Chivalry - Topics

How did a young boy train to become a knight and who paid for it? Did cavalry really decide medieval battles or was it the infantry after all? Why did medieval armies lay siege to a castle instead of simply storming it? How much land did it take to support a single knight and his warhorse? Why did knights take prisoners for ransom rather than kill them outright? Why were tournament melees considered too dangerous even by medieval standards? How did the church try to tame the violence of the knightly class? What did a knight promise when he was dubbed and what happened if he broke it? Was courtly love ever meant to be taken literally? How did a young noble sent to a monastery against his will cope with the life? Why did knights wear their lady's favour into a tournament? What did the code of chivalry say about how to treat prisoners and non-combatants? Why did troubadours sing about knights who never won anything? Did chivalry apply to ordinary soldiers at all? Why did the meaning of knighthood shift from fighter to gentleman? What did a "just war" mean to a medieval knight on campaign? What was a herald's job and why did knights care about their own coats of arms? Did women ever hold real power in the chivalric world or only inspire it? How did the romances of King Arthur shape how real knights were expected to behave? Why is medieval studies so obsessed with kings and chivalry instead of peasants? How did the peace of God movement try to limit private warfare?