Knight

Knights Dueling, by Eugène Delacroix

Knight is the English term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. In the Commonwealth of Nations, knighthood is a non-heritable form of gentry. Elsewhere, the Portuguese Cavaleiro, the Spanish Caballero (related to "chivalry"), the Italian Cavaliere, the French "Chevalier", the German Ritter (related to the English word "Rider" and the Swedish word Riddare and the Norwegian, Dutch and Danish word "Ridder"), or the Polish Kawaler (for Modern Era knighthoods or Rycerz for medieval knighthoods) are commonly used in Continental Europe. Outside the British Commonwealth, the title is respected but may carry less significance, and thus may or may not appear, for example, in the mass media and other publications. There are technically differing levels of knighthood (see Order of the British Empire), but in practice these are even more symbolic than the title itself today and thus only express the greatness of the recipient's achievements in the eyes of the Crown.

The British legend of King Arthur, popularised throughout Europe in the Middle Ages by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae ("History of the Kings of Britain") written in the 1130s, and Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur (The Death of Arthur) written in 1485, were important in defining the ideal of chivalry which is essential to the European ideal of the knight as an elite warrior sworn to uphold the values of faith, loyalty, courage and honour such as Knights Templar.

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Etymology

The word knight itself, is descended from the Old English cniht (meaning a boy, youth or servant). Variants of the word are common in the West Germanic languages and thus exist in Old Frisian as kniucht,

Knighthood is descended from the Old English cnihthad meaning the 'period between childhood and manhood' and sense of "rank or dignity of a knight" is from c.1300.

Origins of medieval knighthood

Knighthood as known in Europe was characterized by two elements, feudalism and service as a mounted combatant. Both arose under the reign of the Frankish emperor Charlemagne, from which the knighthood of the Middle Ages can be seen to have had its genesis.

Some portions of the armies of Germanic tribes (and super-tribes, such as the Suebi) which occupied Europe from the third century had always been mounted, and sometimes such cavalry in fact composed large majorities, such as in the armies of the Ostrogoths. However, it was the Franks who came to dominate Western and Central Europe after the fall of Rome in the West, and they generally fielded armies composed of large masses of infantry, with an infantry elite, the comitatus, which often rode to battle on horseback rather than marching on foot. Riding to battle had two key advantages: it relieved fatigue, particularly when the elite soldiers wore armour (as was increasingly the case in the centuries after the fall of Rome in the West); and it gave the soldiers more mobility to react to the raids of the enemy, particularly the invasions of Muslim armies which started occurring in the seventh century. So it was that the armies of the Frankish ruler and warlord Charles Martel, which defeated the Umayyad Arab invasions at the Battle of Tours in 732, were still largely infantry armies, the elites riding to battle but dismounting to fight in order to provide a hard core for the levy of the infantry warbands.

As the eighth century progressed into the Carolingian Age, however, the Franks were generally on the attack, and larger numbers of warriors took to their horses 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 as mounted infantry, and would continue to do for centuries thereafter. Although in some nations the knight returned to foot combat in the fourteenth century, the association of the knight with mounted combat with a spear, and later a lance, remained a strong one.

These mobile mounted warriors made Charlemagne’s far-flung conquests possible, and to secure their service he rewarded them with grants of land called benefices. 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 enforced warrior class grew stronger still, and Charles the Bald declared their fiefs to be hereditary. The period of chaos in the ninth and tenth centuries, between the fall of the Carolingian central authority and the rise of separate Western and Eastern Frankish kingdoms (later to become France and Germany, respectively), only entrenched this newly-landed warrior class. This was because governing power, and defense against Viking, Magyar and Saracen attack, became an essentially local affair which revolved around these new hereditary local lords and their demesnes.

The resulting hereditary, landed class of mounted elite warriors, the knights, were increasingly seen as the only true soldiers of Europe, hence the exclusive use of miles for them.

Knightly Chivalric Code

Knights of the medieval era were asked to "Protect the weak, defenseless, helpless, and fight for the general welfare of all."[1] These few guidelines were the main duties of a medieval knight, but they were very hard to accomplish thoroughly. Rarely, even the best of knights were able to fully meet these guidelines, which proves the difficulty in their lifestyle. Knighthood consisted of all kinds of training including hunting, fighting, and riding horses. Apart from with the physical training, knights were trained to practice courteous, honorable behavior, which was extremely important. Chivalry (derived from the French word chevalier meaning “skills to handle a horse”) was the main principle guiding a knight’s life style.[2] The code of chivalry dealt with three main areas: the military, social life, and religion.[3]

The military side of life was very important to knighthood. Along with the fighting elements of war, there were many manners and rules to be followed as well. A way of demonstrating military chivalry was to own expensive, heavy weaponry. Weapons were not the only crucial instruments to a knight, horses were also extremely important. Each knight often owned several horses for distinct purposes. One of the greatest signs of chivalry was banners. These decorative banners were flown to show power and distinguished knights in battle and in tournaments. Warriors were not only required to own all these belongings to prove their allegiance, they were expected to act with military courtesy as well. In combat when nobles and knights were taken prisoner, their lives were spared and were often held for ransom in somewhat comfortable surroundings. This same code of conduct did not apply to non-knights (archers, peasants, foot-soldiers, etc.), who were often slaughtered after capture.[4]

Becoming a knight was not a very “social friendly” job in the medieval era. Only the sons of a knight were eligible to the ranks of knighthood.[5] Those who were destined to become knights were singled out of society. In the years of boyhood, these future warriors were sent off to be trained using horses, weapons, fighting, and also courtesy. Commonly around the age of twenty, knights would become admitted to their deserved rank by a ceremonial process called “dubbing.” Although these strong young men had proved to their eligibility, their social status would permanently be controlled. The codes of chivalry were expected at all times, and any failure to follow instructions was not accepted.

Religion was greatly influenced by chivalry as well. The early Crusades helped decipher the moral code of chivalry as it related to religion. As a result, Christian armies began to devote their efforts for a sacred purpose. As time passed, clergy decided to found vows to the church which allowed knights to use their weapons chiefly for the protection of the weak and defenseless, especially women and orphans, and of churches.[6]

Orders of knighthood

Military-monastic orders

For more details on this topic, see Military order.
The Seal of the Knights Templar

Other orders were established in the Iberian peninsula, under the influence of the orders in the Holy Land and the Crusader movement of the Reconquista:

Chivalric orders

For more details on this topic, see Chivalric order.

After the Crusades, the military orders became idealized and romanticized, resulting in the late medieval notion of chivalry, as reflected in the Arthurian romances of the time. The creation of chivalric orders was fashionable among the noblesse in the 14th and 15th centuries, as remains reflected in contemporary honours systems, and the term order itself. Examples of notable orders of chivalry include:

From roughly 1560, purely honorific orders were established, designed as a way to confer prestige and distinction, unrelated to military service or 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 other monarchies and also republics 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 British musician Elton John, for example, is a Knight Bachelor, thus entitled to be called Sir Elton. The female equivalent is a Dame.

In the British honours system the knightly style of Sir is accompanied by 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 DBE 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 ex-wife was formally styled Lady McCartney (rather than Lady Paul McCartney or Lady Heather McCartney). The style Dame 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 Dame Norma Major, who was knighted six years before her husband Sir John Major was knighted). The husbands of Dames have no honorific; hence Dame Norma's husband remained The Rt Hon John Major until he received his own knighthood.

Since the reign of Edward VII a clerk in holy orders in the Church of England or in another Anglican Church has not normally received the accolade on being appointed to a degree of knighthood. 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 and consequently his wife may not be called Lady.[7][8] The Rt Revd the Hon Sir Paul Reeves did receive the accolade and is correctly called Sir but it is not clear how this situation arose. Ministers of other Christian Churches are entitled to receive the accolade. For example, His Eminence Sir Norman Cardinal Gilroy did receive the accolade on his appointment as Knight 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 was The Revd Sir Derek Pattinson, who was ordained just a year after he was appointed Knight Bachelor, apparently somewhat to the consternation of officials at Buckingham Palace.[9] A woman clerk in holy orders may be appointed 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 a baronet is entitled to use the title Sir.

Outside the British honours system it is usually considered improper to address a knighted person as 'Sir' or 'Dame'. Some countries, however, historically did have equivalent honorifics for knights, such as Cavaliere in Italy (e.g. Cavaliere Benito Mussolini), and Ritter in Germany and Austro-Hungarian Empire (e.g. Georg Ritter von Trapp).

State Knighthoods in the Netherlands are issued in three orders, the Order of William, the Order of the Netherlands Lion, and the Order of Orange Nassau. Additionally there remain a few hereditary knights in The Netherlands.

In France, among other orders are the Légion d'Honneur, the Ordre National du Mérite, the Ordre des Palmes académiques and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. The lowest of the ranks conferred by these orders is Chevalier, meaning Knight.

In the Polish-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 the King would later play one against the other and eventually limit the legal privileges of hereditary nobility. But finally in 1705 King August II managed to establish the Order 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) 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)".

Modern ranks of the Orders

Within most Continental European orders, and many other orders, the following rankings (or similar rank structures) exist:

Within the British honours system, and some members of the Commonwealth of Nations, the following rankings (or similar rank structures) exist, of which only the two highest ranks are considered knights:

Consequently to the fact of being not an order of chivalry but an order of merits, some republican orders have created new ranks: e.g. Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Hereditary knighthoods in Great Britain and Ireland

There are traces of the Continental system of hereditary knighthood in British usage, however. There were three hereditary knighthoods in the Kingdom of Ireland:

It seems likely that the above "Palatine" hereditary knighthoods, created under the Earl of Desmond, were in some respects modeled on an archaic form of knighthood mentioned in the Chronicles of Jean Froissart (c.1337-c.1405). In Book IV, Ch. 64, we find the tale of four Irish kings being prepared to receive English knighthood. Initially, they seem dismissive of the idea, stating that they were knights already, explaining that "in Ireland, a king makes his son a knight, and should the child have lost his father, then the nearest relation." This was to take place at the age of seven years.

While "warrior orders" or "warrior clans" were described in ancient Ireland in the theoretical service of the High King or Provincial Kings, there is no evidence to support the survival of any such orders into the historical period. However, Gaelic Irish knighthood, in its archaic and hereditary context designating the untitled martial nobility, was clearly practiced well into the 14th century.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Knights_and_Fights.htm
  2. ↑ http://www.knightsandarmor.com/chivalry.htm
  3. ↑ http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03691a.htm
  4. ↑ http://www.knightsandarmor.com/chivalry.htm
  5. ↑ http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03691a.htm
  6. ↑ http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03691a.htm
  7. ↑ Crockford's Clerical Directory, accessed 27 October 2007
  8. ↑ Royal Insight, April 2006, accessed 27 October 2007
  9. ↑ Michael De-La-Noy, obituary in The Independent

References

External links