Knights who say Ni

Michael Palin as one of the "Knights Who Say Ni"

The Knights Who Say Ni  Audio (US)  are a band of knights from the comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, who are feared for the manner in which they utter the word ni (/ˈni/, like knee but clipped short). They are the keepers of the sacred words: Ni, Peng and Neee-Wom.[1] According to the DVD commentary for the film, Michael Palin states that their use of the word was derived from The Goon Show.[2] The Knights also appear in the musical Spamalot.

Details

The Knights are led by a man who is approximately 12 feet tall with disproportionately short arms and reindeer antlers inserted into his helmet (played by Michael Palin standing on a ladder; the original screenplay suggested that he be played by "Mike standing on John's shoulders"). The other Knights are of normal human proportions and act as a chorus, only repeating words and phrases that the head Knight has spoken.

"Ni!" is only the most notable of the sacred words which they are assigned to protect, the others being "Peng" and "Neee-wom." All of these words are infamous for the palpable horror and fear (and suggested pain) they bring about, whether delivered by the knights or not. According to King Arthur, "Those who hear them seldom live to tell the tale!" Later, the leader of the Knights who say Ni changes them to the Knights who say an odd string of syllables (although the knights apart from the head knight continue to say 'Ni'). The saying is spelled the following way according to the "script" subtitles available on the collector's edition DVD: "Ekke Ekke Ekke Ekke Ptangya Zoooooooom Boing Ni!" (In the original script, the Knights' new words are "Neeeow ... wum ... ping!".) King Arthur, unable to pronounce all this, addresses them as "Knights who till recently said Ni."

The Knights happen to have a weakness in that a number of words, when spoken to them, have the same effect on them as their saying "Ni" has on others.

Further reading

Notes

  1. ↑ Kevin J. Harty (2002). Cinema Arthuriana. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-1344-1.
  2. ↑ Parker, Alan; O'Shea, Mick (2006). And Now For Something Completely Digital: A Complete Illustrated Guide to Monty Python CDs and DVDs. The Disinformation Company. p. 62.

External links