Squire

A young man in training to become a knight . During the 14th century arming squires often joined their knights in battle, a part of the knight’s household unit or lance . See Chronique, The Journal of Chivalry #8 . In the words of Ramon Lull:"The knowledge and the school of chivalry is such that the knight makes his son to learn in his youth to ride, for if should take on the keeping of a horse. It behooves him also that he serve, and that he be the first subject of the lord, for otherwise he will not know the nobility of lordship when he should become a knight. And therefore every man who will come to knighthood should learn, in his youth, to carve at the table, to serve, to arm and to adoube a knight; for in likewise as a maid will learn to sew in order to be a tailor or a man to be a carpenter it behooves em to have a master who can sew or hew. Likewise it behooves that a noble man who loves the order of chivalry and will be a knight to have first a master who is a knight, for thus it is a discovenable thing that a squire should learn the order and nobility from any other man than a knight. So very high and honored is the order of chivalry that a squire should suffer himself not only to learn to keep horse and learn to serve a knight, that he go with him to tourneys and battles; but it is necessary that he beholds the school of the order of knighthood." See also: John Harding's poetic fragment Training of a Squire In the SCA, squires are taken by knights in a variety of roles: teacher/student, friend/friend, father/son. Each relationship isdifferent, but the essence of each is generally a trade of teaching and guidance on one and for service on the other. For a moreextensive essay see THE BOOK OF THE TOURNAMENT.

trainee knight who served as assistant to the knight.