Knight

A knight is a person who is given an honorary title called a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or a representative. It is given for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military role. If you are looking for other meanings, see [Knight (disambiguation)](/wiki/Knight_(disambiguation) and [Knights (disambiguation)](/wiki/Knights_(disambiguation). The Roman social class also called "knights" is covered at Equites.

The idea of knighthood may have been inspired by the ancient Greek hippeis (ἱππεῖς) and the Roman equites. In the Early Middle Ages in Western Christian Europe, knighthood was given to warriors who fought on horseback. During the High Middle Ages, knighthood was seen as a class of petty nobility. By the Late Middle Ages, the rank was linked with the ideals of chivalry, a code of good conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior. A knight was often a vassal who served as an elite fighter or a bodyguard for a lord, and was paid with land. Lords trusted knights, who were skilled in battle on horseback. The Crusades brought various military orders of knights to the front of defending Christian pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land.

In the Late Middle Ages, new methods of warfare, such as the culverin, a gun powered by gunpowder, made classic knights in armour less useful, but the titles stayed in many countries. Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (1459–1519) is often called the "last knight" for this reason. Ideas of chivalry became popular in medieval literature, especially stories of the Matter of France, about the companions of Charlemagne and his paladins, and the Matter of Britain, about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

Today, some orders of knighthood still exist within Christian groups and in several countries with Christian histories. These include the Roman Catholic Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the Protestant Order of Saint John, the English Order of the Garter, the Swedish Royal Order of the Seraphim, the Spanish Order of Santiago, and the Norwegian Order of St Olav. There are also dynastic orders such as the Order of the Golden Fleece, the Imperial Order of the Rose, the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, and the Order of St George. These orders now focus on charity and public service rather than war.

Knighthood is usually given by a head of state, monarch, or prelate to chosen people who have earned recognition, often for service to the Church or country. The modern female equivalent of a knight in English is a dame. Knighthoods and damehoods are traditionally seen as prestigious.

Etymology

The word knight comes from Old English cniht, which meant "boy" or "servant." It is a cognate of the German word Knecht, meaning "servant." Many West Germanic languages also used this older meaning of "boy" or "youth," such as Old Frisian and Middle High German. In Middle High German, the phrase guoter kneht also meant knight, but by about 1200 this meaning was fading.

Over time, cniht changed from "boy" to "household retainer," meaning a servant or follower. The homily of Ælfric about St. Swithun describes a mounted retainer as a cniht. In several Anglo-Saxon wills, cnihtas were given money or land. King Æthelstan left his cniht, Aelfmar, eight hides of land. By 1100, the word meant a military follower of a king. The idea of a knight as a mounted warrior in heavy cavalry appeared only during the Hundred Years' War. The Roman Equestrian class was a member of the second highest social class in the Roman Republic and early Roman Empire, and it is often translated as "knight." Medieval knights were called miles in Latin, while the classical Latin word for horse was replaced by the vulgar Latin caballus. Many of these words trace back to the Proto-Indo-European root for riding.

History and evolution of medieval knighthood

Further information: Bucellarii

Long before knights, ancient Rome had a group called Ordo Equestris, made up of nobles who rode horses. Some of the Germanic peoples, who settled in Europe from the 3rd century CE onward, also fought on horseback. The Ostrogoths had mostly cavalry armies. The Franks, however, mainly fought on foot with large groups of infantry. Their elite, the comitatus, often rode to battle but fought on foot. When Charles Martel defeated the Umayyad Arab army at the Battle of Tours in 732, the Frankish armies were still mostly foot soldiers. The first knights appeared under Charlemagne in the 8th century. At that time, any well-equipped horseman could be called a knight. During the Carolingian Age, more warriors rode horses into battle. The invention of the stirrup helped them fight from horseback for centuries. Ceremonies in which a young noble was given weapons and named a knight grew out of an older Carolingian custom. Charlemagne rewarded his mounted warriors with land called benefices. Later, Charles the Bald made these lands passed down within families. In 864, he issued the Edict of Pîtres, which is seen as the start of the age of knights.

In the 9th and 10th centuries, warriors grew stronger as local lords and their demesnes took charge of defence against Viking, Magyar, and Saracen attacks. Church leaders sometimes said knights should behave better. St. Bernard de Clairvaux believed knights needed to change. In the 12th century, "knight" became a social rank. The fully armoured horseman became known as a "man-at-arms". The first military orders of knighthood, the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre and the Knights Hospitaller, were founded soon after the First Crusade of 1099. Other orders followed, including the Order of Saint Lazarus, the Knights Templars, the Order of Montesa, the Order of Santiago, and the Teutonic Knights. These orders were first monastic orders that helped pilgrims, but they became powerful after the crusader states were founded. Stories about paladins, the Matter of France, and the Matter of Britain spread the ideal of chivalry. This ideal was shaped by the Crusades, the military orders, and Islamic ideals of furusiyya.

Knightly culture in the Middle Ages

Main article: Accolade

Main article: Chivalry

Main article: Tournament (medieval)

Main article: Heraldry

Further information: List of medieval armour components

Knights were already well known by the 10th century. The word knight mostly described a soldier, but it could also be used for higher nobles who owned land. Nobles gave vassals land (fiefs) in return for loyalty and service. They also provided lodging, food, armour, weapons, horses, and money. Noble children lived in castles until they were about seven. Then they became pages and learned hunting, studies, and fighting skills. At age 14, a boy became a squire. He made a promise on a sword blessed by a bishop or priest. He learned skills such as riding, shooting, climbing, wrestling, and fencing. Becoming a knight showed that a person had grown up. The knighting ceremony was often held during big feasts such as Christmas or Easter. The new knight made a promise and was tapped on the shoulders with a sword.

Knights were expected to fight bravely and to behave politely. Over time, chivalry grew from a set of military habits into a code of good manners and fair treatment of others. Knights showed their skills in tournaments, including the jousting contest. They also flew coloured banners to show their power and to tell friends from enemies. This helped lead to heraldry, which uses symbols such as the coat of arms. Knights used weapons like maces, axes, and swords. Their armour changed over time, from mail armour to plate armour.

Medieval and Renaissance chivalric literature

Further information: Chivalry, Chivalric romance, Matter of Britain, Matter of France, Minnesang, and Jinete

Knights and the ideas of knighthood appeared often in medieval and Renaissance literature. They still have a special place in romance stories. Famous examples include The Song of Roland, Cantar de Mio Cid, The Twelve of England, Geoffrey Chaucer's The Knight's Tale, and Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote. Stories about King Arthur are also important. Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written in the 1130s, shared the legend of King Arthur. Later, Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur and other Arthur stories added more to it.

Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, written in 1469, helped shape the ideal of chivalry. Today we think of a knight as an elite warrior who promises to uphold faith, loyalty, courage, and honour. Geoffroi de Charny's Book of Chivalry gave instructions and explained how important the Christian faith was in a knight's life. In the early Renaissance, Baldassarre Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier showed the ideal knight as a model of noble virtue. This knight was skilled in battle, dancing, sport, singing, speaking, the humanities, and classical Greek and Latin literature.

Later Renaissance works, such as Don Quixote, saw the code of chivalry as unrealistic. The rise of Christian humanism also marked a clear change from late medieval chivalric romance. The chivalric ideal stopped shaping literature for many centuries.

Decline

Types of knighthood

Knighthood has taken many forms in Europe. In the Kingdom of Spain, the Royal House gives knighthood titles to the person who will become king. The Order of the Golden Fleece is probably the most prestigious and exclusive chivalric order. Some knighthoods pass down within a family. These are called hereditary knighthoods. They have existed in places such as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, France, Italy, and Poland. Since 1611, the British Crown has also given hereditary titles called baronetcies. They come with the title "Sir", but they are not the same as knighthood. Early military orders, such as the Knights Templar and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, were started in the Middle Ages. Later, many orders of chivalry were created, including the Order of the Garter in 1348. From about 1560, some orders were set up just to honour people, not for military service. Today, knighthoods are often given for helping society. The Order of the Bath is one of the British honours. In the United Kingdom, a Knight Bachelor is called "Sir", and a woman with the same honour is called "Dame". Women have also been part of knightly orders for a long time. For example, 68 women were appointed to the Order of the Garter between 1358 and 1488.