Knight
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A knight was a professional heavy cavalry soldier in the Middle Ages. Knights were the best soldiers in the kingdom. Knights fought for lords or nobles, and got land in return. They thought honour was very important, and they had a code of honour called chivalry. A knight usually had a coat of arms, also called an armorial achievement.
Knights in the Middle Ages
Knights were first used in the 8th century in the late Roman armies.[citation needed] The era of the knights lasted until the 16th century. After that, national armies replaced feudal armies. Many knights were recruited as officers in the new armies.
Knights today
Although they no longer fight as elite warriors, knights still exist.
Today, Queen Elizabeth II names Knights of the Commonwealth Realms. To knight a person, she taps their shoulders with the flat side of a sword during a ceremony. Bill Gates, Clint Eastwood, Michael Caine, Elton John, and George H.W. Bush have all been knighted.[1]
Some British orders of knighthood still exist, like the Order of the British Empire. Today, knights are called “Sir” followed by their first name.
Many members of nobility are descended from knights. For example, Wijerd Jelckama is descended from a knight who died at the siege of Antioch in 1199.
Knight Media
A 14th-century depiction of the 13th-century German knight Hartmann von Aue, from the Codex Manesse
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.
Hungarian knights routing Ottoman spahi cavalry during the Battle of Mohács in 1526
David I of Scotland knighting a squire
The miles Christianus allegory (mid-13th century), showing a knight armed with virtues and facing the vices in mortal combat.
Tournament from the Codex Manesse, depicting the mêlée
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)
Page from King René's Tournament Book (BnF Ms Fr 2695)
The Battle of Pavia in 1525. Landsknecht mercenaries with arquebus.
Fortified house – a family seat of a knight (Schloss Hart by the Harter Graben near Kindberg, Austria)
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