Knight, now a title of honor bestowed for a variety of services, but originally in the European Middle Ages a formally professed cavalryman. The first medieval knights were professional cavalry warriors, some of whom were vassals holding lands as fiefs from the lords in whose armies they served.
Knights were essentially mounted warriors, and in the hierarchy of medieval society, were considered to be part of the lower nobility. Nevertheless, knights could rise to the ranks of the higher nobility as well by acquiring land and becoming landlords.
Medieval knights were the most skilled and feared warriors of the Christian world of their time. They were cavalrymen in service of the church and the state and they went through extremely rigorous training to attain the title and position of a knight.
A banner hung by Mexican criminal group the Knights Templar declares their intention to persecute Zetas leader Miguel Angel Treviño, alias “Z-40.” Could this signal that the Knights Templar are ...
Discover the detailed rankings of knights and the hierarchy of chivalry. Learn about the journey from page to Grand Master and the roles each knight held in medieval society.
Accounts from the Middle Ages describe the well-trained, heavily-armed warriors trampling through enemy forces while chopping off limbs and heads. The resources needed for horses, armor and...
Knights were medieval gentleman-soldiers, usually high-born, raised by a sovereign to privileged military status after training as a page and squire. Originally knights were attendants or specialized foot-soldiers, but the status of knights was elevated around 800 A.D.
Modern-day Knights of the Commonwealth Realms are named by the British monarch, King Charles III. To knight a person, he taps their shoulders with the flat side of a sword during a ceremony.