Knights in Medieval Europe - Term Paper Example

?Knights in the medieval Europe Introduction The medieval Europe was prone to conflicts among societies. The earlier territories fought for supremacy on a number of key issues among which were boundary feuds and religious supremacy. The song of Roland, an early literary work records the events of one such fight when the Christian France engages the Islamic Spain. Spain does not boarder France; the two regions do not therefore fight over boundary but for the supremacy of their religions. The song gives an elaborate explanation on the societal structures of the time and the organizational skills of the early leaders. The soldiers of the time had special titles, Knights that did not only highlight their proclaimed ability but also set them above the normal citizens. The knights went through a rigorous recruiting and training process that thereafter resulted in brave individuals who substituted their personal interests with the interest of the state and their divine call. The special soldiers had a specific age group and originated from specific families in the kingdom thus implying that the title of a knight preferred extraordinary personalities who had the heavenly selection. The early societies had an effective way of coercing loyalty using religions. By claiming that knights had some deific anointment, the soldiers therefore obeyed their leaders and followed their commands without questioning. The religions made knights brave enough to offer their lives in order to protect their kings and immediate leaders. The loyalty ensured discipline, which kept the military coherent enough to protect their internal interest. Ordinary soldiers who exhibited extraordinary skills and behavior would also graduate from their elementary roles in the military roles to become knight. However, such occasions were rare thereby making the few who would appear saintly. The details of the battle of Saragossa as depicted in the song of Roland reveal a number of qualities that made knights. One such quality is bravery. All knights would at one time fight in major battlefields. The wars of the time, unlike the modern art of warfare used less technology and soldiers had to interact using the rudimentary weapons. Several soldiers could therefore die in the process a feature that demanded extreme bravery. Knights swore to substitute their individual interests with those of their kingdoms a feature that still is desired in the earlier societies. The leaders of the societies managed to use religion among other divine features to foster the interest of the societies by making their knights willing to sacrifice themselves simply to make the societies safer. In a great show of bravery, Roland a young man leads the rear of an entire army with only a handful man. His strong enemy overpower and threaten to kill him but he still refuses to call for held an act that would appear cowardly. He later blows his horn not to seek help from the bigger legion but to inform his leader of their predicament. In addition to bravery, knights required both obedience and loyalty. The military of the times just as still is today had a specific bureaucratic structures with each higher position demanding great respect, obedience and loyalty from their juniors. The knights followed and acted on orders without ever questioning the sources provided they came straight from their immediate seniors. Acts of disobedience were rare and would often attract harsh public punishments to instil both fear and discipline on the remaining soldiers. Obedience and loyalty aided the leaders control their troops, which constituted of different people from diverse backgrounds. Before recruitment, the knights went through a rigorous training which aided instil the specific values and societal virtues into them. Additionally, the use of religion helped develop holistic armies united by the common respect for their leaders and nation through committing oaths, which they would not dare betray. Roland is a young man but holds a higher rank in the military, he uses his rank to select and send his uncle to represent France before the Islamic Spanish leaders. The older man does not object the directives despite the obvious fear in him and the hatred he has always had for his nice. The older man prefers to betray his stepson by plotting for his death with the enemy instead of refusing to follow his orders. This indicates the level of loyalty and obedience that the knights had for the titles of ranks within their structures. The soldiers would despise their leaders but still afford to show respect to the titles they held. The military structure had specific crimes that the knights could not commit. Such crimes attracted very harsh penalties, which included some of the most tormenting death penalties. Among the leading crimes a knight would ever commit was betrayal, this include leaking classified information to the opponent or to aid the opponent gain advantage over their kingdoms either by sharing a military strategy of giving any physical aid to the opponent. Such crime amounted to treason and often attracted very harsh penalties. The structures of leadership and mechanisms of disciplining their armies through the death scare, the earlier societies did not show much respect to the value of human life and anybody condemned would always die immediately. The methods of murder differed depending on the significance of every execution. The methods ranged from hanging to the more grotesque murders in which they would tie a man to horses, which thereafter pull in different directions thereby tearing the body into smaller parts. Death was the best form of punishment that would often instill obedience to the remaining troops, the murders occur in the public glare thereby passing the gist of the information to the common citizens as well who would also face similar punishments in case they committed similar crimes. Ganelon plots with the enemies of the state on how to attack his own army and kill a major in the military with his entire legion (Bacon 6). This is the worst crime he ever commits and when the authorities later determine his gross misconduct, they demand explanations in a fair legal system. Ganelon therefore explains his actions and nearly convinces the authorities but in the twist of the legal tussle, the authorities determine his intent and the true nature of his crime, which is among the worst crimes anybody could commit against his own nation. Ganelon therefore faces one of the worst punishments and forms of death; he is publicly executed through a mechanism in which the horses pull his body into different directions thereby tearing him into pieces. Additionally, thirty of his relatives also die following his crimes. This would often make the soldiers more considerate of their actions knowing that certain crimes would result in the death of their relations. In addition to the crimes of treason, knights also had to exercise restrain when interacting with the rest of the society. Their military lives did not permit sexual philandering and the crime could attract different levels of punishment ranging from flogging to excommunication from the military, which would mean rejection by the state and could compel rejection from the kingdom. Unfortunately, such punishments often included even the families of the soldiers a feature, which was very inhumane. Sexual fidelity by the knights was to encourage honorable behaviors and interactions, which meant that the soldiers could not therefore share some of the military information with the possible enemies who would present themselves as prostitutes. Military life required discipline and this one effective way of ensuring one. Another serious crime that attracted severe punishments was retreat during warfare. The knights would swear to defend their kingdoms with their lives, thy therefore considered it honorable to die doing that. The knights could not therefore individually decide to retreat from the battlefield without the direction of their leaders. Such actions would expose the entire military making it vulnerable and such acts of cowardice attracted sever punishments, which included death. The mechanisms that the kingdoms used to recruit and form their military depict highly religious societies. The rulers used religion as a means to govern their subjects, they considered themselves divine and their reigns blessed by their gods and did not therefore allow any opposition, rejection or betrayal. Religions brainwashes people especially in an ignorant population, the leaders therefore hid the truth and told their subjects that which would favor their tenure. By claiming divinity, the leaders secured their positions as hereditary leaders who were therefore by default better than their subjects were. This way, the commands immediately became law and their punishments godly. The structure of military and the legislative system of the early European states depict a number of discrepancies in the management of states. Discipline is of essence even in the modern day military but the manner in which the medieval societies netted out their punishment in order to gain obedience was inhumane. The societies did not value the human life, it is commendable that at such early times, the society had discovered the essence of free and fair trials but the extent of the punitive measures victimized the innocent thereby invalidating the essence of justice. After convicting Ganelon of betrayal and thereafter sentencing him to death, it becomes derogative to kill his other thirty relatives most of who were not part of the military and therefore his dubious schemes (Bacon 11). The thirty relatives die innocently in crimes they did not help plan and were completely ignorant of. By killing the thirty people, the government eliminates any blood relation to Ganelon an act that is not only discriminative but also inhumane. In retrospect, the medieval societies had a unique way of life and the societies had peculiar features with highly ineffective governments, which existed to safeguard their own interests. The societies considered the military as an important part of the society and therefore invested many resources in ensuring that they developed the strongest and most efficient militaries. In doing this, they needed discipline to help hold the military, which was a group of highly diverse individuals together. The leaders therefore used grotesque mechanisms, which included inhumane punishments to earn this. Work cited Bacon, Leonard. The Song of Roland. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2002. Print. Read More