Oh, I'm sure it's not too far off. I know someone who did a research project on knights and their conduct contrasted with the popular image of a noble man fighting for his lady and king, and let's just say that the real knights did not come off well.

The only problem with having crude knights (unless they're villains) in something that's a romance novel is that romance novels very much buy into the Sir Walter Scott/Arthurian image of knights, which I have some conflict with. Happily, I've been finding more authentic portrayals of the middle ages in more recently published novels, but it's still very much a place where potty humor (burps, farts, etc.) isn't welcome, because of whitewashing.

Also, if my hero is supposed to be this super-awesome knight with awesome leadership powers, then his men should probably follow in his footsteps and be more like . . . uh, Prince Charming than Shrek. :)

I'll probably end up "reforming" the knights if only because it kind of feels like the hero has a chorus of stooges following him around, though maybe I can spin it into the medieval equivalent of your boyfriend having friends you cannot stand.

P.S. That's a super cool story! My family doesn't have anything like that -- we're a bunch of poor English and German farmers, back into forever.