Serve right and justice one last time.
Seek one last heart of evil, still one last life of pain.
Cut well, old friend, and then... farewell."
The medieval knight who fights baddies, whether villains, knights, or dragons, and in The Tourney, charms ladies without deliberately seducing them, behaves honorably, and saves the day with his sword; but also, any hero who behaves similarly. Invariably Lawful Good and honor bound. First appeared in the Chivalric Romance. He has a very high incidence of having a Bodyguard Crush and Rescue Romance.
Historical knights were first and foremost professional soldiers. They usually were of Blue Blood — or, if commoner-born, founders of a new noble family. note Their modus operandi was lance-armed heavy cavalry, which charged the enemy in full gallop on closed ranks. They often were used dismounted as well, when they fought as heavy infantry, usually armed with enormous can-openers such as poleaxes or two-handed swords. A knight might also lead a group of common footsoldiers in battle.
A cultural trope in Europe since The Middle Ages, most good knights practice something called chivalry,
Honor, and Self-Control and occasionally chastity. Prone to rescuing the Damsel in Distress, or delivering her from false accusations, often whilst bearing The Lady's Favour. The Knight in Shining Armor was a frequent carrier of The Dulcinea Effect: medieval Chivalric Romances, indeed, portrayed knights who fell in love with a princesse lointaine merely on hearing her described, without even seeing her - though his love and heroism usually won her heart. Another occupational hazard is Chronic Hero Syndrome, Knights Errant being charged to Walk the Earth righting wrongs until a worthy quest shows up. Oh, and he will Save the Princess, usually from dragons.
This is often invoked to describe a man who acts chivalrously toward women. The term may be used in more cynical works to indicate a Wide-Eyed Idealist. Even the Ur-Example of the straight usage of trope, Arthurian Legend, messed around with it a lot. The one-two punch of Disney and Dungeons & Dragons saw this trope's stock rise like crazy.
The "shining" originally referred to the way his armor and weapons were kept in good condition, as opposed to the rust that accumulated for less competent knights. Most knights will be depicted wearing plate armor, despite it appearing relatively late in the era of knights. Them using a Knightly Sword and Shield is also pretty likely, though the usage of plate armor with Knightly Sword and Shield is actually historically inaccurate since shields were considered redundant while wearing plate armor.
When Prince Charming is a Knight in Shining Armor he's the Warrior Prince. Prince Charmless, on the other hand, would not be a knight by choice.
See Lord Error-Prone and Miles Gloriosus for common variations, played with tropes, and parodies and Knight in Sour Armor for what happens when the world fails to live up to their standards, but they keep on being good anyway. If the knight is too dedicated to his ideals and code, he may become a Knight Templar. If he likes fighting a bit too much, he is in danger of becoming a Blood Knight. A knight who is shiny for one person in particular is The Champion. A knight that gets magical powers as a reward for this goodness is almost certainly The Paladin to boot.
If the Knight in Shining Armor wanders the land seeking evil to slay, then he's also a Knight Errant.
Animated Armor will appear as this, all the way to The Reveal.
Subtrope to Ideal Hero. Compare the gentleman's Old-School Chivalry. Compare and contrast the Dogged Nice Guy. A white knight is an internet persona who wants to be this.
An Officer and a Gentleman is the modern version of this trope — very often even their direct genetic descendants as old noble families are grossly over-represented in all military academies around the world. With the notable exception of the United States, of course. Compare Samurai, which usually tends to be the Japanese equivalent of this trope, and if a piece of media features both and draws comparisons, see Knight and Samurai. For this trope's far-future counterpart, see Knights in Powered Armor.
Before adding examples, remember that—despite the name—this trope doesn't necessarily have anything to do with a character's armor or its color. A well-behaved knight in black armor or even no armor could still qualify, and a character who just wears shiny armor without behaving in a heroic manner is not an example.
Examples:
- Fruit of the Loom wants you to meet the knights (who wear nothing but fruit costumes) who will give new shirts to people.
- Berserk:
- The Skull Knight doesn't do a lot of lady-charming (he did rescue a damsel in distress once), preferring to act as a Mysterious Protector to Guts and Casca, but he's perhaps the closest thing so far to a Knight in Shining Armor in the Berserk universe, particularly when he saves Guts and Casca from being finished off by Femto (Griffith's Godhand self) and the Godhand at the end of the Eclipse. Fan rumor is rampant that the guy is Emperor Gaiseric, the guy who unified Midland, who may have gone through a similar ordeal when Void was incarnated as a Godhand, explaining his stone-cold hate for the Godhand in general. And the guy is a complete badass to boot.
- Griffith may be the leader of a mercenary company, and of common birth, but he very convincingly plays the role of the perfect knight. Most people say that the first time they saw him was like looking at a storybook hero come to life. He's A Father to His Men, wins battles for The Good Kingdom of Midland, saves Princess Charlotte when she loses control of her horse, and shows impeccable manners at social functions. It also helps that he's a Pretty Boy who wears shining armor and rides a white-caparisoned horse. Beneath the Mask he is a more morally ambiguous and sometimes ruthless character. At the end of the Golden Age he pulls a Face–Heel Turn, and in the Millennium Falcon Arc he becomes a Villain with Good Publicity by returning to save Midland while cranking his Knight in Shining Armor act up.
- Azan the Bridge Knight is so called because he once held a bridge against a great number of attackers just to protect an old man who was trying to cross. Even now that he’s reached middle age he’s a formidable fighter who went toe to toe against a One-Man Army like Guts. He’s A Father to His Men in the Holy Iron Chain Knights, and always preaches to his subordinates that a knight's duty is to protect the weak.
- Charlotte (1977): Knight, literally. His name is Knight, he rides a White Stallion, and he's Char's self-appointed hero against Uncle Albert's manipulation. He is the one who reveals to her that he's lying about knowing where Simone is, and ensures that she is always safe from harm.
- Uryū Ishida in Bleach is an Archer in Shining Armor. Very chivalrous and generally well mannered, has a weak spot for women, especially Orihime, also tried to protect Rukia when she was powerless and even spared the life of his female opponent, mercy he doesn't show to others of her kind. Contrary to his popular image he is also one of the most capable leading characters in the series, having fought tough opponents and held his own against enemies far stronger than himself. The Quincy, people of whom he is supposedly Last of His Kind. also had a medieval Christian knight theme given to them by the author.
- Code Geass:
- Suzaku subverts it; he initially seems like the perfect knight, but his attitude is formed partly by his own inherent idealism towards helping people and not letting the ends justify the means — a problem, to say the least, in an alternate Japan occupied by Britannia that is also a site for several violent armed rebellions — and partly by the repressed knowledge that he himself is guilty of the very thing he loathes by killing his own father at the age of 10 to make Japan surrender and keep it from becoming a permanent war zone. His lack of punishment for having done it drove him into becoming a Death Seeker that wants to die serving his ideals. Having acknowledged the memories fully halfway through the season, he freely admits to being selfish, hypocritical, and, in his own words, "despicable".
- Xing-ke plays the trope straight; an honorable and badass swordsman devoted body and soul to his empress.
- Ame from Denpa Teki na Kanojo claims to have been this to Juu in a past life, and wants to continue this role in the present. Her taser works just as well as a sword would.
- Digimon: There is a large group of Digimon called the "Royal Knights". As the name would suggest, they are a group of thirteen Mega-level Digimon who all resemble a cross between a classic Knight and a mecha. They are supposedly a group of "good guys" who work for the God of the Digital World, but every one of their appearances so far has introduced them as antagonists of the Knight Templar or brainwashed variety. They're not all-exclusive to the group, though. A few of them have been partners to human characters in the series: Tai and Matt's Omnimon, and Takato/Guilmon as Gallantmon are two good examples. These ones weren't actual members of the Royal Knights, though— they were just the same "species".
- Tamahome from Fushigi Yuugi. Hotohori wants to be this to the Priestess, but Miaka is more interested in Tamahome.
- Alucard is this to young Integra in Hellsing when he saved her and is still her loyal bodyguard after she grew up.
- Henkyou no Roukishi Bard Loen: Bard Loen picked The People's Knight as his title and manages to live up to it. He rescues anyone in need, has a smart horse named Stablos, is loved by his people and is a champion of Lady Aidra.
- Hikari no Pansy: Prince Edward is this to the resident Damsel in Distress Pansy. He aims to ensure that Pansy is safe and sound no matter what and will always save her from danger, whether she's being held hostage by The Evil Prince or stranded on an island thousand of miles away. He eventually he takes her to live with him in the Palace so he can protect her better.
- Honoo no Alpen Rose: Lundi is this to Jeudi, as he'll go through any length to rescue her and keep her safe. In the OP, he's even portrayed as a literal knight in shining armour riding a White Stallion, while Jeudi wears a Fairytale Wedding Dress with a flowing veil and train.
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:
- Phantom Blood: Jonathan Joestar, though not in a literal sense (he's not a knight, although his family is nobility), but he ultimately proves himself to be a truly brave, honest and pure-hearted hero who champions the weak and innocent, especially women in distress.
- Stardust Crusaders: Polnareff, being a Casanova Wannabe, sees himself as one, and it's the form his Silver Chariot takes.
- Mist from Knights does his best at this despite being a Hero with Bad Publicity, as well as being just a squire. He fits the trope better than all the other knights thus far.
- Monster (1994): The female heroine, Nina Fortner, fantasizes that her secret admirer must be her "prince on a white horse." When she is rescued by Tenma, she assumes the latter must be him. In reality, the anonymous "romantic" emails that have been sent to her were from her twin brother Johan.
- In My Monster Secret the main characters' teacher Akari Koumoto has been holding onto the "prince on a white horse" fantasy for years, well into her Old Maid phase; though it's Played for Laughs like everything in the series, it's also seriously examined, since it's strongly implied that the entire reason Akari has never been in a relationship is because she's convinced herself that True Love will just fall into her lap one day so she doesn't actually need to do anything. On the other hand, the reason she has this particular fantasy in the first place is because as a child she'd always been either made fun of or treated like One of the Boys due to her unnatural strength and height, and she just wants a man will treat her like a feminine woman rather than being scared of her.
- Mytho from Princess Tutu, in his true form as the Prince from the fairytale the story revolves around, fits this trope almost perfectly (except he has no armor and rescues maidens while dancing on a magically formed pillar of flower petals). Also subverted with Fakir, who is the reincarnation of the Knight from the story but doesn't behave like the stereotypical knight.
- Sayaka from Puella Magi Madoka Magica aspires to be this - her love interest in this case is Kyousuke, who used to play the violin until his hand was badly injured in an accident. When she contracts to become a Magical Girl, her outfit (of the magical girls we see in the series, hers is the only one with a cape) and weapon of choice (swords) reflect this goal. In a series written by Gen Urobuchi, this quickly leads to tragedy. In a horrific twist, her Witch form, Oktavia von Seckendorff also reflects this by donning a knight armor, a three-eyed helmet, and a heart-shaped cape, symbolizing how her madness thoroughly corrupted her ideals.
- Reborn! (2004) mentions this trope verbatim; with the way that Tsuna is constantly afflicted with the Dulcinea Effect, the current Arc's Big Bad Byakuran even lampshades this by mocking Tsuna, asking him if he's trying to be Uni's knight in shining armor.
- The eponymous Revolutionary Girl Utena aspires to be this, initially entering the plot to avenge the honor of a friend and staying to Rescue The Princess. But was that really such a good idea? The idea is gender-flipped, subverted, deconstructed, and reconstructed throughout the series.
- Robin Hood (1990): Sir Gilbert Whitehand to Lady Marian Lancaster. He is the leader of the Black Rose Knights and saves Marian from crippling danger twice. When she goes missing, the Bishop of Hereford trusts Gilbert to retrieve her. He's also this outside of the armour, as he comforts Marian when she's sad and swears Undying Loyalty to her after she's disgraced.
- Mika of Seraph of the End is affectionately dubbed as being this for Yuu given his constant Declaration of Protection about him, desire to save him above all else, and occasionally getting to carry him in a Bridal Carry. Ferid even refers to Yuu as the precious princess that Mika wants to save and likens it to "love".
- Slayers parodies this, and the Prince Charming idea. Both Lina and Sylphiel have an image of a prince, noble, heroic, handsome, blond, clad in white, riding on a white charger. Then they meet Amelia's father, Phil, who technically fits almost all the requirements (except the blond hair and he is not handsome), but shatters Sylphiel's fantasy of a prince into tiny little pieces. Literally shatters. A piece of Lina's actually bonks her on the head.
- Snow White with the Red Hair:
- Mitsuhide Lowen is a knight, kind man and excellent swordsman who is completely loyal to prince Zen who he is a retainer for. He also attracts a number of female admirers due to his personality and looks but avoids romance both through obliviousness and his dedication to his job as Zen's protector. Zen's other initial retainer Kiki Serian reflects this trope as well, though her stoic unreadable nature and the fact that she will have to give up living as a just a knight to take over as head of her family makes her an interesting take.
- As a prince, Zen's expected to be proficient in swordsmanship, horseback riding, and chivalry. He demonstrates all of these skills in the first episode, when he saves Shirayuki from Prince Raj without unsheathing his sword.
- Strawberry Panic! has another female example with Amane Ohtori, the "Prince of Spica", who rides a white horse named "Star Bride", and even pulls off a knightly horseback rescue at one point.
- 'Tis Time for "Torture," Princess: A semi-recurring character is the knight Louch Brittan, who's doing his best to rescue the Princess. He... doesn't really live up to the image, being rather below-average in terms of looks. He does indeed mean well, though, and he only really fails because each "rescue" is performed in a way that makes the Princess not want to be saved by him. For example, she rejects his attempt to use a teleportation spell because you Can't Take Anything with You and she would be left nude on the other side.
- Allen Schezar of The Vision of Escaflowne is this from start to finish. He always does the right thing, even when it hurts. Plus, his armor is a Humongous Mecha.
- In Yu-Gi-Oh!: Capsule Monsters, Yami is this in Episode 10, using Black Luster Soldier as armor and wielding the Sword of Divinity.
- Archetypes Storytelling Cards: The Knight card represents service, loyalty, fidelity, and responsibility, reflecting the cultural image of knights as honorable and chivalrous.
- The propaganda painting "Der Bannerträger"
("The Standard Bearer"; painted c. 1935; first exhibited in 1937) by Hubert Lanzinger shows Adolf Hitler as a knight in (literally) shining armor on horseback, his right hand holding the billowing swastika flag of the Nazi Party / the Third Reich. The image was frequently reproduced in Nazi Germany, including as a postcard.
- Magic: The Gathering: This is generally White's shtick. Though depending on the setting, it might range from anything from classical heroic knights to insidious fanatics and other deconstructions.
- The White Knight
, polar opposite of the game's Black Knight. However, game mechanics normally prevent the two from engaging each other in combat...
- The Shards of Alara expansion features Bant, a plane of Knights in Shining Armor, who have a Fantastic Caste System based on the acquisition of sigils, which are marks of great valor and honorable conduct.
- Innistrad has cathars, which generally dress up in trenchcoats but occasionally show up in more classically medieval armor.
- Ixalan has a rare mesoamerican version, riding dinosaurs.
- Parodied in Chivalrous Chevalier
:
"I treat every foe according to the highest codes of conduct. Then I kill them."
- The White Knight
- Yu-Gi-Oh!:
- By day Ghostrick Dullahan masquerades as a suit of antique armor, but at night he shows his true colors as a veteran knight, acting as a leader figure for the other residents of the museum.
- Another good example would be Freed the Brave Wanderer (who would later become Freed the Matchless General). His appearance as a Duel Spirit in the anime shows his Heroic Spirit rather plainly.
- The Gem-Knights, with the sole exception of Antiluminescent Knight Cairnogorgon. They only got involved in the storyline's battles after repeated attacks.
- Crécy by Warren Ellis absolutely demolishes this trope. The French nobility are depicted as inept Wide Eyed Idealists obsessed with non-existent notions of politeness and valour in war (contrasting the Working-Class Hero English protagonists who see war as the Dirty Business it is). The Battle of Crecy is such a curbstomp that nearly every noble family in all France is left mourning and burying at least one relative by the end of it, and the very concept of knighthood is rendered pointless. Furthermore, the image of knights in shining armour is undermined by the apparent reality that they are a privileged warrior class who force the underclass into brutal wars for their own petty gratification and sense of honour.
- The DCU:
- The Atomic Knights are heroic individuals from a post-nuclear war apocalypse who wear plate armour to protect them from radioactive fallout (although in more contemporary comics, the Atomic Knights are a faction of Knights in Powered Armor).
- Captain Atom: Captain Atom's daughter Margaret sees him this way. He eventually becomes one.
- The Silent Knight, a more traditional knight than the Shining Knight, and his adventures took place at King Arthur's Camelot.
- Seven Soldiers of Victory: Shining Knight of the Seven Soldiers of Victory. Sir Justin, a knight of King Arthur, was given by Merlin a suit of magical armor that would protect him from all harm, and a magical sword that would cut through anything. Merlin also gave Justin's horse wings and the ability to fly. Justin was frozen for centuries and revived in the 1940s, where he applies his honor as a knight to fighting crime in the present day. His chronological predecessor/published successor Ystin also qualifies, although they're a bit less idealistic than Justin, coming from a more Low Fantasy version of Camelot.
- Steel: The titular character wears a cape and shining armor, wields a weapon, and is as moral and good as Superman himself.
- Marvel Universe:
- The Avengers: Black Knight (Marvel Comics) is a literal one, though the first one was a villain. Black Knight II, however, plays it straight. Both are descended from a lineage of Black Knights that dates back to Arthurian times.
- Captain America: Although he may not be called a "knight", Captain America is as much a pure example of this trope as modern jaded audiences can stand. His classic outfit includes maille or scales on the upper portion, he carries a shield, and a modern Captain owes much to the role of a knight in leading his troops. In behaviour? No more noble or righteous 'knight' exists in the Marvel Universe - Ultimate Cap excepted, of course.
- The Spaceknights of Galador aspire to this ideal, but arguably only Rom ever truly achieved it. One story even has Rom encounter the frozen form of King Arthur, still waiting for the day he will reawaken to save Britain from some future calamity, and Rom feels an instant, instinctive kinship with him.
- Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics): Antoine D'Coolette eventually grows into this. He's very chivalrous and proper and an expert swordsman. This culminates in issue 234 where he grapples with Metal Sonic and nearly dies all in the name of service to the king.
- Garfield: In one comic strip, Jon gets freaked out by a scary part in the movie theater and starts sucking his thumb. Liz sarcastically mutters "My knight in shining armor", and Garfield replies "Make that your sissy in double-knit."
- Child of the Storm:
- Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America epitomises the trope; noble, a superb warrior and deeply honourable, fighting for justice, most especially the protection of the oppressed (because he hates bullies), and pining after/mourning his lady love, he is frequently compared to King Arthur. He's also a Nice Guy who rescues kittens from trees, because of course he does. He is more ruthless than most examples, it has to be said, and has a certain hint of cynicism — plus, unlike most examples, he has a child out of wedlock, with Peggy, Alison Carter - who had children and grandchildren of her own - much to Steve's shock when he finds out. This devastates him, because he feels that it was an ignoble act on his part, before being reminded (repeatedly) that it takes two to tango, Peggy most certainly knew her own mind, and the rightful course is to stop avoiding his great-granddaughter, Carol, who idolised him and was deeply hurt by his rejection, no matter how understandable it was at the time. Nevertheless, it is not in the least bit surprising that he is knighted at the end of the first book, becoming part of the Order of the Garter.
- Thor is a noble and charming Warrior Prince, right down to the shining armour. Especially given his increased dutifulness towards Asgard (not necessarily to the throne, however, as he's more than willing to challenge his father), dedication to protecting the small and defenceless, and slaying of monsters - these days, no longer simply for the thrill of the challenge. He's also and an all-round Nice Guy, a good boyfriend and a good dad, being dedicated to both roles - though it should be remembered, as and when his son gets hurt, that he is the God of Thunder and Lightning not Reason and Understanding.
- Harry Thorson is an interesting variant, being a Decon-Recon Switch.
- In the first book, he plays the trope Straight, with his largely idealistic nature, Chronic Hero Syndrome, and The Dulcinea Effect (minus the romance). It doesn't always pan out very well, such as his Bully Hunter antics, compounded by his temper, but he's always going to help, no matter the cost. It's regularly noted that he's far too sweet and kind for his own good, standing out in a jaded and cynical cast, his Power of Trust bringing out better natures in those who didn't even know they had them. Even his darker moments are brief, and his good heart is key in the first book's climax when he's relied upon by arch-schemer Doctor Strange to resist The Final Temptation. For his actions, he is also Knighted as a member of the Order of the Garter.
- Near the start of the sequel, in the Forever Red Story Arc, the trope is brutally Deconstructed. His typical leap back into the Red Room for to try and talk Maddie, a Living Weapon and Jean's stolen-at-birth twin sister around ends in disaster: he's right that she's a Tragic Villain and his question makes her think. But a lifetime of ingrained obedience and programming isn't so easily overturned, and instead he spends days being horribly tortured, a mere prelude to a Trauma Conga Line that includes his Blank Slate body being turned into 'the Red Son', used to create an aggressive Russian Empire, and repeatedly raped by Yelena Belova, the Red Room's Black Widow, in her twisted take on the Black Widow/Winter Soldier dynamic. This leaves him on the brink of a Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum, and even after he's talked down, he's left horribly traumatised and deeply bitter.
- Yet despite the above, the trope is steadily Reconstructed in appropriately nuanced fashion. He's still dedicated to helping a newly reformed Maddie, he's horrified when confronted by Cedric Diggory about how he's been terrorising his fellow students and he remains a Knight in Sour Armor. As Strange says, he is still the person who will always do what is right rather than what is easy, and it's why he's The Chosen One. The Bloody Hell arc shows him as a shining knight once, rescuing Carol from Dracula (who wants her special blood). He faces Dracula twice (once in a literal suit of armour), and despite being almost crippled and horribly outmatched, he plans ahead, gets help, and (eventually) succeeds, before nearly killing himself to save Carol with an emergency transfusion. All while resisting the temptation to tap into his reality warping Superpowered Evil Side. He vows to become a Knight of Faith, and sealing the transformation, he receives a personal silvery-white suit of Iron Man armour, leading Coulson to codename him 'Agent Galahad'.
- Greenfire: Inverted when the knight finds Greenfire and Rarity, it's the knight acting like a murderous bully, and it's the dragon who's attempting diplomacy and defending his lady.
- Here Comes the New Boss: Elpis' full plate armour is partly for protection, partly to explain away her Super-Toughness, but also part of her effort to present a very different image from the Butcher, a gallant champion of right and defender of the weak. (It's particularly impactful after people notice her interactions with Parian, and the resulting "knight and princess" vibe.)
- Infinity Train: Knight of the Orange Lily: Gladion aspires to be this, and he admires the White Knight in being a chivalrous character. Unfortunately, the story deconstructs a lot of things that goes wrong with this, ranging from the training and nights Gladion slept in hotels, the fact that Gladion keeps seeing Lillie as a helpless princess stuck in a tower, or the fact that most of the problems could've been avoided if he told his mother about what happened with Lillie, Nihilego and Type: Null so much sooner.
- The King Nobody Wanted: Ser Clegane... Ser Tytos Clegane, that is. He is an honorable man who cares passionately about helping the innocent, and is deeply respected and admired by his followers.
- "The Golden Crab"
, by Andrew Lang: The king tries to have The Tourney to substitute a bridegroom for the crab his daughter married. Three times the crab-husband shows up in human guise to fight.
- "Iron Hans": The prince dresses up in armor to fight on the king's behalf. Then he does the same to catch the princess's golden apple.
- "King Goldenlocks", by Franz Xaver von Schönwerth: Goldenlocks is given a magic sword, a suit of armor and a horse to fight a war.
- "One-Eye, Two-Eyes, Three-Eyes": A knight takes Two-Eyes away from her abusive family and marries her.
- "The Princess on the Glass Hill": Boots finds suits of armor with each Cool Horse, and so can ride up the hill as a knight.
- Disney:
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Phoebus is more of this than his counterpart in the source material, being less prejudiced and willing to defy orders from a corrupt judge to rescue a family from a burning house. Quasimodo even calls him this when Phoebus doesn't hesitate to go to warn Esmeralda and the other Romani that Frollo is coming.
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: At the end of the movie, a prince arrived to take Snow White away on his white horse.
- Sleeping Beauty (1959): The climax is a battle with Prince Philip up against Maleficent (as a giant dragon) to save Princess Aurora, King Stefan, King Hubert, Queen Leah, and the entire kingdom from their slumber.
- Tangled has Flynn Rider gallantly racing on the white Maximus over the bridge to rescue lost princess Rapunzel, which is not only a visual shout-out to this trope, but symbolic of his Character Development from a selfish, thieving rogue to something closer to this trope.
- Doraemon: Nobita and the Knights on Dinosaurs have the Knights of Enriru, troodon-men warriors bearing shields and lances on their trusty velociraptor steeds. Their leader Banhou is introduced into the story saving the lives of Doraemon and gang while beating off a horde of hostile Naga tribesmen.
- Enchanted begins with Prince Edward saving Giselle from a troll, resulting in their planning to get married the next day.
- The Flight of Dragons: Sir Orrin Neville-Smythe is a classic example of this; the aged, but steadfast and noble knight dedicated wholly to justice. He gives a badass speech during the final battle; then gets set on fire by Bryagh's flame. He withstands the heat long enough to hurl the now-flaming sword into the heart of the black dragon, then collapses next to his fallen love.
"Blade with whom I have lived, blade with whom I now die.
Serve right and justice one last time.
Seek one last heart of evil, still one last life of pain.
Cut well, old friend, and then... farewell." - My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Flash Sentry. The human version that's the closest thing to a Love Interest for one of the Mane Six has a counterpart in Equestria, it turns out — the pony Flash is a member of the Crystal Empire' royal guard — the only one we've seen who isn't a Crystal Pony. He gets more screentime — well, page time — in the comics.
- Shrek 2: As the movie opens, Prince Charming has adventured, overcoming many obstacles and climbing the high tower in order to rescue Fiona, finding instead a cross-dressing wolf. It turns out that there was an old promise that Charming would be able to marry Fiona, but Fiona has already married Shrek in the first movie. It's later subverted when he reveals himself to be a snobby, narcissistic, sociopathic jerk.
- The Swan Princess: After Princess Odette is kidnapped, Prince Derek becomes determined to find her. Once he does, he plans to break the spell on her by making a vow of everlasting love.
- In The '50s and The '60s, French actor Jean Marais was very much typecast as a honorable hero (knight/noble/whatever) fighting to save the woman he loves, protect his king and ensure justice is served (usually by avenging a fallen friend), against Guy Delorme as The Dragon, The Heavy or a mook with a Death Glare. It applied to La Tour, prends garde!, Le Bossu, Le Capitan, Le Capitaine Fracasse and The Miracle of the Wolves, among others. The Iron Mask as well, with added humor.
- "Gotham's White Knight", District Attorney Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight is trying to help bring down the criminal empire in Gotham. Sadly, he ends up turning into the demented Two-Face after a horrific accident that disfigures half of his face.
- In Ella Enchanted Prince Charmont gallantly saves Ella's life exactly three times, first from a speeding carriage, second from an ogre's boiling pot and then despite himself he has her back in the court battle.
- At the end of Ever After when Prince Henry shows up to "rescue" Danielle from Pierri Le Pieu.
- John Boorman's Excalibur (1981) takes this pretty literally with Lancelot. In his first scene, his armor is buffed almost to a mirror finish. Lancelot's not the only one, however; all the knights seem to wear highly polished - and sharp edged - armor everywhere including bed. Including when they are entertaining company of the feminine kind. Oddly the women don't seem to mind. Maybe it's a fetish.
- Thomas Marshall in Ironclad probably fits the mold the most within the story, being a Templar knight who is a Chaste Hero constantly harassed by a lustful noblewoman and wearing white robes in contrast to the other knights. He agrees to defend the castle from the invaders and certainly displays the "I fight so you don't have to" attitude.
- The eponymous Leopold of Kate & Leopold is a nobleman from 1876, swept into modern times, who believes that Kate requires a chaperone on her date with her boss so he offers to go with her to protect her from his obvious intentions. When she refuses, he tells her boss, "Some feel that to court a woman in one's employ is nothing more than a serpentine effort to transform a lady to a whore." Imagine the look on a purse-snatcher's face when Leo rides him down on horseback.
Leopold: I warn you scoundrel, I was trained at the King's Academy and schooled in weaponry by the palace guard. You stand no chance. When you run, I shall ride, when you stop, the steel of this strap shall be lodged in your brain.
[bag snatcher throws down the bag and flees, onlookers applaud] - Balian of Ibelin in Kingdom of Heaven tries really hard to live up to this trope after being knighted by his father, which is specially difficult during The Crusades while surrounded by religious fanatics and cuttroat nobles. Unfortunately, his morals get in the way of political pragmatism such as when the king on his deathbed requests that he marries his sister (whom Balian loves) in order to prevent her marriage to the fiance, Guy of Lusignan, who will certainly plunge the Kingdom of Jerusalem into ruin with his thirst for war.
- William Thatcher in A Knight's Tale is determined to not only be a knight when he is in fact a peasant but to defeat his jousting opponents and win London's World Championship.
- Lady Hawke: Captain Navarre has this down to the time period; a heroic and pious man who uses a sword to fight evil.
- Subverted for laughs in One Fine Day (1996):
- When Vivian of Pretty Woman was a little girl, she would pretend she was a princess... trapped in a tower by a wicked queen. And then suddenly this knight... on a white horse with these colors flying would come charging up and draw his sword. And she would wave. And he would climb up the tower and rescue her.
- Prince Charming (2001), a made-for-television film starring Sean Maguire, is the story of a prince who gets turned into a frog because he dashingly rescues a damsel in distress who starts trying to reward him.
- The titular protagonist of the RoboCop series is one modern example, though replace "shining" with "Kevlar/Titanium laminated", with nifty purple-on-blue highlights to boot. Despite his almost completely mechanical appearance, he will always uphold the law even if he has to do it by the book.
- Star Wars:
- Jedi in general are a mix between (highly idealized versions of) knights and samurai. However, how much "knight" and how much "samurai" actually varies between cultures. Corellian Jedi, according to The Essential Guide to Warfare and Star Wars: The Old Republic, are actually a lot closer to European knights than the mainline Jedi, being descended directly from those who swore oaths of fealty to a Jedi Lord during the darkest days of the New Sith Wars. They're noted for being very inflexible about the law and justice.
- Jedi Knights in general are also supposed to be this (the word 'knight' is in their name after all) but as noted in the trope description, this is an ideal that not every member always lives up to. That being said, Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace will defy the council to to help supposedly "pathetic" life forms.
- In Time Bandits, knights appear in Kevin's bedroom. Then, at the end, one of the sets of champions the dwarfs bring to fight Evil is a group of knights.
- Tristan and Isolde has the titular British knight, Tristan, who is in love with the fair Isolde.
- What's Eating Gilbert Grape: Ever since his father committed suicide and his mother Bonnie became morbidly obese out of depression, Gilbert had to become the man of the house taking care of everybody, especially his developmentally disabled little brother Arnie, whom nobody should mess with unless they want Gilbert's wrath. He isn't perfect, and sometimes chafes at everybody depending on him so heavily, but when all's said and done he loves his family. Towards the end of the movie, Bonnie gratefully tells him, "You're my knight in shimmering armor." "You mean shining," he says. "No, shimmering. You shimmer."
- Combat Heroes: White Warlord is a knight of Kordan, whose noble traits and fending off pirates are well-known.
- Wizards, Warriors and You: The titular Warrior is brimming with weapons, wears a full suit of plate mail, and is a loyal servant of King Henry, always ready to face whatever challenge threatens the kingdom, the king, Princess Saralinda, and the people. Weirdly, it is noted that he wears no heraldry, and given how he's always referred to as Warrior, he may not even be a knight.
- The Groosalaugg from Angel, although he ditches the shining armor shortly after moving to LA.
- Alistair in one episode of As Time Goes By shows up dressed as a Knight in Shining Armor to help him win Judy's affection.
- Jamie Reagan in Blue Bloods is a cop not a knight but plays to this trope in the sense of dedicating his live to protecting order, being loyal to his family and comrades, helping the helpless and in general putting honor way before reason. And wearing a cool uniform. Call him a Knight in shining blue cloth.
- Bones: Angela refers to Booth as a "knight in shining FBI standard-issue body armor".
- One is summoned by accident in Charmed, thanks to Paige.
- Jon Stewart's sudden appearance on The Colbert Report to save Stephen from utter humiliation at the hands of Conan O'Brien, with the now-famous shout of "Don't you do it, boy!", has been referred to as the 'knight in shining Armani' moment by fans, (ordinarily, he's much more of a Butt-Monkey.)
- Sir Thomas Grey, 'Quite the Knight of the Realm' as an outlaw observes in one episode of Covington Cross. Sir Thomas' sons, William, Richard, and Cedric, are aspiring knights - as is his only daughter! On the other hand his eldest son wants to be a cook...
- Criminal Minds: In the first season finale the Un Sub is suffering from the delusion that Reid and the team are this. It's also been stated in the special features that they attempt to write stories about knights in shining bulletproof vests, and end up with what the show is.
- Doctor Who
- In "The Girl in the Fireplace": The Doctor does a Super Window Jump on a white horse to save the lady from evil. The chivalrous parallel is increased by the fact that in doing so, he's trapping himself in time.
- The Doctor takes up a big sword in a duel to decide the fate of Earth as the planet's champion during "The Christmas Invasion".
- In Have Gun – Will Travel, Paladin, as the name suggests, although he wears what looks more like a villainous outfit if you go by traditional Good Colours, Evil Colours. In some of the darker stories stories he can come off as more of a Knight in Sour Armor, when dealing with more disgusting individuals his bitterness can shine through.
- In House, William admits that he's in love with his queen, Shannon, but out of respect for his honor code as a knight, he does not want to break up her relationship with her fiancé, Miles, in the episode Knight Fall.
- The main reason Touma Kamiyama becomes a Kamen Rider at first in Kamen Rider Saber is to defend innocents from the Megid. He later becomes a more literal example of this when his first Mid-Season Upgrade turns him into a knight.
- Sheriff Cody Johnson, Brian Thompson's character in the short-lived series Key West, was thoroughly one of these.
- Although not a literal knight David Shephard in Kings fulfills all the other qualifications and as a soldier could be said to be the modern equivalent of a knight.
- Subverted with Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. She owns beautiful elegant argent armors, but she is a cynical and jaded Knight Templar.
- The Mandalorian: In the third episode, main character Din Djarin gets an upgrade to his armor that sees him clad in shiny beskar just in time for him to heroically rescue The Child out of guilt for handing the infant over to the Imperial Remnant. In "The Rescue" he becomes the rightful wielder of the Darksaber, adding a Cool Sword to his equipment.
- Lancelot in Merlin (2008), albeit only briefly until he is thrown out for being a commoner. Meanwhile, Prince Arthur is becoming one, and part of the point of the series is Merlin helping Arthur become one. As of the end of series 3, Lancelot has been properly knighted as one of Arthur's new Round Table, as well as Gwaine, Elyan and newcomer Percival. Along with veteran knight Sir Leon, they all aspire towards this trope and prove their worthiness as knights at many points during the rest of the series.
- Power Rangers: Any of the Rangers, although they subvert it occasionally, usually with Knight in Sour Armor.
- Fantasy buff Chip from Power Rangers Mystic Force was thrilled to find out "knight" is an actual rank in the mystic realm and strives to reach it so he can be a knight in shining armor. Daggeron, the Solaris Knight, fits the bill quite well already, though again, any Ranger tends to. However, Daggeron's the one who gives the most stereotypically "knightly" lines like "I'd rather die with honor than live without it." Noble Demon Koragg, also of knight rank, gives such speeches, but it's actually his true self bleeding through the brainwashing; he actually doesn't want to fight the Rangers at all. His good alter-ego Leanbow taught Daggeron everything he knows.
- Other more literal knights include the second Magna Defender of Power Rangers Lost Galaxy (the original was a Black Knight), Sentinel Knight of Power Rangers Operation Overdrive, and Sir Ivan of Power Rangers Dino Charge. Robo Knight of Power Rangers Megaforce was intended to be one, but programming flaws lead him to focus strictly on eliminating threats and not consider things like civilian safety, though he's getting better.
- Scrubs: Sir Percival in the fairytale Perry Cox tells his son in a Formula-Breaking Episode.
- A Song of Ice and Fire universe:
- Game of Thrones:
- Ser Loras Tyrell (see Literature above) literally has the shiniest armor in Westeros, at least in the first season, and apart from some Combat Pragmatism, acts the part of this trope. By the second season, his armor becomes rusty and dirty, expressing his increasing cynicism, and he does not smile as much. Although Loras is not romantically interested in Sansa, his adherence to knightly ideals plays a part in wanting to rescue her from the hell she's in, and he willingly enters into an Arranged Marriage with the girl so that he can whisk her away to Highgarden. Say what you will of his grandmother's and sister's ulterior motives, but Loras is more honourable than that. He understands that King's Landing is a terrible place for Sansa, and he sees her as a Damsel in Distress who is held prisoner by the "monster" Joffrey. Unfortunately for his non-yaoi Fangirls, he's gay.
- Jaime Lannister looks exactly like this, but is actually a Blood Knight reviled as The Oath-Breaker. As his physical state degrades, however, he actually starts trying to live up to the trope.
- Barristan Selmy arguably fits this trope the best, and is presented as something of a paragon of a by-gone age. This becomes especially clear after he joins Daenerys, and his advising her to morally correct choices contrasts with Jorah's more coldly pragmatic suggestions.
- Barristan's former comrade Ser Arthur Dayne fit this to a tee. He was the deadliest Kingsguard of his time but he was also a Reasonable Authority Figure for the common folk.
- Along with Barristan Selmy and Loras Tyrell, Brienne of Tarth comes closest to being one and plays this trope quite straight, despite being denied knighthood because of her gender, though her actual armour in Season 4 is black. She's dedicated, an excellent fighter, unwaveringly loyal, protective of the weak, noble and good-hearted.
- Sandor Clegane so despises this trope that he refuses knighthood even when he joins the previously knights-only order of the Kingsguard.
- The loyal Stark retainer Rodrik Cassel is a strong, loyal, and honorable Old Soldier and one of the few official knights in the North, though he lacks in actual shining armor.
- Davos Seaworth is not a straight example, because he was a criminal, but he's one of the very few unambiguously good non-Stark characters and is a knight. It's thus a welcome development that he has now become the leading retainer of the resurgent Kingdom of the North, together with Brienne.
- The gilded armor Gregor Clegane wears as Kingsguard member is clearly meant to invoke this. Unfortunately, this character utterly averts this.
- Jorah Mormont is not nearly as straight an example as Barristan Selmy (indeed, his armor's a rather dull, functional grey, reflecting his pragmatism), but he's definitely got his moments. Also Reconstruction in his case, as he began the series as a rather self-centered manipulator (selling out the Targaryens, to whom he had sworn an oath, to Varys and King Robert in exchange for a pardon). But when he finds someone truly worthy of his loyalty, and whom he also loves (Daenerys) he drops it immediately, Becoming the Mask and a rock-hard Targaryen loyalist, not to mention upright, kind, and honest, while still being acceptably pragmatic and ruthless towards the Targaryens' enemies.
- House of the Dragon has some but even they are not immune from making less than moral choices
- Ser Harrold Westerling was a loyal protector of King Viserys but when the succession was disputed, he opted to not follow anybody and is thus a traitor to both sides.
- There is also Ser Criston Cole who is a gallant and moral man yet is a vicious killer. He is mirrored in the Black side by Ser Erryk Cargyll. He used to be King Aegon's sworn sword but he defected to the Blacks because he does not approve of Aegon's debauchery so he's a Turncoat. He also stole the crown of Viserys so he's a thief as well.
- Game of Thrones:
- The Strain: Fed is big, strong, loyal to a fault, fearless to the point of insanity and pretty much smashed his way through a wall that separated him from his lover and team mate Dutch, then being tortured by a complete and utter monster. Later on, when a badly traumatized Dutch is about to leave the team and him, he is visibly hurt. Instead of being bitter or making any reproaches, he accepts her choice and wishes her the best.
- Tin Man (2007): Cain's no knight, but he did vow to be the princess's protector. When the crew is riding to DG's rescue in part 3, he's got the white horse.
- Adam in The Wanderer goes from cutthroat businessman to Knight in Shining Armor in a single episode. Handwaved by the fact he is reverting to the mindset of an earlier incarnation.
- The White Queen: Richard of Gloucester adheres to the code of chivalry during his adolescence and young adulthood, and this is remarked upon ("[George] has none of Richard's chivalry" / "[Edward] said I was a fool for chivalry"). Absolutely no one questions his devotion to King Edward IV, as Richard is always dutiful whether it's peacetime or war. He also defends Anne Neville at the Battle of Tewkesbury when several soldiers assault her, which evokes Lady and Knight. However, Richard becomes a Knight in Sour Armor in Episode 7 after he's disenchanted with the king's debauchery, and he's offended when Edward attempts to appease him by bribing him with gold. By Episode 8, Richard's moral compass is thoroughly broken when the opportunity to usurp the throne opens up to him.
- Prince Eric Greystone of Wizards & Warriors (the TV series, not the video games), golden haired and usually clad in gold lame. Honorable to the point of folly - or beyond. His even hunkier brother Prince Justin on the other hand is a total subversion of the Trope.
- Battle of Clavijo: Saint James "Matamoros" supposedly came down to help save 100 virgins that were given as tribute to the Caliphate.
- Saint George: In the medieval legend, St. George kills a dragon, thereby saving a virginal princess, and aferwards refuses all material rewards but instead converts the locals to Christianity. Thus St. George the Dragonslayer embodies the ideal knight, as he is both an undaunted warrior and a saint who dedicates his martial prowess to helping the helpless and the promotion of Christianity.
- "Holding Out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler: The music video has one: in this case, a heroic cowboy knight in angelic white armor on a white horse, which is also mentioned in the song. ("Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?")
- Faith Hill: "This Kiss":
Cinderella said to Snow White
'How does love get so off course?
All I wanted was a white knight with a good heart,
soft touch, fast horse.'
Ride me off into the sunset, baby I'm forever yours. - Peter Cetera: "Glory of Love":
Just like a knight in shining armor
From a long time ago
Just in time I will save the day
Take you to my castle far away. - The country song "Suds In The Bucket" by Sara Evans.
When her prince pulled up — a white pickup truck
Her folks shoulda seen it comin' — it was only just a matter of time
Plenty old enough — and you can't stop love
She stuck a note on the screen door — "sorry but I got to go" - Taylor Swift: "White Horse" is a subversion, as it features a woman who got heartbroken by a lover who she once believed to be her knight, and realizes that real life is not like the fairytales she thought it was.
I'm not a princess, this ain't a fairytale
I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet
Lead her up the stairwell
...Now it's too late for you and your white horse
To come around.
- When EMLL became the more internationally diverse CMLL, few of the new luchadors were better received than Steele, the large, powerful, honorable, fair playing knight in his shiny face plate looking mask.
- Chikara has the time-displaced knight Lance Steel and his more time-displaced self, who also serves as his Tag Team partner. They made it their mission to defeat the gnashgabs and uplift pro wrestling to a new, glorious level, and they wear colorful 'armor'. "Huzzah!"
- Dungeons & Dragons: The paladin class was based on Knight in Shining Armor archetype in general and supposedly Three Hearts and Three Lions in particular. Paladins are more like holy crusaders empowered with divine magic, though (which has its own trope, on that note).
- Sturm Brightblade of the Dragonlance D&D saga is the epitome of this trope played straight except for not actually being a knight until shortly before his death. His fellow Knights of Solamnia are not quite so ideal but, with a couple of (important) exceptions, are generally good.
- The Player's Handbook II from late in D&D 3rd Edition introduced the knight class, which is a lot like the paladin but without magical abilities. The knight's abilities focus on mounted combat, single combat with an opposing champion, and maintaining honor.
- The 1st edition Cavalier class, introduced in that era's Unearthed Arcana, was closer to the "standard" Arthurian knight. For a while, the Paladin class was a subclass of the Cavalier instead of the Fighter.
- Rifts: The Cyber Knights are a post-apocalyptic version of this trope, combining Mad Max aesthetic and advanced tech with traditional chivalric values and discipline. Ironically, their founder Lord Coake was a straight up knight from a fantasy world that was displaced to Earth and created the order for the purpose of fighting evil in all of its forms. While he fits the trope perfectly, his principles do get him into trouble like the one time he refuse to lend aid to Tolkeen (one of the other main heroic factions of the setting) because they consorted with demons as last resort to resist an enemy siege. This action alienated his knights who went on separate ways and he went to found another knightly order to serve this purpose as the Cyber Knights.
- Talisman provides two examples of this trope, who reflect the chivalric code slightly differently: the Knight character, who is always of good alignment and who cannot attack other characters of good alignment, and the Chivalric Knight, who can aid rival characters in battle and cannot attack another character whose strength value is less than his own.
- Warhammer:
- All noble Bretonnians aspire towards becoming true knights in shining armour... although as a whole they also tend to display all of potential abuses and flaws of the system of feudalism as a Deconstructive Parody of the trope. Grail Knights, who have been found pure in heart and soul and blessed by the Lady of the Lake, are said to all qualify for this trope by definition (though the aforementioned skewed sense of morality has some fans wonder if the Grail Knights are really more like their more ordinary fellows).
- The Empire also has several noble knightly orders, but their modernization means that the chivalric ideals are not as predominant there as in Bretonnia.
- Fangirls: In "Set You Free", Edna resolves to save Harry from his inner turmoil and be his savior.
- ANNO: Mutationem: Discussed. In the ending scene, Ayane describes Ann as a radiating knight in shining armor for being brave, never scared in facing danger and ready to help the weak and the defenseless, alongside being honest and righteous that fulfills the virtues of chivalry. Ann embarrassingly asks her to have the flattering taken down a bit.
- Baldur's Gate: The series had a few - brash but idealistic squire Anomen, relentlessly pious and judgmental Ajantis, and the old but still fighting Keldorn. Oddly enough, perhaps the most outspokenly classical example is a female halfling, Mazzy, who comes as close as a halfling can come to a paladin in a Second Edition-based game. The Knights of the Noble Order of Radiant Heart were an order of this trope, whom the protagonist could join if s/he was a paladin too.
- Bloodborne has Ludwig, the Holy Blade, as the closest thing one gets in a Gothic Horror setting. He was the first Church Hunter and the Ludwig's Holy Blade weapon was based on his personal sword. By all accounts, he was a genuinely decent person who honestly wanted to protect Yharnam and was completely open about the Beast plague. He is fought as a boss in the DLC after he's succumbed to the Beast Scourge, transformed into a grotesque amalgamation of human and equine features that attacks you like a rabid animal... well, for the first half of the fight. For the second half, he'll return to his senses and fights you with the Holy Moonlight Sword, and it turns out when he stands upright he looks kind of like a man on horseback.
- Castle of Heart: The player hero is an armored knight battling a wicked Sorcerous Overlord... albeit a Living Statue version, where he was subjected to a petrification curse before he's revived, allowing him to continue his quest as an animated statue.
- Chrono Trigger: Cyrus in the English version. His apprentice Glenn takes on traits of this as well along with being a cursed knight. Not in the original Japanese version: Lost in Translation.
- Dark Souls:
- Dark Souls I has Solaire of Astora and Oscar of Astora. Solaire is an honorable, friendly Warrior of the Sun, and Oscar was on a quest to ring the Twin Bells of Awakening. Siegmeyer of Catarina wants to be this, but is far too bumbling. Artorias used to be one, but he was corrupted by the Abyss and is centuries dead by the time of the game.
- Dark Souls III has Siegward of Catarina, as a slightly less bumbling and more badass version of Siegmeyer, and Anri of Astora, who's on a quest to defeat a great evil and wears the Elite Knight set. Darkly subverted with Prince Lorian, though; he was originally this, but after he and his brother Lothric Linked the Fire, he was reduced to a brain-damaged brute unable to even stand upright, aiding his brother in rejecting the Linking of the Fire and becoming the last Lords of Cinder you fight. Also subverted with Holy Knight Hodrick, who probably used to be this, but has since gone Ax-Crazy and joined the Mound-Makers, becoming a threat to anything that crosses his path.
- One of the armor sets for the Titan class in Destiny resembles the armor of a knight and flashes a bright blue, befitting of Guardians renowned for being fearless protectors who embody strength and self-sacrifice.
- Balmung of the .hack series (all incarnations). While the setting of the series is an MMORPG, Balmung specifically investigates circumstances which could easily get him hurt in the real world. However, he has a strong moral code on issues of lesser significance, such as a strong distaste for hacking and player harassment. He also has a penchant for swooping in at the last moment to save other characters:
- In Sign, Balmung only appears in one episode, but rushes in to distract the Phase monster so that Subaru and company can escape.
- Similarly, Balmung's introduction in the video games has him chasing down another corrupted monster and trying to get Kite and BlackRose to run away.
- In the Legend of Twilight manga, Balmung (Now a sysadmin) swoops down yet again and saves Rena, takes out the data bug, and disappears before they can even find his name. When the people he works for ban him from getting involved in this again, he quits his job and takes up arms on his own.
- His status as this in-universe even extends to Newly born AI Aura taking his character template for use as an automated defender of the World.
- Typically for a Low Fantasy setting, the Dragon Age games employ this trope:
- The Warden, Hawke, and the Inquisitor can all fit the trope, if the player so chooses, especially in the warrior class. Inquisition even lets you craft literal shining armor for the character.
- Alistair in Origins is mostly this, being a tank warrior who works best in heavy armor and wielding a BFS; he's sweet, sensitive, and chivalrous. He's also the only party member (besides the dog) who cannot be forced or even asked to leave, due to his Undying Loyalty to the only other Warden. If romanced, he adores his lady and presents her with a rose and some bashful speeches. On top of all that, he's also secretly a Prince Charming, as you learn over the course of the story. Covers a lot of bases, does our boy Alistair.
- A rather novel version is found in the Awakening expansion with the Spirit of Justice. A Fade Spirit based on the concept of Justice, it is eventually trapped in the corpse of a Grey Warden named Kristoff. It then joins your party as an Undead Knight in Shining Armor.
- Aveline from Dragon Age II is a gender-flipped version, complete with rescuing of her love interest.
- Inquisition has two among the Inquisitor's friends:
- Warden-Constable Blackwall, who believes that part of being a Grey Warden is to be this trope. Which is why he pretends to be Warden-Constable Blackwall to atone for his sins. It's an early hint that he's not actually a Grey Warden and has no actual idea what they are like; Grey Wardens come in all levels of morality and their purpose is to destroy darkspawn and stop blights, no matter the cost. Many Grey Wardens are completely ruthless and will resort to amoral and even immoral methods to achieve their goals. Being a shining beacon for commoners is not on their to do list.
- Cullen has transitioned from a traumatized Templar recruit to a good example of this trope. He's kind, honorable, and thoughtful. On the other hand, he is still troubled by recovering from his lyrium addiction, and is buried so deep in his work he sometimes forgets to be Cullen: human being. The other characters can help him improve in this vein a little; it's more pronounced if he's romanced.
- Erdrick/Loto's descendant from Dragon Quest I is one of the earliest examples for Japanese RPG history by saving a princess in distress and defeating an evil dragonlord on his own.
- Dual Blades has Duke Andre, a Christian knight who embarks on a journey to save his people from half-human/half-beast monsters as he is guided by the voice of God according to his bio and literally wears a shining armor, in fact one of his dislikes is said to be unpolished armor.
- Elden Ring:
- There are many knights associated with the various demigods, but most of them are presented as either mercenaries or loyal servants of their respective demigod with no regard for morality or chivalric virtues. However, the clearest examples of this trope are the Erdtree Sentinels, who are knights clad in golden armor, riding enormous steeds, and are devoted to defending the titular Erdtree. The Erdtree itself is the source of the Golden Order, a divine law created by a being known as the Greater Will, which defines the laws of life and physics in the world, effectively making the Erdtree Sentinels into knights who defend the very laws of reality.
- Elden Ring Nightreign: The Guardian is referred to as a knight, and is a fighter wearing bright and heavy armor, wielding shield and halberd. As a tank, he'll also be defending his allies, both with his shield and with his Ultimate Art. In conversation, he is also courteous towards others, and views the fellow Nightfarers as his True Companions, and makes it his duty to defend them no matter what.
- The Elder Scrolls
- Throughout the series (at least until Skyrim did away with classes), "Knight" was a preset class. Knights get bonuses to the Blade and Block skills, as well as Heavy Armor, Speechcraft, and Restoration, following the trope closely. The class description reads: "Of noble birth, or distinguished in battle or tourney, knights are civilized warriors, schooled in letters and courtesy, governed by the codes of chivalry. In addition to the arts of war, knights study the lore of healing and enchantment."
- Though outside of High Rock, the Bretons are better known for their magical prowess, he Bretons actually have a strong chivalric tradition and most city states have their own knightly order to that end, as most prominently seen in Daggerfall. (Knights of the Rose in Wayrest, Knights of the Dragon in Daggerfall, as well as various Templar Orders such as the Order of the Hour who are dedicated to Akatosh, the God of Time, and the Knights Mentor, dedicated to the God of Knowledge.) Due to High Rock's cutthroat politics, how noble these knights actually are can vary wildly.
- In Oblivion's Knights of the Nine expansion, the Player Character can found a new holy order of shiny-armored knights. Membership requires avoiding "Infamy" at all costs.
- From the series' backstory comes Pelinal Whitestrake, the legendary 1st Era hero of mankind who came to St. Alessia to serve as her divine champion in the war against the Ayleids. Or, at least, that's how he is remembered in Imperial dogma anyway. Pelinal subverts the trope, having also been a racist berserker who would fly into fits of Unstoppable Rage (mostly directed at the Ayleids) during which he would be stained with their blood and left so much carnage in his wake that Kyne, one of the Divines, would have to send in her rain to cleanse Ayleid forts and village before they could be used by Alessia's forces. In one infamous fit of rage, he damaged the lands themselves, which nearly caused the divines to leave the world in disgust.
- The Justice faction in Eternal Card Game, perhaps unsurprisingly, has many of these in its ranks.
- The Fate Series has plenty of examples, several of whom were actual knights of the Round Table.
- To start with, there is Fate/stay night's Saber, a Lady of War who believes whole-heartedly in honor and fair play. Fitting, considering she's King Arthur/Artoria Pendragon.
- Fate/Zero's Lancer is very similar to the aforementioned Saber, and the two of them actually see each other as a Worthy Opponent and Friendly Enemy because of that.
- Gawain is the "most honorable knight" according to Artoria, with being undyingly loyal and a bit of a chivalrous pervert. Turns out that part of the reason why he's so loyal is due to blaming himself for Artoria's death. Subverted in Fate/Grand Order, where he ends up following the evil Lion King due to his guilt over said death. However, the Gawain summoned by the Lion King is different than the one allied with the player, and the trope is again played straight in the SE.RA.PH arc.
- Sir Bedivere might be the shiniest of all of them. He's unfailingly chivalrous, loyal and an upstanding guy all around. And even with his Heroic Self-Deprecation, he's still a very impressive Badass Normal.
- Grand Order also introduces Tam Lin Lancelot/Melusine. She's indicated to fit this role the best of all the Fairy Knights of the Round Table, as while Barghest is the most feared and Baobhan Sith is the most hated, she's called the "most loved" as well as the "most beautiful".
- The Brotherhood of Steel from Fallout was founded to be a group of proud warriors that protect humanity from itself by securing and locking away any technology that could be used with disastrous results in the wrong hands. Many in the wasteland simply view them as holier-than-thou technophiles. They even have a caste referred to as the "Knights" that Depending on the Writer will either maintain the Power Armor and laser weaponry that the Paladins use, or are warriors that serve under a Paladin.
- It's worth noting that power armor marked as Brotherhood armor, and thus disguises the player as a member of the faction in Fallout: New Vegas is notably cleaner looking than any other power armor in the game. Even the same set of non-faction armor will look rusted and dirty by comparison. Fridge Brilliance dictates that if your Power Armor is well maintained, you must be Brotherhood. If your armor is all rusted out, you're probably just a scavenger that got lucky and found a functional suit in a cave somewhere. Guess where most, if not all non-faction power armor can be found.
- Final Fantasy:
- The Warrior of Light in Dissidia Final Fantasy takes the trope and runs with it. In fact, he's heroic, noble, unashamedly, unrepentantly, disgustingly chivalrous to the point of making his characterization seem a tad unrealistic. And it's justified too, as a side effect of him originally being born as a clone without much emotions. He's extremely loyal to Cosmos because that's all he's ever known in life.
- As does Cecil, but that rather goes without saying (though perhaps not as much as the Warrior).
- Cecil Harvey in Final Fantasy IV. Indeed, his turn from the dark side to this is one of the driving forces behind and most emotionally satisfying part of the overarching plot.
- Steiner in Final Fantasy IX, to the point that he makes a clanking sound whenever he walks. He is also chivalrous to a fault, and is torn by his conflicting duties to Queen Brahne and Princess Garnet.
- Basch in Final Fantasy XII. Lampshaded when Judge Gabranth wonders, in their final confrontation, how come Basch failed his motherland, and then the kingdom who took him in, but is still the one who keeps his sense of honor of the two.
- The Warrior of Light in Dissidia Final Fantasy takes the trope and runs with it. In fact, he's heroic, noble, unashamedly, unrepentantly, disgustingly chivalrous to the point of making his characterization seem a tad unrealistic. And it's justified too, as a side effect of him originally being born as a clone without much emotions. He's extremely loyal to Cosmos because that's all he's ever known in life.
- Fire Emblem:
- Parodied with Sain in The Blazing Blade, who acts like this just so he can get women. The only result is that his comrade, Kent, repeatedly tells him to drop it and get back to work.
- Camus and Arran from Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light explore the more tragic aspects of this trope:
- Camus ends up having to choose between his love and his country, ending up going with the latter. This results in him being left for dead and his love being stuck in a loveless Arranged Marriage. When he returns as Sirius in Mystery of the Emblem, he devotes himself to saving Nyna, but in the end, even though he's able to snap her out of being Brainwashed and Crazy, he resigns himself to the fact he can't be with her, and leaves, never to return.
- Meanwhile, a case of My Greatest Failure has led Arran to continue to adopt this persona even while terminally ill, as a way of Facing Death with Dignity.
- For Honor has the Knights of the Iron Legions as one of its three factions, yet the only Knight class that approaches this trope is the Warden, who looks the most like the classic interpretation of a knight, wields a longsword, and serves as the viewpoint character for their chapter and afterwards ends up leading a resistance movement of the other Legions against Apollyon and her Blackstone Legion. Still, they don't wear full-on shining plate armor as the trope usually goes, instead wearing brigandine over their torso. There's nothing stopping a Warden player fighting as dishonorably as they want to win fights in the game however.
- Gems of War:
- The Whitehelm region has a piety-and-honour theme to it, meaning that its units tend to fit this archetype (i.e. being good-aligned religious crusaders). Besides the cards called "The Paladin" and "High Paladin", there's Gravitas, a divine knight with special powers against the undead and daemons.
- Sword's Edge, labeled in the opening credits as "Knights of the Iron Reach", has the noble knight thing going. "Ser Cygnea" is a human knight who specializes in defense and is often found first in battle.
- Ky Kiske from Guilty Gear. Prior to the events of the game, he's a military commander who willingly risked his life to save people even if the situation seemed hopeless or even if the person to be saved was questionable. In XX, Ky continues to be a noble public servant as a high ranking police officer. By the time of Overture, his popularity and charisma has earned him the position of a king.
- Hollow Knight: While his armor isn't literally shining anymore, the Dung Defender plays all of the other aspects of the trope straight. He is a proud, honorable warrior who is one of the few bosses who not only survives, but apologizes for attacking you (he thought you were a husk) and praises your ability. He played it even straighter when Hollownest still stood, as Ogrim, the most loyal of the Five Great Knights.
- Kid Icarus: Uprising makes it clear that Pit is one, as he is endlessly loyal to Palutena and will always fight for the human race, even though the game also shows that Humans Are Bastards and the real Big Bad, Hades, easily manipulates them to kill each other.
- In King Arthur: The Role-Playing Wargame, this is a given as you command various members of the Knights of the Round Table. While there are murderous Knights who are more concerned about their chances at raping and pillaging, many of your Knights are law-abiding and hold true to the folklore of chivalry, including your first Knights - Sir Ector and King Mark.
- In King's Quest Graham of Daventry forgoes the armor in favor of guile, but he is still very much a knight at heart, even after being crowned king.
- The Legend of Zelda has Link who, while not always a knight by occupation, is nonetheless an Ideal Hero who's been saving the princess and the land of Hyrule from Evil Overlord Ganon since 1986. That said, his A Link to the Past and Ocarine of Time incarnations are stated to have descended from the Knights of Hyrule, the Skyward Sword version is in the middle of training to become a knight at the start of the game, and Breath of the Wild's Link served as Princess Zelda's personal knight.
- Oersted of the Middle Ages chapter from Live A Live is a deconstructed example. Demon-slaying, princess-saving, the whole nine yards. However, the chapter is dedicated to show that even the noblest of knights can finally crack if there's enough hatred to corrode them and in Oersted's case, he cracked pretty damned hard.
- Samara in Mass Effect 2, even going so far as to give a Knight Errant (perhaps with a bit of Samurai) as the closest human equivalent to her order. Though she has a strong ruthless streak, and is absolutely unbending when it comes to her code.
- Medal of Honor: Underground has the SS knights who wear full suits of armor and fight using axes or swords. Subverted, of course, in that they are members of the SS which is the literal terrorist wing of the Nazi party.
- Neverwinter Nights: Lady Aribeth, Paladin of Tyr, the god of Justice is a rare female example. Her fall towards evil after seeing the city she had sacrificed so much for execute her fiancé for a crime he is innocent of (he was made a scapegoat and the people condemning him are fully aware of it) as well as the blatant injustice committed in the name of the god of justice is the main plot of the game
- Neverwinter Nights 2 had Casavir. Granted, he has all the personality of a brick, but he's a chivalrous paladin nevertheless.
- Noblemen: 1896 from Foursaken Media, has a post-Civil War America that lost 70% of the population. This enabled a rise of a new aristocracy. And when the undead emerged with the plague, from this new aristocracy came new classes of expensively armored knights such as the Sabre Knight and the Rifle Knight. The highest tier of this new knighthood are the heavily armored Paladins who wear power armor that's one part medieval knight, one part Ned Kelly and the rest a bank vault. These religious warriors don't have any magic but they do extra damage against ghouls and vampires.
- Overwatch:
- Reinhardt Wilhelm is more of a knight in mechanical rocket powered armor, but he still fits, and in fact invokes this trope. He sees himself as a modern day knight, and was previously part of an entire order of modern knights in powered armor called the Crusaders. He acted as The Heart to the titular Overwatch, staunchly supporting the group, but calling them out the minute they started straying morally. His forced retirement was the first step to the organization's eventual collapse from corruption and infighting, leading him to become a Knight Errant. In his youth, he was a hot-blooded and reckless gloryhound whose actions led to the massacre of his mentor and almost his entire unit. He later deeply regrets it.
- Reinhardt's Squire, Brigitte. While she was originally mainly tasked with helping maintain his Power Armor, she eventually develops her own and functions as a Paladin-esque Hero.
- Paladins: Fernando is an egotistical self-appointed knight who does heroics for glory and charming women. However, he does look out for his comrades and will protect them with his mighty shield and fry foes with his flame lance.
- Pandora's Tower: Aeron starts the game off sneaking into the capital city of the country his homeland is at war with just to watch his girlfriend sing, then doesn't hesitate to disappear with her when Elena is promptly afflicted with a curse. He then spends half the game looking to break said curse, and the other half looking after her and making their shabby safehouse a much more pleasant place to be just so she's more comfortable. Bonus points for the fact his armor is literally bright, shiny gold.
- Saga of Sins: The hero, Cecil, is a paladin and crusader who returns home to Sinwell, only to find out a plague has wiped out most of the village in his absence. And the citizens are questioning the church's leadership.
- Shop Heroes: Gauvin aspires to be a classic knight, slaying dragons to rescue princesses. He's currently a squire, though.
- Sonic and the Black Knight: In the final battle against Merlina, Nimue and the Knights of the Round Table use the power of the sacred swords to transform Sonic into Excalibur Sonic, a Super Mode which grants the blue hedgehog golden armor.
- Soul Series:
- Doubly subverted with Siegfried; his outward design is evocative of the trope wearing bright white/silver armor, but alas he is a Knight in Sour Armor in personality. He dreamt of becoming this just like his father who was an heroic knight that qualified for the trope, but fell into some bad company and eventually turned into a monster. He became so consumed with his crimes that he spent most of the series seeking atonement for them, and nearly veered into Knight Templar territory in the fourth game. By Soulcalibur V, he found peace and most definitely can be considered a noble knight as his new mission is to defend humans against the Malfested.
- Patroklos is similar albeit in a relatively less tragic way as he was initially an arrogant Jerkass who did morally questionable things in the name of "justice". He does grow out of it.
- Hilde is a straight, though Distaff Counterpart, example. A warrior-princess from Wolfkrone, a fictional kingdom in the Holy Roman Empire, Hilde is pointedly decked out in knightly plate armour — noteworthy in a series notorious for pimping out its female characters in outlandish and skimpy outfits, and she is an honourable, decent and true-hearted young woman with good breeding (in more ways than one — she's very attractive). She even curtsies to her opponent before she fights.
- In StarCraft I, Raynor starts out as one, Kerrigan even lampshades it. Unfortunately, he then realizes that the Koprulu Sector is a Crapsack World and becomes a Knight in Sour Armor.
- Tales of Vesperia: While Flynn is a very literal example on top of displaying the character traits, his best friend Yuri embodies the traits befitting this trope, while crossing it with Knight in Sour Armor, due to his dislike of the Empire and his time as an actual knight. He even gets a title in reference to the characteristics of this trope, called True Knight, and it's noted when you get the costume that Yuri is the most knightly of any of the characters, including Flynn (as the character who says this is talking to Flynn, who will agree with her).
- In Tavern Talk, Eleithyia takes her job as a seraph cleric knight seriously, vowing to "fight for those who cannot fight for themselves, bring justice to those who would bring doom". She cares a lot about her defenses, and she'll go out to save people whenever disaster strikes, even if it means being pulled from her day-off. She also doesn't care who immortalizes her if she dies, as long as she serves her purpose.
- Trails Series
- In The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II, Alfin considers Rean to be her knight in shining armor when he inadvertently rescues her at Pantagruel (he was forcibly taken there and both had no idea that the other was also on the ship) complete with Rean giving Alfin a Bridal Carry.
- Arianhrod is a rare female and antagonistic example. Her entire aesthetic is that of a silver knight, with an imposing armor and helmet along with an absolutely massive jousting lance. Despite being an Anguis of Ouroboros, she's shown to be one of the most honorable antagonists in the series. She even has 'squires' in the form of the Stahlritter, a trio who share her knightly aesthetic and are fervently loyal to her.
- TCTRPG The Colour Tuesday: Kyle fits this; he only rebels when its clear his sister will die if she does not recieve medicine that he can't leave town for because of an arbitrary law (apparently it's the wrong "season") He's consistently the most polite and level-headed character, and doesn't think twice about sacrificing his relationship with Alex and his powers to cross the magical flames which separate him and the medicine he carries from his sister. Thankfully this isn't necessary.
- In Undertale, Undyne literally refers to herself as a "knight in shining armor" in one version of her pre-Boss Battle speech. Though she will fight humans for other monsters with a vengeance, she's really a Hot-Blooded badass who bows to practically nobody.
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: Sir Gillaume De Launfal seems to have entirely missed the memo about what kind of world The Witcher is set in, and manages to be young, naïve, affectionate, impulsive and ready to throw himself at any chivalrous cause without regard for his own safety. Play your cards right, and he can make it work, and become one of the few characters in the franchise to get an unambiguously happy ending.
- Kuros, protagonist of the Wizards & Warriors series, is decked out in full plate armor in each of his games, usually coupled with a slotted face-covering helmet (although the second game, Ironsword, gave you other options for helmets as well), and he's an incredibly courageous knight of Elrond. However, Covers Always Lie, as the games' box art always depicts him as a Barbarian Hero for some reason.
- RWBY: Portraits of Nicholas Schnee in the Schnee Manor depict him in knightly armour. The design of the armour can also be seen in the Knight statues that decorate the house, and forms the basis for the Amor Gigas that Weiss defeats in the White Trailer and transforms into her primary summoning aide. Nicholas was noted as being a man of the people, who became wealthy only as a result of his quest to create a better economy and living conditions for the people of Mantle. The men who travelled on dangerous quests to find new Dust mines were led by him and they had a great deal of respect for his willingness to risk his life for others. He only gave up his adventuring lifestyle when it became clear to him just how much his wife and family missed being with him, and the toll that working in Dust mines and fighting Grimm had been taking on his health.
- Chivalry and Knavery: Sir Toby is a Christian knight (who happens to be an anthropomorphic lion) who is kind, brave and extremely strong. And patient, otherwise he would have run screaming from Kira and Ulf. According to his character description, he believes that there is good in everyone — amazingly, his time with the two of them hasn't beaten that belief out of him.
- Crimson Knights: The titular warriors are a cross between this and Hunter of Monsters, being an order of knights tasked to kill monsters and apprehend misusers of magic.
- Cucumber Quest: Due to being a work of satire that affectionately pokes fun at video game tropes, this trope is zigzagged.
- The knights of Cake Town all wear hodgepodge suits of armor made of random parts, and are just little more than glorified servants for King Croissant and his daughter, Princess Parfait. Because of the king's low standards of knighthood, most of the knights are easily defeated by Peridot during Cordelia's invasion of Cake Town. The rest of them turn traitor while one, Sir Carrot, escapes.
- Sir Carrot aspires to be a true knight and behaves according to chivalric traditions, but his crippling cowardice prevents him from acting like he should, to the point of becoming The Load while his much younger friends (Nautilus, Cucumber, and Almond) are much more capable than him. In fact, Sir Carrot's cowardice becomes a point of drama in Chapter 3 where Almond is manipulated into seeing him as a villain by Rosemaster and the others, including himself, lose faith in him. But the Nightmare Knight's intervention, combined with receiving a Love Letter and a love boost from a captive Parfait, causes Sir Carrot to regain his courage and level up permanently - gaining a gleaming, heart-themed suit of armor and a strawberry-shaped heart on his chest that allows him to summon magical weapons from it. And he defeats Rosemaster, too.
- Goblins:
- Big-Ears is probably the most good-aligned character in the whole comic. If he were human they'd have named a city after him.
- Kore, on the other hand, is a complete inversion though he believes he's the good guy.
- Sir Muir in Harkovast fits this trope, even if his armour is more battered then shining most of the time!
- Unusually for a modern-day work, Erik from Nixvir, after becoming a Knight of Truth, plays this trope completely straight. His armour may be little more than a helmet, a pair of gauntlets and a mail shirt, but Erik adheres rigidly to the chivalric code of honour and will often go out of his way to help people whenever he can.
- The Order of the Stick: All the Sapphire Guards are, but O-Chul even more so. The Giant describes him as "everything right about the paladin". He was already one in all but name in his prequel story, when he was just a regular captain in the army. He is honest and humble, stern but compassionate, courageous in the face of overwhelming odds, but above all else, committed to protecting the lives of everyone, human or hobgoblin. In fact, he alone is the main reason that the Sapphire Guard is such a bastion of righteousness. He initially tried to have the Sapphire Guard dismissed due to them being a bunch of elitist nobles more concerned with slaughtering evil than paying attention to the most obvious ramifications of their actions, but when told that wasn't an option, he joined them instead as an Internal Reformist. It worked.
O-Chul: A lot of people are going to get hurt tomorrow. All we can do is stand in the way of that and say, "Not them. Me. If you need to hurt someone, hurt me."
- Tower of God: Hong Chunhwa is a chivalrous knight who always pays his respects to the ladies.
- Fate/Nuovo Guerra: While several Servants come from Arthurian romances or the Matter of France, the best example would probably be Sir Roland. Sir Gawain is a special case: his devotion to Chivalry eventually led to Camelot's downfall, as he refused to call for Lancelot's help for the Battle of Camlann.
- Fire Emblem on Forums: This is the ideal for players of the Paladin class, and indeed many characters exist that live up to it.
- FEF 2: Miguel aspires to be this despite his old age. Whether he lives up to the trope is....questionable.
- Final Hour: Lamden is this, though downplayed due to his Chivalrous Pervert tendencies.
- Demon Soul Saga: The White Knight of Mishima, later revealed to be the Kaijin Gawain, is designed after this aesthetic, but he himself averts this trope. Mori (and a few other characters) take Akihiko to be this trope due to being a Bully Hunter, but he's closer to being a Knight in Sour Armor.
- Mortal Transgressions: Ferdiad Domniann. His codename is literally Knight. This starts to chip away, however, as he is forced to confront the realities of working within Gray-and-Grey Morality, with the stress leading him to temporarily disappear from the party.
- The Gamer's Alliance: Marcus Sarillius is a virtuous, and occasionally gullible, paladin who is always eager to save damsels in distress and set things right. Osmond Locke and Swenson Von Strupenguard are other notable examples.
- Knight of Hope
is naturally this. It's implied he's sent by God Himself to answer woman's prayers to be saved from a camp of bandits, and after slaughtering literally all of them, takes time to return her necklace depicting Saint Michael back to her and show her she's safe now before departing.
- Tales Out of Tallis: Sir Bastien is trying very hard to be one, though Rien tends to make it extraordinarily difficult for him.
- Sanders Sides: Roman would very much like to be one, but he has difficulty since, 1) He's simply a facet of Thomas' personality, not an actual human, and, 2) Thomas lives in modern, suburban Florida. He still tries to push Thomas into acting like one from time to time.
- 7-Second Riddles: They often show up to save the Princess Classic from their predicament, sometimes by fighting a dragon, other times by solving puzzles.
- Worm: Chevalier is one of the most morally upright characters in the setting, and for bonus points he actually wears shining armor.
- Adventures of the Gummi Bears: The recurring character Sir Victor, the White Knight, is a classic Knight in Shining Armor. However, it turns out that he is actually the estranged brother of the series' Big Bad, Duke Igthorn, and lives in constant fear that he would turn evil like the rest of his family (before An Aesop is delivered to him, anyway) and rights wrongs as perceived atonement for his house's ill deeds.
- Justice League Unlimited: Shining Knight. Especially played up in "Patriot Act" where he and a mutated General Ripper do battle while they argue what duty to one's country means.
- Mr. Benn: In the first episode ("Red Knight"), an invitation to a fancy dress party entices Mr. Benn to seek it out. He's not fond of parties, but he loves dressing. There is no party to find anywhere, which eventually leads Mr. Benn to the costume shop at which he becomes a regular, and then goes on to wear a bright red suit of armor. Rather unusually, Mr. Benn goes on to subvert the typical dragon slaying, instead ending up befriending the dragon he encounters, who goes on to tell Benn about how he was framed for burning buildings by a greedy matchstick maker.
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: Twilight Sparkle's big brother is a tall, white stallion named Shining Armor and is Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard. For bonus points, he even marries a princess in the season 2 finale, though his sister and his bride-to-be Cadance have to save him from the Monster of the Week.
- Sir Giles in Disney's animated featurette of Kenneth Grahame's "The Reluctant Dragon" chapter of Dream Days both embodies and subverts this trope, in that although he actually is a famous dragon-slaying hero (in Grahame's book actually St. George himself), he is nevertheless willing to fake a combat with the eponymous dragon on learning that he, too, is 'a bit of a bard'.
- South Park: Stan Marsh became a mix of this and the Only Sane Man. And sometimes he himself parodies this trope.
- Steven Universe has an entire episode, "Sworn to the Sword", dedicated to a deconstruction of this trope. Pearl trains Connie in swordplay, while also instructing her on the duties of knighthood as being "completely dedicated to a person and a cause", expecting Connie to be dedicated to Steven as Pearl was for Rose Quartz. Unfortunately, Pearl has severe self-esteem issues that she ultimately projects onto Connie, demanding that she be prepared to sacrifice her own well-being for Steven, just as Pearl had done for Rose countless times during the Gem War. Steven, Connie's "liege", is freaked out by the thought of Connie sacrificing her safety and self-worth for his sake and eventually gets through to her and Pearl by proving that it's better to fight together as a team, and gets Pearl to admit that Rose never devalued her and that she was just beating herself up.
- Transformers:
- Beast Wars: Silverbolt is a usually tongue-in-cheek example of this type. He's not a parody so much as a walking Lampshade Hanging, complete with trumpet fanfares when he speaks. It really helps that both his animals — one a wolf, the other an eagle — are typical "noble" animals. (which sorta makes a Griffin, an even more noble animal)
Blackarachnia: Oh no. You're not saving my life again? Even after I shot you?
Silverbolt: It's my duty, ma'am, as a Maximal and as a heroic character. - Sadly, he also counts as a case of Stupid Good, and in the sequel Beast Machines, he gets run through the ringer quite cruelly.
- Beast Wars: Silverbolt is a usually tongue-in-cheek example of this type. He's not a parody so much as a walking Lampshade Hanging, complete with trumpet fanfares when he speaks. It really helps that both his animals — one a wolf, the other an eagle — are typical "noble" animals. (which sorta makes a Griffin, an even more noble animal)
- William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, was the younger son of a minor nobleman who became the tournament champion of all Europe and went on to serve the royal family of Henry II of England and be given the hand and estates of Isabel de Clare, eventually rising to become the right hand man of three successive Kings (Henry II, Richard I and John), and regent to a fourth (Henry III), fighting in battle in his 70s. He eventually came to be known by his contemporaries as "The Marshal" and "the greatest knight," getting a real life Historical Hero Upgrade by featuring in a number of chansons de geste. He's also notable as reportedly being the only man ever to defeat Richard the Lionheart in combat.
- Godfrey of Bouillon, first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem*, was a leading crusader in the First Crusade, and unlike his relative Baldwin of Edessa and his contemporary, Bohemond of Taranto, he was remembered as a genuinely honest and pious man seeking to execute what he thought was God's will. Like William Marshal, he also underwent considerable Historical Hero Upgrade, ranking next to Charlemange and King Arthur as the third Christian Worthy
.
- Zig-Zagged with Edward, the Black Prince. He was scrupulously honourable in the treatment of his noble prisoners, including French King John the Good, even giving John permission to go home at one point, as well as delaying the Battle of Poitiers for a day to allow both sides to discuss the battle and Cardinal Périgord to plead for peace. However, he also favoured the chevauchée strategy, which is essentially short-hand for Rape, Pillage, and Burn for reasons of strategic expediency.
- Geoffroi de Charny, who literally wrote the manual on chivalry
was widely regarded in his day as a True and Perfect Knight. His reputation for honesty was such that when captured by the English, he was released on parole to collect his ransom and he found someone to pay it, true to his word. He famously proposed that the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 be settled by a hundred champions from each side to limit loss of life. His proposal was rejected and he died in the battle, defending the sacred Oriflamme banner of France to his last breath.
- Enguerrand VII de Coucy had much the same stature as Charny in the later half of the 14th century. He was given to the English as a hostage to secure the release of King Jean II, who had been captured in the battle of Poitiers, but King Edward III of England was so impressed with his courtesy and character that he allowed him to marry his eldest daughter, Princess Isabel. He later returned all his English lands and titles upon the accession of Richard II. Coucy became the role model for a whole generation of young French knights as an experienced campaigner and paragon of virtue. Finally in 1397, he was wounded and captured in the Battle of Nicopolis against Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I, and died before he could be ransomed.
- Richard I and his Worthy Opponent, Saladin, were both elevated to this status by later popular history, to the point where Saladin became significantly more famous and well regarded in the West than he was in the lands he had once lived.
- Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard, was known in his lifetime as "the knight without fear and beyond reproach" and, to his friends, "the good knight". He served three kings of France with absolute loyalty, unimpeachable courage, chivalry and honor, and exceptional skill in war. Right up until the 20th century the name "Bayard" was a byword for courage and virtue.
- Zawisza the Black
was considered to be a model of knightly virtues in Poland in his lifetime and even more after his death. He served two kings, Władysław Jagiełło (of his native Poland) and Sigismund of Luxembourg (the king of Hungary and Holy Roman Emperor). Interestingly, in the Battle of Grunwald, where Sigismund allied with the Teutonic Knights against Poland, he decided that his national identity trumped the commitments to his overlord Sigismund, a sentiment quite innovative in the Middle Ages. Apart from being a jousting champion (in 1421 he defeated Prince John of Aragon at a tourney in the castle of Perpignan), he was also an accomplished diplomat and frequently negotiated peace treaties. He died while fighting Ottoman Turks in Serbia. Even today, in Poland his first name (quite a popular name at the time) is shorthand of chivalry and righteousness.
- John Hunyadi was known as the "White Knight of Wallachia" and much like Godfrey of Bouillon, was also was revered by his contemporaries for his crusade against the Ottoman Empire. His deeds led him to be awarded the title of Athleta Christi (Champion of Christ) by The Pope and he was respected by his enemies, with Sultan Mehmed II allegedly grieving at his death when Hunyadi perished from the plague and that was shortly after Hunyadi dealt him such crushing defeat at the Siege of Belgrade that the Ottomans were unable to advance into Europe for 70 years. Today he is a Hungarian national hero and also revered as an example of chivalry in Serbia, Romania, and Bulgaria.
- Franz von Sickingen was a German knight that cultivated this public image of himself as "protector of the oppressed", often taking the side of the weaker party in many political disputes to the point he eventually earned the favor of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. This led him to participate in the Protestant Reformation when he granted asylum to Martin Luther which culminated in leading the failed Knight's Revolt in order to stop the decline of the status of the imperial knights.
- Sir Giles d'Argentan was known in the early 14th century as the "third best knight" in all of Christendom. Since he was just an ordinary knight, and the top two were the Holy Roman Emperor and King Robert of Scotland, this ranking was particularly notable. He died at the Battle of Bannockburn, fighting on the English side — having seen that the battle was lost, he escorted King Edward II to safety before telling him: "Sire, your protection was committed to me, but since you are safely on your way, I will bid you farewell for never yet have I fled from a battle, nor will I now." He charged back into battle and died.

