Who and what were the knights? How did they live? They're castle-builders, royal henchmen, battle-enthusiasts and holy warriors all rolled into one. The realities of life as a knight are often staggering, tough and more than a little surprising.

Gaining honour, respect and glory is all-important to the medieval knight. Embarking on a crusade to the Holy Land is one way of getting it. By demonstrating their love of God, they believed they could secure their access to paradise.

There's no place in modern times for the dashing life of the knights. Falling into lawlessness stands for the demise of the time of the knights and leads us to explore the rise of the robber knights and the end of an era.