Knight

DK Eyewitness Books

by Christopher Gravett

Take an inside look at the life of a knight — from battles and banquets to sieges and chivalry — in this updated edition of Eyewitness: Knight. Illustrations, maps, charts, and timelines look at the history of medieval knights and their armor, jousting, heraldry, hawking, and crusades. With content appropriate for 8 – 12 year olds, the book covers everything from the very first knights to the decline of chivalry. Each book retains the stunning artworks and photography from the groundbreaking original series, but the text has been reduced and reworked to speak more clearly to younger readers. Still on every colorful page: Vibrant annotated photographs and the integrated text-and-pictures approach that makes Eyewitness a perennial favorite of parents, teachers, and school-age kids.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Childrens, Reference, Medieval, Picture Books, Middle Grade

72 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Chris Gravett is a former Senior Curator at the Royal Armouries, Tower of London, and a recognized authority on the arms, armour, and warfare of the medieval world. He has worked as an advisor for numerous TV and film productions, and has written many books. He currently works as a curator at Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire.

Reviews

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting stuff on the history of knights themselves, as well as asides on tournaments/jousting, chivalry, castles (and when cannons came along, how they evolved into fortresses), heraldry, etc. But what was really interesting was all the specialized vocab—cuirass, basinet, barbute, sabatan, besagew, buffe, burgonet, gorget plates, plackart, pouldron and vambrace, cuisse and poleyn…and that's just the armor!* Weapons also had their own bits and pieces—sword blades had fullers, axes had langets, daggers had rondels, lancets had vamplates…

Couple of fun facts: the heavy pommel at the end of a sword grip served as a counterbalance to the weight of the blade so that it was easier to handle. And the reason castle staircases always spiral up to the left is that ascending attackers would have their swords blocked by the central column, whereas descending defenders had more room to swing.

* And don't even get me started on horse armor, which was a different thing with a different vocabulary altogether.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was amost informative and easy to understand book. A real gem, I would reccommend it to anyone, child or adult.

[Lance · Rating 3 out of 5]

"After the Battle of Hastings, Duke William brought the knight, the castle, and the feudal system to England."

From some troublesome Vikings paid off with Normandy, to the high philosophical ideals of mercy and devotion to the needs of the physically weak, it's hard not to be fascinated by the history and traditions surrounding Medieval knights. These Eyewitness Books are an innovative combination of authentic museum artefacts from around the world presented in high-quality illustrations with captions that can be browsed in any order. When I was a child I was enraptured by the Minerals and Gemstones Eyewitness book that my dad gave me. So a volume on knights could not disappoint!
"The rules of chivalry dictated that knights should show courtesy to defeated enemies, but this code was not always observed."
Despite a long-term obsession with all things Arthurian (let's be honest, that means Sir Lancelot), I still managed to learn new things from this book. The technical terms were helpful, for example, I can finally say I now know what is going on when fantasy characters get hit in battle and can't fight back because their vambrace has been warped (part of a suit of armour which protects the biceps). I know that early spiked maces were known as "nobblers", and that when plate armour superceded coats of mail, the weapon of choice changed from the double-edged slicing blade to a pointed piercing sword. I saw an amazing shaffron (armour for a horse's head) with a sharp unicorn's horn mounted on the forehead. In addition to some fun esoterica, such as the swan badge for the princes of Wales dating back to the House of Lancaster, foot jousts being carried out over a barrier, or even crazier, from two colliding row boats, that gold can never be used on silver in heraldry, and I also appreciated the inclusion of Japanese samuri.
"Heavily armed squadrons of knights could not break the disciplined ranks of infantry."
Sadly, all things must come to an end. Even the great era of battling knights which has never lost its romanticism in 600 years. At times the artefact style left this book impersonal and lacking in a sense of time or historical narrative, so Horrible Histories will always be needed in conjunction with these books for getting children interested in history. I will also briefly complain that the main reason for heraldic seals was to avoid forgery not compensate for illiteracy, the objects on a coat-of-arms should be named in English in conventional heraldry, and that the actor dressed as the knight could have been more handsome. But then again, maybe I'm just grumpy because the great age of chivalry has come to an end.
Thank you for going to an Eyewitness virtual museum quest with me, Adam! We even managed to read it before the due date of November 6th! (after about six extensions ...) I hope that we can enjoy many more children's books from the library soon.

[Baby Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the format of this book. It's like walking around a museum and looking at cool things. But all from the comfort of your own bed. Little Napton was especially impressed with the book, as he usually sleeps through museum trips (although he says he doesn't remember too much, other than there being a big wall sconce, or something, which looked like it could be fun to have a nap in. Oh no! <3

[Phil Syphe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short account of knights is aimed at younger readers but it’s still worth adults checking it out if your interested in the topic.

The photos and illustrations, of which there are many, are excellent. The layout resembles a magazine.

Text is more plentiful than you might think, and it took me longer to read than predicted. The language is simple with no wasted words.

This probably deserves five stars, but I rate it four because my concentration wavered every so often.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reason for Reading: Ds loves the Eyewitness Books and I bought this one for him as a reward for something he accomplished. We took a break from our regular history read aloud and I read a two-page spread from this to him every "school" day.

Ds loved the book! What is there *not* to love about an Eyewitness Book?! The pictures and photography are excellent; these just make for wonderful coffee table books for any ages. Ds likes swords (he has a life-size toy collection) and weaponry (before guns) and I think this inspires his interest in Knights. He sits riveted beside me while I read the text and makes sure I read every caption to every picture. He learned a lot from this book and he brought to the table his own knowledge which was expanded upon. A definite 5* rating from him. I also thought the book was well done. Since the information was all mostly pre-1550, the inescapable Christian content that accompanies this topic was for the majority unbiased and presented simply as it was in the day. For example the Crusades are given straightforwardly from the knights point of view without any modern relativism. The bias came in when discussing specifically Catholic issues, which of course, every Christian was, pre-Reformation. Some statements on the Knights Templar were simply untrue. For example the king of France's vendetta against them wasn't mentioned at all and there were other remarks, that as a Catholic, I had to stop and say this is not exactly true and explain the whole story. I take a mark off and give a rating of 4 because of this. However I do expect this, as I don't expect a mainstream publisher to present Catholic history without a bias. I also am irritated with the use of CE instead of AD, and usually just chuck books by publishers who use it as it is the first sign that historical revisionism will be in place, but as noted above I respect DK Publishing and find they publish Christian information and material quite well for the most part.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures of very ornate items.

[RavenT · Rating 5 out of 5]

As part of Library Declutter of 2024, I read through this before sending it to my great-nephews. This was one of my son's favorites in elementary school. The whole DK Eyewitness line (more than 10 books so far) is a great way to interest children in history, science, and natural history because of the use of many artefact photographs and graphic images to illustrate the topics thoroughly, like a virtual visit to a museum. Homeschool progams would benefit from them as enrichment. Adults will appreciate the visual feast, as well. The books in the series are great gifts for children when they discover a new interest. Even middle schoolers won't feel they are too childish because of the format and aesthetic.

[Rebekah Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose to read this informational text because when I was little, my brother would read Eyewitness Books and memorize all the information. I never really got into them as a kid, so I decided to stretch my typical choice of books and explore this one. I will admit, this book still was not a style that captured my attention but I did enjoy learning about knights - which I have always found fascinating. Seeing pictures that represented things, people, and events that actually existed added to my interest, and I feel that this book would teach students about history, engage them in something they might be interested in, and speak to the student who prefers informational text over fiction.

[Hairdryer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not the kind of book I would have thought I'd enjoy, but I did. It was rexing reading about all different kinds of armors, how the average knight behaved, what they did and what they wore. It is purpusefully very *surface level* about these topics, but I feel like they had been summarized well for the average layman (me) to understand about each thing in a few sentences. The seam from the page seemed to swallow and gobble down some of the words that were too close but it was still readable.

Jousts were brutal, man. What the hell. 3/5.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fun to trace when I was younger, and I still take gander every now and then for some armor reference.

The 93 edition I have has a different cover, but still has a nice stroll through a museum quailty that all these eyewitness books possess.

Highly recommended! ⚔️⚔️⚔️

[Keith S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book because

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can’t go wrong with Eyewitness books, regardless of your age. Learned a ton of stuff I didn’t know about armor, castle design, weaponry, etc. So much work went into these beautiful books.

[Todd Howell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little shorter than I would have liked but good for getting an overview of the period and knighthood.

[Earl Harth · Rating 4 out of 5]

nise detail

[Penny Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book is like taking a walk through the medieval section of a museum. With photographs, live models, and period artwork, the reader easily gets a thorough education regarding the time period. This book can be enjoyed on two levels. The photos are large and colorful; the reader can simply browse through the book and learn a great deal. The generous text makes the book into an encyclopedia. The reader can spend time reading everything from front to back, or he can find a specific topic int he index or table of contents. Thus the book appeals to both visual and read/write learners.

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK I know these are supposed to be kid books but they are awesome! Great pictures and just enough text to make you want to learn more. Great choices for a beginning history reader or to start an older reader out in a new area. Every time I pick one of these up and read it I learn new things. Highly Recommended

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

history of knights & their gear, behavior, castles, fighting, arming up, etc. Written for and aimed at older children, but very good for adults as well, especially since the pictures add so much to the text. Includes a glossary, useful websites for further research, and places to visit: mostly in England or France, but 2 museums in the U.S.
Recommended.

[Megan Guertler · Rating 3 out of 5]

i thought this book was interesting to look at but would never be my first choice to read. i thought it was extremely informational and great for learning. i would defiantly want to have this book in class, there is so many different activities that can go along with this book!

[Anna Nesterovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is sketchy, but it's expected from this format. The illustrations are very good and catch the kid's imagination. A good introduction of the concept of a "knight" to a young reader. My four-year-old was quite happy with it.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eyewitness Books always offer such wonderful photos and tidbits of information and this one was no different. Although I found the CD-rom of clipart pointless.

[Scotty · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was OK. Just some quick highlights on knighthood. Since I am a big fan of the Song of Ice and Fire series, I thought I would brush up on knighthood terminology.

[Mackenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was absolutely great for reference but not so good for enjoyment or a non-fiction story.

[keereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

pictures and drawings paired with facts and information about knights, kings, and knightly codes