourself shows us you are silly and childish. Far from being someone of authority
what? brother, a full armor suit weights from 30 to 60 lbs... the police gear i wear weights 30lbs and it may not be heavy at first, but wearing it every day of work really gives a toll on your body. no way you can say its not that exhausting in your experience
@@JoseLeybaDiaz Your gear is mostly centered on your chest and hips, not your entire body.
This video is nice in many ways, but it's also highly exaggerated. In essence, knights were simply low nobles with a title and duty. They had many jobs to do, and serving their lord in battle was just one of them. In fact, fighting in wars was very rare, and those chaotic pitch battles were *extremely* rare. Little squirmishes composed the vast majority of most conflicts in Feudal Europe, but being in a state of war wasn't the rule, but the exception.
In fact, the main reason why tournaments existed was simply due to boredom. So much train with no one to fight, gotta find ways to gamble prestige and have some good memorable time.
Yeah, it seems this video wasn't trying to provide a holistic view of Knighthood, just all of the bad parts
This video is full of typical medieval misconceptions like the difficulty of moving with armor, how battles happened, the higiene...
Hygiene
medieval armor was heavy but it was spread out over your full body, their movement was not hampered that much at all, there are people who performed various sports in such armors to prove this, they were still pretty mobile despite offcourse being a little slower
polishing armor is absolutely about esthetics, repairing it is another important task but polishing has a psychological impact as well, the knight in shining armor is a potent sight,
also it lowers the chance of developing rust
Both of those are function, not form genius.
Polishing armour is mostly practical because
-less rust, means less weakness and less likely for anything to buckle and be penetrated
-Polished armour was smoother and weapons would more often glance off. Unpolished and dented armour had more places were weapons and missiles could bite and exert force, maybe even penetrate if the armour was bad quality or rusty.
Polishing armor was to prevent rust. If your armor rusts through, it becomes worthless
I didn't even know that being a page would be so exhausting, great video again!
Just living back then was hard, much more harder for the serfs or peasants at the lowest levels who worked the fields. Life only started to get better for many after the plague.
The simple act of existing was quite exhausting at that time, afterall there was no concept of "human rights", so there wasn't the mitigation we have today (without which, it would just be the same as back then, but with air pollution)
*Literally the coolest thing ever
"ACTUALLY THIS THING FUCKING SUCKS"
He made it all up.
2:36 so basically, a normal job
Look on the bright side. At least you aren't born from a hanged corpse and adopted by an abusive mercenary who sold you for coin and eventually you kill your attacker and later on your abusive adopted father in defense and you become a solo mercenary until you're forced into another mercenary group and you eventually become a knight but your best friend says you aren't his equal so you leave but come back to rescue him but he uses a magic necklace to turn himself into a demon god, sacrifices most of the group you grew to love, r***d your girlfriend and corrupted your unborn child and marked you for death and torment while he becomes a beloved king. I'll take being a regular knight over that.
Oh come on. Don't do my favorite frenchman/german Guts dirty like that.
@Cloud_Seeker, it's a joke.
@@afrikasmith1049 So is mine
Okay. There is a few issues here right away.
1. Most knights were not of common birth. They were nobles or something akin to that.
2. A medieval knight were a noble that was given land in exchange of having to serve in war, or pay a fee to hire mercs with instead.
3. A page is not the first step of being a knight. A page is just a servant. A servent that can become a knight if the noble wishes it.
4. It was not common for a page to become a squire. That happened mostly when the page was from an important family.
5. Life as a page is most likely not any worse than life as a peasent. Doing chores and cleaning up after the animals. That is what you just had to do back then.
6. A knight might not just "choose" to train a page. That page was most likely their own child, or some other knights child that they trained as their successor. Remember. A knight as a noble.
1:55
Knight's Armor weren't that heavy even in Later Medieval age, though ironically during earlier Medieval age the Chainmail is far heavier but only when not worn/just grabbing that slab of Iron Shirt.
Though from the look of the theme it could be around 13th century so the Armor the Knights would be wearing are mostly Partial Plates.
Squires are there to help carry and even help their Knights in wearing their armor as most armor requires a helping hand to wear.
2:42
Not all Squires turn into Knights, most of them turns into Men-at-Arms who are in some way Retinue Soldiers like Knights but is often paid instead of owning lands.
Fun fact: most word for Knights are often similar to Riders, from the Germanic Reiter/Ritter to the French Chevalier, Basically most word for Knights are just "Riders" or "Horseman", since it's a tradition of Men Chosen by Kings and Lords should have the wealth to own a horse and Training to be the King's and Lord's Elite Retinue Force.
@@ashina2146 some good info here, thanks for correcting
I'd like to see you fight in 60lb armor
@ brother what does that have to do with anything
Every knight was a men-at-arms but not all men-at-arms were knights. Being a knight meant that they were part of the nobility. Anyone can be a men-at-arms as long as they have the skill and money. Also if a squire has the skill to become a knight then they will be knighted. They might not inherit land but you can still be a knight without land. There were a bunch of knights without land and that's why they fought really hard on the battlefield to gain the favour of their lords so that they may gain land. But please correct me if I'm wrong preferably with a source since I'm just saying stuff from memory.
@@Immerciful Did that, and I'm pretty skinny and not that strong. The armor has anchor points all around the gambeson (the padded shirt you wear under the armor) to keep the plates still and distributing the weight of the entire armor. You're wearing 60lb of armor but it's distributed so evenly that you don't really feel any discomfort and the better fit the armor was (trust me they had the money to make it PERFECTLY fit their bodies), the less friction you have between pieces, so your mobility is full.
It's less comfortable moving in an over or undersized coat than in perfectly fit early/middle medieval armor
how about your life as a samurai?
Very similar thing
Basically the same but in Japan.
Fun facts samurai,knight etc are just military officer in general but atleast have decent life than conscripted levies from peasant.:v
@@Mr.Frizwall Yeah, Knights, Huscarls, Samurai... they are all basically retainer soldiers...
@@brettjohnson536 Except worse climate, worse food, clothes, housing, really stupid haircuts (especially the half bald one), and your armor is made out of wood or lacquered paper with only some metal bits if at all (funnily enough, often imported from europe) so good luck surviving a battle when all weapons are 5x more effective against you...
truth is most of us now live better than the kings of old
Ofc, we have showers, AC, and mc donalds
@@dannydelgado7056 bro said McDonald's
@@dannydelgado7056 Wait does McDonald's really makes it better ? I'd just say food delivery platforms and restaurants as a whole. lol
no, we just live in more comfort.
obviously,
5:19 - wrong, just look at the various videos of HEMA guys having duels in full suit of armor, rolling and wrestling after they're done with bashing each other with their weapons
I worked as a page at my local library back in 2010
which one? page 148?
What book were you in? 😂
Small nitpick, but medieval horses were small. Without the intense breeding programs we have in modern times, medieval horses didn’t get much bigger than a racing horse which is quite small when it comes to modern horses. On average a medieval horse was about as large as a modern riding pony
Interesting video, medieval knights were not my thing, but I watched this to the very end thanks to entertaining format
Another certified Plato classic! Nice one.
Based Knighthood! First time watcher and this quality is amazing, had to subscribe
Wesome video, love the simplicity and information.
Great job man.
Fun video, I really enjoy your content.
Bro cooked with this one
Truly underrated
Fancy seeing you here Thank you!
Probably did not suck.
Better than going to work a 9-5 that’s for sure.
I hope your joking
@@BLOCK_MASTERprobably a millennial who finds doing a normal work day too physically and psychologically exhausting, preferring to live with their parents long after high school or college.
@@admincxs1670 Yeah, please explain how it's better than modern jobs. In a time where we have electricity, plumbing, medicine and we can order food to our doorstep from our phones
@@Ptoughneigh08 a comfortable life isn't the same as good life
@@ligmagrinder9775 that is true
Thank you so much for using accurate historical data when discussing knights on armor. So many people think that it makes you a big stiff walking tin can.
Wow, I love it. It's pretty accurate and less in some but thats just nitpicks, way better than whatever I can manage. Everybody here saying "armor isnt that heavy" Yeah, it isn't, it's about endurance not strength. Fighting another man, training even walking in 15-30 kg armor is pretty hard, man. I think it was a profession like any other. It paid very well, feasts and baths, lands paid to you. Overall it's nice gig for it'a time considering everyone else was working their asses off while knights had some time to rest inbetween battles (a lot of time depending on when and where you were).
End note: Knights were people who were really fucking strong (mentally and physically). to work for other people your whole life and to take on younglings to do the same for their lifes after your death. I look up to them.
This sounds awesome and sure beats working at S-Mart with Ashley Joanna "Ash" Williams, "Shop Smart, Shop S-Mart."
7:09 not really, you were allowed to regularly drink beer let that sink in making alcohol wasn’t really refined scientifically until around the 1700 people were just throwing fruit in a barrel with juice maybe doing some stuff with mold yeast gas and seeing what sticks most of the time batches were botched and people that were good at making it we’re not keen on sharing the recipes Knights were regularly allowed to drink the stuff nowadays I can go crack open a cold one for my fridge, but it wasn’t always like that peasants did not get to drink alcohol eat cheese or meat because cheese and alcohol was hard to produce The fact that nights were regular with the stuff says a lot
What i've heard, everyone drank beer at that time. Wasn't particularly rich in alcohol, but safer than drinking water. Making beer really isn't that hard.
@ it was hard to make even harder to make good beer, the beer we drink today would be a novel to the togather
This video (and videos like it) could really stand to use better sources and context. I don’t think it benefits anyone to say that being a knight was miserable. It was just a profession like any other
It was a sought after position, granting you a position in the noble class, though many were already born into the noble class. The other sought out life was being in an abby or working as a cleric, but again, many of these were from nobility.
From a modern perspective it might seem hard but back then that is what they know
@ that, and a lot of information in this video is highly generalized or plainly inaccurate
Great video man
Bards making it out the pub with this one 🗣️😤
Fun video!
Good job
The weight of the armor and swords have long been sold to me as something you needed to be crazy strong for, but they test your endurance far more than your strength. One-handed swords are usually well under a kilogram, and two-handed ones weigh only a few kilos. I have a training vest and ankle/wrist straps that add up to 25kg. It's as heavy as one of the heavier armors. Even in mediocre shape, I can still do pullups with it, but only about 1/3 as many. I promise you could move with it. It just makes everything incredibly tiring, like being overweight.
But knights would be in good shape and well adjusted to it, and their weight distribution would be better. I think this is the least of their troubles. As long as they don't have joint pains or poorly healing injuries from their fights, that is...
Is wager most people couldn’t do a single pull up unencumbered.
this was inspiring
For any kid who has been whipped with a stick, or played swords with them branches, we know those wooden swords are OP asf 😂😂
The thumbnail alone made me laugh 😂
This life sounds awesome lol
more of these pls
Cooking more as we speak 🦾
wooden poles would be common in training too
like training to use a handgun for a war compared to a rifle if you focus on blades
(sidenote, perhaps one should do a lil more research into armour and weaponry of the period if you speak of military history)
(modern larp helmet depicted)
small defects causing catasrophic faliure is almost never happening
you slow down the corrosion of maille armour and stop plate slowly rusting with care
the weight of your armour isnt that much of an issue, as a knight you are a literal noble and as such you will often have a supply train to carry parts of it, also the fact that you walk at casual pace on the march or have a broad horse to ride on before dismounting on field or swapping to a war horse, weight is spread over your entire body
if a knight is fighting on foot as is depicted they dont often have closed helmets or visors as you need to focus on less as opposed to on horseback where you ride up to a crowd, hold your lance at them then ride to an assistant to get another
friend from foe is easier as everyone has some distinguishing features like armour style, shield pattern, banners they crowd round and a literal 2 metre gap between armies where they swing and jab at
Wow you're going hard on armor
You literally used the heaviest type of armor as a demonstration
Not to mention it's a late medieval armor
Finally a quality one
Good job dude
early medieval knights were mostly completely illiterate, even later most knights were illiterate. Literacy was not considered essential. In fact at medieval period literacy was quite rare outside of clergy
This is highly motivating, in the present age we men cry and whine at petty issues while back 500 something years back, men were "men"
Honor, sacrifice among men are rare these days
Armor really wasn't that bad to wear, those 27 kgs distributed evenly across your body with your hips holding the weight makes you far more nimble than you think. The added weight tires you out faster, but that's what all the physical training was for
Knights could be quite good but also quite bad. This applies to there lives as well.
Good or bad at what? It depends on the time period. Knights were initially paid warring thugs for a lord, but by the 11th century, being a knight meant becoming a low member of nobility. Knights fought in wars and wars were ruthless.
Imagine being 24. Cut, stabbed and broken in your armor. Watching the sun rise slowly as the soft heat of light hits you. Closing your eyes one more time and feeling the peace of the days won in that moment. Surprisingly this is a peaceful passing
This was true for some knights. Many knights were pampered psychopaths that feasted often and tormented peasants for fun.
I doubt that very much. They were petty nobles. If they did that they will have their head on a spike in a revolt.
You'd deprive the king of his taxes? insane risk.
The life of a Knight sounds way better than the life of your average Westerner. Atleast a knight will not have to worry about what his purpose in life is. Sure its a hard life but I'm sure it would be equally rewarding
i gather from the video that being a knight is pretty good, and only bad from the whole wars thing, and you're framing everything bad you possibly can, and the comments say you don't even get that, so, y'know, I'm clicking [don't recommend this channel] now
War horses weren’t giant, they were just horses. Back in medieval times, like humans, they’d be smaller.
Nah dude, they had plenty of draft horses
Yes, the horses were huge as they had to be strong enough for battle and wear armour as well. They were very expensive, along with the armour and weaponry.
There’s an objective middle ground and nuance to this that all parties aren’t concluding.
Firstly, war horses weren’t “just” horses. They were horses specifically bred and trained for battle. They were larger, stronger, more endurable, and braver than other horse breeds save draft horses debatably. War and draft horses often overlap in strength and size due to both their roles being very labour intensive. That being said, they’re very different from other breeds like standard riding horses.
But secondly, yes, like humans, they’d be shorter, but horses saw a greater extreme. Horses averaged around the 4 foot range. Some of the tallest horses throughout history were 5 feet tall. The standard height for many modern horses is 6 feet tall.
Unlike humans, our height never really changed. The average height for a man in the middle ages was 5’7 to 5’8. Today, it’s often considered 5’9 to 5’10, but 5’8 is still a larger percentile in studies, though there is greater height diversity. This is also solely focusing on Europe and European descendants. If we took a world average, then 5’7 would be the average height.
@@herrfantastisch7489 my point was they were horses, not some mythological giant beasts.
@@rlanious maybe in 1450 and after, before then it would be rare for horses to have chainmail. They’d usually have a caprison and metal cap. They wouldn’t be any bigger than the horses used to plow fields in the early 1900s.
Based knighthood!
You should play mount and blade bannerlord and crusader kings 3 and make videos of it :)
Warband an CK3 are on my top 10 list of the best games of all time :D
@TheBasedPlato That is absolutely based.
Being a Knight was a much sought after position, since the hardships of being a common peasant were far superior, all the while still being consider a servant...afterall, life in the middle ages was way harder than today, and this has to be seen in perspective.
Plate armor was actually less heavy and cumbersome than one would think, surely less than chainmail, and granted a great freedom of movement and speed, made the wearer virtually invulnerable to bladed weapons, at the expense of visibility.
nice video
I would say being a lady of the night in a small village where you are related to everyone would be tougher.
Given the options during those times.. Id probably still do it. Its better than the other options.
This reminds me in Gate JSDF.
(Basically good modern army vs evil medieval empire)
The medieval empire has these Oprichiki as Military Commanders. Not sure how accurate in real life history but these Oprichiki as handpicked by the ruler from impulsive, arrogant and entitled "noblemen" as a result their disciplinary actions on their own soldiers are torture, hazing and in one scene a Oprichiki killed more than half of his own brigade just to set an example.
We are all just serving someone. Even in 2024
The life of a squire = jabroni
Then when you get a pop in battle the king puts you over to be a boring face = knight
Then overbooks you to the point you get burned out
So basically you are a babysitter till you die lol
Sounds just like being a soldier tbh
Seems dope, actually
6:19 20-50% of knights died in battle Contrast to 10-20% of foot soldiers
But it’s more like being a surgeon versus being a hospital custodian
Nights were wealthy often the children of nobles and from your explanation, it takes as much as 14 years of combat training to produce a single knight
They don’t need to attend to the needs of peasants, because they just wasn’t a thing in monarchies they collect taxes they get wealthy and rich and they insure their families future Notes were not often known for their grand feast, but they certainly ate better than the soldiers knights coming from noble families had the potential Direct relations with the king, or marry into royalty because of their status
Their life was harder than our lives today but proportionally better than the lives of most people kinda like I was surgeon works 60 hours a week but gets paid significantly more than a teacher who works 40 hours a week and only works 180 days a year
So proportional to training and activity knights died less often armored cavalry was extremely effective Their lives were not terrible
Could be worse if you met a friend named Griffith
Life on medieval era itself already hard enough imagine now when forced to obey the higher ups to burn your village because rebellion.:v
You would probably be killed your self before you were sent to burn your home as their rebellion is ultimately your fault as the knight in charge of the village
Very good and you do longbowman
This video seems to focus more on demonizing knighthood than anything else. It was one of the most sought after positions in the middle ages and a tremendous honor. Of course it comes with an equal amount of responsibility. That isn't miserable or bad. It's living your life for a higher purpose, usually God. The highest feats of human achievement have been attained by men that were divinely inspired, and the great deeds of tenacity and valor that knights were known for are no excetions.
They were warriors through and through. Of course their lives were harder than working 9-5 and watching netflix like the worthless animal that is the modern "man".
I'd still take that over serf peasant or even merchant. It'd be hard, but when crap happens, be the guy in 60 lbs of metal. Also you can improve your station by marrying the daughter of a lord with higher rank than you. Won't get his first born, but if he has spares...
I used to be a squire, I loved my knight, so handsome and brave. 😍
came for the lances, stayed as a landlord :)
Another thing that happens that cause a bunch of new Knights to be created, taxes. A knight had to pay taxes and a Knight pays more taxes than a common person.
Knighthood, rarely is the title given recognition these days for its fundamental characteristic of selflessness. The concept has nearly been erased from European pop culture.
Still prefer a hard life filled with purpose than an easy life with no meaning
Average people live better now then old kings, true dream
What's really incredibly fascinating though was how knights who regularly exercised whilst wearing their armor actually conditioned their body extremely well and they were able to perform remarkable feats of athleticism fully armored. Conncork does a great video on the topic: ruclips.net/video/qzTwBQniLSc/видео.html
The weight of the armor isn't actually that much. If you look at what US infantry had to carry in WW2, the armor a knight had was lighter.
Rifleman = 32.2kg
BAR Gunner = 44.77kg
Having a suit of armor isn't only there extremely trained can do. The weight is well distributed on your body. The biggest issue is breathing and not the weight.
Wow, cool, I wish I was a Knight now
If I was in medieval times I would do so fast 😭
I aint tryna die in battle and in glory type shit, I'M TRYNA STAY INSIDE💀
Anyone else know the song playing from the game called Dice Kingdoms? I
To be fair tho this was normal for them so none of this was seen as bad as we see it now since we have more comforts
I'd much rather be a gladiator, You get to do way more show boating
You are more renown
You have less responsibility
And you are less likely to die in combat (There are variable)
And I don't have to travel like a nomad made out of filth
lmao rome is lame
my brother in christ you would be a literal slave
this would be a good game
...but if you are the Greyjoy Knight who was kidnapped from childhood 🕵
Weirdos who think they'd be a knight if they were born in that era are more likely to be the ones cleaning up shit in the stables
Based Plato
at least we still have the cerebrum decomposing scrolls
I like how he drew a monkey in a suit of amor instead of drawing a human without a beard because Humans r also monkeys 99% I think I forgot
As long i can ride on my Horse, in my Armour, along the Street and look at some Peasant with the thinking in Head "Lazy Peasants..." i am more than willing to bring wine to whatever old dude make me a Knight. And if you threw Fantasy in it... FOR THE LADY.
Maybe that's why there was no "feminism" fighting for the right for women to become knight 😂
Please do Landknecht next.
I heard they get fancy clothes and drink a lot.
Still better than 90% of modern life standards
Give up your phone, internet and live off the land and go through this then.
You are joking.
You would not be able to last these conditions and I'm pretty sure neither would I.
@@Ptoughneigh08 ironic
@@spacepimpkevin1184 it's a huge change. Food safety was non existant, germs wasnt even a concept, diseases were deadly.
@spacepimpkevin1184 we are the lucky humans, not everyone can do what we do currently, also I agree and disagree, if we where born then we would or maybe, nor saying we'll live long but we would have different mindset and way of living 🤔
The “lord and castle” system is done but you pretend what you want
I would enroll as your based page, Based Plato
I'm more of a gong farmer myself but we can look for a knight together friend.