A little cniht to pick

As a student of history and of language, I find the bits of Latin and Greek scattered throughout a A History of Education in Antiquity to be a neat puzzle to mentally translate (or just sound out in the case of the Greek) between sections. Though, the text proper isn't particularly difficult. Chapter one has so many sections to it, and is written in such a welcoming style that it's hard to stop reading.

Although, maybe the main reason that I find this book such a compelling read is that it's about ancient history. A history that can't be bogged down by minute political details because such things just aren't available. Though its conversational tone helps, and, based on what I've read in the past, might well be the mark of French scholarship. It's definitely a welcome trait, whether it's shared by all French historians or if it's exclusive to Marrou.

Yet, Marrou's use of the term "knight" does kind of bother me.

Technically it's not accurate, since, despite the cultural power of the word, it originates from a Germanic word "Knecht" meaning "servant" or "bondsman." From "Knecht" comes the Anglo-Saxon "cniht" which also meant "servant," but also referred to "boy," "youth," or "lad." Curiously, though "knighthood" today refers to a set of ethics and/or a social status, in Anglo-Saxon "cnihthād" referred to adolescence.

The reason why knights were primarily from the noble class was because the upkeep of a horse (let alone the purchase and upkeep of armour, arms, and other accoutrements), required of any mounted soldier in the employ of a lord or king, could only be afforded by the wealthy. Marrou's use of the word to denote a warrior with a noble spirit and who pays strict attention to social mores and manners nonetheless makes sense in the broader use of "knight" (particularly as an adjective), and criticizing him because of it is merely pedantic.

Nonetheless, once more inuring me to him, Marrou acknowledges this disparity of technical meaning and his use, and makes it clear that he's aware of his anachronism.