Knight Roots Rules Of Conduct Changes Modern Use See Also

In former times, a knight was a warrior or nobleman; today a knight is a person who has been given a royal recognition. In the United Kingdom the knight is styled Sir. The female styling is usually Dame.

1 Roots

Although the roots of the word knight are connected to the Old English cniht, meaning page boy, or simply boy, or German Knecht, or servant, the ideas of knighthood are arguably more closely 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.

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 warFor other uses of War, see War (disambiguation). War is conflict, between relatively large groups of people, which involves physical force inflicted by the use of weapons. Other terms for war include armed conflict hostilities and police action''. See Lim duty.

In theory, 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 monarchThis article treats the generic title monarch . For the origins of the word king and its English use, see Germanic king. For other meanings of the word, see Monarch (disambiguation A monarch is a type of ruler or head of state. The word derives from Greek or royaltyRoyalty may refer to either: the royal family of a country with a monarchy the payment made to the owner of a copyright, patent, or trademark, for the use thereof.. By about the late 13th century12th century 13th century 14th century other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. Events Fourth through eighth crusades of western European kingdoms against Islam Fall of, 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 beltA belt is a flexible band, made of either leather or a type of cloth, worn around the waist, generally serving the purpose of supporting clothing items that would otherwise become too loose, particularly trousers. A belt can also be for the purpose of sty and golden spurA spur is a metal instrument composed of a shank, neck, and prick or rowel (sharp-toothed wheel) fastened to the heel of a horseman to goad his horse to greater speed. The spur is typically used by a jockey or cowhand. A dressage rider's spur tends to bes as signs of their status. Moreover, knights were also required to swear allegiance — either to a liege lord or to a military orderChristian military orders appeared following the First Crusade. The foundation of the Templars in 1118 provided the first in a series of tightly organised military forces which protected the Christian colonies in the Middle East, as well as fighting non-C.

2 Rules of conduct

A knight was to follow a strict set of rules of conduct. The ideals of knighthood were the Knightly VirtuesThe Virtues of a Knight (Knightly Virtues included the following: Being Beautiful in Spirit Charity Good Cheer Chivalry Courage Courtesy Determination Selflessness Endurance Faithfulness Forgiveness Friendliness Happiness Helpfulness Honour Hopefulness Hu; 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 tranform them into warriors for Christianity, the protectors of society.

3 Changes

Changes in military tactics, such as the successful use of the longbow against the French cavalry in the battles of Crécy and Agincourt lessened the importance of the cavalry. (However, the true end of the knight was brought about by the use of gunpowder and guns.)

In times of peace throughout the later Middle Ages and as late as the end of the 16th century, the role of the knight was promoted and extolled through highly stylized tournaments that bore little resemblance to the bloody warfare in which the "typical knight" had once participated. (Early tournaments were actually very similar to war. They originally included many participants battling each other at once in a chaotic mock war, though they later evolved to the popular, one-on-one jousting we all know.)

When even the tournaments went out of fashion, knighthood became less and less tied to warfare, and increasingly indicated social status.

4 Modern use

Knighthoods are still issued in:

The United Kingdom (see British honours system) and some Commonwealth countries.
The Netherlands. The Dutch equivalent word is ridder, e.g., in Ridder in de Orde van Oranje–Nassau
Denmark — Dannebrogordenen (Order of Dannebrog)
Malaysia — Datuk
The Holy See (see [1]).

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.

5 See also

Positions of authority Titles

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