Samurai Vs Medieval Knight

Roughly in the years 1000 to 1600 CE there were Samurai and knights. They were two very different but very similar warriors. Samurai were the knights of japan and knights were the samurai of europe. Both made from a lack of army and government, both needing land or payment, and both giving their lives to their master. They look very different, but are they more similar than they seem? Keep reading to find out.

There are many similarities between the samurai of medieval Japan and the knights of medieval Europe, especially considering their training, armor, and code. For example, Document A and B discuss the samurai and knights start their training at an early age, they also had training that taught loyalty, and finally they both got raked up when they were fourteen years old, but the knights became squires and the samurai in training became samurai. However, the samurai read poetry in hidden places, and they practiced Kendo and Zen Buddhism. According to Document A “The young warriors studied Kendo, the moral code of the samurai, and Zen Buddhism.” The knights learned horse skills when they were younger and how to ride a horse and pony at a young

Samurai and knights always battling out in the battlefield. During this time both knights and samurai were fighting for protection. Both were developing codes such as Chivalry and Bushido. Both had a some sort of leader weather it's a shogun or a pope. Some historians will argue that samurai and knights are more different than similar, but they are more similar than different. The samurai and knights were more similar than different because they had similar armor and they had the same type of social pyramid.

In medieval Europe and Japan there were warriors called samurai and knights that protected their region (Doc. 1). The samurai fought in Japan and knights fought in Europe (Doc. 1). Knights were famous for riding on horseback but the samurai would ride too (Doc.1). Samurai were mainly famous for their karate skills and acrobatic moves (Doc. C). One key characteristic for both the samurai and knights was that they were both loyal (Doc. E). They had to be because they played a big part in feudalism (Doc. A). Both warriors had a code that they abided (Doc. E). Bushido was the code for the samurai and Chivalry for the knights (Doc. E). The samurai and knights were great warriors who fought from 1000 AD to 1600 CE an their similarities are greater than their differences.

One way was the armour they wore. The samurai wore iron scales tied together, lacquered and then bound into armour plates with silk or leather cords.(Doc.D) The helmet was made of 8-12 iron plates, and below it was a 5-piece neck guard. (Doc.D) If you look at the samurai armour it doesn’t have many flaws, unless you get it wet because then it gets heavy and extremely droopy. (Doc.D) Now the knights armour during the 1200s, they wore armour made of chainmail tiny metal rings linked together. (Doc.D) Chainmail was very effective against weapons like bows and swords.(OI) The knights armour had a humongous problem though, it weighed in from about 40- 60 pounds.(Doc.D) One difference between their armour was the samurai had armour everywhere, but their right arm so the could draw their swords super fast.(Doc.D) The knights on the other hand, they wore full body armour for full protection.(Doc.D) Last, is the feudal societies of Europe and

To start, both samurai and knights had a code of honor that they followed. The knight’s code was called chivalry, and the samurai’s code was called bushido. The main idea of chivalry was to always be loyal to your lord and the Catholic Church. Knights also had to promise to do no wicked deed (Doc. E). To dishonor knighthood was the greatest disgrace. The main idea of bushido was to alway be loyal to the shogun. For example, if the samurai had family problems, he would have to serve his master before his family (Doc. E). As you can see, the main idea of both chivalry and bushido way loyalty towards their master and that both the samurai and knights were very similar.

A thousand years ago, a class of professional warriors arose. Who swore their oath of loyalty to the noble lords. In which, the Daimyos fought to death to defend their land. This lead to Japan developing a group of warriors called samurai. In Europe, they also developed a group of warriors and these warriors were called knights. There were some similarities between a knight and samurai. For one, they both had a social pyramid. Another reason would be because of their armour and warfare. The last similarity that they had would be their code of honor. The similarities between a knight and samurai were greater than the differences because of their social positions, armour, code of honor, and warfare.

The similarities between samurais and knights were greater than the differences due to the similarity in the hierarchy and the armor they used to protect themselves. The Samurai were “warriors who owed loyalty and military service to daimyos for land or regular payment.” They made up about 10% of Japan’s population. Similarly, knights were “warriors who owed loyalty and military service to the lord for land.” (Document A) There were about 12,000 knights in England and Normandy, France in the 12th century. Even though Japan and Europe had no communication or access to each other, both areas placed the warrior classes in the middle of the hierarchy and owed loyalty/military services. This shows that the social order of both Feudal Japan and Feudal

With this, feudal systems emerged. In both systems, knights and samurai made up the warrior class. Were the similarities between the European knights and Japanese samurai greater than their differences? In my opinion, they were more similar than different in three main aspects: social position, training and armor, and honor and death. The Samurai’s were the “military class” warriors of Japan.

Have you ever completed a puzzle? Medieval Japan and Europe were really two giant puzzles. Both of the puzzles were solved using the same cheat sheet called feudalism, Japan puzzle was solved in late 1100s’ by the first shogun, Minamoto. In Europe the Pope solved the puzzle using the feudalism cheat sheet some time before the Minimoto solved the puzzle, to better control over Europe. Each developed a warrior class that was new to the world, Europe developed the knight while, Japan created the Samurai. So were the similarities greater than the differences??? We will explore this question in three categories Social Position, Training and Armor and Honor and Death.

The first reason why the differences are greater than the similarities is because of the social order in feudal Japan and Europe. ”Historians and other scholars use social pyramids to show how societies were structured” (Document A). The samurai owned loyalty and military service to daimyo 's for land or regular payment while on the other hand knights owned loyalty and military service to the lords. Another difference about samurais and knights was the population. Samurai with families took about 10% of Japan 's population and in Europe, there was estimated 12,000 knights in England and Normany France in the 12th century. One more difference is that there are four people above the knight in the social order but only three for samurai.

My second reason is that the knights had very strong and effective armour, whereas the samurai’s armour was always changing and was never as good as the knight’s armour, as samurai depended more on their fighting skills instead of the armour. The samurai armour was made up of several sections. The main body is called a do or cuirass, and is made from plates or lamellae (small oblong-shaped pieces of steel linked by strips of leather and covered with layers of lacquer). The helmet has a crest and a hair pommel. There is also a face mask, which would have been decorated with ugly features intended to scare the enemy. Extra protection is provided by a coverage of the neck (made of jointed metal) and shoulder guards (made from small plates laced together, with silk allowing movement). Thigh and calf guards are made from a combination of chain mail and plates. Underneath the samurai’s armour, the samurai would wear a one-piece baggy garment with a special kimono (the kimono looks a bit like a dressing gown). This did mean that the samurai would be more likely to get injured, as the armour would only offer very little protection. Samurai armour was designed to help the Samurai move comfortably and efficiently when fighting, so if a knight stabbed the samurai then the samurai would get injured and this would affect the samurai while he is fighting (the samurai would be fighting worse), and possible depending on how bad the wound is, it could kill the

Knights used bows and arrows,swords,axes,and maces.I think the difference is significant because it's weird how we couldn't connect with each other and help each other out instead of fighting.Overall Knights used a variety of weapons like bows and arrows,swords,maces and

Samurai and knights are not identical, they do have a good amount of differences. For instance, after going through training, samurai were awarded their title and responsibilities at the age of fourteen while knights took on their full responsibilities at twenty-one. Document B points out that although loyalty was important to both Japanese and European warriors, “loyalty towards the feudal lord in Japan was hereditary” but it was not in Europe. This means that in Japan “service of a feudal lord went from father to son” so the relationship between the lord and his warrior lasted for generations. Along with that, although both groups wore full body armor, Document D states that “a knight’s armor could weigh forty

The Knights of Europe and the Samurai of Japan shared quite a few similarities; however, they do also share many differences. One such similarity would be that both the Knights and the Samurais were brave, strong, and loyal to their cause, especially due to both of their trainings starting at a very young age. An example of a difference would be the samurais having a much lighter armor than knights. This allowed for a more agile army. They also ascended to their titles at separate ages, with samurais being at a mere 14 years of age, and knights being 21.