A formalized sequence for learning the skills of knighthood is an established part of the feudal tradition. Except under very special conditions, every aspirant to knighthood must follow these steps.

Page
Pages are young boys or girls between the ages of ten and fifteen who are learning the ways of courtly life by observing their elders and doing those tasks assigned to them. After serving as pages, most girls become maids-in-waiting and wives. Boys become squires.

Squire
Boys may become squires at age fifteen. Squires are servants of their knights, studying the ways of knighthood as they serve. Those who are confident in themselves, who show promise, and who have the right connections may become knights. Most will remain squires.

Knight
Most aspirants must wait until age 21 to be knighted, after serving six years as squires. Men knighted younger are exceptional, but not unknown. Sometimes a young heir must be hastily knighted and ennobled upon reaching his majority at age eighteen or, even rarer, at fifteen.