Aknight is a person granted an honorary title of aknighthood by ahead of state (including thepope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity.[1][2]
The concept of knighthood may have been inspired by the ancient Greekhippeis (ἱππεῖς) and Romanequites.[3] In theEarly Middle Ages inWestern Christian Europe, knighthood was conferred upon mounted warriors.[4] During theHigh Middle Ages, knighthood was considered a class ofpetty nobility. By theLate Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals ofchivalry, a code of conduct for the perfectcourtly Christian warrior. Often, a knight was avassal who served as an elite fighter or a bodyguard for a lord, with payment in the form of land holdings.[5] The lords trusted the knights, who were skilled inbattle on horseback. In the Middle Ages, knighthood was closely linked with horsemanship (and especially thejoust) from its origins in the 12th century until its final flowering as a fashion among thehigh nobility in theDuchy of Burgundy in the 15th century. This linkage is reflected in the etymology ofchivalry,cavalier, and related terms such as the French title ofchevalier. In that sense, the special prestige accorded to mounted warriors inChristendom finds a parallel in thefurusiyya in theIslamic world. TheCrusades brought variousmilitary orders of knights to the forefront of defendingChristian pilgrims traveling to theHoly Land.[6][unreliable source]
Today, a number of orders of knighthood continue to exist in Christian Churches, as well as in several historically Christian countries and their former territories, such as the Roman CatholicSovereign Military Order of Malta, the ProtestantOrder of Saint John, as well as the EnglishOrder of the Garter, the SwedishRoyal Order of the Seraphim, the SpanishOrder of Santiago, and the NorwegianOrder of St Olav. There are also dynastic orders like theOrder of the Golden Fleece, theImperial Order of the Rose, theMost Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle and theOrder of St George. In modern times these are orders centred around charity and civic service, and are no longer military orders. Each of these orders has its own criteria for eligibility, but knighthood is generally granted by a head of state, monarch, orprelate to selected persons to recognise some meritorious achievement, often for service to the Church or country.The modern female equivalent of a knight in the English language isdame. Knighthoods and damehoods are traditionally regarded as prestigious.[9]
The wordknight, fromOld Englishcniht ("boy" or "servant"),[10] is acognate of theGerman wordKnecht ("servant, bondsman, vassal").[11] This meaning, of unknown origin, is common amongWest Germanic languages (cfOld Frisiankniucht, Dutchknecht, Danishknægt, Swedishknekt, Norwegianknekt,Middle High Germankneht, all meaning "boy, youth, lad").[10]Middle High German had the phraseguoter kneht, which also meant knight; but this meaning was in decline by about 1200.[12]
The meaning ofcniht changed over time from its original meaning of "boy" to "householdretainer".Ælfric's homily of St.Swithun describes a mounted retainer as acniht. Whilecnihtas might have fought alongside their lords, their role as household servants features more prominently in the Anglo-Saxon texts. In several Anglo-Saxon willscnihtas are left either money or lands. In his will, KingÆthelstan leaves his cniht, Aelfmar, eighthides of land.[13]
Arādcniht, "riding-servant", was a servant on horseback.[14]
A narrowing of the generic meaning "servant" to "military follower of a king or other superior" is visible by 1100. The specific military sense of a knight as a mounted warrior in theheavy cavalry emerges only in theHundred Years' War. The verb "to knight" (to make someone a knight) appears around 1300; and, from the same time, the word "knighthood" shifted from "adolescence" to "rank or dignity of a knight".
AnEquestrian (Latin, fromeques "horseman", fromequus "horse")[15] was a member of the second highestsocial class in theRoman Republic and earlyRoman Empire. This class is often translated as "knight"; the medieval knight, however, was calledmiles in Latin (which in classical Latin meant "soldier", normally infantry).[16][17][18]
In the later Roman Empire, theclassical Latin word for horse,equus, was replaced in common parlance by thevulgar Latincaballus, sometimes thought to derive from Gaulishcaballos.[19] Fromcaballus arose terms in the various Romance languages cognate with the (French-derived) Englishcavalier: Italiancavaliere, Spanishcaballero, Frenchchevalier (whencechivalry), Portuguesecavaleiro, and Romaniancavaler.[20] The Germanic languages have terms cognate with the Englishrider: GermanRitter, and Dutch and Scandinavianridder. These words are derived from Germanicrīdan, "to ride", in turn derived from theProto-Indo-European root*reidh-.[21]
Inancient Rome, there was a knightly classOrdo Equestris (order of mounted nobles). Some portions of the armies ofGermanic peoples who occupied Europe from the 3rd century CE onward had been mounted, and some armies, such as those of theOstrogoths, were mainly cavalry.[22] However, it was the Franks who generally fielded armies composed of large masses ofinfantry, with an infantry elite, thecomitatus, which often rode to battle on horseback rather than marching on foot. When the armies of the Frankish rulerCharles Martel defeated theUmayyad Arab invasion at theBattle of Tours in 732, the Frankish forces were still largely infantry armies, with elites riding to battle but dismounting to fight.
In theEarly Medieval period, any well-equipped horseman could be described as a knight, ormiles in Latin.[23] The first knights appeared during the reign ofCharlemagne in the 8th century.[24][25][26] As theCarolingian Age progressed, the Franks were generally on the attack, and larger numbers of warriors took to theirhorses to ride with the Emperor in his wide-ranging campaigns of conquest. At about this time the Franks increasingly remained on horseback to fight on the battlefield as true cavalry rather than mounted infantry, with the discovery of thestirrup, and would continue to do so for centuries afterwards.[27] Although in some locations the knight returned to foot combat in the 14th century, the association of the knight with mounted combat with a spear, and later a lance, remained a strong one. The older Carolingian ceremony of presenting a young man with weapons influenced the emergence of knighthood ceremonies, in which a noble would be ritually given weapons and declared to be a knight, usually amid some festivities.[28]
A Norman knight slayingHarold Godwinson (Bayeux tapestry, c. 1070). The rank of knight developed in the 12th century from the mounted warriors of the 10th and 11th centuries.
These mobile mounted warriors made Charlemagne's far-flung conquests possible, and to secure their service he rewarded them with grants of land calledbenefices.[24] These were given to the captains directly by the Emperor to reward their efforts in the conquests, and they in turn were to grant benefices to their warrior contingents, who were a mix of free and unfree men. In the century or so following Charlemagne's death, his newly empowered warrior class grew stronger still, andCharles the Bald declared their fiefs to be hereditary, and also issued theEdict of Pîtres in 864, largely moving away from the infantry-based traditional armies and calling upon all men who could afford it to answer calls to arms on horseback to quickly repel the constant and wide-ranging Viking attacks, which is considered the beginnings of the period of knights that were to become so famous and spread throughout Europe in the following centuries. The period of chaos in the 9th and 10th centuries, between the fall of the Carolingian central authority and the rise of separate Western and Eastern Frankish kingdoms (later to becomeFrance andGermany respectively) only entrenched this newly landed warrior class. This was because governing power and defense againstViking,Magyar andSaracen attack became an essentially local affair which revolved around these new hereditary locallords and theirdemesnes.[25]
Hungarian knights routing Ottoman sipahi cavalry during theBattle of Mohács in 1526
Clerics and the Church often opposed the practices of the Knights because of their abuses against women and civilians, and many such as St.Bernard de Clairvaux were convinced that Knights served the devil and not God, and needed reforming.[29]
In the course of the 12th century, knighthood became a social rank with a distinction being made betweenmilites gregarii (non-noble cavalrymen) andmilites nobiles (true knights).[30] As the term "knight" became increasingly confined to denoting a social rank, the military role of fully armoured cavalryman gained a separate term, "man-at-arms". Although any medieval knight going to war would automatically serve as a man-at-arms, not all men-at-arms were knights.
It was only over the following century, with the successful conquest of the Holy Land and the rise of thecrusader states, that these orders became powerful and prestigious.
The great European legends of warriors such as thepaladins, theMatter of France and theMatter of Britain popularized the notion ofchivalry among the warrior class.[31][32] The ideal of chivalry as the ethos of the Christian warrior, and the transmutation of the term "knight" from the meaning "servant, soldier", and ofchevalier "mounted soldier", to refer to a member of this ideal class, is significantly influenced by theCrusades, on one hand inspired by themilitary orders of monastic warriors, and on the other hand also cross-influenced by Islamic (Saracen) ideals offurusiyya.[32][33]
The institution of knights was already well-established by the 10th century.[34] While the knight was essentially a title denoting a military office, the term could also be used for positions of higher nobility such as landholders. The higher nobles grant thevassals their portions of land (fiefs) in return for their loyalty, protection, and service. The nobles also provided their knights with necessities, such as lodging, food, armour, weapons, horses, and money.[35] The knight generally held his lands by military tenure which was measured through military service that usually lasted 40 days a year. The military service was thequid pro quo for each knight'sfief. Vassals and lords could maintain any number of knights, although knights with more military experience were those most sought after. Thus, allpetty nobles intending to become prosperous knights needed a great deal of military experience.[34] A knight fighting under another's banner was called aknight bachelor while a knight fighting under his own banner was aknight banneret.
A knight had to be born of nobility – typically sons of knights or lords.[35] In some cases, commoners could also be knighted as a reward for extraordinary military service. Children of the nobility were cared for by noble foster-mothers incastles until they reached the age of seven.
These seven-year-old boys were given the title ofpage and turned over to the care of the castle's lords. They were placed on an early training regime of hunting withhuntsmen andfalconers, and academic studies with priests or chaplains. Pages then become assistants to older knights in battle, carrying and cleaning armour, taking care of the horses, and packing the baggage. They would accompany the knights on expeditions, even into foreign lands. Older pages were instructed by knights inswordsmanship,equestrianism, chivalry, warfare, and combat (using wooden swords and spears).
When the boy turned 14, he became asquire. In a religious ceremony, the new squire swore on a sword consecrated by abishop orpriest, and attended to assigned duties in his lord's household. During this time, the squires continued training in combat and were allowed to own armour (rather than borrowing it).[citation needed]
Squires were required to master theseven points ofagilities – riding,swimming and diving, shooting different types of weapons, climbing, participation in tournaments,wrestling,fencing,long jumping, and dancing – the prerequisite skills for knighthood. All of these were even performed while wearing armour.[38]
The knighting of a squire represented passage into adulthood, and while the age a squire was knighted at could vary, typically they were younger men.[39]
The accolade or knighting ceremony was usually held during one of the great feasts or holidays, likeChristmas orEaster, and sometimes at the wedding of a noble or royal. The knighting ceremony usually involved a ritual bath on the eve of the ceremony and a prayer vigil during the night. On the day of the ceremony, the would-be knight would swear an oath and the master of the ceremony would dub the new knight on the shoulders with a sword.[34][35] Squires, and evensoldiers, could also be conferred direct knighthood early if they showed valor and efficiency for their service; such acts may include deploying for an important quest or mission, or protecting a high diplomat or aroyal relative in battle.
Knights were expected, above all, to fight bravely and to display military professionalism and courtesy. When knights were taken as prisoners of war, they were customarily held for ransom in somewhat comfortable surroundings. This same standard of conduct did not apply to non-knights (archers,peasants,foot-soldiers, etc.) who were often slaughtered after capture, and who were viewed during battle as mere impediments to knights' getting to other knights to fight them.[40]
Chivalry developed as an early standard ofprofessional ethics for knights, who were relatively affluent horse owners and were expected to provide military services in exchange forlanded property. Early notions of chivalry entailed loyalty to one'sliege lord and bravery in battle, similar to the values of theHeroic Age. During the Middle Ages, this grew from simple military professionalism into a social code including the values of gentility, nobility and treating others reasonably.[41] InThe Song of Roland (c. 1100),Roland is portrayed as the ideal knight, demonstrating unwavering loyalty, military prowess and social fellowship. InWolfram von Eschenbach'sParzival (c. 1205), chivalry had become a blend of religious duties, love and military service.Ramon Llull'sBook of the Order of Chivalry (1275) demonstrates that by the end of the 13th century, chivalry entailed a litany of very specific duties, including riding warhorses,jousting, attendingtournaments, holdingRound Tables and hunting, as well as aspiring to the more æthereal virtues of "faith, hope, charity, justice, strength, moderation and loyalty."[42]
In the military orders, knights tried to maintain moral principles such ashonor,loyalty,courage,generosity,justice, and religious principles such as faith,charity,humility andtemperance.[43] The orders were influenced by theRule of Saint Benedict and Cistercian spirituality; a knight of a military order was seen as asoldier-monk and was required to have the discipline and piety of a monk, along with the bravery and honor of a knight, although the rules in the military orders were less strict than those of Saint Benedict. For example, while monks could only eat twice a day, being forbidden the meat of four-legged animals, knights of the orders could eat more frequently.[44] TheLiber ad milites templi de laude novae militiae (1129), written bySaint Bernard of Clairvaux, explains it clearly: the Templar had to fight with physical courage and spiritual purity, without fear of death, because he served Christ himself.
Knights of the late medieval era were expected by society to maintain all these skills and many more, as outlined inBaldassare Castiglione'sThe Book of the Courtier, though the book's protagonist, Count Ludovico, states the "first and true profession" of the idealcourtier "must be that of arms."[45]Chivalry, derived from the French wordchevalier ('cavalier'), simultaneously denoted skilled horsemanship and military service, and these remained the primary occupations of knighthood throughout the Middle Ages.
Chivalry and religion were mutually influenced during the period of theCrusades. The early Crusades helped to clarify the moral code of chivalry as it related to religion. As a result, Christian armies began to devote their efforts to sacred purposes. As time passed, clergy instituted religious vows which required knights to use their weapons chiefly for the protection of the weak and defenseless, especially women and orphans, and of churches.[46]
In peacetime, knights often demonstrated their martial skills in tournaments, which usually took place on the grounds of a castle.[47][48] Knights could parade their armour and banner to the whole court as the tournament commenced. Medieval tournaments were made up of martial sports calledhastiludes, and were not only a major spectator sport but also played as a real combat simulation. It usually ended with many knights either injured or even killed. One contest was a free-for-all battle called amelee, where large groups of knights numbering hundreds assembled and fought one another, and the last knight standing was the winner. The most popular and romanticized contest for knights was thejoust. In this competition, two knights charge each other with blunt wooden lances in an effort to break their lance on the opponent's head or body or unhorse them completely. The loser in these tournaments had to turn his armour and horse over to the victor. The last day was filled with feasting, dancing andminstrel singing.
Besides formal tournaments, there were also unformalizedjudicial duels done by knights andsquires to end various disputes.[49][50] Countries likeGermany,Britain andIreland practiced this tradition. Judicial combat was of two forms in medieval society, the feat of arms and chivalric combat.[49] The feat of arms were done to settle hostilities between two large parties and supervised by a judge. The chivalric combat was fought when one party'shonor was disrespected or challenged and the conflict could not be resolved in court. Weapons were standardized and must be of the same caliber. The duel lasted until the other party was too weak to fight back and in early cases, the defeated party were then subsequently executed. Examples of these brutal duels were the judicial combat known as theCombat of the Thirty in 1351, and thetrial by combat fought byJean de Carrouges in 1386. A far more chivalric duel which became popular in the Late Middle Ages was thepas d'armes or "passage of arms". In thishastilude, a knight or a group of knights would claim a bridge, lane or city gate, and challenge other passing knights to fight or be disgraced.[51] If a lady passed unescorted, she would leave behind a glove or scarf, to be rescued and returned to her by a future knight who passed that way.[citation needed]
One of the greatest distinguishing marks of the knightly class was the flying of coloured banners, to display power and to distinguish knights in battle and in tournaments.[52] Knights are generallyarmigerous (bearing acoat of arms), and indeed they played an essential role in the development ofheraldry.[53][54] As heavier armour, including enlarged shields and enclosed helmets, developed in the Middle Ages, the need for marks of identification arose, and with coloured shields andsurcoats, coat armoury was born.Armorial rolls were created to record the knights of various regions or those who participated in varioustournaments.
Elements of a harness of the late style ofGothic plate armour that was a popular style in the mid 15th to early 16th century (depiction made in the 18th century)
The sword was a weapon designed to be used solely in combat; it was useless inhunting and impractical as atool. Thus, the sword was a status symbol among the knightly class. Swords were effective against lightly armoured enemies, whilemaces andwarhammers were more effective against heavily armoured ones.[55]: 85–86
One of the primary elements of a knight's armour was theshield, which could be used to block strikes and projectiles. Oval shields were used during theDark Ages and were made of wooden boards that were roughly half an inch thick. Towards the end of the 10th century, oval shields were lengthened to cover the left knee of the mounted warrior, called thekite shield. Theheater shield was used during the 13th and the first half of the 14th century. Around 1350, square shields called bouched shields appeared, which had a notch in which to place thecouched lance.[55]: 15
Until the mid-14th century, knights woremail armour as their main form of defence. Mail was extremely flexible and provided good protection against sword cuts, but weak against piercing weapons such as thelance and projectiles. Padded undergarment known asaketon was worn to absorb shock damage and preventchafing caused by mail. In hotter climates metal rings became too hot, so sleevelesssurcoats were worn as a protection against the sun, and also to show theirheraldic arms.[55]: 15–17 This sort of coat also evolved to betabards,waffenrocks and other garments with the arms of the wearer sewn into it.[56]
Helmets of the knight of the early periods usually were more open helms such as thenasal helmet, and later forms of thespangenhelm. The lack of more facial protection lead to the evolution of moreenclosing helmets to be made in the late 12th to early 13th centuries, this eventually would evolve to make thegreat helm. Later forms of thebascinet, which was originally a small helm worn under the larger great helm, evolved to be worn solely, and would eventually have pivoted or hinged visors, the most popular was thehounskull, also known as the "pig-face visor".[57][58]
Plate armour first appeared in the 13th century, when plates were added onto the torso and mounted to a base of leather. This form of armour is known as acoat of plates, and was initially used over chain mail in the 13th and 14th centuries, at the time ofTransitional armour. The torso was not the only part of the knight to receive this plate protection evolution, as the elbows and shoulders were covered with circular pieces of metal, commonly referred to asrondels, eventually evolving into the plate arm harness consisting of thererebrace,vambrace, andspaulder orpauldron. The legs too were covered in plates, mainly on the shin, calledschynbalds which later evolved to fully enclose the leg in the form of enclosedgreaves. As for the upper legs,cuisses came about in the mid 14th century.[59] Overall, plate armour offered better protection against piercing weapons such asarrows and especiallybolts than mail armour did.[55]: 15–17 Plate armor reached its peak in the 15th and 16th centuries, but was still used at the beginning of the 17th century by the firstCuirassiers like theLondon lobsters.
Knights' horses were also armoured in later periods;caparisons were the first form of medieval horse coverage and was used much like the surcoat. Otherarmours, such as the facial armouring chanfron, were made for horses.[60]
Instructional literature was also created.Geoffroi de Charny's "Book of Chivalry" expounded upon the importance of Christian faith in every area of a knight's life, though still laying stress on the primarily military focus of knighthood.
In the early Renaissance, greater emphasis was laid upon courtliness. The ideal courtier—the chivalrous knight—of Baldassarre Castiglione'sThe Book of the Courtier became a model of the ideal virtues of nobility.[62] Castiglione's tale took the form of a discussion among the nobility of the court of the Duke of Urbino, in which the characters determine that the ideal knight should be renowned not only for his bravery and prowess in battle, but also as a skilled dancer, athlete, singer and orator, and he should also be well-read in thehumanities and classicalGreek andLatin literature.[63]
Later Renaissance literature, such asMiguel de Cervantes'sDon Quixote, rejected the code of chivalry as unrealistic idealism.[64] The rise ofChristian humanism inRenaissance literature demonstrated a marked departure from the chivalric romance of late medieval literature, and the chivalric ideal ceased to influence literature over successive centuries until it saw some pockets of revival in post-Victorian literature.
By the mid to late 16th century, knights were quickly becoming obsolete as countries started creating their ownstanding armies that were faster to train, cheaper to equip, and easier to mobilize.[65][66] The advancement of high-powered firearms contributed greatly to the decline in use of plate armour,[citation needed] as the time it took to train soldiers with guns was much less compared to that of the knight. The cost of equipment was also significantly lower, and guns had a reasonable chance to easily penetrate a knight's armour. In the 14th century the use of infantrymen armed withpikes and fighting in close formation also proved effective against heavy cavalry, such as during theBattle of Nancy, whenCharles the Bold and his armoured cavalry were decimated by Swiss pikemen.[67] As the feudal system came to an end, lords saw no further use of knights. Many landowners found the duties of knighthood too expensive and so contented themselves with the use of squires.Mercenaries also became an economic alternative to knights when conflicts arose.
Armies of the time started adopting a more realistic approach to warfare than the honor-bound code of chivalry. Soon, the remaining knights were absorbed into professional armies. Although they had a higher rank than most soldiers because of their valuable lineage, they lost their distinctive identity that previously set them apart from common soldiers.[65] Some knightly orders survived into modern times. They adopted newer technology while still retaining their age-old chivalric traditions. Examples include theKnights of the Holy Sepulchre,Knights Hospitaller andTeutonic Knights.[68]
Ridder,Dutch for "knight", is a hereditary noble title in theNetherlands. It is the lowest title within the nobility system and ranks below that of "Baron" but above "Jonkheer" (the latter is not a title, but a Dutch honorific to show that someone belongs to the untitled nobility). The collective term for its holders in a certain locality is the Ridderschap (e.g. Ridderschap van Holland, Ridderschap van Friesland, etc.). In the Netherlands no female equivalent exists. Before 1814, the history of nobility is separate for each of the eleven provinces that make up theKingdom of the Netherlands. In each of these, there were in the early Middle Ages a number of feudal lords who often were just as powerful, and sometimes more so than the rulers themselves. During this period, knights ranked below the ruler and above the feudal barons (Dutch:heren). In the Netherlands only 10 knightly families are still extant, a number which steadily decreases because in that country ennoblement or incorporation into the nobility is not possible anymore.
LikewiseRidder,Dutch for "knight", or the equivalentFrenchChevalier is a hereditary noble title inBelgium. It is the second lowest title within the nobility system aboveÉcuyer orJonkheer/Jonkvrouw and belowBaron. Like in the Netherlands, no female equivalent to the title exists. Belgium still does have about 232 registeredknightly families.
TheGerman andAustrian equivalent of an hereditary knight is aRitter. This designation is used as a title of nobility in all German-speaking areas. Traditionally it denotes the second lowest rank within the nobility, standing above "Edler" (noble) and below "Freiherr" (baron). For its historical association with warfare and thelanded gentry in the Middle Ages, it can be considered roughly equal to the titles of "Knight" or "Baronet".
TheRoyal House of Portugal historically bestowed hereditary knighthoods to holders of the highest ranks in the Royal Orders. Today, the head of the Royal House of Portugal Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, bestows hereditary knighthoods for extraordinary acts of sacrifice and service to the Royal House. There are very few hereditary knights and they are entitled to wear an oval neck badge with the shield of the house of Braganza. As there are two classes of hereditary knights in Portugal, the highest grade is the hereditary knight withgrand collar. Portuguese hereditary knighthoods confer nobility.[69]
InFrance, the hereditary knighthood existed similarly throughout as a title of nobility, as well as in regions formerly underHoly Roman Empire control. One family ennobled with a title in such a manner is thehouse of Hauteclocque (by letters patents of 1752), even if its most recent members used apontifical title of count. In some other regions such asNormandy, a specific type offief was granted to the lower ranked knights (French:chevaliers) called thefief de haubert, referring to thehauberk, or chain mail shirt worn almost daily by knights, as they would not only fight for theirliege lords, but enforce and carry out their orders on a routine basis as well.[70] Later the term came to officially designate the higher rank of thenobility in theAncien Régime (the lower rank being Squire), as the romanticism and prestige associated with the term grew in the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Since 1611, the British Crown has awarded a hereditary title in the form of thebaronetcy.[73] Like knights, baronets are accorded the titleSir. Baronets are notpeers of the Realm, and have never been entitled to sit in theHouse of Lords, therefore like knights they remaincommoners in the view of the British legal system. However, unlike knights, the title is hereditary, through maleprimogeniture, and the recipient does not receive an accolade. The position is therefore more comparable with hereditary knighthoods in continental European orders of nobility, such asRitter, than with knighthoods under the British orders of chivalry. However, unlike the continental orders, the British baronetcy system was a modern invention, designed specifically to raise money for the Crown with the purchase of the title. Baronetcies are granted infrequently and the last notable one was the elevation ofDenis Thatcher on the departure from the office of prime minister of his wife,Margaret, which was widely considered in the media to be in order to allow her sonMark to inherit the title, because her own title to theHouse of Lords as abaroness was alife peerage and died with her.
Other orders were established in theIberian peninsula, under the influence of the orders in the Holy Land and the Crusader movement of theReconquista and generally aligned with geographical area, for example:
After theCrusades, the military orders became idealized and romanticized, resulting in the late medieval notion ofchivalry, as reflected in thechivalric romances of the time. The creation of chivalric orders was fashionable among the nobility in the 14th and 15th centuries, and this is still reflected in contemporary honours systems, including the termorder itself. Examples of notable orders of chivalry are:
Francis Drake (left) being knighted by QueenElizabeth I in 1581. The recipient is tapped on each shoulder with a sword.
From roughly 1560, purely honorific orders were established, as a way to confer prestige and distinction, unrelated to military service and chivalry in the more narrow sense. Such orders were particularly popular in the 17th and 18th centuries, and knighthood continues to be conferred in various countries:
There are othermonarchies and alsorepublics that also follow this practice. Modern knighthoods are typically conferred in recognition for services rendered to society, which are not necessarily martial in nature. The British musicianElton John, for example, is aKnight Bachelor, thus entitled to be called Sir Elton. The female equivalent is aDame, for example DameJulie Andrews.
In theUnited Kingdom, honorific knighthood may be conferred in two different ways:
The second is being granted honorific knighthood by the British sovereign without membership of an order, the recipient being calledKnight Bachelor.
In the British honours system the knightly style ofSir and its female equivalentDame are followed by thegiven name only when addressing the holder. Thus,Sir Elton John should be addressed asSir Elton, notSir John orMr John. Similarly, actressDame Judi Dench should be addressed asDame Judi, notDame Dench orMs Dench.
Wives of knights, however, are entitled to the honorific pre-nominal "Lady" before their husband's surname. ThusSir Paul McCartney's ex-wife was formally styledLady McCartney (rather thanLady Paul McCartney orLady Heather McCartney). The styleDame Heather McCartney could be used for the wife of a knight; however, this style is largely archaic and is only used in the most formal of documents, or where the wife is a Dame in her own right (such as DameNorma Major, who gained her title six years before her husband SirJohn Major was knighted). The husbands of Dames have no honorific pre-nominal, so Dame Norma's husband remained John Major until he received his own knighthood.
Up until 1965 it was not permitted to use these titles until after the knight concerned had received theaccolade; but in that year the prohibition was lifted, and it is now permitted to use the titles immediately, from the time the award isgazetted.[93]
The English fighting the French knights at theBattle of Crécy in 1346
With the award of a KCVO to the Rt Rev.Randall Davidson in 1902,[94] the custom was established whereby aclerk in holy orders in theChurch of England, on being appointed to a degree of knighthood, does not receive the accolade.[93] He receives the insignia of his honour and may place the appropriate letters after his name or title but he may not be called Sir[95] and his wife may not be called Lady. This custom is not observed in Australia and New Zealand, where knighted Anglican clergymen routinely use the title "Sir".Ministers of other Christian Churches are entitled to receive the accolade. For example,Sir Norman Cardinal Gilroy did receive the accolade on his appointment asKnight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1969. A knight who is subsequently ordained does not lose his title. A famous example of this situation wasThe Revd Sir Derek Pattinson, who was ordained just a year after he was appointedKnight Bachelor, apparently somewhat to the consternation of officials at Buckingham Palace.[95] A woman clerk in holy orders may be made a Dame in exactly the same way as any other woman since there are no military connotations attached to the honour. A clerk in holy orders who is abaronet is entitled to use the title Sir.
InBelgium, honorific knighthood (not hereditary) can be conferred by the king on particularly meritorious individuals such as scientists or eminent businessmen, or for instance toastronautFrank De Winne, the second Belgian in space. This practice is similar to the conferral of the dignity ofKnight Bachelor in theUnited Kingdom. In addition, there still are a number of hereditary knights in Belgium(see below).
In thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth the monarchs tried to establish chivalric orders, but the hereditary lords who controlled the Union did not agree and managed to ban such assemblies. They feared the king would use orders to gain support for absolutist goals and to make formal distinctions among the peerage, which could lead to its legal breakup into two separate classes, and that the king would later play one against the other and eventually limit the legal privileges of hereditary nobility. But finally in 1705 KingAugust II managed to establish theOrder of the White Eagle which remains Poland's most prestigious order of that kind. The head of state (now the President as the acting Grand Master) confers knighthoods of the order to distinguished citizens, foreign monarchs and other heads of state. The order has its chapter. There were no particular honorifics that would accompany a knight's name, as historically all (or at least by far most) of its members would be royals or hereditary lords anyway. So today, a knight is simply referred to as "Name Surname, knight of the White Eagle (Order)".
InNigeria, holders of religioushonours like theKnighthood of St. Gregory make use of the wordSir as a pre-nominal honorific in much the same way as it is used for secular purposes in Britain and the Philippines. Wives of such individuals also typically assume the title of Lady.
Women were appointed to theOrder of the Garter almost from the start. In all, 68 women were appointed between 1358 and 1488, including all consorts. Though many were women of royal blood, or wives of knights of the Garter, some women were neither. They wore the garter on the left arm, and some are shown on their tombstones with this arrangement. After 1488, no other appointments of women are known, although it is said that the Garter was conferred upon Neapolitan poet Laura Bacio Terricina, byKing Edward VI. In 1638, a proposal was made to revive the use of robes for the wives of knights in ceremonies, but this did not occur.Queens consort have been madeLadies of the Garter since 1901 (Queens Alexandra in 1901,[96]Mary in 1910 andElizabeth in 1937). The first non-royal woman to be made Lady Companion of the Garter wasThe Duchess of Norfolk in 1990,[97] the second wasThe Baroness Thatcher in 1995[98] (post-nominal: LG). On 30 November 1996,Lady Fraser was madeLady of the Thistle,[99] the first non-royal woman (post-nominal: LT). (See Edmund Fellowes,Knights of the Garter, 1939; and Beltz:Memorials of the Order of the Garter). The first woman to be granted a knighthood in modern Britain seems to have been Nawab Sikandar Begum Sahiba, Nawab Begum of Bhopal, who became a Knight Grand Commander of theOrder of the Star of India (GCSI) in 1861, at the foundation of the order. Her daughter received the same honor in 1872, as well as her granddaughter in 1910. The order was open to "princes and chiefs" without distinction of gender. The first European woman to have been granted an order of knighthood was Queen Mary, when she was made a Knight Grand Commander of the same order, by special statute, in celebration of the Delhi Durbar of 1911.[100] She was also granted adamehood in 1917 as aDame Grand Cross, when theOrder of the British Empire was created[101] (it was the first order explicitly open to women). The Royal Victorian Order was opened to women in 1936, and theOrders of the Bath andSaint Michael and Saint George in 1965 and 1971 respectively.[102]
Medieval French had two words, chevaleresse and chevalière, which were used in two ways: one was for the wife of a knight, and this usage goes back to the 14th century. The other was possibly for a female knight. Here is a quote fromMénestrier, a 17th-century writer on chivalry:
It was not always necessary to be the wife of a knight in order to take this title. Sometimes, when some male fiefs were conceded by special privilege to women, they took the rank of chevaleresse, as one sees plainly in Hemricourt where women who were not wives of knights are called chevaleresses.
Modern French orders of knighthood include women, for example the Légion d'Honneur (Legion of Honor) since the mid-19th century, but they are usually called chevaliers. The first documented case is that ofAngélique Brûlon (1772–1859), who fought in the Revolutionary Wars, received a military disability pension in 1798, the rank of 2nd lieutenant in 1822, and the Legion of Honor in 1852. A recipient of the Ordre National du Mérite recently requested from the order's Chancery the permission to call herself "chevalière," and the request was granted.[102]
As related inOrders of Knighthood, Awards and the Holy See by H. E. Cardinale (1983), theOrder of the Blessed Virgin Mary was founded by two Bolognese noblesLoderingo degli Andalò and Catalano di Guido in 1233, and approved byPope Alexander IV in 1261. It was the first religious order of knighthood to grant the rank of militissa to women. However, this order was suppressed byPope Sixtus V in 1558.[102]
At the initiative of Catherine Baw in 1441, and 10 years later of Elizabeth, Mary, and Isabella of the house of Hornes, orders were founded which were open exclusively to women of noble birth, who received the French title of chevalière or the Latin title of equitissa. In his Glossarium (s.v. militissa), Du Cange notes that still in his day (17th century), the female canons of the canonical monastery of St. Gertrude in Nivelles (Brabant), after a probation of 3 years, are made knights (militissae) at the altar, by a (male) knight called in for that purpose, who gives them the accolade with a sword and pronounces the usual words.[102]
The inhabitants [of Tortosa] being at length reduced to great streights, desired relief of the Earl, but he, being not in a condition to give them any, they entertained some thoughts of making a surrender. Which the Women hearing of, to prevent the disaster threatening their City, themselves, and Children, put on men's Clothes, and by a resolute sally, forced the Moors to raise the Siege. The Earl, finding himself obliged, by the gallentry of the action, thought fit to make his acknowlegements thereof, by granting them several Privileges and Immunities, and to perpetuate the memory of so signal an attempt, instituted an Order, somewhat like a Military Order, into which were admitted only those Brave Women, deriving the honour to their Descendants, and assigned them for a Badge, a thing like a Fryars Capouche, sharp at the top, after the form of a Torch, and of a crimson colour, to be worn upon their Head-clothes. He also ordained, that at all publick meetings, the women should have precedence of the Men. That they should be exempted from all Taxes, and that all the Apparel and Jewels, though of never so great value, left by their dead Husbands, should be their own. These Women having thus acquired this Honour by their personal Valour, carried themselves after the Military Knights of those days.
— Elias Ashmole, The Institution, Laws, and Ceremony of the Most Noble Order of the Garter (1672), Ch. 3, sect. 3
^Paddock, David Edge & John Miles (1995).Arms & armor of the medieval knight: an illustrated history of weaponry in the Middle Ages (Reprinted. ed.). New York: Crescent Books. p. 3.ISBN0-517-10319-2.
^"Crusades".History. 21 February 2020. Retrieved11 March 2022.The Crusades set the stage for several religious knightly military orders, including the Knights Templar, the Teutonic Knights, and the Hospitallers. These groups defended the Holy Land and protected pilgrims traveling to and from the region.
^ab"Knight".Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved7 April 2009.
^"Knecht".LEO German-English dictionary. Retrieved7 April 2009.
^William Henry Jackson. "Aspects of Knighthood in Hartmann's Adaptations of Chretien's Romances and in the Social Context." InChretien de Troyes and the German Middle Ages: Papers from an International Symposium, ed. Martin H. Jones and Roy Wisbey. Suffolk: D. S. Brewer, 1993. 37–55.
^"Equestrian".The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed. Houghton Mifflin Company. 2000.
^D'A. J. D. Boulton, "Classic Knighthood as Nobiliary Dignity", in Stephen Church, Ruth Harvey (ed.),Medieval knighthood V: papers from the sixth Strawberry Hill Conference 1994, Boydell & Brewer, 1995, pp. 41–100.
^Frank Anthony Carl Mantello, A. G. Rigg,Medieval Latin: an introduction and bibliographical guide, UA Press, 1996, p. 448.
^Charlton Thomas Lewis,An elementary Latin dictionary, Harper & Brothers, 1899, p. 505.
^Xavier Delamarre, entry oncaballos inDictionnaire de la langue gauloise (Éditions Errance, 2003), p. 96. The entry oncabullus in theOxford Latin Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982, 1985 reprinting), p. 246, does not give a probable origin, and merely comparesOld Bulgariankobyla andOld Russiankomońb.
^"Cavalier".The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed. Houghton Mifflin Company. 2000.
^"Reidh- [Appendix I: Indo-European Roots]".The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed. Houghton Mifflin Company. 2000.
^Petersen, Leif Inge Ree.Siege Warfare and Military Organization in the Successor States (400–800 A.D.). Brill (September 1, 2013). pp. 177–180, 243, 310–311.ISBN978-9004251991
^Church, Stephen (1995).Papers from the sixth Strawberry Hill Conference 1994. Woodbridge, England: Boydell. p. 51.ISBN978-0-85115-628-6.
^Lixey L.C., Kevin.Sport and Christianity: A Sign of the Times in the Light of Faith. The Catholic University of America Press (October 31, 2012). p. 26.ISBN978-0813219936.
^Deats, Sarah; Logan, Robert (2002).Marlowe's Empery: Expanding His Critical Contexts. Cranbury, NJ: Rosemont Publishing & Printing–Associated University Presses. p. 137.
^Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D."How Knights Work". How Stuff Works. 22 January 2008.
^Johnston, Ruth A.All Things Medieval: An Encyclopedia of the Medieval World, Volume 1. Greenwood (August 15, 2011). pp. 690–700.ASINB005JIQEL2.
^abDavid Levinson and Karen Christensen.Encyclopedia of World Sport: From Ancient Times to the Present. Oxford University Press; 1st edition (July 22, 1999). pp. 206.ISBN978-0195131956.
^Clifford J. Rogers, Kelly DeVries, and John Franc.Journal of Medieval Military History: Volume VIII. Boydell Press (November 18, 2010). pp. 157–160.ISBN978-1843835967
^Hubbard, Ben.Gladiators: From Spartacus to Spitfires. Canary Press (August 15, 2011). Chapter: Pas D'armes.ASINB005HJTS8O.
^Eisenberg, Daniel (1987).A Study of "Don Quixote". Newark, Delaware: Juan de la Cuesta. pp. 41–77.ISBN0936388315.Revised Spanish translation in Biblioteca Virtual Cervantes
^abGies, Francis.The Knight in History. Harper Perennial (July 26, 2011). pp. Introduction: What is a Knight.ISBN978-0060914134
^The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Kilmacduagh by Jerome Fahey 1893 p.326
^Burke, Bernard & Ashworth Burke (1914).General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. London: Burke's Peerage Limited. p. 7. Retrieved4 December 2011.The hereditary Order of Baronets was erected by patent in England by King James I in 1611, extended to Ireland by the same Monarch in 1619, and first conferred in Scotland by King Charles I in 1625.
^Nikolaus (2021). Fischer, Mary (ed.).The chronicle of Prussia: a history of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia, 1190–1331. Nikolaus (First issued in paperback ed.). London New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.ISBN978-1-032-17986-5.
^"The Order of St. Benedict of Avis (Ordem Militar de São Bento de Avis) or just Order of Avis, was founded in 1162 by Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal, as an Ecclesiastic Order of Chivalry following the rules of St. Benedict and subjected to the Order of Cistercians."Historical background on the three Portuguese Military Orders of Christ, of Avis and of Santiago, Tallinn Museum, 20 June 2022.
^Biddle, Daniel A.Knights of Christ : Living today with the Virtues of Ancient Knighthood (Kindle Edition). West Bow Press. (May 22, 2012). p. xxx.ASINB00A4Z2FUY
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Bull, Stephen.An Historical Guide to Arms and Armour. London: Studio Editions, 1991.ISBN1-85170-723-9
Carey, Brian Todd; Allfree, Joshua B; Cairns, John.Warfare in the Medieval World, UK: Pen & Sword Military, June 2006.ISBN1-84415-339-8
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Edge, David; John Miles Paddock (1988)Arms & Armor of the Medieval Knight. Greenwich, CT: Bison Books Corp.ISBN0-517-10319-2
Edwards, J. C. "What Earthly Reason? The replacement of the longbow by handguns."Medieval History Magazine, Is. 7, March 2004.
Embleton, Gerry.Medieval Military Costume. UK: Crowood Press, 2001.ISBN1-86126-371-6
Forey, Alan John.The Military Orders: From the Twelfth to the Early Fourteenth Centuries. Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK: Macmillan Education, 1992.ISBN0-333-46234-3
Williams, Alan. "The Metallurgy of Medieval Arms and Armour", inCompanion to Medieval Arms and Armour.Nicolle, David, ed. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press, 2002.ISBN0-85115-872-2LCCN2002-3680
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