What do Lancelot, Traistan and Sir Gawain have in common? They were not real knights. But what do El Cid, Arnold of Ardres, Hermann von Salza and Edward the Black Prince share? They were real knights. What were "real knights" really like? Did they resemble their larger-than-life counterparts of fiction and legend? Or were they unscrupulous warriors, often little better than brigands in their pursuit of land and loot? As REAL KNIGHTS shows, one of the reasons knights continue to intrigue us is because they remain contradictory figures, high-minded and chivalrous, as well as ruthless. In REAL KNIGHTS, the careers of 20 celebrated individual knights are examined. The book also provides a context for these individual stories by presenting historical background on early knights, the Crusades, the age of chivalry, the Hundred Years War, and the age of the professional knight. In addition, special sections focus on such topics as armor, weapons and fighting techniques; warfare; tournaments; life in a castle; and clothes, food and entertainment. John James's highly detailed, vivid illustrations stunningly recreate the authentic look of the knights themselves as well as the atmosphere of the age, while the accompanying text allows for an informative and entertaining exploration of the world of chivalry and the careers of knights from many different corners of Europe.