One of my favorite historical periods to study is the medieval period. There is something so appealing about the strength and chivalry of “knights in shining armor”. In order to become a knight, a young man in medieval times went through years of training and mentorship as well as ceremonies. Each level of training had objectives and goals that needed to be met before a young man was able to advance to the next level. Robert Lewis used these principles in the quest of knighthood as a basis for his book, Raising a Modern-Day Knight.

As explained in the book, today’s society does not give much direction to a boy wanting to know when he has become a man or what being a man is all about. In the past, and still today in some cultures, a ceremony, preceded by the completion of some sort of criteria, let a boy know when he had become a man. Mr. Lewis and two of his friends wrestled with how to help their sons become the best men possible. They created a plan of ceremonies and experiences to help their sons men of integrity and character. Lewis drew from these plans and experiences to write Raising a Modern-Day Knight in the hope of giving direction to other men with their own sons.

Raising a Modern-Day Knight has a thoughtful introduction followed by fourteen chapters divided into five sections: the need for a modern-day knighthood, the knight and his ideals, the knight and his ceremonies, the knight and his round table, and the knight and his legacy. The need for a modern-day knight  describes in detail the reasons that fathers need to be purposeful in teaching their sons about manhood. The author also tells his own story and explains how the idea of modern-day knighthood came about. The chapters in the knight and his ideals explain some of the criteria for modern-day manhood including a code of conduct, ten biblical ideals, and four keys to effective training. The third section, the knight and his ceremonies, discusses the various ceremonies the author and his friends created, and explains how they used them with their sons. It lists four key manhood ceremonies and offers other ceremonies for parents to consider. The ceremonies commemorate both natural events, such as puberty or graduation, and biblical events, such as baptism. The knight and his round table consists of  a single chapter discussing the need for men to have fellowship with other men. The final chapters, covering the knight and his legacy, talk to men about their legacy. A chapter is included specifically for those with grown sons who feel they have blown it and it is too late change anything. The fifth section also gives an update on the sons who were the first “class” of modern-day knights.

Although I am not a father myself, I thoroughly enjoyed Raising a Modern-Day Knight. As a mother, it gave me a lot to think about in raising our son, as well as help in encouraging my husband in his relationship with our son. The detailed descriptions in the book give the reader all of the necessary tools to duplicate the ceremonies and events that the author and his friends created, as well as serving as a jumping-off place to create additional ceremonies. A key theme within the book is the community of manhood. The men in the book were friends and created and carried out the manhood ceremonies for their sons together. The deliberate training in manhood as described in this book would require a community of men in order to carry it out most effectively, but many of the ideas could be used by one father with his son or sons.