Ready for a fight?

A heavily armoured soldier, often on horse back, a man-at-arms was typically well versed in the art of hand to hand combat. A man-at-arms could be a knight or a nobleman, a member of a retinue or under the orders of a mercenary captain. The terms Knight and Man-at-arms are often used interchangeably but whilst it is certain that all knights equipped for war were men-at-arms, not all men-at-arms were knights.