There were two ways that a man could become a knight during the MiddleAges. The first was getting the right on the battlefield2. If a soldier fought verybravely during a war， he may be awarded knighthood3 by the king， a lord， oreven another knight. The second way was to become an apprentice4 to a knightand get the title through hard work and training.

在中世紀，一個人可以通過兩種方式成為騎士。第一個辦法是在戰(zhàn)場上贏得殊榮。如果一個士兵在戰(zhàn)爭中特別勇敢地戰(zhàn)斗，他可能會被國王、勛爵，甚至其他騎士授予騎士頭銜。第二種方法是成為一名騎士的學徒，通過艱苦的工作和訓練獲得頭銜。

Who could become a knight？

誰能成為騎士？

No doubt many young men growing up in the Middle Ages dreamed ofbecoming a knight， but only a few could afford to become knights. The first requirement5 of becoming a knight was that someone could afford a knight’s weapons6， armor7， and war horse. These things weren’t cheap and only the veryrich people could pay for them.

毫無疑問，在中世紀成長起來的許多年輕人都夢想成為騎士，但只有少數人能負擔得起成為騎士的費用。成為騎士的首要條件是要能買得起騎士的武器、盔甲和戰(zhàn)馬。這些東西可不便宜，只有非常富有的人才買得起。

Page8

侍童

When a boy， or more likely his parents， decided that he wanted to becomea knight， he would go to live in the household of a knight when he was sevenyears old. There he would serve the knight as a page. As a young page， hebasically was a servant9 for the knight， performing tasks such as serving meals，cleaning clothes， and carrying messages. While working for the knight’shousehold， the page learned the proper way to behave and good manners.

當一個男孩，或者更可能是他的父母，決定他要成為一名騎士時，他將在7 歲時住進一個騎士的家里。在那里他會給騎士當侍童。作為一個年輕的侍童，他基本上是騎士的仆人，執(zhí)行如提供食物，清洗衣服，以及傳遞信息的任務。在為騎士家工作期間，侍童學會了得體的行為舉止和良好的禮儀。

The page also began to train to fight. He would practice with other pagesusing wooden shields10 and swords11. He also would start to learn how to ride ahorse using no hands and carrying a lance12.

侍童也開始訓練戰(zhàn)斗。他會和其他的侍童一起練習使用木盾和木劍。他還將開始學習如何不拉韁繩和手持長矛騎馬。

Squire

侍從

Around the age of fifteen， the page would become asquire. As a squire， the young man would have a newset of tasks. He would take care of the knight’s horses，clean his armor and weapons， and accompany the knightto the battlefield.

大約在15 歲的時候，侍童會成為一名侍從。作為一名侍從，這位年輕人將有一系列新的任務。他會照顧騎士的馬匹，清洗他的盔甲和武器，陪騎士上戰(zhàn)場。

Squires had to be ready to fight. They started to train with real weapons andwere taught fighting skills by the knight. They had to be in good shape andstrong. Squires continued to practice their horsemanship14， and improve theirskills at riding horses and fighting. Most future knights worked as a squire forfive or six years.

侍從們必須做好戰(zhàn)斗準備。他們開始真槍實劍地訓練，并由騎士教授戰(zhàn)斗技巧。他們必須身材良好，身體強壯。侍從們不斷練習他們的騎術，不斷完善他們的騎馬技術和戰(zhàn)斗技巧。大多數準騎士都要做五六年的侍從。

Dubbing15 Ceremony

騎士稱號授予儀式

If a squire had proven his bravery and skill atbattle， he would become a knight at the age oftwenty-one. He gained the title of knight at a dubbingceremony. At this ceremony he would kneel beforeanother knight， lord， or king who would then tap16the squire on the shoulder with his sword making hima knight.

如果一名侍從在戰(zhàn)斗中證明了自己的勇敢和技能，他將在21 歲時成為一名騎士。他在一個騎士授予儀式上獲得騎士稱號。在這個儀式上，他會跪在另一個騎士、勛爵或國王面前，然后這些人會用劍輕拍他的肩膀，授予他騎士的頭銜。

At the ceremony， the new knight would take an oath17 to honor and protect his king and the church18.He would be given a pair of riding spurs19 and a sword.

在儀式上，新騎士要宣誓效忠并保護他的國王和教會。他將被授予一對馬刺和一把劍。

Interesting facts about becoming a knight

關于成為騎士的有趣事實

Squires often learned about castle20 from their knight. They wouldneed to know how to protect their own castle as well as how to attack21 anenemy’s castle.

The word“squire”comes from French.

Wealthy knights would have had several pages and squires to help them.

Not all squires were made knights through a ceremony. Some were"awarded knighthood on the battlefield.

Before the dubbing ceremony to become a knight， squires were required to spend the night alone in prayer22.

侍從們經常從他們的騎士那里學到關于城堡的知識。他們需要知道如何保護自己的城堡以及如何攻擊敵人的城堡。

“squire”一詞來自法語。

富有的騎士會有好幾個侍童和侍從來幫助他們。

并非所有的侍從都是通過儀式才被封為騎士的。有些人在戰(zhàn)場上就被授予了騎士頭銜。

在舉行騎士授予儀式之前，侍從們被要求在晚上獨自祈禱。

（英語原文選自：ducksters.com）