To become a squire, a person must be accepted as such by a knight. He must pledge to obey the knight as his lord, and grant full loyalty to him. He agrees to place his care and protection into the hands of the knight.
An individual knight may also have further requirements, such as a preference for attitudes, religion, culture, or specific Skills. Those are strictly personal requirements that vary according to the individual, and may certainly be imposed upon the squire.
A squire, simply, does whatever his knight tells him to do. Typical chores that all squires must perform include tending horses, sharpening weapons, polishing armor, helping don armor, carrying messages, preparing and handing over fresh weapons, providing the knight with a horse, taking charge of prisoners on a battlefield, riding errands, standing guard, waiting on the knight at a banquet, rescuing and carrying off a wounded knight from the battlefield, and fighting when so ordered.
Squires receive goods, training, board, and protection from their knights. Goods include their clothing, horses, armor, weapons, and everything required for sustenance. Squires receive board from the knight, as available and appropriate. Unless the knight is in a lady’s quarters, the squire can expect lodgings comparable to the knight’s.
The knight must work and fight to protect his squire, and may not squander his squire’s life needlessly. This is a subjective judgment made by the knight, and a matter of trust for the squire. Many squires chafe at being held back, preferring the chance to fight the enemy and thus gain experience. Others appreciate the protection.
Squires, as the lowest class of nobles- and gentlemen-in-training, may be ransomed if captured for £6.