Knight

A silver statue of an armoured knight, created as a trophy in 1850

For the chess piece, see knight (chess).

In former times, a knight was a warrior who followed a nobleman or a nobleman who followed a king: see the history that follows.

Today a knight is a person who has been given a royal recognition. In the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth nations the knight is styled Sir. The female styling is usually Dame. See Honours, below.

Contents

1 Roots

2 Knighthood and the Feudal system

3 Rules of conduct

4 Honours: modern use

5 Dutch Knighthoods

6 See also

7 External link

Roots

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The oldest known relief of a knight, from the Sassanide empire, at Taq-i Bostan, near Kermanshah, Iran

Although the roots of the word knight are connected to the Old English cniht, meaning page boy, or simply boy, or Dutch and German Knecht, or servant, the ideas of knighthood are argued by many to be tied to the Roman equites (see esquire). While a knight was the servant of The Crown and of God he was also very often a wealthy junior nobleman.

However, the unmistakable figure of a Knight from Sassanid Persia brings in another theory as well. The visual relationship seen here is not entirely accidental, since medieval chivalry absorbed many Persian traditions in the course of the Perso-Byzantine wars. For example, Ammianus Marcellinus, a Roman general and historian, who served in the army of Constantius II in Gaul and Persia, fought against the Persians under Julian the Apostate and took part in the retreat of his successor, Jovian. He describes the Persian knight as:

"All their companies clad in iron, and all parts of their bodies were covered with thick plates, so fitted that the stiff joints conformed with those of their limbs; and forms of the human faces were so skillfully fitted to their heads, that since their entire bodies were covered with metal, arrows that fell upon them could lodge only where they could see a little through tiny openings opposite the pupil of the eye, or where through the tips of their noses they were able to get a little breath."

"The Persians opposed us serried bands of mail-clad horsemen in such close order that the gleam of moving bodies covered with closely fitting plates of iron dazzled the eyes of those who looked upon them, while the whole throng of horses was protected by coverings of leather."

The knight depicted in the Persian relief here is also thought to be of royal nobility as well.

During the middle ages, the term knight referred to a mounted and armoured soldier. Originally, knights were warriors on horse-back, but the title became increasingly connected to nobility and social status, most likely because of the cost of equipping oneself in the cavalry. Knighthood eventually became a formal title bestowed on those noblemen trained for active war duty. At the beginning of the knight’s history, horsed soldiers were not so important in war; instead, foot soldiers were the main fighting force in all North European armies. Later, as invaders kept attacking the lands that the Roman Empire had, until recently, occupied, the knight became more and more important in obtaining victory. One of the reasons being that the invading armies had cavalry (mounted troops) and the northern European foot soldiers found it increasingly difficult to maneuver against their superior foes; as a result, knights were greatly needed in battle, and the knights in shining armor that we keep in mind today were born.

Knighthood and the Feudal system

Knighthood was closely connected with the feudal system. Originating largely in what later became known as France, this was a social organisation in which warfare and the protection of the common people became the specialised skill of a select group. Instead of having them paid in cash — of which everyone, even the monarch, was short — they were paid in land. These rather extensive pieces of land were the fiefs. Though a fief did not have to be land — it could be any payment — it is generally thought of as the land that the knights were given as payment for service to the king. The knights were economically supported by peasants who worked to produce food and ideologically supported by the contemporary church.

Sometimes these knights were the noble themselves and sometimes men they hired, because noblemen were disinclined or unable to fight. In times of war or national disorder the monarch would typically call all the knights together to do their annual service of fighting. This could be against internal threats to the nation or in defensive and offensive wars against other nations.

As time went by, monarchs began to prefer standing (permanent) armies because they could be used for longer periods of time, were more professional and were generally more loyal; partly because those noblemen who were themselves knights, or who sent knights to fight, were prone to use the monarch's dependency on their resources to manipulate him. This move from knights to standing armies had two important outcomes: the regular payment of "scutage" to monarchs by noblemen (a money payment instead of actually going to fight as a knight) which would strengthen the concept and practice of taxation, and a general decrease in military discipline in knights, who became more interested in their country estates and chivalric pursuits, including art and sport.

Originally, knighthood could be bestowed on a man by any knight, but it was generally considered prestigious to be dubbed knight by the hand of a monarch or royalty; the monarch eventually acquired the exclusive right to confer knighthoods. By about the late 13th century, partly in conjunction with the focus on courtly behavior, a code of conduct and uniformity of dress for knights began to evolve. Knights were eligible to wear a white belt and golden spurs as signs of their status. Moreover, knights were also required to swear allegiance — either to a liege lord or to a military order.

Knights had servants: pages and squires.

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Knight in war harness, after a miniature in a psalter written and illuminated under Louis le Gros.

Rules of conduct

A knight was to follow a strict set of rules of conduct. The ideals of knighthood were the Knightly Virtues; the code to which they were nominally sworn was that of chivalry, although this was more often true in troubadours' romances than in reality. These codes were largely propagated by the Church – the original knights were little more than unruly warriors. The Church promoted the ideals of chivalry, with arguable success, in an attempt to transform them into warriors for Christianity, the protectors of society. These idealized rules were observed more in the breach than in practice. A knight often fought with a shield and a sword.

Honours: modern use

Knighthoods are still issued in:

The United Kingdom (see British honours system) and some Commonwealth countries;
Most European countries, such as The Netherlands (see below).
Malaysia — see Malay titles;
Thailand;
The Holy See — see [1] (http://www.chivalricorders.org/vatican/main2.htm).

Presumably there are other monarchies that also follow the practice. Modern knighthoods are typically awarded in recognition for services rendered to society, services which are no longer necessarily martial in nature. The musician Elton John, for example, is entitled to call himself Sir Elton. The female equivalent is a Dame.

Accompanying the title is the given name, and optionally the surname. So, Elton John may be called Sir Elton or Sir Elton John, but never Sir John. Similarly, actress Judi Dench D.B.E. may be addressed as Dame Judi or Dame Judi Dench, but never Dame Dench. Wives of knights, however, are entitled to the honorific "Lady" before their husband's surname. Thus Sir Paul McCartney's wife is styled Lady McCartney, not Lady Paul McCartney or Lady Heather McCartney. The style Dame Heather McCartney could be used; however, this style is largely archaic and is only used in the most formal of documents.

Dutch Knighthoods

Knighthoods in the Netherlands are issued in two orders, the Order of the Netherlands Lion, which is the older, and the Order of Orange-Nassau (in Dutch these are the Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw and the Orde van Oranje–Nassau.

The order of the Netherlands Lion has three ranks: Knight Greatcross (Ridder Grootkruis), Commander (Commandeur), and Knight (Ridder). This order was created in 1815.

The order of Orange–Nassau has six ranks: Knight Greatcross, Greatofficer (Grootofficier), Commandeur, Officer (Officier), Knight, and Member (Lid). This order was created in 1892, and the ranks were introduced in 1996.