Of Knights and Nights
I have always loved knights.
Not the fairy tale versions, though they were obviously my introduction, but the actual real knights.
Their culture, their beliefs, their lives, etc. It always seems so fascinating to me.
Back in the early 2000's, I decided to write a romance story involving a knight. Not a rosey glasses view of a knight, but a character based of historical information.
That started me down some very interesting paths with The Crusades, the class system at the time, and different ways of life. I learned about how each lived their daily lives, what affected them, their agency and expectations. It led me to learning a lot about medieval times.
I read a lot of sources on knights and how they became knights, how they operated, what happened after The Crusades. I read a fictional series based closely off the history of William Marshallwho became the 1st Earl of Pembroke. I read other stories written by people who fictionalized history while keeping close to actual history and farther from the fiction. I looked up the truth of their stories as I read. I ate everything up, fascinated by the information.
Knights are such a complex and intriguing part of history. They represented so much more than a fairy tale. I still find a strong fascination and fondness for them to this day.
Not the fairy tale versions, though they were obviously my introduction, but the actual real knights.
Their culture, their beliefs, their lives, etc. It always seems so fascinating to me.
Back in the early 2000's, I decided to write a romance story involving a knight. Not a rosey glasses view of a knight, but a character based of historical information.
That started me down some very interesting paths with The Crusades, the class system at the time, and different ways of life. I learned about how each lived their daily lives, what affected them, their agency and expectations. It led me to learning a lot about medieval times.
I read a lot of sources on knights and how they became knights, how they operated, what happened after The Crusades. I read a fictional series based closely off the history of William Marshallwho became the 1st Earl of Pembroke. I read other stories written by people who fictionalized history while keeping close to actual history and farther from the fiction. I looked up the truth of their stories as I read. I ate everything up, fascinated by the information.
Knights are such a complex and intriguing part of history. They represented so much more than a fairy tale. I still find a strong fascination and fondness for them to this day.
