History Main / Knighting

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/knight_000001_9510.JPG]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"But if I turn my sword the other way, it's an execution. Keep that in mind."]]

* ''Film/BlackKnight'' ends with Creator/MartinLawrence's character being dubbed Sir Jamal "Sky" Walker, the Black Knight... just before the Queen shouts "clear!" and hits him with defibrillator paddles. It was AllJustADream... or [[OrWasItADream was it]]?

* On ''Theatre/TheOddCouple'' a princess/queen one of the titular couple was romancing was allowed to give out x number of knighthoods a year, but they didn't mean anything since she was an in-name-only leader of her country. She used her last one of the year to knight a homeless man.

Originally the word knight was a job description with no connotation of high birth or status: it merely meant a warrior who was skilled and wealthy enough to fight on horseback, and owed their service to someone powerful. The English word knight is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word for "servant", while most other European languages use a word meaning "horseman". The word began to take on new meaning in response to social changes at the dawn of TheHighMiddleAges: the flourishing of merchants and cities gave them new wealth and power to compete with the nobility, while the Church became more assertive in trying to curb the misbehavior of the warrior class. In order to maintain their distinction from the class of people who worked, and to reconcile the violent nature of war with the ideals of courtesy and piety, the nobility and gentry absorbed the military role of knighthood while turning it into a more exclusive and regulated order.

* William receives his sword tap at the end of ''Film/AKnightsTale'' by the prince himself!

In the early days all that was needed was the dubbing, but the protocol quickly grew more elaborate. Expect a formal ceremony in a StandardRoyalCourt with masses of witnesses. In RealLife, these were highly religious events that involved the new knight having a night vigil (sleepless time with praying) in the chapel, ritualized bathing for cleansing, wearing certain colours (white for one) and a final blessing from TheChurch near the end. You'll see little of this because [[TheLawOfConservationOfDetail we don't have time for that]]. The actual event could go on for days, so again this is often shortened for time. But keep in mind that the shortened version also existed: a medieval noble or ruler serving as a field commander would often promote several deserving commoners and squires [[FieldPromotion immediately before a battle]], since one would go to great lengths not to fail his lord or sully his reputation in his first combat as a knight. Countries where the tradition of knighting is still kept up in modern times have also generally streamlined the ceremony somewhat.

Many medieval and fantasy stories in the European tradition feature a KnightInShiningArmour, who in the name of chivalry sets out on a heroic quest such as slaying a fire-breathing dragon that's been terrorizing the country, or rescuing a princess who’s been kidnapped by an evil sorcerer. But where do knights come from? Unlike ownership of a fief or the title of royal prince, knighthood is not something you recieve at birth, or that you can inherit from a previous owner. First you have to earn it, and then someone has to give it to you in a ceremony that follows the appropriate traditions and protocols.

Many stories story in an European setting include a KnightInShiningArmour who sets out to either slay a fire-breathing dragon, rescue a victim from captivity (often someone of royalty) and generally do heroic things. But where do knights come from? Unlike ownership of a fief or the title of royal prince, knighthood is not something you recieve at birth, or that you can inherit. It's something that you have to earn, and which if you prove worthy is granted to you in a ceremony of appropriate splendor and symbolism.

Originally the word knight was a job description with no connotation of high birth or status: it merely meant a warrior who was skilled and wealthy enough to fight on horseback, and owed their service or employment to someone powerful. The English word knight is derived from Anglo-Saxon for "servant", while most other European languages use a word meaning "horseman". The word began to take on new meaning in response to social changes at the dawn of TheHighMiddleAges: the flourishing of merchants and cities gave them new wealth and power to compete with the nobility, while the Church became more assertive in trying to regulate the excesses of the warrior class. In order to maintain their distinction from the class of those who worked, and to reconcile the violent nature of war with the ideals of courtesy and piety, the nobility and gentry absorbed the military role of knighthood while turning it into a more exclusive and regulated order.

A noble child would usually start as a page in order to learn discipline and manners, spend their teenage years as an arming squire taking care of a master's horse and equipment, and when they had grown into a fine warrior, they would be recognized as having earned their spurs. Not everyone became a knight through such careful grooming, though. Commoners could be rewarded with knighthood for exceptional service, and rulers facing a shortfall of heavy cavalry would sometimes make laws requiring folk who possessed a certain amount of property to present themselves to be knighted whether they liked it or not. In any case, being knighted was often the most important day of one's life.

Knighting is probably most well known in the public mind as the moment when a figure such as the true king, TheHighQueen or another knight taps the squire on the shoulders with the flat side of the blessed sword. Originally, any knight could make another. This power was slowly moved into the hands of [[BlueBlood great nobles]], and then finally reserved to the [[RoyalBlood Sovereign]] himself. The more formal a court, the fewer people will have the authority. Both women and men have been knighted historically, but unfortunately, many places during these days initially (and egregiously) did not offer them the authority to dub a knight, but that would change come the day that the authority rested in royal hands.

Every story in an European setting is going to need a KnightInShiningArmour to rescue the DamselInDistress and generally do heroic things. But where do knights come from? Unlike ownership of a fief or the title of royal prince, knighthood is not something you recieve at birth, or that you can inherit. It's something that you have to earn, and which if you prove worthy is granted to you in a ceremony of appropriate splendor and symbolism.

Originally the word knight was a job description with no connotation of high birth or status: it merely meant a warrior who was skilled and wealthy enough to fight on horseback, and owed his service or employment to someone powerful. The English word knight is derived from Anglo-Saxon for "servant", while most other European languages use a word meaning "horseman". The word began to take on new meaning in response to social changes at the dawn of TheHighMiddleAges: the flourishing of merchants and cities gave them new wealth and power to compete with the nobility, while the Church became more assertive in trying to regulate the excesses of the warrior class. In order to maintain their distinction from the class of men who worked, and to reconcile the violent nature of war with the ideals of courtesy and piety, the nobility and gentry absorbed the military role of knighthood while turning it into a more exclusive and regulated order.

A noble boy would usually start as a page in order to learn discipline and manners, spend his teenage years as an arming squire taking care of his master's horse and equipment, and when he had grown into a fine warrior he would be recognized as having earned his spurs. Not everyone became a knight through such careful grooming, though. Commoners could be rewarded with knighthood for exceptional service, and kings facing a shortfall of heavy cavalry would sometimes make laws requiring men who possessed a certain amount of property to present themselves to be knighted whether they liked it or not. In any case, being knighted was often the most important day of one's life.

Knighting is probably most well known in the public mind as the moment when a figure such as the true king, TheHighQueen or another knight taps the squire on the shoulders with the flat side of the blessed sword. Originally, any knight could make another. This power was slowly moved into the hands of [[BlueBlood great nobles]], and then finally reserved to the [[RoyalBlood Sovereign]] himself. The more formal a court, the fewer people will have the authority. Women did not in RealLife have the authority to dub a knight (not being knights themselves) until the authority rested in royal hands (in which case a woman could only create knights if she was the Sovereign; sometimes even then it was expected for a knight to place his hand over the Queen's during the act of dubbing).

The final act in the dubbing usually involves the new knight swearing his loyalty to TheGoodKingdom. Oftentimes, when someone is knighted, the superior [[SmackOnTheBack giving the knighting punches him or strikes some other kind of blow]], the last such blow that the new knight is expected to take without some form of retribution. A variant of this may happen during the dubbing, when the person is hit with the flat of the sword ''almost'' hard enough to be winded or knocked over. At certain times in history the pivotal moment was when the officiants girded the sword around the initiate's waist and fastened golden spurs to his ankles. Again, you're not likely to see all of these details or variations in a given show. The ceremony is often followed by TheTourney to celebrate the occasion and give the newly created knight a chance to demonstrate his prowess.

* In ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'', after [[spoiler: he rescued [[TheHighQueen Princess Arika]]]], she informally knighted [[spoiler:Nagi]] while they were preparing for the epic final battle. He kneeled in respect, swore his loyalty and all that jazz. Cool scene considering he rarely ever acted seriously.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''

** In ''FanFic/TheFlashSentryChronicles'' [[spoiler:After defeating Longhorn, saving Fluttershy, and learning to let go of his anger instead of letting it control him and seek revenge, Iron Core is knighted by the four alicorns as the newest Royal Knight, and is dubbed by his mentor Skybreaker as the Metal Guardian. Later in ''The Knight of Friendship'', this finally happens to Flash Sentry, after he passes his final test. He is knighted by the alicorns too and dubbed [[TitleDrop The Knight of Friendship]] by his mentor Grand Hoof.]]

* In ''FanFic/TheCrownAtomic'', UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy gained the title of Duke of Vancouver from Edward VIII after the wedding with Princess Elizabeth.

* It's not uncommon for TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons {{Player Character}}s (particularly in the Rules Cyclopedia) to be knighted if the game goes on for long enough. Usually the knighting happens when a PC hits 9th level, which in those days was considered "Name Level."

* In the beginning of ''StarWars: VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'', Darth Vader knights Starkiller with his lightsaber as he officially acknowledges him as his Sith Apprentice.

* In the FanRemake of ''VideoGame/KingsQuestII'', you (as Graham) can choose to do this [[spoiler: to the protagonist of VideoGame/KingsQuestMaskOfEternity]]. Said FanRemake also establishes that, should the monarch of Daventry die without heirs, the First Knight (highest-ranking and most trusted Knight) becomes monarch, which is how Graham got the job [[VideoGame/KingsQuestIQuestForTheCrown in the first place.]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

Every story in an European setting is going to need a KnightInShiningArmour to rescue the DamselInDistress and generally do heroic things. But where do knights come from? Unlike a duchy or the title of prince, knighthood is not something you recieve at birth, or that you can inherit. It's something that you have to earn, and which if you prove worthy is granted to you in a ceremony of appropriate splendor and symbolism.

Originally the word knight was a job description with no connotation of high birth or status: it merely meant a warrior who was skilled and wealthy enough to fight on horseback, and owed his service or employment to someone powerful. The English word knight is derived from Anglo-Saxon for "servant", while most other European languages use a word meaning "horseman". The word began to take on new meaning in response to social changes at the dawn of TheHighMiddleAges: the flourishing of merchants and cities gave them new wealth and power to compete with the nobility, while the Church became more assertive in trying to regulate the excesses of the warrior class. In order to maintain their distinction from the class of men who worked, and reconcile violence with the ideals of courtesy and piety, the nobility and gentry absorbed the military role of knighthood while turning it into a more exclusive and regulated order.

* ''Disney/{{Cinderella}}'': When the King believes that the Prince has proposed to Cinderella, he grabs a sword so he can knight the Grand Duke as thanks for keeping them together. But when the Duke reveals the truth, that Cinderella had fled the ball, the enraged King tries to execute him with it.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Fan Fic]]

** In ''Fanfic/ChrysalisVisitsTheHague'', this happens twice - first when Chrysalis makes her lawyer Estermann formally pledge loyalty to her in her jail cell, and later when [[spoiler:Princess Luna takes the ICMP investigator Edith Saric (almost literally) under her wing as she is being booted out of the UN mission]]. The parallels are very apparent, particularly when the to-be-knight is told to kneel and hesitates.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars 2}}'' has [[spoiler:Mater]] knighted by Queen Elizabeth.

-->'''King:''' I hereby dub you Sir... Um, er, by the way, what title ''would'' you like?
-->'''Duke:''' Sire... she got away!
-->'''King:''' Sir Shegotaway? A peculiar title, but if that's what you... ''[[BigWhat She WHAT?!]]''

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'' Sam Vimes' status as a knight becomes very important, as it enables him to create his own military unit out of Watch members in a time of crisis. When a noble opposes his status he counters each argument, most notably the claim that a knight must spend the night watching his armor. It goes a bit like this.
--> '''Vimes''': A man doesn't watch his armor around here he's got none left in the morning.
--> '''Rust''': ''In prayer.''
--> '''Vimes''': Oh, yes. Not a night has gone by without me thinking, "Ye gods, I hope I get out of this alive."

[[folder:Web Video]]
* ''WebVideo/TheLittlePainter'': Pierre is knighted by King Croissant for getting rid of a bridge troll.
[[/folder]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsCloneWars'', Anakin was knighted by Yoda and the Jedi Council ''[[RuleOfCool with a lightsaber.]]'' It was to sever the "Padawan Braid" that Anakin had, which was delivered (secretly) to Padme, which symbolized the attainment of Jedi Knight rank.
** This is the same method used for all Jedi Padawans upon ascension to Knight-hood.

* Sir Creator/PatrickStewart mentioned on ''The Graham Norton Show'' episode on 27 January 2012 that when he was knighted, he was very scared because Queen Elizabeth II seemed to produce the sword out of nowhere. Add to that, she looks like a frail old woman holding a large, heavy sword right by his neck.
** He also wrote elsewhere that before the knighting ceremony, he thought to himself, "What would [[ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}} Spider Jerusalem]] do?" and came up with "Headbutt Prince Charles". As such, he couldn't hear what the prince said to him after the ceremony, as he was using all his willpower not to headbutt him.

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book ''Discworld/{{Jingo}}'' Sam Vimes' status as a knight becomes very important, as it enables him to create his own military unit out of Watch members in a time of crisis. When a noble opposes his status he counters each argument, most notably the claim that a knight must spend the night watching his armor. It goes a bit like this.

The final act in the dubbing usually involves the new knight swearing his loyalty to TheGoodKingdom. Oftentimes, when someone is knighted, the superior [[SmackOnTheBack giving the knighting punches him or strikes some other kind of blow]], the last such blow that the new knight is expected to take without some form of retribution. A variant of this may happen during the dubbing, when the person is hit with the flat of the sword ''almost'' hard enough to be winded or knocked over. At certain times in history the pivotal moment was when the officiants girded the sword around the initiate's waist and fastened golden spurs to his ankles. Again, you're not likely to see these details in a given show. The ceremony is often followed by TheTourney to celebrate the occasion and give the newly created knight a chance to demonstrate his prowess.

A noble boy would usually start as a page in order to learn discipline and manners, spend his teenage years as an arming squire taking care of his master's horse and equipment, and when he had grown into a fine warrior he would be recognized as having earned his spurs. Not everyone became a knight through such careful grooming, though. Commoners could be rewarded with knighthood for exceptional service, and kings facing a shortfall of heavy cavalry would sometimes make laws requiring men who possessed a certain amount of wealth to present themselves to be knighted whether they liked it or not. In any case, being knighted was often the most important day of one's life.

A noble boy would usually start as a page in order to learn discipline and manners, spend his teenage years as an arming squire taking care of his master's horse and equipment, and when he had grown into a fine young warrior he would be recognized as having earned his spurs. Not everyone became a knight through such careful grooming, though. Commoners could be rewarded with knighthood for exceptional service, and kings facing a shortfall of heavy cavalry would sometimes make laws requiring men who possessed a certain amount of wealth to present themselves to be knighted whether they liked it or not. In any case, being knighted was often the most important day of one's life.

Originally the word knight was a job description with no connotation of high birth or status: it merely meant a warrior who was well-trained and wealthy enough to fight on horseback, and owed his service or employment to someone powerful. The English word knight is derived from Anglo-Saxon for "servant", while most other European languages use a word meaning "horseman". The word began to take on new meaning in response to social changes at the dawn of TheHighMiddleAges: the flourishing of merchants and cities gave them new wealth and power to compete with the nobility, while the Church became more assertive in trying to regulate the excesses of the warrior class. In order to maintain their distinction from the class of men who worked, and reconcile violence with the ideals of courtesy and piety, the nobility and gentry absorbed the military role of knighthood while turning it into a more exclusive and regulated order.

In the early days all that was needed was the dubbing, but the protocol quickly grew more elaborate. Expect a formal ceremony in a StandardRoyalCourt with masses of witnesses. In RealLife, these were highly religious events that involved the new knight having a night vigil (sleepless time with praying) in the chapel, ritualized bathing for cleansing, wearing certain colours (white for one) and a final blessing from TheChurch near the end. You'll see little of this because [[TheLawOfConservationOfDetail we don't have time for that]]. The actual event could go on for days, so again this is often shortened for time. But keep in mind that the shortened version was also true, since in the middle ages, nobles and rulers occasionally had to [[FieldPromotion promote commoners and squires in mid-battle]] to replace fallen knights. Countries where the tradition is still kept up in modern times have also generally streamlined the ceremony somewhat.

This is probably most well known in the public mind as the moment when a figure such as the true king, TheHighQueen or another knight taps the squire on the shoulders with the flat side of the blessed sword. Originally, any knight could make another. This power was slowly moved into the hands of [[BlueBlood great nobles]], and then finally reserved to the [[RoyalBlood Sovereign]] himself. The more formal a court, the fewer people will have the authority. Women did not in RealLife have the authority to dub a knight (not being knights themselves) until the authority rested in royal hands (in which case a woman could only create knights if she was the Sovereign; sometimes even then it was expected for a knight to place his hand over the Queen's during the act of dubbing).

The final act in the dubbing usually involves the new knight swearing his loyalty to TheGoodKingdom. Oftentimes, when someone is knighted, the superior [[SmackOnTheBack giving the knighting punches him or strikes some other kind of blow]], the last such blow that the new knight is expected to take without some form of retribution. A variant of this may happen during the dubbing, when the person is hit with the flat of the sword ''almost'' hard enough to be winded or knocked over. At certain times in history the pivotal moment was actually when the officiants girded the sword around the initiate's waist and fastened the golden spurs to his ankles. Again, you're not likely to see these details in a given show. The ceremony is often followed by TheTourney to celebrate the occasion and give the newly created knight a chance to demonstrate his prowess.

Originally the word knight was a job description with no connotation of high birth or status: it merely meant a warrior who was well-trained and wealthy enough to fight on horseback, and owed his service or employment to someone powerful. The English word knight is derived from Anglo-Saxon for "servant", while most other European languages use a word meaning "horseman". The word began to take on new meaning in response to social changes at the dawn of TheHighMiddleAges: the flourishing of merchants and cities gave them new wealth and power to compete with the nobility, while the Church became more assertive in trying to regulate the excesses of the warrior class. In order to maintain their distinction from the class of men who worked, and reconcile violence with the ideals of courtesy and piety, the nobility and gentry absorbed the military role of knighthood while turning it into a more exclusive and regulated order. A noble boy would usually start as a page in order to learn discipline and manners, spend his teenage years as an arming squire taking care of his master's horse and equipment, and when he had grown into a fine young warrior he would be recognized as having earned his spurs. Not everyone became a knight through such careful grooming, though. Commoners could be rewarded with knighthood for exceptional service, and kings facing a shortfall of heavy cavalry would sometimes make laws requiring men who possessed a certain amount of wealth to present themselves to be knighted whether they liked it or not. In any case, being knighted was often the most important day of one's life.