Knight

:For the chess piece, see knight (chess).

Knighthood and the Feudal system

Knighthood was closely connected with the feudal system. Originating largely in what later became known as France, this was a social organisation in which warfare and the protection of the common people became the specialised skill of a select group. Instead of having them paid in cash — of which everyone, even the monarch, was short — they were paid in land. These rather extensive pieces of land were the fiefs. Though a fief did not have to be land — it could be any payment — it is generally thought of as the land that the knights were given as payment for service to the king. The knights were economically supported by peasants who worked to produce food and ideologically supported by the contemporary church.

Related Topics:
Feudal system - Monarch

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Sometimes these knights were the noble themselves and sometimes men they hired, because noblemen were disinclined or unable to fight. In times of war or national disorder the monarch would typically call all the knights together to do their annual service of fighting. This could be against internal threats to the nation or in defensive and offensive wars against other nations.

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As time went by, monarchs began to prefer standing (permanent) armies because they could be used for longer periods of time, were more professional and were generally more loyal; partly because those noblemen who were themselves knights, or who sent knights to fight, were prone to use the monarch's dependency on their resources to manipulate him. This move from knights to standing armies had two important outcomes: the regular payment of "scutage" to monarchs by noblemen (a money payment instead of actually going to fight as a knight) which would strengthen the concept and practice of taxation, and a general decrease in military discipline in knights, who became more interested in their country estates and chivalric pursuits, including art and sport.

Related Topics:
Standing armies - Scutage - Taxation - Military discipline - Chivalric

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Originally, knighthood could be bestowed on a man by any knight, but it was generally considered prestigious to be dubbed knight by the hand of a monarch or royalty; the monarch eventually acquired the exclusive right to confer knighthoods. By about the late 13th century, partly in conjunction with the focus on courtly behavior, a code of conduct and uniformity of dress for knights began to evolve. Knights were eligible to wear a white belt and golden spurs as signs of their status. Moreover, knights were also required to swear allegiance — either to a liege lord or to a military order.

Related Topics:
Royalty - Exclusive right to confer knighthoods - 13th century - White - Belt - Gold - Spur - Liege lord - Military order

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Knights had servants: pages and squires.

Related Topics:
Page - Squire

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