Preview

Samurai and knights were different but the similarities were grater

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
455 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Samurai and knights were different but the similarities were grater
Samurai V.S. Knight

Samurai and Knights were different but the similarities were greater because of their rankings, training, armor, fighting technique, code of honor, and death viewpoint. The Japanese called their warriors Samurai, and the Europeans called their warriors Knights. They both swore oaths of loyalty to noble lords and fought to the death to defend them. This happened at the same time even though Japan and Europe were thousands of miles apart.
Samurai were a little higher up than Knights in the feudal social order. In the social order in feudal Japan if you were a Samurai you were a warrior who owed loyalty and military service to Dalmyos for land or regular payment. All of the Samurai plus their family made up about ten percent of Japans population. Now, Knights on the other hand were warriors who owed loyalty and military service to a lord for land. There were about twelve thousand Knights in England and Normany France in the twelfth century. (Documents A, B)
Samurai and Knights were trained in a different manor because of their armor and their fighting technique. Samurai armor consisted of small iron scales that were tied together and bounded into armor plates with silk or leather cords. The helmet was made of eight to twelve iron plates, and below it was a five piece neck guard. The body of the armor had four parts. They did not have armor on their right arm so they could easily draw their bow. Knights wore armor made of chain mail. When bows and crossbows became more common they started to wear complete suits of plate armor made of metal. (Documents C, D)
The Samurai followed the code of Bushido. It consisted of discharging loyal service to his master, deepening his loyalty to his friends, and devoting himself to duty above all. Each Knight followed the code of Chivalry. He took the vows of true knighthood, solemnly promising to do no wicked deed, to be loyal to the king, to give mercy to those asking it, always to be courteous and helpful to

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Knights Vs Samurai Dbq

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the article “knights and samurai” a document based investigation it clearly shows how a samurai would win on a one on one battle against the knights. While knights and samurais have many similarities, in a one on one battle, the advantage would be to the samurai and this can be seen in Armor, training, and beliefs.…

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Samurai Dbq Analysis

    • 512 Words
    • 3 Pages

    I think that the Samurai would win in a battle against a knight. While knights ad samurai have many similarities, in a one on one battle, the advantage would be to the Samurai and this can be seen in weapons, training, and their honor code…

    • 512 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Samurai lived by the code of Bushido, which emphasized on the rule that they should respect and honor those above them on the social class. And they should obey all the commanders. On the contrary, the reality is a large percentage of samurai become jobless and homeless at the end of Tokugawa Era. Less of governmental offices can provide them occupations as the long period of peace for 200 years. So without war, the samurai’s role and life style dramatically changed since there was no more…

    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In document E written By Yamaga Soko it says Outwardly he stands in Physical readiness for any call to service and inwardly he strives to fulfill the Way.” Samurais were physically and mentally ready. Samurais would be calm, but when they were called to fight, they were ready and would fight till the end. Another piece that shows that Samurais OR Knights could win is in document E also but written by Sir Thomas Malory. It states, ¨...Solemnly promising to do, not wicked deed, to be loyal to the king, to give mercy to those asking it.” Samurais were also loyal to their king(emperor), but knights gave mercy to anybody who was willing to ask for it. Knights were warriors in Europe but when they did not have to kill, they didn´t. They still fought at the best of their…

    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Feudalism started in both Japan and Europe at the same time, but does that mean that samurai and knights are the same? Feudalism is when the knight/samurai provide service for the lord, and in exchange, the lord provides land for the knight/samurai. Samurai and Knights: were the similarity greater than the differences? Samurai and knights were more similar than different in 3 broad areas; social position, training and armor, and honor and death.…

    • 348 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imagine yourself as a Samurai, you are in the middle of defeating the European knights who are covered in plated armor. You begin to worry but then, you win, these are the reasons why a Samurai is better than a knight. Feudalism in Europe and Japan were both very similar. They both has rulers, and they both had rulers who hired nobles, and they both had nobles who hired landowners, and they both had landowners who hired warriors to protect the slaves and their land. If samurai and knights were to have fought against each other the samurai would have won because, they had movable armor and it was easier for them to dodge anything that a knight would slowly lunge at them with. If a Samurai and knights battled the knights would have fallen because, their armor was very defective. A knight's armor wasn’t made for easy movement, this made it more difficult for them to fight, but overall they were well protected(Document B). Their armor did defend them but, a Knight’s armor could easily be penetrated by a soldier…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Samurai were imagined to lead their lives in step with the ethic code of code ("the method of the warrior"). powerfully Confucian in nature, code stressed ideas like loyalty to one's master, self discipline and respectful, moral behavior. several samurai were additionally drawn to the teachings and practices of Zen Buddhism.…

    • 418 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Knights Dbq

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages

    To begin Knights and Samurai have a lot of common traits, but they also have differences. Traits that they both share are, they are warriors who protect their land. But a difference is that they have different weapons,armor,training and different religions. While knights and samurai have many similarities, in a one on one battle, the advantage would be given to the knight and this can be seen in their training,armor,and their Honor Code.…

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Samurai Knights Dbq

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages

    They had different thoughts about life and death because Samurai didn't care if someone died and the Knights cared a lot if someone died. Samurai also said, “Had I not known that I was dead already I would have mourned my loss of life,” and Document F Poems written by Samurai circa 1400, “The Song of Roland,”circa 1100 said, “God, I acknowledge my guilt and I beg for Thy mercy for all the sins, greater and lesser, witch I have committed from the hour of my birth until this day when I lie here overcome by death!”The code of Bushido is a code that they would be loyal to the king. However in one’s own life one becomes unavoidably involved in obligations between father and child, older and younger brother, and husband and wife.. These differences are significant because it explains how different these cultures are, and their own way of believing in…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    All woman out there if you want to protect yourself and not rely on a man then you should become a samurai but if you want protection and respect then marry a knight. During the Middle Ages in Feudal Japan and in Europe samurai and knights were two of the bravest warriors. It is important to compare these two because you can see who is more respectful or more powerful. Samurai were sent to defeat barbarians in Northern Honshu. Samurai worked for landowners and offered them protection and loyalty in exchange for land and rights. Knights lived in their lord's castle because they protected their lord. They lived in the lower floor of the castle with other knights because there was enough space there. In this essay I will compare the views on women of samurai and knights, the views on education of both warriors, and their code of conduct.…

    • 710 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Both of these warriors kept an oath of loyalty to their lords and to serve them, but samurai and knights had different obligations, codes, and contracts to follow. Samurai's loyalty to their lords were hereditary (Doc B). Meaning that their contract of loyalty to their lord could last many generations in their family. In contrast, the knights contract was not hereditary and only had to be served by the one who promised to (Doc B). This means that the knight’s family or son was not forced to serve their lord and would be able to discontinue the contract once the knight was done serving. Samurai and knights both had different expectations from each other. Samurais were expected to always put their duty first according to their code of Bushido. This included their family and own personal life. Loyalty and service was the focused point in a samurai's life (Doc E). Whereas knights focused on serving and helping everyone out and not just their lord, according to their code of Chivalry. They focused on being loyal to the king, showing mercy to those who need it, being polite and helpful, and doing no wrong (Doc E).…

    • 823 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Despite their similarities medieval Europe and Japan had major differences such as the role of women, and the different beliefs for a warrior between Chivalry (knights) and the Bushido code (samurais). The role of women in Europe was thought of as weak and inferior unlike Japan who believed that women were supposed to be strong. So Europe’s knights (strong) and females (weak) were opposite, however, Japanese samurais (strong) and women (strong) were supposed to reflect of each other. Each warrior had their code of conduct to follow. European’s knights followed chivalry while samurais followed the bushido code. Knights only believed in protecting their country,…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    (AGG)knights were an important part of the social system during the middle ages in Europe.(BS-1)Their training and education started at a young age continuing into adulthood. (BS-2)They were then considered to be weapons for their lords. (BS-3)It was expected that all knights live by a strong code of conduct.(TS)Knights helped give rise to the economic and political system known as feudalism through their contributions and involvement in the economy,military,culture and law.…

    • 2341 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    (AGG) Fighting for the welfare of their kingdom, knights have always been feared by their enemies. (BS-1) The training to become a knight and all the other activities he engaged in were very hard and required a lot of training. (BS-2) Feudalism and manorialism benefited knights, by giving them food and land in return for loyalty and protection. (BS-3) Feudalism also enabled the kingdom to build a functioning military. (BS-4) Lastly the church adapted and used the great chain of being to their advantage. (TS) Knight would affect feudalism by giving protection to the kingdom in exchange for food and land.…

    • 2289 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Bushido Code History

    • 1287 Words
    • 6 Pages

    For centuries the Japanese have been known for developing fierce warriors known as the samurai. So what is a samurai? According to Merriam-Webster.com a samurai is “A military retainer of a Japanese Daimyo practicing the code of conduct of Bushido.” The Bushido Code is an honor code developed by the samurai class in the Japanese military and is comprised of eight virtues which are Rectitude or Justice, Courage, Benevolence or Mercy, Politeness or Respect, Honesty, Honor, Loyalty, and Character and Self-control. The Bushido Code was developed during the Kamakura period (1185-1333) alongside with the practice of seppuku (ritual disembowelment) which was a way for a samurai to regain his honor, however the code was not used by many until the 16th…

    • 1287 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays