The formal title of knight, the word deriving from the Anglo-Saxon Cniht, that described the office arising out of thewarrior of the 11th century into a class of the lower
nobility charged with fighting for the
liege lord and maintaining lordship overthe demense, managing it and defending the people in exchange for
scutage from the property that supported him. Originally apurely martial description from the Latin
miles , the definition of what it meant to be a knight changed as the influences of anincreasingly formal
court and activist
church added expectations to the behavior of real knights. Throughout the medievalperiod, the role of the knight was changing, stretched between the conflicting demands of lady, court, church and battlefield.But the ideal of
chivalry , the virtues to which a knight was to aspire, remain a powerful evocation of the best of Western culture,and this power remains today, giving strength to the modern
tournament societies and the knights who today strive to hone theirmartial skills and practice ethical conduct. See also
THE BOOK OF THE TOURNAMENT or
Chronique: The Journal ofChivalry #5.
The rank in the
Society for Creative Anachronism where those recognized are to have distinguished themselves in martial combat and possess the qualities expected of a
nobleman . Without doubt the rank of
knighthood is an honor of the highest level for those who attain it, usually won after an average of three to ten years of martial experience and much growth in the character of the individual. It is often recognized not as an ending, but as the start of a lifelong journey for excellence, the recognition by the other knights in a
kingdom that the individual has a good base from which to learn, grow, and teach. In most kingdoms, the knights meet and recommend candidates to the
king , who listens to their counsel and makes the final decision as to who has attained the necessary support and
renown to be accorded the accolade. It is then the king who performs the knighting, with great
ceremony , either at an SCA
court or upon the battlefield. It ranks equally with the
Order of the Laurel and the
Order of the Pelican , but below a
Baron ,
Viscount , or other higher nobility.
