Middle+Ages+Artifacts

When a boy was eight years old, he was sent to the neighboring castle where he was trained as a page. The boy was usually the son of a knight. He spent most of his time strengthening his body, wrestling and riding horses. He also learned how to fight with a spear and a sword. At the age of fifteen or sixteen, a boy became a squire in service to a knight. His duties included dressing the knight in the morning, serving all of the knight's meals, caring for the knight's horse, and cleaning the knight's armor and weapons. He followed the knight to tournaments and assisted his lord on the battlefield. A squire also prepared himself by learning how to handle a sword and lance while wearing forty pounds of armor and riding a horse. When he was about twenty, a squire could become a knight after proving himself worthy. Knights believed in the code of chivalry. They promised to defend the weak, be courteous to all women, be loyal to their king,and serve God at all times. Knights were expected to be humble before others, especially their superiors. || Charlemagne's grandfather was Charles Martel.Charlemagne was 26, he and his brother Carloman inherited the kingdom of theFranks. In 771 Carloman died, and Charlemagne became sole ruler of the kingdom. The Roman Catholic church was striving to assert its power against the Lombard kingdom in Italy. In Charlemagne's own recalm, the Franks were neglecting their education and religion.The key to Charlemagne's amazing conquests was his ability to organize. During his reign he sent out more than 50 military expeditions. He rode as commander at the head of at least half of them. He moved his armies over wide reaches of country with unbelievable speed, but every move was planned in advance. Before a campaign he told the counts, princes, and bishops throughout his realm how many men they should bring, what arms they were to carry, and even what to load in the supply wagons. Charlemagne is said to have been surprised by the coronation, declaring that he would not have come into the church had he known the pope's plan. However, some historians say the pope would not have dared to act without Charlemagne's knowledge. The coronation was the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire. Charlemagne is considered the first Holy Roman emperor. Charlemagne was a tireless reformer who tried to improve his people's lot in many ways. He set up money standards to encourage commerce, tried to urged better farming methods. He especially worked to spread education and Christianity in every class of people. He revived the Palace School at Aachen, his capital. He set up other schools, opening them to peasant boys as well as nobles. || The First Crusade was an attempt to re-capture Jerusalem. After the capture of Jerusalem by the Muslims, any Christian who wanted to pay a pilgrimage to the city faced a very hard time. Muslim soldiers made life very difficult for the Christians and trying to get to Jerusalem was filled with danger for a Christian. This greatly angered all Christians.There were true Christians who wanted to reclaim Jerusalem for their belief and get the Muslims out of the city. There were those who knew they had committed sin and that by going on the Crusade they might be forgiven by God. They had also been told by the pope that if they were killed, they would automatically go to heaven as they were fighting for God. There were those who thought that they might get rich by taking the wealth that they thought existed in Jerusalem. Any crusader could claim to be going on a pilgrimage for God pilgrims did not have to pay tax and they were protected by the Church.The First Crusade had a very difficult journey getting to the Middle East. They could not use the Mediterranean Sea as the Crusaders did not control the ports on the coast of the Middle East. Therefore, they had to cross land. They travelled from France through Italy, then Eastern Europe and then through what is now Turkey. They covered hundreds of miles, through scorching heat and also deep snow in the mountain passes. Food was bought from local people but at very expensive prices. The men who were fighting for God were reduced to pillaging and plunder in order to get food. After the success of the Crusaders. The capture of Jerusalem did not end the Crusades as the Crusaders wanted to get rid of the Muslims from the whole region and not just Jerusalem. This desire led to the other crusades. || //ABC-CLIO//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. Display.aspx?categoryid=4&searchtext=knight+armor&type=simple& option=all&entryid= 934372&issublink=true&fromsearch=false>. || Charlemagne with Wife." //ABC-CLIO//. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2010. Display.aspx?categoryid=22&searchtext=charlemagne& type=simple&option=all&entryid= 1069085&issublink=true&fromsearch=false>. || Siege of Jerusalem During the First Crusade." //ABC-Clio//. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2010. Display.aspx?storyid=1185712&entryid=616451&issublink=true&fromsearch=false>. ||
 * [[image:http://www.ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Images/DBImages/9343/934372w.jpg width="402" height="412" align="top" caption="Title: 13th-century joust from the Codex Manesse"]] || [[image:http://www.ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Images/DBImages/1069/1069085w.jpg align="top" caption="Charlemagne with wife"]] || [[image:http://www.ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Images/DBImages/6164/616451w.jpg align="top" caption="Title: Siege of Jerusalem during the First Crusade"]] ||
 * Walther von, Klingen, and Universitätsbibliothek.