When he reached the age of twenty-one, the squire might be made a knight. This was often a very pretty ceremony. The squire would come before his lord and a great party of nobles, dressed in armor, except the helmet, sword, and spurs.
Several nobles would offer themselves as sponsors, declaring that they were sure he would prove himself noble and brave. Then the squire was struck lightly on the shoulders with the sword of his master. At the same time his master repeated these words, “I dub thee knight in the name of God and St. Michael; be faithful, bold, and fortunate.” The knight then went forth to do some deed by which to “win his spurs.”
Sometimes, before being knighted, the young squire was left in the chapel of the castle all night. Here he guarded his armor, and by devout and continuous prayer invoked the blessing of God upon himself and whatever cause he should undertake.
Urged by the preaching of Peter the Hermit and the encouragement of Pope Urban, the knights of Western Europe took up the cause of the crusades. Soon after the departure of Peter with his untrained host of followers, a gallant army, led by two famous knights, Godfrey of Bouillon and Tancred, an Italian knight, began its march to the Holy Land.
Peter at last succeeded in joining them with the few men who were left with him, and together they advanced to Jerusalem.
IV. Godfrey of Bouillon
| material | scarcity | missiles | recognized |
| exhaust | devices | signals | Saracens |
Many are the tales that are told of the knightly leaders in this first crusade, and many were their adventures. It was on the 29th of May, 1099, that the Christian army first came into full view of the Holy City. Filled with new zeal at the sight, every man shouted, “It is the will of God.”
The city, however, had been fortified in every possible way, and Godfrey, who was in command, knew it would be a hard task to mount the high walls. He was certain that battering-rams would be necessary to break down the walls, but how were they to obtain the material to make them? The barren country around afforded nothing of which they could make use. To transport the timber from a distance would exhaust both men and horses which were already suffering from scarcity of water and food.