What is "Lord Knight"

[shim soo min]

I've never seen "Lord Knight"
but , I see that word from a certain website.

I don't think be able "Lord" plus "Knight".
so I can't guess about that word's meaning.

What is the "lord knight"?



sorry about my poor english. T-T
waiting for some kind replys.

Thank you very much.

[DavidEvans]

A Lord is born to the title. He is not a knight unless he is so dubbed. A knight is not always of the gentry. He may be raised by being dubbed a knight. Therefore, although I've never seen it,a Lord Knight is a Peer(member of the noblity) who has been dubbed. Hope that helps!

[philippewillaume]

I think it is a neologism.
What david says is true. Though it changed with time, I.E it became harder to become a knight if you were not noble as time went by. Nontheless, for example François the first was knighted on the battlefield of marignano. He was the king of France (and the head of a very powerful and noble family but he was not a knight before that.

From In France and in England usually knights are a seen as a title (even though you are not born with it and you need to be made knight), so it usually calls for name after not really another title.
i.e. knight bob, lord of shmurtz upon therandomriver
or
Lord bob earl of somewhereshire, knight of the order of st gudule

I have seen my lord knights in movies or in 19-20cent novels, but I did not come across the French, German or English source I have read.

[Steve Thurston]

I think it has probably been used as a way of distinguishing between landed knights (lord Knight) and non landed knights (yoeman knights).

In England during the 1100-1300's if you own a certain amount of land or earned a set amount in rent from land then you had to join the order of Knighthood by law. This was to do with the defence of the realm and to ensure the ruling warrior elite remained so. By the 1400's this was becomming too difficult for many subjects and there was vast corruption so you had to earn more than £500 per year. These individuals would have been the Lord Knights most of whom would have been wealthy merchants such as John Paston. This title was probably hiereditory.

The other way to gain knighthood was by military service. At some battles lots of guys dying were knighted, probably to raise the moral of the others, but this title was not hereditory. If you had performed great service and survived you could be awarded the title as well as at tournaments. These are 'yoemen' (freemen) knights, and were generally looked down upon as being ruff bullies who could fight well but had no chivalric honour. It ultimately stopped the peasantry having powerfull fighters who would be able to rise agiants the feudal overlords.

Steve