Question 3 of 5intermediate💡 UnderstandShort Answer3 marks

Why did knights become a distinct group, and when did they decline?

Correct Answer

Knights became a distinct group from the ninth century due to frequent localised wars in Europe. The amateur peasant-soldiers were not sufficient for warfare, and there was a pressing need for good cavalry. This necessity led to the emergence of knights as a new section of people linked to lords through the feudal system.

They declined during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries when the feudal system of lordship and vassalage began to dissolve. Rulers started dispensing with feudal levies and introduced professionally trained infantry equipped with guns and siege artillery directly under their control. The resistance of the aristocracies, including knights, crumbled in the face of the firepower of the kings.

Exercise: EXERCISES (ANSWER IN BRIEF) | Q: 3 | (Page 28)
For More Understanding

Explanation

The answer draws directly from two key sections of the textbook. The first paragraph explains the origin of knights as a distinct group in the ninth century, linked to the military needs arising from localised wars. The second paragraph addresses their decline during the 12th-13th centuries, when monarchies strengthened and new military technology (guns and artillery) made the traditional knight-based feudal levies obsolete.

Solution Steps

  1. Step 1: Identify the reasons for emergence of knights from the context - frequent wars, insufficient peasant-soldiers, need for cavalry

  2. Step 2: Identify the time period of decline - 12th and 13th centuries

  3. Step 3: Identify the causes of decline - dissolution of feudal system, introduction of professional infantry with guns and artillery

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