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This fragment of verse by John Harding (date uncertain) yields a good timeline upon which a young noblemen found the stages of his training. The text for this poem is found on p. 17 \"THE BLACK PRINCE\", R.P. Dunn-Pattison, 1910
And as lordes sonnes bene sette, at four yere age, To scole to lerne the doctryne of letture, And after at sex to have thaym in language, And sitte at mete semely in all nurture; At ten and twelve to revelle in thair cure, To daunse and synge, and speke of gentelnesse; At fourtene yere they shalle to felde I sure, At hunte the dere, and catch an hardynesse. For dere to hunte and slea, and se them blede, Ane hardyment gyfffith to his corage, And also in his wytte to takyth hede Ymagyninge to take thaym at avauntage. At sextene yere to werray and to wage, To juste and ryde, and castels to assayle, To scarmyse als, and make sykur courage, And sette his wache for perile nocturnayle; And every day his armure to assay In fete of armes with some of his meyne, His might to preve, and what that he do may Iff that we were in such a jupertee Of werre by falle, that by necessite He might algates with wapyns hym defende: Thus should he lerne in his priorite His wapyns alle in armes to dispende.