Here is some information on the process of conferring knighthood during the reign of Edward the first, I

have found nearly nothing on what was actually said but this gives you a feeling for the tone of the ceremony.

Conferring Knighthood had by the time of Edward I had developed into a more complex ceremony since the

beginning when the accolade, a tap on the shoulder with a sword, had suficed. It began the previous evening

when the candidate was shaved and taken to a special chamber where a bath was prepared with scented

water and coverings of linen and rich clothes were laid out. While he bathed, two older knights talked to him

solemly about the duties of the order. Later he was led to the chapel, where he stood

throughout the night keeping watch over his armour and saying prayers and meditating. At the

break of day he bathed again confessed, heard mass and offerd a taper (small candle) with a

piece of money stuck in the wax. With his future squire riding before him and carrying his sword

and the gold spurrs wich were to be attached to his heels, he made his way into the great hall.

Here he knelt on one knee and was given the accolade. The knigh who preformed the ceremony

would say a few words such as "Be thou a brave and gentel knight, faithful to God, thy leige lord,

and thy lady fair." Finally there would be feasting and drinking and telling of stories and listening

to the minstrels. At one time the candidate was supposed to give his spurs to the cook of the

establishment as a fee, but this was never a general rule, nor did it survive long, for gold spurrs

were not easly to come by and, after all, a cook was only a cook.

Taken from the book "The Three Edwards" by Thomas Costain

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