The Knight in History

Bought this book at Fanfare Books in Stratford, Ontario in September 2022. I found it to be an engaging survey of the development of knights over the centuries. Gies does well in covering both broad themes (e.g. Knights of the First Crusade, The Troubadours) as well as a few chapter length biographies of individual knights (including Bertrand Du Guesclin of France and Sir John Fastolf of England).

The most significant weakness to the book is the publisher's decision to print black and white illustrations. In some cases, these are clear. In many other cases, it is difficult to see the details.

Another fascinating book by medievalist Frances Gies. Normally, Gies writes with her husband, Joseph, but this book is hers alone. There were times when I found the book a bit slow, but I attribute that to my not being as interested in this topic than in the Gies' books on daily life. However, it's not a long book, and the inclusion of pictures helps break up the monotony of text.

Gies begins the book by telling readers what the medieval knight is and what it is not, consequently both playing into and dismantling modern notions of knighthood. After this, the books is really broken down into a few distinct sections: the Crusades, romantic depiction with troubadours, William Marshal, the Templars. There are more chapters than this, but show more these are the main points. Additionally, Gies spends some time on the logistics of knighthood, how much it cost to maintain the title, the ebb and flow of its population, and who could become a knight. Overall, it's super interesting stuff. I just don't find military history to be the most interesting topic, personally.

Gies indicates she is going to review the different evolutions of knighthood through the lens of various famous knights in history. This is my favorite part of Gies' books because the inclusion of real people helps ground the history for me and contextualize it. However, Gies didn't really do that here. There were three people that really stood out: William Marshal, Robert du Guesclin, and Sir John Fastolf. Unfortunately, they didn't make an appearance until the latter half of the book, and I think this is why I struggled with this book. There are a lot of dates and battles and city names to remember that, eventually, it all gets muddled.

If military history is your thing, then you will love this book. Medievalists will also really enjoy this. I'm still glad I read this, even if it didn't grip me as much as other books by the Gies. show less

This is obviously very well researched. And it is equally obvious that Gies knows what he is talking about. The knight is a very broad topic and spans over a long period of time and over many countries and cultures. So the information is pretty dense. Gies looks into the beginnings of knighthood and how the institution changed over time. From how the equipment and how they were funded and paid changed to how their function changed and they turned to poetry and song or how they ended up fighting for the church. It is impossible, of course, to pull the knight out of the history that he took part in and also impossible to go in-depth into all of that history but Gies strikes a pretty good balance. There were times when a lot of names were show more mentioned that didn't get much of an introduction and a history buff would probably have no trouble with that but some of the names ended up meaning nothing to me. But he also takes a close look at a couple of particular knights that gives the reader a better idea of the life of a knight more than an overview could do. It isn't the most readable history book I've ever read but that doesn't mean it wasn't interesting. You just have to have a true, and I would say, slightly more than casual interest to make it worth your time. show less

3.5 stars

Decent history, good overview. Would like to see what the current research looks like (this book originally being published in 1984). Overall a good introduction to the knight.