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==Origin==
==Origin==
[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._600-1100.09THE_OLD_ENGLISH.2C_OR_ANGLO-SAXON_PERIOD Old English] ''cniht''‘boy, [[youth]], [[servant]]’; related to Dutch ''knecht'' and German ''Knecht''.
[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._600-1100.09THE_OLD_ENGLISH.2C_OR_ANGLO-SAXON_PERIOD Old English] ''cniht''‘boy, [[youth]], [[servant]]’; related to Dutch ''knecht'' and German ''Knecht''.
This [[meaning]], of unknown origin, is common among [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Germanic_languages West Germanic languages] (cf: Old Frisian ''kniucht'', Dutch ''knecht'', Danish ''knægt'', Swedish ''knekt'', Norwegian ''knekt'', Middle High German ''kneht'', all meaning "boy, [[youth]], lad", as well as German Knecht "servant, bondsman, vassal"). Anglo-Saxon ''cniht'' had no particular connection to horsemanship, referring to any [[servant]]. A ''rādcniht'' (meaning "riding-servant") was a servant delivering messages or patrolling coastlines on horseback. Old English ''cnihthād'' ("knighthood") had the meaning of [[adolescence]] (i.e. the period between [[childhood]] and manhood) by 1300.
This [[meaning]], of unknown origin, is common among [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Germanic_languages West Germanic languages] (cf: Old Frisian ''kniucht'', Dutch ''knecht'', Danish ''knægt'', Swedish ''knekt'', Norwegian ''knekt'', Middle High German ''kneht'', all meaning "boy, [[youth]], lad", as well as German Knecht "servant, bondsman, vassal"). Anglo-Saxon ''cniht'' had no particular connection to horsemanship, referring to any [[servant]]. A ''rādcniht'' (meaning "riding-servant") was a servant delivering messages or patrolling coastlines on horseback. Old English ''cnihthād'' ("knighthood") had the meaning of [[adolescence]] (i.e. the period between [[childhood]] and manhood) by 1300.
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 being a mounted [[warrior]] in the heavy cavalry emerges only in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Years%27_War Hundred Years' War]. The verb "to knight" (i.e. 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".
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 being a mounted [[warrior]] in the heavy cavalry emerges only in the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Years%27_War Hundred Years' War]. The verb "to knight" (i.e. 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".
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12th_century before 12th Century]
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12th_century before 12th Century]
==Definitions==
==Definitions==
*1:a. (in the [[Middle Ages]]) a man who served his [[sovereign]] or lord as a mounted [[soldier]] in [[armor]].
*1:a. (in the [[Middle Ages]]) a man who served his [[sovereign]] or lord as a mounted [[soldier]] in [[armor]].
:b. (in the Middle Ages) a man raised by a sovereign to honorable [[military]] rank after [[service]] as a page and squire.
:b. (in the Middle Ages) a man raised by a sovereign to honorable [[military]] rank after [[service]] as a page and squire.
:c. [[literary]] a man devoted to the [[service]] of a [[woman]] or a [[cause]]: in all your quarrels I will be your knight.
:c. [[literary]] a man devoted to the [[service]] of a [[woman]] or a [[cause]]: in all your quarrels I will be your knight.
:d. dated (in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Rome ancient Rome]) a member of the class of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equestrian_order equites].
:d. dated (in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Rome ancient Rome]) a member of the class of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equestrian_order equites].
• (in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece ancient Greece]) a [[citizen]] of the second class in Athens.
• (in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece ancient Greece]) a [[citizen]] of the second class in Athens.
*2: (in the UK) a man awarded a nonhereditary title by the [[sovereign]] in recognition of merit or [[service]] and entitled to use the honorific “Sir” in front of his name.
*2: (in the UK) a man awarded a nonhereditary title by the [[sovereign]] in recognition of merit or [[service]] and entitled to use the honorific “Sir” in front of his name.
*3: a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a horse's head, that moves by jumping to the [[opposite]] corner of a rectangle two squares by [[three]].
*3: a chess piece, typically with its top shaped like a horse's head, that moves by jumping to the [[opposite]] corner of a rectangle two squares by [[three]].
==Description==
==Description==
A '''knight''' is a person granted an honorary [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title title] of knighthood by a [[monarch]] or other political [[leader]] for service to the Monarch or country, especially in a [[military]] capacity. Historically, in Europe, knighthood has been conferred upon mounted [[warriors]]. During the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Middle_Ages High Middle Ages], knighthood was considered a class of lower [[nobility]]. By the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Middle_Ages 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 a fighter for a lord, with payment in the form of [[land]] holdings. The lords [[trusted]] the knights, who were skilled in [[battle]] on horseback. Since the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_modern_period early modern period], the title of knight is purely honorific, usually bestowed by a monarch, as in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_honours_system British honours system], often for non-military service to the country.
A '''knight''' is a person granted an honorary [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title title] of knighthood by a [[monarch]] or other political [[leader]] for service to the Monarch or country, especially in a [[military]] capacity. Historically, in Europe, knighthood has been conferred upon mounted [[warriors]]. During the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Middle_Ages High Middle Ages], knighthood was considered a class of lower [[nobility]]. By the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Middle_Ages 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 a fighter for a lord, with payment in the form of [[land]] holdings. The lords [[trusted]] the knights, who were skilled in [[battle]] on horseback. Since the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_modern_period early modern period], the title of knight is purely honorific, usually bestowed by a monarch, as in the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_honours_system British honours system], often for non-military service to the country.
Historically, the [[ideals]] of [[chivalry]] were popularized in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_literature medieval literature], especially the Matter of Britain and Matter of France, the former based on Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_Regum_Britanniae Historia Regum Britanniae]'' ("History of the Kings of Britain"), written in the 1130s. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Malory Sir Thomas Malory]'s ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Morte_d%27Arthur Le Morte d'Arthur] ("The Death of Arthur"), written in 1485, 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. Furthermore, Geoffroi de Charny's "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Chivalry ''Book of Chivalry'']" expounded upon the importance of [[Christian]] [[faith]] in every area of a Knights life. During the [[Renaissance]], the [[genre]] of chivalric [[romance]] became popular in [[literature]], growing ever more idealistic and eventually giving rise to a new form of realism in literature popularised by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_de_Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes]' ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Quixote Don Quixote]''. This [[novel]] explored the ideals of knighthood and their incongruity with the [[reality]] of Cervantes' world. In the late medieval period, new [[methods]] of warfare began to render classical knights in [[armor]] obsolete, but the titles remained in many nations.
Historically, the [[ideals]] of [[chivalry]] were popularized in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_literature medieval literature], especially the Matter of Britain and Matter of France, the former based on Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_Regum_Britanniae Historia Regum Britanniae]'' ("History of the Kings of Britain"), written in the 1130s. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Malory Sir Thomas Malory]'s ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Morte_d%27Arthur Le Morte d'Arthur] ("The Death of Arthur"), written in 1485, 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. Furthermore, Geoffroi de Charny's "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Chivalry ''Book of Chivalry'']" expounded upon the importance of [[Christian]] [[faith]] in every area of a Knights life. During the [[Renaissance]], the [[genre]] of chivalric [[romance]] became popular in [[literature]], growing ever more idealistic and eventually giving rise to a new form of realism in literature popularised by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_de_Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes]' ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Quixote Don Quixote]''. This [[novel]] explored the ideals of knighthood and their incongruity with the [[reality]] of Cervantes' world. In the late medieval period, new [[methods]] of warfare began to render classical knights in [[armor]] obsolete, but the titles remained in many nations.
Some orders of knighthood, such as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar Knights Templar], have become the subject of [[legend]]; others have disappeared into obscurity. Today, a number of orders of knighthood continue to exist in several countries, such as the English [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Garter Order of the Garter], the Swedish [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Order_of_the_Seraphim Royal Order of the Seraphim], and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Norwegian_Order_of_St._Olav Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav]. Each of these orders has its own criteria for eligibility, but knighthood is generally granted by a head of state to selected persons to recognise some meritorious [[achievement]].
Some orders of knighthood, such as the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar Knights Templar], have become the subject of [[legend]]; others have disappeared into obscurity. Today, a number of orders of knighthood continue to exist in several countries, such as the English [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Garter Order of the Garter], the Swedish [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Order_of_the_Seraphim Royal Order of the Seraphim], and the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Norwegian_Order_of_St._Olav Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav]. Each of these orders has its own criteria for eligibility, but knighthood is generally granted by a head of state to selected persons to recognise some meritorious [[achievement]].
Knighthood in the Middle Ages was closely linked with horsemanship (and especially the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joust joust]) from its origins in the 12th century until its final flowering as a [[fashion]] among the high [[nobility]] in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_of_Burgundy Duchy of Burgundy] in the 15th century. This linkage is reflected in the etymology of [[chivalry]], [[cavalier]] and related terms. The special [[prestige]] given to mounted warriors finds a parallel in the ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furusiyya furusiyya]'' in the Muslim world, and the Greek ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippeus hippeus]'' (ιππεύς) and the Roman ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equestrian_order eques]'' of Classical Antiquity.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight]
Knighthood in the Middle Ages was closely linked with horsemanship (and especially the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joust joust]) from its origins in the 12th century until its final flowering as a [[fashion]] among the high [[nobility]] in the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_of_Burgundy Duchy of Burgundy] in the 15th century. This linkage is reflected in the etymology of [[chivalry]], [[cavalier]] and related terms. The special [[prestige]] given to mounted warriors finds a parallel in the ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furusiyya furusiyya]'' in the Muslim world, and the Greek ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippeus hippeus]'' (ιππεύς) and the Roman ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equestrian_order eques]'' of Classical Antiquity.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight]
[[Category: History]]
[[Category: History]]