Of Knights and Squires

A while back, after my oldest daughter watched the Barbie movie of The Three Musketeers, she wanted me to make her a sword. So I found some scrap wood in the garage, sawed off a not-sharp point, and screwed a board across. She was 5. Seeing this, Jack, 3 wanted a sword as well. I made his sword much shorter. It looked like a fight between Peter Pan and Captain Hook. And, as in a Pan/Hook duel, even with the differences in age and sword lengths, it was a fair fight.

Madison eventually stopped playing with her sword when she realized that there are no such things as Musketeers anymore, so Jack took up the long sword. Last fall, I went with him to pick out a large, flat piece of wood to make a shield. I showed him some designs and he picked one, opting for one of the trickier designs to cut out with a circular saw.

He now fights off dragons, bad guys, and often keeps the sword and shield near his bed for protection at night. We've told him that there's a guardian angel with a real sword keeping watch, and Jack is ready to fight along his side.

I've been reading Howard Pyle's novel Men of Iron. It concerns the growing up of young Myles Falworth in the early 15th century from a strong, stubborn boy through his time as a squire and becoming a knight. Not so much a spoiler here: he gets knighted 2/3 of the way through the book. But there is an exchange between Myles and his best friend Francis Gascoyne when Myles first tells him that he is to be knighted and Francis faces the thought of his companion for the past four years leaving:

Suddenly he turned to Myles. "Wilt thou grant me a boon?" [a favor]
  "Yes, answered Myles. "What is it?"
  "That thou wilt choose me for thy squire."
  "Nay, said Myles; "how cans thou think to serve me as a squire? Thou wilt be knight thyself some day, Francis, and why dost thou wish now to be my squire?"
  "Because," said Gascoyne, with a short laugh, "I would rather be in thy company as a squire than in mine own as a knight, even if I might be banneret." [a knight commanding troops under his own banner]
  Myles flung his arm around his friend's neck, and kissed him upon the cheek. "Thou shalt have thy will," said he; "but whether knight or squire, thou art ever mine own true friend."

Two peers, one voluntarily going to service for the other. The thought of separating was that great.

As fathers, are we raising the kinds of boys we would have for our squires?

Or,

Are we raising the kinds of the knights to whom we would willingly become a squire?