hello all
i have looked into this and often get a lot of wrong information. so i wanted to know does anyone have any or know of any detailed accounts on a knights training from as early an age as possible too please. i would like to know about as many aspects as i can including training items etc. there is often information on learning the lance but not much else so can anyone help me get information on all the training?
cheers guys

While there are some common threads between all knights, it is impossible to describe a catch-all, systematized regimen that every squire followed over the span of many centuries and an entire continent. If you have any specifics you're looking for I'm sure I and many others here could provide examples, but even then the training was frequently left to the discretion of the one training the knight rather than some international policy. However, examples can still be extremely helpful, and if you can provide a range a little more narrow than an entire social class throughout all of history, I'm sure we'll be able to help with what you're looking for.

sorry thank you for the post im terrible for such broad open ended posts. well im really looking for training between 1200-1500 no later really. i understand it would vary greatly but any primary accounts along with just what people know would be hugely useful.
im looking for common traits and aspects of training that were common and ones that might not have been but would be useful to include. thanks in advance.

ok that makes sense well i will broaden it for any information available to me on the subject.
yes the actual drills are what really interest me and what training consisted of at a young age that is what interests me the most.
i know that tourneys at that stage became hugely important due to the money involved and esteem with them etc.
also i have often wondered would nice have been learning from the material we see in the fight books of that period i would think so but would also be interested in what drills and training they had solely for their styles of fighting.
also any possible links would be great.

Again, this is still secondary to what the actual drills were, but the archeological examination concluded that the skeleton of a knight found ; "He was a very strong and fit nobleman, with the physique of a professional rugby player, who would have been trained since boyhood to handle heavy swords and other weapons and who would have spent a great deal of time on horseback."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/t...687199.stm

As a general comment of late 11th to mid 12th century, several historical subjects discussed in popular books on the era were trained for it from childhood and "knighted", often were "knighted" at around the time of their first battle near age 16. In some cases, the first event may have been a melee tournament. The age bracket and background circumstances became much more broad by the end of the 13th century as there were mass knightings prior to battles where large recruitment occurred.

For at least some knights who were expected to be part of the retinue of nobility, their training was not just "martial" in nature. They often had to fit into court situations, double as diplomats, contribute some form of banquet entertainment other than combat skills, etc. Bertrand du Guesclin seems to have been something of an exception as he was primarily appreciated for his motivational leadership effect on the battlefield.

I tell you what though, that guy's got a face that only a mother could love.
That said, I wouldn't want to rub him the wrong way then or if one bumped into him now :lol:
As for a 'knights' training, I always thought (as Jared said) that they were sent away at a young age (probably in part to form a strong bond of trust with another family), trained in more gentle arts at the younger age of the spectrum like music, poetry, manners, courtship, and a bit of wrestling for good measure, then as they got older, more and more martial training was applied.
I'd imagine the more intellectual things were practiced all the time most days (trying to recite a poem whilst, say, mucking out the stables) but the martial training was more regimented, as in Mondays it was horsemanship, Tuesdays weapon forms, Wednesday rest day, Thursday tactics and sports/games, Friday is weapon forms again, Saturday is horsemanship and Sunday is Church and archery. Something like that maybe.

Ignore the usual "heavy swords" nonsense.