Weren European medieval knights just a bunch of barberian thugs with no fighting finesse?
A. Hardly. Please be aware that medieval knights began their training at a very young age, typically 7-8 years old, and did not become knights until the age of 21. A knight’s training lasted all his life and when not on active campaign, knights engaged in regular tournaments to maintain and display their skills. Knights, being fighting noblemen, were essentially a professional fighting class within the noble classes and were rightly feared by non-professionals on the battlefield. It was normal for noble youngsters to be sent out to be fostered by other noble families to receive their knightly training and their fathers were keen to seek out fellow nobles with a reputation for providing the best training and education for the fosterlings in their care. As such, knights tended to be literate, schooled in theology, rhetoric, poetry and Latin, and were highly trained skilled warriors. If you’re looking for barbarian thugs, look back to the Dark Ages (AD 300-900), not to the High Middle Age
