Knighthood In Medieval England

youtu.be/sbHSAZhvWyU
Just watched this medieval documentary with Terry Jones and he makes a claim at the end that Knighthood in high Medieval England was distinct from the rest of Europe in that one may become a knight on merit in combat as opposed to being aristocratic.
For example, Sir John Hawkwood was the son of a poor tanner who became a mercenary and was eventually knighted.
Was this actually true, was it common?

Other urls found in this thread:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hawkwood
twitter.com/NSFWRedditVideo

Bumpe

Bumpington

Hawkwood was the second son of a minor Essex noble, terry Jones cannot even speak so don't trust his opinions

there are always examples of titles being conferred on individuals for direct service to the Prince but the titles being usually hereditary means that every generation had more knights of nepotism and less of merit. At least until you get an event like the battle of the golden spurs or the second crusade where a lot of knights get killed off

That's fucking low even for this rancid shit hole of a website.

Doesn't terry have an Oxbridge education on history?

>Sir John Hawkwood

Messere Giovanni Acuto*
He was Italian

Anglos had no knights

Listen here newfag. If you want to make bait at least make it somewhat convincing

that is what he was called in italian faggot. "acuto" not only sounds like "hawkwood" but it means "sharp-minded" or "wily" in italian. John Hawkwood spent most of his adult life as a mercenary in Italy. I have no clue why OP is pretending like a soldier of fortune who spent decades betraying multiple italian city states for the other side should be considered a knight, or english.

>he often referred to himself as "Giovanni Acuto" meaning "John the Astute" or "John Sharp" referring to his "cleverness or cunning."[1
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hawkwood

How many “English” knights were of Anglo-Saxon heritage and not descended from Normans, Bretons, Flemish, Gascons, Angevins, and other emigres post-Norman Conquest?

If i moved to India would that make me Indian?

Well, some people claim Lionheart was English just because his dad moved to England three years before his birth...

no. but don't call hawkwood an "english knight" when the height of his military career was from decades spent in italy, where he also died and was buried. OP's pic is from the Florentine Duomo (cathedral) and its painted on the nave wall.

I wouldn't call lionheart English.
Certainly a part of English history and heritage although he was an individual of French descent born and raised in England.

Does that mean I shouldn't call Cnut a Danish king as he spent most of his time in England and died in England?

totally shit analogy. hawkwood didn't have control over the affairs of another country like cnut legally did. he was a mercenary.

He wasn't buried in Italy.
Richard II asked for him to be buried in England hence why they only haveva painting of his tomb rather than his actual tomb.
Also your argument doesn't make sense

>Hawkwood
>"Without pity without piety without God"
He's an edgelord and a knight on paper only

>He wasn't buried in Italy.
he was.

>Richard II asked for him to be buried in England
that was after his death

>Also your argument doesn't make sense
it does, you're just a brainlet

Oh i stand corrected. He was buried in Florence cathedral but they couldn't afford the planned marble tomb.
I do hold however that he was certainly English as he was born and raised there and his family comes from there