Max Prigent

Mrs. Molyneaux
World Civ. II
October 7, 2015
Samurai v.s Knights
In the early 1100s, Japan was chaos. People all over the place were fighting each other
for more power or land. As this happened, a noble class of warriors arose. These warriors were
called samurai, and were devoted to serving their lords. Interestingly enough, a few centuries
later the same things happened in Europe. Although the Japanese samurai and European knights
may seem similar, they are quite different.
First, the samurai and knights armors were very different. The knights armor was
designed to stop blunt force, unlike the samurai armor, which was made to stop arrows. Since
the samurai armor is lighter, a fallen samurai stand back up. A knight in heavy, metal armor
would not be able to stand up without exterior help. While the knights used shields to help
defend themselves, samurai used their swords. The armors of the samurai and knights were
designed differently for different purposes that suited the wearers needs, and are not as similar
as they may have seemed.
Another major difference between knights and samurai was their training. The samurai
trained to have poetic, spiritual and physical strength. At that age, the knight apprentices were
only barely learning how to ride horses. The samurai training was heavily influenced by religion.
The knights used more practical methods, even though they did have a religion to guide them.
At the age of twenty-one, if a squire was deemed worthy of knighthood, a ceremony was held for
him. Samurai could be as young as fourteen when they were fully part of the order.

The final major difference between knights and samurai is where their loyalties lied. The
knights had a choice. If they did not want to be a knight, they were not obligated to do so. The
samurai, however, were, because it was hereditary. Samurai were loyal to lords; knights were
loyal to kings. Knights primarily relied on their king to make decisions, if there were any family
conflicts. Samurai were expected to side with their lords. Samurai and knights were loyal to
different people in accordance to their respective codes of honor.
The differences between knights and samurai clearly outweigh the similarities. In armor,
training and loyalty, it has been proven that though one may argue they are similar, there are
more differences. Whether it be because of the time period or location, the samurai and knights
were different.