One of my literary interests has always been anything associated with Camelot--and I'm talking about the legendary Camelot here--not the age of JFK's presidency!
When I was ten years old, I read T.H.White's ONCE AND FUTURE KING for the first time. It wasn't the last. I've read it at least five times since childhood. Le Morte d'Arthur was next. Not the simple ease of reading that T.H. White offered, but elegant, richly written prose that told of King Arthur and his legendary status as the wielder of Excalibur. Two years ago, I read LANCELOT by Giles Kristian--a book that moved me to tears, and one I even reviewed and posted here on Brook's Journal. The Middle Ages is still one of my favorite periods to read about. I find the age of Chivalry to be fascinating, exciting, and yeah--a little bloody!
This week I'm delighted to host J.R. Tomlin once again, who is not just writing about the day to day life of a squire, but in doing so, sharing the experience of her main character in ON A SWORD'S EDGE. Give this fascinating history a read and if you're a bit of a Medieval nerd like me, consider getting a copy of Tomlin's work.
Read ON, everybody!
THE LIFE OF A SQUIRE
By: J.R. Tomlin
The life of a squire was probably less privileged than many assume. Their job was simply to serve a lord or knight as an attendant, and physical punishment for shortcomings was typical for young people of the age, including squires. There are stories of squires being beaten. But the service worked both ways. While they served as attendants, the lord was expected to teach them the skills needed for a knight and provide them with a mount and clothing.
My novel starts with William cleaning his lord’s armor. Armor was expensive and needed care to ensure that there was no rust or damage. Weapons also needed care, which was a squire’s responsibility. That meant sharpening them and cleaning off blood or soil. My character then goes to the stable, where another squire and a household knight were looking at a newly purchased horse to approve it for the lord’s use. Care of horses was one of a squire’s day-to-day tasks. Squires served at the table in a noble household, which my character also did. They could only eat when their master finished eating.
A squire could expect to spend time perfecting their horsemanship. Consider that when riding in battle or jousting with a shield in one hand and lance in the other, a knight still had to control their horse. This shows how highly developed their horsemanship had to be. Aiming a lance held in one hand on the back of a galloping horse was difficult and took practice, so a squire would ride at the quintain, a post with a target shield on one side and a sandbag on the other that would swing and smash into the rider for an unsuccessful pass. A squire might be required to whale away at a pell, a straw-padded post, to practice sword technique and increase strength and power.
Squires also had responsibilities in battle, mainly to carry spare weapons and a spare shield if the knight needed one. Battle for knights almost always started with him using a lance. A lance was a knight’s primary weapon, but it could break or simply become useless in a closely packed melee. Then the squire had to replace it. The squire also might lead a spare horse for the knight in case his horse was injured.
The squire was not there primarily to fight. Since it was not considered acceptable for knights to attack a squire, they, in fact, did not usually take part in combat. (Yes, Wikipedia is mistaken) A squire was there as an attendant, not a combatant. However, if their knight was injured, then it became the squire’s responsibility to defend him and attend to his injuries. If they were killed, it was the squire’s job to carry them off the field of battle.
Of course, it is also highly probable that young men sometimes ignored that they were there as attendants and took part in combat. I would be surprised if that did not happen, and, in that case, they lost the protection of being considered a non-combatant.
ALL ABOUT THE BOOK
Scotland. 1263. The scent of rain mingles with the smoke of campfires as word spreads: the Norse are coming…
As tempers rise between King Alexander and the Norse King Haakon, at the center of it all is sixteen-year-old William Douglas, a squire in service to Sir John Stewart, Lord High Steward of Scotland.
When Haakon's fearsome fleet is espied approaching Scotland's shores, carrying the greatest invasion force the Norse have ever mustered, the dread of battle settles over the land. Summoned to Ayr Castle, William joins the Scottish forces in a desperate defense. Now tasked with serving his newly knighted brother, Hugh, William has little time to dwell on the fear – or thrill – of his first real taste of war.
And once the Norse's menacing line of ships finally touches shore, Scotland's fate may rest on more than noble titles and knightly deeds— it'll take the mettle of every soul on the ground for them to triumph.
Set against the wind-swept coast of medieval Scotland, On a Sword's Edge takes you right into the center of The Battle of Largs alongside a mere – yet fearless – squire.
ALL ABOUT J.R. TOMLIN
J. R. Tomlin is the author of more than twenty historical novels, set for the most part in Scotland. Her love of that nation is traced from the stories of King Robert the Bruce and the Good Sir James her grandmother read to her when she was small to hillwalking through the Cairngorms where the granite hills have a gorgeous red glow under the setting sun. Later, her writing was influenced by the work of authors such as Alexander Dumas, Victor Hugo, and of course, Sir Walter Scott.
When JR isn’t writing, she enjoys spending time hiking, playing with her Westie, and killing monsters in computer games. In addition to having lived in Scotland, she has traveled in the US, Europe and the Pacific Rim. She now lives in Oregon in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
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Thanks so much for hosting J R Tomlin today, with such a fascinating post about the life of a medieval squire. Take care, Cathie xo The Coffee Pot Book Club
Hi Brook, Thanks for letting me talk a bit about the life of a squire, especially the not-always-a-noncombatant squire in my new novel. All the best, JR