What exactly was a knight, and how did these individuals influence society? Knights were warriors of the Middle Ages who fought in duels and battles, and were a beneficial part of medieval society regarding their protection. Knights were loyal, courteous, and generous people who practiced the skills of wielding weapons. They were figures who protected castles and participated in medieval warfare. Some may believe that townspeople, nobles and others could have gotten by without knights in medieval times. In reality, it is obvious that it would have been nearly impossible for people of the Middle Ages to survive without their protective Knights. Knights were brave, mounted horse-back riding warriors who were geared with armor and wielded weapons such daggers, lances, maces, flails and swords (lords and ladies). Training to become a knight was a tough job, and it wasn't a short process at all either. To become a knight, the full process took fourteen years. Starting at the age of seven, they trained seven years as a page, and another seven years as a Squire (lordsandladies.org). Training was intense. Knights would have to shake off cuts and wounds that would normally hospitalize a person bearing these in the modern day. Knights would often have to sleep outside with no blanket in the cold, carry sacks on their backs weighing one hundred pounds, or even wear their steel armor for many days straight without removing it. This training was so tough that many did not even manage to make it through the entire process. Many of the people who trained to become a knight just decided to end their training to become just a squire, and many did not even survive at all. Many men died at young ages from the training due to broken bones and deadly wounds (lordsandladies.org). If a man managed to make it to the end of these years of brutal training, the man would be named a true knight. In times of peace during the late Middle Ages, the role of the knigh