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(Redirected from Knights)
For the Roman social class also known as "knights", see Equites. For other uses,
see Knight (disambiguation).
"Knights" redirects here. For other uses, see Knights (disambiguation).
A 14th-century depiction of the 13th-century German knight Hartmann von Aue, from
the Codex Manesse
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A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state

(including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or
the country, especially in a military capacity.[1][2] Knighthood finds origins in
the Greek hippeis and hoplite (ἱππεῖς) and Roman eques and centurion of classical
antiquity.[3]

In the Early Middle Ages in Europe, knighthood was conferred upon mounted warriors.
[4] During the High Middle Ages, knighthood was considered a class of lower
nobility. By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals
of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior. Often, a
knight was a vassal who served as an elite fighter or a bodyguard for a lord, with
payment in the form of land holdings.[5] The lords trusted the knights, who were
skilled in battle on horseback. Knighthood in the Middle Ages was closely linked
with horsemanship (and especially the joust) from its origins in the 12th century
until its final flowering as a fashion among the high nobility in the Duchy of
Burgundy in the 15th century. This linkage is reflected in the etymology of
chivalry, cavalier and related terms. In that sense, the special prestige accorded
to mounted warriors in Christendom finds a parallel in the furusiyya in the Islamic
world. The Crusades brought various military orders of knights to the forefront of
defending Christian pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land.[6]
In the Late Middle Ages, new methods of warfare began to render classical knights
in armour obsolete, but the titles remained in many countries. Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I is often referred to as the "last knight" in this regard.[7][8] The
ideals of chivalry were popularized in medieval literature, particularly the
literary cycles known as the Matter of France, relating to the legendary companions
of Charlemagne and his men-at-arms, the paladins, and the Matter of Britain,
relating to the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

Today, a number of orders of knighthood continue to exist in Christian Churches, as

well as in several historically Christian countries and their former territories,
such as the Roman Catholic Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the Spanish Order of
Santiago, the Protestant Order of Saint John, as well as the English Order of the
Garter, the Swedish Royal Order of the Seraphim, and the Order of St. Olav. There
are also dynastic orders like the Order of the Golden Fleece, the Order of the
British Empire and the Order of St. George. In modern times these are orders
centered around charity and civic service, and are no longer military orders. Each
of these orders has its own criteria for eligibility, but knighthood is generally
granted by a head of state, monarch, or prelate to selected persons to recognise
some meritorious achievement, as in the British honours system, often for service
to the Church or country. The modern female equivalent in the English language is
Dame. Knighthoods and damehoods are traditionally regarded as being one of the most
prestigious awards people can obtain.[9]
Etymology

The word knight, from Old English cniht ("boy" or "servant"),[10] is a cognate of
the German word Knecht ("servant, bondsman, vassal").[11] This meaning, of unknown
origin, is common among West Germanic languages (cf Old Frisian kniucht, Dutch
knecht, Danish knægt, Swedish knekt, Norwegian knekt, Middle High German kneht, all
meaning "boy, youth, lad").[10] Middle High German had the phrase guoter kneht,
which also meant knight; but this meaning was in decline by about 1200.[12]

The meaning of cniht changed over time from its original meaning of "boy" to
"household retainer". Ælfric's homily of St. Swithun describes a mounted retainer
as a cniht. While cnihtas might have fought alongside their lords, their role as
household servants features more prominently in the Anglo-Saxon texts. In several
Anglo-Saxon wills cnihtas are left either money or lands. In his will, King
Æthelstan leaves his cniht, Aelfmar, eight hides of land.[13]

A rādcniht, "riding-servant", was a servant on horseback.[14]

A narrowing of the generic meaning "servant" to "military follower of a king or

other superior" is visible by 1100. The specific military sense of a knight as a
mounted warrior in the heavy cavalry emerges only in the Hundred Years' War. The
verb "to knight" (to make someone a knight) appears around 1300; and, from the same
time, the word "knighthood" shifted from "adolescence" to "rank or dignity of a
knight".

An Equestrian (Latin, from eques "horseman", from equus "horse")[15] was a member
of the second highest social class in the Roman Republic and early Roman Empire.
This class is often translated as "knight"; the medieval knight, however, was
called miles in Latin (which in classical Latin meant "soldier", normally
infantry).[16][17][18]

In the later Roman Empire, the classical Latin word for horse, equus, was replaced
in common parlance by the vulgar Latin caballus, sometimes thought to derive from
Gaulish caballos.[19] From caballus arose terms in the various Romance languages
cognate with the (French-derived) English cavalier: Italian cavaliere, Spanish
caballero, French chevalier (whence chivalry), Portuguese cavaleiro, and Romanian
cavaler.[20] The Germanic languages have terms cognate with the English rider:
German Ritter, and Dutch and Scandinavian ridder. These words are derived from
Germanic rīdan, "to ride", in turn derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*reidh-.[21]
Evolution of medieval knighthood
Pre-Carolingian legacies
Further information: Bucellarii

In ancient Rome, there was a knightly class Ordo Equestris (order of mounted
nobles). Some portions of the armies of Germanic peoples who occupied Europe from
the 3rd century AD onward had been mounted, and some armies, such as those of the
Ostrogoths, were mainly cavalry.[22] However, it was the Franks who 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.
When the armies of the Frankish ruler Charles Martel defeated the Umayyad Arab
invasion at the Battle of Tours in 732, the Frankish forces were still largely
infantry armies, with elites riding to battle but dismounting to fight.
Carolingian age

In the Early Medieval period, any well-equipped horseman could be described as a

knight, or miles in Latin.[23] The first knights appeared during the reign of
Charlemagne in the 8th century.[24][25][26] As the Carolingian Age progressed, 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 mounted infantry, with the discovery of the stirrup,
and would continue to do so for centuries afterwards.[27] Although in some nations
the knight returned to foot combat in the 14th century, the association of the
knight with mounted combat with a spear, and later a lance, remained a strong one.
The older Carolingian ceremony of presenting a young man with weapons influenced
the emergence of knighthood ceremonies, in which a noble would be ritually given
weapons and declared to be a knight, usually amid some festivities.[28]
A Norman knight slaying Harold Godwinson (Bayeux tapestry, c. 1070). The rank of
knight developed in the 12th century from the mounted warriors of the 10th and 11th
centuries.

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.[24]
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 empowered warrior class grew stronger still, and
Charles the Bald declared their fiefs to be hereditary, and also issued the Edict
of Pîtres in 864, largely moving away from the infantry-based traditional armies
and calling upon all men who could afford it to answer calls to arms on horseback
to quickly repel the constant and wide-ranging Viking attacks, which is considered
the beginnings of the period of knights that were to become so famous and spread
throughout Europe in the following centuries. The period of chaos in the 9th and
10th 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.[25]
Multiple Crusades & Military Orders
Hungarian knights routing Ottoman spahi cavalry during the Battle of Mohács in
1526.

Clerics and the Church often opposed the practices of the Knights because of their
abuses against women and civilians, and many such as St. Bernard, were convinced
that the Knights served the devil and not God and needed reforming.[29] In the
course of the 12th century knighthood became a social rank, with a distinction
being made between milites gregarii (non-noble cavalrymen) and milites nobiles
(true knights).[30] As the term "knight" became increasingly confined to denoting a
social rank, the military role of fully armoured cavalryman gained a separate term,
"man-at-arms". Although any medieval knight going to war would automatically serve
as a man-at-arms, not all men-at-arms were knights.

The first military orders of knighthood were the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre and
the Knights Hospitaller, both founded shortly after the First Crusade of 1099,
followed by the Order of Saint Lazarus (1100), Knights Templars (1118), the Order
of Montesa (1128), the Order of Santiago (1170) and the Teutonic Knights (1190). At
the time of their foundation, these were intended as monastic orders, whose members
would act as simple soldiers protecting pilgrims.

It was only over the following century, with the successful conquest of the Holy
Land and the rise of the crusader states, that these orders became powerful and
prestigious.

The great European legends of warriors such as the paladins, the Matter of France
and the Matter of Britain popularized the notion of chivalry among the warrior
class.[31][32] The ideal of chivalry as the ethos of the Christian warrior, and the
transmutation of the term "knight" from the meaning "servant, soldier", and of
chevalier "mounted soldier", to refer to a member of this ideal class, is
significantly influenced by the Crusades, on one hand inspired by the military
orders of monastic warriors, and on the other hand also cross-influenced by Islamic
(Saracen) ideals of furusiyya.[32][33]
Knightly culture in the Middle Ages
Training

The institution of knights was already well-established by the 10th century.[34]

While the knight was essentially a title denoting a military office, the term could
also be used for positions of higher nobility such as landholders. The higher
nobles grant the vassals their portions of land (fiefs) in return for their
loyalty, protection, and service. The nobles also provided their knights with
necessities, such as lodging, food, armour, weapons, horses, and money.[35] The
knight generally held his lands by military tenure which was measured through
military service that usually lasted 40 days a year. The military service was the
quid pro quo for each knight's fief. Vassals and lords could maintain any number of
knights, although knights with more military experience were those most sought
after. Thus, all petty nobles intending to become prosperous knights needed a great
deal of military experience.[34] A knight fighting under another's banner was
called a knight bachelor while a knight fighting under his own banner was a knight
banneret.
Page

A knight had to be born of nobility – typically sons of knights or lords.[35] In

some cases, commoners could also be knighted as a reward for extraordinary military
service. Children of the nobility were cared for by noble foster-mothers in castles
until they reached the age of seven.

These seven-year-old boys were given the title of page and turned over to the care
of the castle's lords. They were placed on an early training regime of hunting with
huntsmen and falconers, and academic studies with priests or chaplains. Pages then
become assistants to older knights in battle, carrying and cleaning armour, taking
care of the horses, and packing the baggage. They would accompany the knights on
expeditions, even into foreign lands. Older pages were instructed by knights in
swordsmanship, equestrianism, chivalry, warfare, and combat (but using wooden
swords and spears).
Squire

When the boy turned 14, he became a squire. In a religious ceremony, the new squire
swore on a sword consecrated by a bishop or priest, and attended to assigned duties
in his lord's household. During this time, the squires continued training in combat
and were allowed to own armour (rather than borrowing it).
David I of Scotland knighting a squire

Squires were required to master the “seven points of agilities” – riding, swimming
and diving, shooting different types of weapons, climbing, participation in
tournaments, wrestling, fencing, long jumping, and dancing – the prerequisite
skills for knighthood. All of these were even performed while wearing armour.[36]

Upon turning 21, the squire was eligible to be knighted.

Accolade
Main article: Accolade

The accolade or knighting ceremony was usually held during one of the great feasts
or holidays, like Christmas or Easter, and sometimes at the wedding of a noble or
royal. The knighting ceremony usually involved a ritual bath on the eve of the
ceremony and a prayer vigil during the night. On the day of the ceremony, the
would-be knight would swear an oath and the master of the ceremony would dub the
new knight on the shoulders with a sword.[34][35] Squires, and even soldiers, could
also be conferred direct knighthood early if they showed valor and efficiency for
their service; such acts may include deploying for an important quest or mission,
or protecting a high diplomat or a royal relative in battle.
Chivalric code

This caption is not succinct. Please improve this article if you can. (June 2022)
The miles Christianus allegory (mid-13th century), showing a knight armed with
virtues and facing the vices in mortal combat. The parts of his armour are
identified with Christian virtues, thus correlating military equipment with the
religious values of chivalry: The helmet is spes futuri gaudii (hope of future
bliss), the shield (here the shield of the Trinity) is fides (faith), the armour is
caritas (charity), the lance is perseverantia (perseverance), the sword is verbum
Dei (the word of God), the banner is regni celestis desiderium (desire for the
kingdom of heaven), the horse is bona voluntas (good will), the saddle is
Christiana religio (Christian religion), the saddlecloth is humilitas (humility),
the reins are discretio (discretion), the spurs are disciplina (discipline), the
stirrups are propositum boni operis (proposition of good work), and the horse's
four hooves are delectatio, consensus, bonum opus, consuetudo (delight, consent,
good work, and exercise).
Main article: Chivalry

Knights were expected, above all, to fight bravely and to display military
professionalism and courtesy. When knights were taken as prisoners of war, they
were customarily held for ransom in somewhat comfortable surroundings. This same
standard of conduct did not apply to non-knights (archers, peasants, foot-soldiers,
etc.) who were often slaughtered after capture, and who were viewed during battle
as mere impediments to knights' getting to other knights to fight them.[37]

Chivalry developed as an early standard of professional ethics for knights, who

were relatively affluent horse owners and were expected to provide military
services in exchange for landed property. Early notions of chivalry entailed
loyalty to one's liege lord and bravery in battle, similar to the values of the
Heroic Age. During the Middle Ages, this grew from simple military professionalism
into a social code including the values of gentility, nobility and treating others
reasonably.[38] In The Song of Roland (c. 1100), Roland is portrayed as the ideal
knight, demonstrating unwavering loyalty, military prowess and social fellowship.
In Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival (c. 1205), chivalry had become a blend of
religious duties, love and military service. Ramon Llull's Book of the Order of
Chivalry (1275) demonstrates that by the end of the 13th century, chivalry entailed
a litany of very specific duties, including riding warhorses, jousting, attending
tournaments, holding Round Tables and hunting, as well as aspiring to the more
æthereal virtues of "faith, hope, charity, justice, strength, moderation and
loyalty."[39]

Knights of the late medieval era were expected by society to maintain all these
skills and many more, as outlined in Baldassare Castiglione's The Book of the
Courtier, though the book's protagonist, Count Ludovico, states the "first and true
profession" of the ideal courtier "must be that of arms."[40] Chivalry, derived
from the French word chevalier ('cavalier'), simultaneously denoted skilled
horsemanship and military service, and these remained the primary occupations of
knighthood throughout the Middle Ages.

Chivalry and religion were mutually influenced during the period of the Crusades.
The early Crusades helped to clarify the moral code of chivalry as it related to
religion. As a result, Christian armies began to devote their efforts to sacred
purposes. As time passed, clergy instituted religious vows which required knights
to use their weapons chiefly for the protection of the weak and defenseless,
especially women and orphans, and of churches.[41]
Tournaments
Main article: Tournament (medieval)
Tournament from the Codex Manesse, depicting the mêlée

In peacetime, knights often demonstrated their martial skills in tournaments, which

usually took place on the grounds of a castle.[42][43] Knights could parade their
armour and banner to the whole court as the tournament commenced. Medieval
tournaments were made up of martial sports called hastiludes, and were not only a
major spectator sport but also played as a real combat simulation. It usually ended
with many knights either injured or even killed. One contest was a free-for-all
battle called a melee, where large groups of knights numbering hundreds assembled
and fought one another, and the last knight standing was the winner. The most
popular and romanticized contest for knights was the joust. In this competition,
two knights charge each other with blunt wooden lances in an effort to break their
lance on the opponent's head or body or unhorse them completely. The loser in these
tournaments had to turn his armour and horse over to the victor. The last day was
filled with feasting, dancing and minstrel singing.

Besides formal tournaments, they were also unformalized judicial duels done by
knights and squires to end various disputes.[44][45] Countries like Germany,
Britain and Ireland practiced this tradition. Judicial combat was of two forms in
medieval society, the feat of arms and chivalric combat.[44] The feat of arms were
done to settle hostilities between two large parties and supervised by a judge. The
chivalric combat was fought when one party's honor was disrespected or challenged
and the conflict could not be resolved in court. Weapons were standardized and must
be of the same caliber. The duel lasted until the other party was too weak to fight
back and in early cases, the defeated party were then subsequently executed.
Examples of these brutal duels were the judicial combat known as the Combat of the
Thirty in 1351, and the trial by combat fought by Jean de Carrouges in 1386. A far
more chivalric duel which became popular in the Late Middle Ages was the pas
d'armes or "passage of arms". In this hastilude, a knight or a group of knights
would claim a bridge, lane or city gate, and challenge other passing knights to
fight or be disgraced.[46] If a lady passed unescorted, she would leave behind a
glove or scarf, to be rescued and returned to her by a future knight who passed
that way.[citation needed]
Heraldry
Main article: Heraldry
One of the greatest distinguishing marks of the knightly class was the flying of
coloured banners, to display power and to distinguish knights in battle and in
tournaments.[47] Knights are generally armigerous (bearing a coat of arms), and
indeed they played an essential role in the development of heraldry.[48][49] As
heavier armour, including enlarged shields and enclosed helmets, developed in the
Middle Ages, the need for marks of identification arose, and with coloured shields
and surcoats, coat armoury was born. Armorial rolls were created to record the
knights of various regions or those who participated in various tournaments.
Equipment
Elements of a harness of the late style of Gothic plate armour that was a popular
style in the mid 15th to early 16th century (depiction made in the 18th century)

Knights used a variety of weapons, including maces, axes and swords. Elements of
the knightly armour included helmet, cuirass, gauntlet and shield.

The sword was a weapon designed to be used solely in combat; it was useless in
hunting and impractical as a tool. Thus, the sword was a status symbol among the
knightly class. Swords were effective against lightly armoured enemies, while maces
and warhammers were more effective against heavily armoured ones.[50]: 
85–86 

One of the primary elements of a knight's armour was the shield, which could be
used to block strikes and projectiles. Oval shields were used during the Dark Ages
and were made of wooden boards that were roughly half an inch thick. Towards the
end of the 10th century, oval shields were lengthened to cover the left knee of the
mounted warrior, called the kite shield. The heater shield was used during the 13th
and the first half of the 14th century. Around 1350, square shields called bouched
shields appeared, which had a notch in which to place the couched lance.[50]: 
15 

Until the mid-14th century, knights wore mail armour as their main form of defence.
Mail was extremely flexible and provided good protection against sword cuts, but
weak against blunt weapons such as the mace and piercing weapons such as the lance.
Padded undergarment known as aketon was worn to absorb shock damage and prevent
chafing caused by mail. In hotter climates metal rings became too hot, so
sleeveless surcoats were worn as a protection against the sun, and also to show
their heraldic arms.[50]: 
15–17  This sort of coat also evolved to be tabards,
waffenrocks and other garments with the arms of the wearer sewn into it.[51]

Helmets of the knight of the early periods usually were more open helms such as the
nasal helmet, and later forms of the spangenhelm. The lack of more facial
protection lead to the evolution of more enclosing helmets to be made in the late
12th to early 13th centuries, this eventually would evolve to make the great helm.
Later forms of the bascinet, which was originally a small helm worn under the
larger great helm, evolved to be worn solely, and would eventually have pivoted or
hinged visors, the most popular was the hounskull, also known as the "pig-face
visor".[52][53]

Plate armour first appeared in the Medieval Ages in the 13th century, plates were
added onto the torso and mounted to a base of leather. This form of armour is known
as a coat of plates. The torso wasn't the only part of the knight to receive this
plate protection evolution, as the elbows and shoulders were covered with circular
pieces of metal, commonly referred to as rondels, eventually evolving into the
plate arm harness consisting of the rerebrace, vambrace, and spaulder or pauldron.
The legs too were covered in plates, mainly on the shin, called schynbalds which
later evolved to fully enclose the leg in the form of enclosed greaves. As for the
upper legs, cuisses came about in the mid 14th century.[54] Overall, plate armour
offered better protection against piercing weapons such as arrows and especially
bolts than mail armour did.[50]: 
15–17 
Knights' horses were also armoured in later periods; caparisons were the first form
of medieval horse coverage and was used much like the surcoat. Other armours, such
as the facial armouring chanfron, were made for horses.[55]
Medieval and Renaissance chivalric literature
Main article: Knight-errant
Further information: Chivalry, Chivalric romance, Matter of Britain, Matter of
France, Minnesang, and Jinete
Page from King René's Tournament Book (BnF Ms Fr 2695)

Knights and the ideals of knighthood featured largely in medieval and Renaissance
literature, and have secured a permanent place in literary romance.[56] While
chivalric romances abound, particularly notable literary portrayals of knighthood
include The Song of Roland, Cantar de Mio Cid, The Twelve of England, Geoffrey
Chaucer's The Knight's Tale, Baldassare Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier, and
Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote, as well as Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur
and other Arthurian tales (Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, the
Pearl Poet's Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, etc.).

Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain),

written in the 1130s, introduced the legend of King Arthur, which was to be
important to the development of chivalric ideals in literature. Sir Thomas Malory's
Le Morte d'Arthur (The Death of Arthur), written in 1469, was important in defining
the ideal of chivalry, which is essential to the modern concept of the knight, as
an elite warrior sworn to uphold the values of faith, loyalty, courage, and honour.

Instructional literature was also created. Geoffroi de Charny's "Book of Chivalry"

expounded upon the importance of Christian faith in every area of a knight's life,
though still laying stress on the primarily military focus of knighthood.

In the early Renaissance greater emphasis was laid upon courtliness. The ideal
courtier—the chivalrous knight—of Baldassarre Castiglione's The Book of the
Courtier became a model of the ideal virtues of nobility.[57] Castiglione's tale
took the form of a discussion among the nobility of the court of the Duke of
Urbino, in which the characters determine that the ideal knight should be renowned
not only for his bravery and prowess in battle, but also as a skilled dancer,
athlete, singer and orator, and he should also be well-read in the humanities and
classical Greek and Latin literature.[58]

Later Renaissance literature, such as Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote, rejected

the code of chivalry as unrealistic idealism.[59] The rise of Christian humanism in
Renaissance literature demonstrated a marked departure from the chivalric romance
of late medieval literature, and the chivalric ideal ceased to influence literature
over successive centuries until it saw some pockets of revival in post-Victorian
literature.
Decline
See also: Military history
The Battle of Pavia in 1525. Landsknecht mercenaries with arquebus.

By the mid to late 16th century, knights were quickly becoming obsolete as
countries started creating their own professional armies that were faster to train,
cheaper to equip, and easier to mobilize.[60][61] The advancement of high-powered
firearms contributed greatly to the decline in use of plate armour, as the time it
took to train soldiers with guns was much less compared to that of the knight. The
cost of equipment was also significantly lower, and guns had a reasonable chance to
easily penetrate a knight's armour. In the 14th century the use of infantrymen
armed with pikes and fighting in close formation also proved effective against
heavy cavalry, such as during the Battle of Nancy, when Charles the Bold and his
armoured cavalry were decimated by Swiss pikemen.[62] As the feudal system came to
an end, lords saw no further use of knights. Many landowners found the duties of
knighthood too expensive and so contented themselves with the use of squires.
Mercenaries also became an economic alternative to knights when conflicts arose.

Armies of the time started adopting a more realistic approach to warfare than the
honor-bound code of chivalry. Soon, the remaining knights were absorbed into
professional armies. Although they had a higher rank than most soldiers because of
their valuable lineage, they lost their distinctive identity that previously set
them apart from common soldiers.[60] Some knightly orders survived into modern
times. They adopted newer technology while still retaining their age-old chivalric
traditions. Examples include the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, Knights Hospitaller
and Teutonic Knights.[63]
Radiance of knighthood into the 21st century

When chivalry had long since declined, the cavalry of the early modern era clung to
the old ideals. Even the first fighter pilots of the First World War, in the 20th
century, still resorted to knightly ideas in their duels in the sky, aimed at
fairness and honesty. At least; such chivalry was spread in the media. This idea
was then completely lost in later wars or was perverted by Nazi Germany, which
awarded a "Knight's Cross" as an award.[64][65] Conversely, the Austrian priest and
resistance fighter Heinrich Maier is referred to as Miles Christi, a Christian
knight against Nazi Germany.[66]

While on the one hand attempts are made again and again to revive or restore old
knightly orders in order to gain prestige, awards and financial advantages, on the
other hand old orders continue to exist or are activated. This especially in the
environment of ruling or formerly ruling noble houses. For example, the British
Queen Elizabeth II regularly appointed new members to the Order of the British
Empire, which also includes members such as Steven Spielberg, Nelson Mandela and
Bill Gates, in the 21st century.[67][68][69] In Central Europe, for example, the
Order of St. George, whose roots go back to the so-called "last knight" Emperor
Maximilian I, was reactivated by the House of Habsburg after its dissolution by
Nazi Germany and the fall of the Iron Curtain.[70][71] And in republican France,
deserved personalities are highlighted to this day by the award of the Knight of
Honor (Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur - Legion of Honour).[72][73][74] In
contrast, the knights of the ecclesiastical knightly orders like the Sovereign
Military Order of Malta and the Order of Saint John mainly devote themselves to
social tasks and care.[75]

The journalist Alexander von Schönburg dealt with nature and the possible necessity
of chivalry. In view of the complete social disorientation of the people he
diagnosed, he calls for a return to virtues such as modesty, wisdom and, above all,
loyalty. For, according to him, the common creed today is roughness, ignorance and
egocentrism.[76] Vinzenz Stimpfl-Abele, Procurator of the Habsburg Order of St.
George, goes back to Bernhard von Clairvaux to consider the importance of knights
in the 21st century. Accordingly, knights must take an active part in the fight
against misery in society, especially today.[77] The current activities of the
Knights of the Order of Malta and the Order of St. John, who since the beginning of
the 20th century have increasingly provided extensive medical and charitable
services during wars and peacetime, have also developed in this direction.[75]
Types of knighthood
Hereditary knighthoods
Continental Europe

In continental Europe different systems of hereditary knighthood have existed or do

exist. Ridder, Dutch for "knight", is a hereditary noble title in the Netherlands.
It is the lowest title within the nobility system and ranks below that of "Baron"
but above "Jonkheer" (the latter is not a title, but a Dutch honorific to show that
someone belongs to the untitled nobility). The collective term for its holders in a
certain locality is the Ridderschap (e.g. Ridderschap van Holland, Ridderschap van
Friesland, etc.). In the Netherlands no female equivalent exists. Before 1814, the
history of nobility is separate for each of the eleven provinces that make up the
Kingdom of the Netherlands. In each of these, there were in the early Middle Ages a
number of feudal lords who often were just as powerful, and sometimes more so than
the rulers themselves. In old times, no other title existed but that of knight. In
the Netherlands only 10 knightly families are still extant, a number which steadily
decreases because in that country ennoblement or incorporation into the nobility is
not possible anymore.
Fortified house – a family seat of a knight (Schloss Hart by the Harter Graben near
Kindberg, Austria)

Likewise Ridder, Dutch for "knight", or the equivalent French Chevalier is a

hereditary noble title in Belgium. It is the second lowest title within the
nobility system above Écuyer or Jonkheer/Jonkvrouw and below Baron. Like in the
Netherlands, no female equivalent to the title exists. Belgium still does have
about 232 registered knightly families.

The German and Austrian equivalent of an hereditary knight is a Ritter. This

designation is used as a title of nobility in all German-speaking areas.
Traditionally it denotes the second lowest rank within the nobility, standing above
"Edler" (noble) and below "Freiherr" (baron). For its historical association with
warfare and the landed gentry in the Middle Ages, it can be considered roughly
equal to the titles of "Knight" or "Baronet".

In the Kingdom of Spain, the Royal House of Spain grants titles of knighthood to
the successor of the throne. This knighthood title known as Order of the Golden
Fleece is among the most prestigious and exclusive chivalric orders. This order can
also be granted to persons not belonging to the Spanish Crown, as the former
Emperor of Japan Akihito, Queen of United Kingdom Elizabeth II or the important
Spanish politician of the Spanish democratic transition Adolfo Suárez, among
others.

The Royal House of Portugal historically bestowed hereditary knighthoods to holders

of the highest ranks in the Royal Orders. Today, the head of the Royal House of
Portugal Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, bestows hereditary knighthoods for
extraordinary acts of sacrifice and service to the Royal House. There are very few
hereditary knights and they are entitled to wear an oval neck badge with the shield
of the house of Braganza. Portuguese hereditary knighthoods confer nobility.

In France, the hereditary knighthood existed similarly throughout as a title of

nobility, as well as in regions formerly under Holy Roman Empire control. One
family ennobled with a title in such a manner is the house of Hauteclocque (by
letters patents of 1752), even if its most recent members used a pontifical title
of count. In some other regions such as Normandy, a specific type of fief was
granted to the lower ranked knights (French: chevaliers) called the fief de
haubert, referring to the hauberk, or chain mail shirt worn almost daily by
knights, as they would not only fight for their liege lords, but enforce and carry
out their orders on a routine basis as well.[78] Later the term came to officially
designate the higher rank of the nobility in the Ancien Régime (the lower rank
being Squire), as the romanticism and prestige associated with the term grew in the
Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Italy and Poland also had the hereditary knighthood that existed within their
respective systems of nobility.
Ireland

There are traces of the Continental system of hereditary knighthood in Ireland.

Notably all three of the following belong to the Hiberno-Norman FitzGerald dynasty,
created by the Earls of Desmond, acting as Earls Palatine, for their kinsmen.
 Knight of Kerry or Green Knight (FitzGerald of Kerry) — the current holder is
Sir Adrian FitzGerald, 6th Baronet of Valencia, 24th Knight of Kerry. He is also a
Knight of Malta, and has served as President of the Irish Association of the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
Knight of Glin or Black Knight (FitzGerald of Limerick) — now dormant.
White Knight (see Edmund Fitzgibbon) — now dormant.

Another Irish family were the O'Shaughnessys, who were created knights in 1553
under the policy of surrender and regrant[79] (first established by Henry VIII of
England). They were attainted in 1697 for participation on the Jacobite side in the
Williamite wars.[80]
British baronetcies
Since 1611, the British Crown has awarded a hereditary title in the form of the
baronetcy.[81] Like knights, baronets are accorded the title Sir. Baronets are not
peers of the Realm, and have never been entitled to sit in the House of Lords,
therefore like knights they remain commoners in the view of the British legal
system. However, unlike knights, the title is hereditary and the recipient does not
receive an accolade. The position is therefore more comparable with hereditary
knighthoods in continental European orders of nobility, such as Ritter, than with
knighthoods under the British orders of chivalry. However, unlike the continental
orders, the British baronetcy system was a modern invention, designed specifically
to raise money for the Crown with the purchase of the title.