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== Japanese erotic cinema ==
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=== Articles started ===
[[Image:Knight crop.JPG|right|thumb|180px|The silver [[Anglia knight]], commissioned as a trophy in 1850, intended to represent the [[Black Prince]].]]
==== Actresses ====
'''Knight''' is the English term for a European social position. Knighthood is the lowest rank of aristocracy and, in most cases, is not inheritable. In the [[High Middle Ages|High]] and [[Late Middle Ages]], the principal duty of a knight was to fight as, and lead, heavy [[cavalry]] (see also [[serjeanty]]); more recently, knighthood has been a title of honor, given to a more diverse class of people, from judges, such as [[Julius Caesar (judge)|Sir Julius Caesar]], to [[Paul McCartney|Sir Paul McCartney]]. By extension, "knight" is also used as a translation of the names of other honorable estates connected with horsemanship, especially from classical antiquity.
*[[Junko Miyashita|Miyashita Junko]]
*[[Mariko Morikawa|Morikawa Mariko]]
*[[Kimiko Matsuzaka|Matsuzaka Kimiko]]
*[[Naomi Tani|Tani Naomi]]
==== Films ====
* ''[[Flower and Snake]]'' (1974)
* ''[[Wife to be Sacrificed]]'' (1974)
==== Work in progress ====
The history of knighthood involves, therefore, the history of the social institution, which began somewhat differently in Britain than in continental Europe; the history of the word, and the corresponding terms in French and Latin; and the history of the technology which made heavy cavalry possible.
* Historical list of Japanese AV actresses
**[[User:Dekkappai/List of Japanese AV actresses, 1980s]]
**[[User:Dekkappai/List of Japanese AV actresses, 1990s]]
**[[User:Dekkappai/List of Japanese AV actresses, 2000s]]
=== Saved in user space ===
==The word==
*[[User:Dekkappai/Akatsuki Runa|Akatsuki Runa]] (紅月ルナ)
The word ''knight'' derives from [[Old English language|Old English]] ''cniht'', meaning [[page (servant)|page boy]], or [[servant (domestic)|servant]] (as is still the case in the cognate [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and [[German language|German]] ''Knecht'' for ''servant''), or simply boy. ''Knighthood'', as [[Old English]] ''cnihthad'', had the meaning of [[adolescence]], i.e. the period between childhood and manhood. The sense of (adult) lieutenant of a king or other superior was in existence at least as early as [[1100]], although there are signs of it as early as [[Alfred the Great|Alfred's]] [[Orosius]].
**Status: '''Deleted'''
*[[User:Dekkappai/Hikari Hino|Hikari Hino]]
**Status: '''Not Yet Deleted'''
*[[User:Dekkappai/Miyama Chiharu|Miyama Chiharu]]
**Status: '''Deleted'''
== Work in progress ==
In this respect English differs from most other European languages, where the equivalent word emphasizes the status and prosperity of war horse ownership. In [[German language|German]], the literal meaning of ''Ritter'' is ''rider''; in [[Dutch language|Dutch]], the literal meaning of ''Ridder'' is ''Ruiter''; in [[French language|French]], the literal meaning of ''chevalier'' is ''horseman''; [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''caballero'' is similar. In [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] one refers to a knight as a ''cavaleiro'' (lit. ''horseman'') and interestingly, the word for [[gentleman]] is "cavalheiro" <ref>Although the respective French and Spanish terms ''chevalier'' and ''caballero'' are obvious cognates, modern usage differs somewhat. ''Caballero'' has become an equivalent to ''gentleman.'' In French, ''monsieur'' (''my sir'') is equivalent to ''gentleman'' and ''chevalier'' retains more of its historic association with horsemanship.</ref> Linguistically, the association of horse ownership with social status extends at least as far as ancient [[Greece]], where many aristocratic names incorporated the Greek word for horse, like [[Hipparchus]] and [[Xanthippe]]; the character [[Pheidippides]] in [[Aristophanes]]' ''[[The Clouds|Clouds]]'' has his grandfather's name with ''hipp-'' inserted to sound more aristocratic. A survival is the modern given name ''Philip,'' whose etymology means ''lover of horses.''
*[[User:Dekkappai/Kimiko Matsuzaka]]
== Another fine project ==
==The institution==
In the early middle ages the rank of knight was loosely defined. In late [[Carolingian]] France ([[10th Century]]) persons occupying this role were termed ''[[miles]]'' (plur. ''milites''). This term designated a professional fighting man in the emerging [[feudal system]]. Many were as poor as the peasant class. However, over time, as this class of fighter became more prominent in post-Carolingian France, they became more wealthy and began to hold and inherit land. Eventually fighting on horseback became synomymous with the warrior caste's role.
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From the [[12th century]], the concept continued being tied to [[cavalry]], mounted and [[armour]]ed [[soldier]]s, and thus to the earlier class of noble [[Rome|Roman]] warriors known as ''[[equestrian (Roman)|equites]]'' (see [[esquire]]). Because of the cost of equipping oneself in the cavalry, the term became associated with wealth and social status, and eventually knighthood became a formal title. Significantly the nobility, who at this time were also expected to be leaders in times of war, responded to this new class by becoming members of it. Nobles had their sons trained as gentlemen and as professional fighters in the household of another noble. When the young man had completed his training he was ready to become a knight, and would be honoured as such in a ceremony known as "[[dubbing]]" (knighting) from the french "adoubement". It was expected that all young men of noble birth be knights and often take oaths swearing allegiance, chastity, protection of other Christians, and respect of the laws laid down by their forebears, though this varied from period to period and on the rank of the individual.
Ranks: From the time of [[Henry III of England]], a [[knight bachelor]] was a member of the lower nobility, preceded by the [[knight banneret]], a commander of ten or more lances who could lead his men under his own banner, but who didn't have the rank of [[baron]] or [[earl]]. The knights bachelor did not wear any insignia until [[1296]].
[[Image:Codex Manesse 081 Walther von Klingen.jpg|thumb|200px|Two late 13th / early 14th century knights, wearing full mail armour and [[great helm]]s at a [[joust]] ([[Codex Manesse]]).]]
The concept, together with the notion of [[chivalry]] came to full bloom during the [[Hundred Years' War]]. During the same period, however, the importance of heavy cavalry was reduced by improved [[pike (weapon)|pikemen]] and [[longbow]] tactics. This was a bitter lesson for the nobility, learned throughout the 14th century at battles like those of [[Battle of Crécy|Crécy]], [[Battle of Bannockburn|Bannockburn]] and [[Battle of Laupen|Laupen]]. The "knights in shining armour" of the late 15th and 16th centuries, by that time in full [[plate armour]], were mostly confined to the [[jousting]] grounds, and the romantic [[Pas d'Armes]]. The [[knight (chess)|chess piece]] was named in this period, around [[1440]]. Via the transitional [[Cuirassier]]s of the 16th century, cavalry again became dominant in light, unarmoured form, in the 17th century, and not usually associated with knighthood.
Knighthood as a purely formal title bestowed by the British monarch unrelated to military service was established in the 16th century. The British title of [[baronet]] was established by [[James I of England]] in 1611 as an inheritable knighthood, ranking below Baron (the lowest Peerage title).
==Early heavy cavalry==
[[image:Knight-Iran.JPG|left|thumb|200px|<center>The oldest known relief of a heavily armoured cavalryman, from the [[Sassanid]] empire, at Taq-i Bostan, near [[Kermanshah]], [[Iran]] ([[4th century]])</center>]]
The origin of heavily armoured cavalry ([[Latin]]:''[[cataphract]]os''; [[Persian]]: ''Savaaraan'') lies in [[Parthian]] and [[Sassanid]] [[Iran|Persia]], and medieval chivalry absorbed many Persian traditions in the course of the Perso-Byzantine wars. For example, [[Ammianus Marcellinus]], a [[Roman Empire|Roman]] general and historian, who served in the army of [[Constantius II]] in [[Gaul]] and [[Iran|Persia]], fought against the Persians under [[Julian the Apostate]] and took part in the retreat of his successor, [[Jovian]]. He describes the Persian knight as:
::''"All their companies clad in iron, and all parts of their bodies were covered with thick plates, so fitted that the stiff joints conformed with those of their limbs; and forms of the human faces were so skillfully fitted to their heads, that since their entire bodies were covered with metal, arrows that fell upon them could lodge only where they could see a little through tiny openings opposite the pupil of the eye, or where through the tips of their noses they were able to get a little breath."''
::''"The Persians opposed us serried bands of mail-clad horsemen in such close order that the gleam of moving bodies covered with closely fitting plates of iron dazzled the eyes of those who looked upon them, while the whole throng of horses was protected by coverings of leather. "''
===Sarmatians===
Up to the [[5th century]], [[Iranian]] [[tribal]] [[Sarmatians]] cavalry units were stationed in Britain as part of the Roman army (see [[Roman departure from Britain]]), allowing for a direct influence of Roman Cataphractes on Migration Age Europe. According to a theory of Littleton and Thomas (1978), the legend of [[King Arthur]], the prototypical knight of High Medieval literature, was directly inspired by these Sarmatian troops (however, it is most likely that the only reason we view Arthur and his retainers as knights was simply because the Arthurian Cycle became popular in a time in which knighthood was predominant); and Sir [[Thomas Malory]]'s descriptions reflect his own time, in which the plate-wearing tournament knight was again prevalent.
==Ancient social classes==
An [[Equestrian (Roman)|Equestrian]] ([[Latin]] ''eques'', plural ''equites'') was a member of the second highest [[social class]] in the [[Roman Republic]] and early [[Roman Empire]]. This class is often translated as ''knight''; the medieval knight, however, was called ''miles'' in Latin, (which in classical Latin meant "soldier", normally infantry), until the Renaissance revival of ''eques''.
Similarly, the Greek ιππευς (''hippeus'') is commonly translated knight; at least in its sense of the highest of the four Athenian social classes, the ones who could afford to maintain a warhorse in the state service.
== Becoming a Knight ==
[[Image:Edmund blair leighton accolade.jpg|thumb|left|The Accolade, by Edmund Blair Leighton]]
During the [[High Middle Ages]], it was technically possible for every free man to become a knight, but the process of becoming (and the equipping of) a knight was very expensive; thus it was more likely that a knight would come from a noble (or wealthy) family. They went through a long process to become a knight involving three stages: start as a [[page (servant)|page]], moving on to be a personal [[squire]], and after they have passed their training they could be knighted.
The process of training for knighthood began before [[adolescence]], inside the prospective knight’s own home, where he was taught [[etiquette|courtesy]] and appropriate manners. Around the age of 7 years, he would be sent away to train and serve at a grander household as a page. Here, he would serve as a kind of [[waiter]] and personal servant, entertaining and serving food to his elders. A page was usually the son of a [[vassal]], who sent him to his or another [[lord#Feudalism|lord]]’s [[castle]] to become a page. For seven years a page was cared for by the women of the house, who instructed him in [[comportment]], courtesy, cleanliness, and religion. He would learn basic hunting and [[falconry]], and also various battle skills such as taking care of, preparing, and riding horses, as well as use of weapons and [[armour]].
A page became a squire when he turned 14 years of age, being assigned or picked by a knight to become his personal aide. This allowed the squire to observe his master while he was in battle, in order to learn from his techniques. He also acted as a personal servant to the knight, taking care of his master’s equipment and horse. This was to uphold the knight’s code that promoted generosity, courtesy, compassion, and most importantly, loyalty. The knight acted as a tutor and taught the squire all he needed to know to become a knight. As the squire grew older, he was expected to follow his master into battle, and attend to his master if the knight fell in battle. Some squires became knights for performing an outstanding deed on the battlefield, but most were knighted by their lord when their training was judged to be complete.
A squire could hope to become a knight when he was about 18 to 21 years old. Once the squire had established sufficient mastery of the required skills, he was dubbed a knight. In the early period, the procedure began with the squire [[prayer|praying]] into the night, known as [[vigil]]. He was then bathed, and in the morning he was dressed in a white shirt, gold [[tunic]], purple cloak, and was knighted by his [[monarch|king]] or lord. As the Middle Ages progressed, the process changed. The squire was made to vow that he would obey the regulations of [[chivalry]], and never flee from battle. Then women would buckle on his armour. A squire could also be knighted on the battlefield, in which a lord simply performed the [[accolade]], i.e. struck him on the shoulder saying “Be thou a knight”.
The night before his knighting ceremony, the squire would take a cleansing bath, fast, make confession, and pray to [[God]] all night in the [[chapel]], readying himself for his life as a knight. Then he would go through the knighting ceremony the following day. Knights followed the code of chivalry, which promoted honor, honesty, respect to God, and other knightly virtues. Knights served their lords and were paid in land, because money was scarce.
Later, as military technology and society evolved, knighthood became irrelevant to warfare (the [[Battle of the Golden Spurs]] in 1302 was seen as a landmark: the largest knightly army in [[Christendom]], fielded by the [[France|French]] king, was destroyed by [[infantry]]; soon [[firearm]]s would revolutionize war still further), while its theoretically irrelevant link with nobility (generally only nobles were knighted, and in noble families most males were expected to be) encouraged it to survive with an essentially civilian [[ethos]] of [[social stratification]]. In various traditions, knighthood was reserved for people with a minimum of noble quarters (as in many orders of chivalry), or knight became essentially a low degree of nobility, sometimes even conferred as a hereditary title below the [[peerage]].
Meanwhile monarchy strived, as an expression of [[Absolutism]], to monopolize the right to confer knighthood, even as an individual honour. Not only was this often successful, once established, this prerogative of the [[Head of State]] was even transferred to the [[succession#Political succession|successors]] of [[dynasty|dynasties]] in [[republic]]an [[regime]]s, such as the British [[Lord Protector of the Commonwealth]].
== Knighthood and the Feudal system ==
Knighthood was closely connected with the [[feudal system]]. Originating largely in what later became known as France, this was a social organization in which warfare and the protection of the common people became the specialised skill of a select group. Instead of having them paid in cash — of which everyone, even the [[monarch]], was short — they were paid in land. These rather extensive pieces of land were the fiefs. Though a fief did not have to be land — it could be any payment — it is generally thought of as being the land that the knights were given as payment for service to the king. The knights were economically supported by peasants who worked to produce food and ideologically supported by the contemporary church.
In times of war or national disorder the monarch would typically call all the knights together to do their annual service of fighting. This could be against threats to the nation or in defensive and offensive wars against other nations. Sometimes the knights responding to the call were the [[Nobility|nobles]] themselves, and sometimes these men were hired by nobles to fight in their stead; some noblemen were disinclined or unable to fight.
As time went by, monarchs began to prefer standing (permanent) armies because they could be used for longer periods of time, were more professional and were generally more loyal; partly because those noblemen who were themselves knights, or who sent knights to fight, were prone to use the monarch's dependency on their resources to manipulate him. This move from knights to [[standing army|standing armies]] had two important outcomes: the implementation of a regular payment of "[[scutage]]" to monarchs by noblemen (a money payment instead of active military service) which would strengthen the concept and practice of [[taxation]]; and a general decrease in [[military discipline]] in knights, who became more interested in their country estates and [[chivalry|chivalric]] pursuits, including their roles as [[courtier]]s.
Originally, knighthood could be bestowed on any man by a knight commander, but it was generally considered more prestigious to be dubbed a knight by the hand of a monarch or [[royal family|royalty]]; the monarch eventually acquired the exclusive right to confer knighthoods known as [[Fount of honour]]. By about the late [[13th century]], partly in conjunction with the focus on courtly behavior, a code of conduct and uniformity of dress for knights began to evolve. Knights were eligible to wear a [[white]] [[belt (clothing)|belt]] and [[gold]]en [[spur]]s as signs of their status. Moreover, knights were also required to swear allegiance — either to a [[liege lord]] or to a [[military order]].
[[Image:Knight in War harness after a Miniature in a Psalter written and illuminated under Louis le Gros.png|right|thumb|Knight in war harness, after a miniature in a psalter written and illuminated under Louis le Gros.]]
In theory, knights were the Christian warrior class defending the people of Medieval Europe and followed a code of chivalry, which was a set of customs that governed the knights behavior. Knights served mightier lords, usually as [[vassal]]s, or were hired by them, some had their own castle, others joined a [[military order]] or a crusade. In reality, rules were often bent or blatantly broken by knights as well as their masters, for power, goods or honor; a few knights even turned to organised crime.
==Chivalric code==
{{details|chivalry}}
In war, the chivalrous knight was idealized as [[Courage|brave]] in [[battle]], [[loyalty|loyal]] to his king and [[God]], and willing to [[sacrifice]] himself for the greater good. Towards his fellow Christians and countrymen, the knight was to be [[merciful]], [[humble]], and [[Politeness|courteous]]. Towards noble ladies above all, the knight was to be gracious and gentle.
==Military-monastic orders==
{{details|Military order}}
*[[Knights Hospitaller]], founded during the [[First Crusade]]
*[[Order of Saint Lazarus]] established ca. [[1100]], abolished [[1830]]
*[[Knights Templar]], founded [[1118]], disbanded [[1307]]
*[[Teutonic knights]], founded ca. [[1190]], ruling [[Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights|Prussia]] until [[1525]]
Other orders were established in the [[Iberian peninsula]] in imitation of the orders in the Holy Land, in [[Avis]] in [[1143]], in [[Alcantara]] in [[1156]], in [[Calatrava]] in [[1158]], in [[Santiago de Compostela|Santiago]] in [[1164]].
==Chivalric orders==
{{details|Chivalric order}}
After the failure of the [[Crusades]], the military orders became idealized and romanticized, resulting in the late medieval notion of [[chivalry]], as reflected in the [[Arthurian]] romances of the time. The creation of chivalric orders was fashionable among the noblesse in the 14th and 15th centuries, as remains reflected in contemporary honours systems, and the term [[Order (decoration)|order]] itself, notably the [[Order of Saint George]], founded by [[Charles I of Hungary]] in [[1325]]/6, the [[Order of the Garter]], founded by [[Edward III of England]] in ca. [[1348]], the [[Order of the Golden Fleece]], founded by [[Philip III, Duke of Burgundy]] in [[1430]], and the [[Order of St Michel]], founded by [[Louis XI of France]] in [[1469]].
==Honorific orders==
From roughly [[1560]], purely honorific orders were established, designed as a way to confer prestige and distinction, unrelated to military service or chivalry in the more narrow sense. Such orders were particularly popular in the 17th and 18th centuries, and knighthood continues to be conferred in various countries:
* The [[United Kingdom]] (see [[British honours system]]) and some [[Commonwealth of Nations]] countries;
* Most [[Europe]]an countries, such as The [[Netherlands]] (see below).
* [[Malaysia]] — see [[Malay titles]];
* [[Thailand]];
* The [[Holy See]] — see [http://www.chivalricorders.org/vatican/main2.htm].
There are other [[monarchy|monarchies]] and also [[republic]][[s]] that also follow the practice. Modern knighthoods are typically awarded in recognition for services rendered to society, services which are no longer necessarily martial in nature. The musician [[Elton John]], for example, is entitled to call himself Sir Elton. The female equivalent is a ''Dame''.
Accompanying the title is the [[given name]], and optionally the [[surname]]. So, Elton John may be called ''Sir Elton'' or ''Sir Elton John'', but never ''Sir John''. Similarly, actress [[Judi Dench]] D.B.E. may be addressed as ''Dame Judi'' or ''Dame Judi Dench'', but never ''Dame Dench''. Wives of knights, however, are entitled to the honorific "Lady" before their husband's surname. Thus [[Paul McCartney|Sir Paul McCartney]]'s wife is styled ''Lady McCartney'', not ''Lady Paul McCartney'' or ''Lady Heather McCartney''. The style ''Dame Heather McCartney'' could be used; however, this style is largely archaic and is only used in the most formal of documents.
State Knighthoods in the Netherlands are issued in three orders, the [[Order of William]], the [[Order of the Dutch Lion]], and the [[Order of Orange Nassau]]. Additionally there remain a few hereditary knights in The Netherlands.
In [[Italy]], the [[Cavalieri]] is an honor equivalent to a knighthood.
==Footnotes==
<references />
==External links==
* {{cite web | title=History of Orders of Chivalry | work=Heraldica | url=http://www.heraldica.org/topics/orders/ordhist.htm | accessdate=June 18 | accessyear=2005}}
*[http://www.bartleby.com/65/ca/cavalry.html Bartleby.com]
==Literature==
*Boulton, D'Arcy Jonathan Dacre. ''The Knights of the Crown: The Monarchical Orders of Knighthood in Later Medieval Europe, 1325-1520''. 2d revised ed. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press, 2000.
* Forey, Alan John. ''The Military Orders: From the Twelfth to the Early Fourteenth Centuries''. Basingstoke: Macmillan Education, 1992.
*Shaw, William A. ''The Knights of England: A Complete Record from the Earliest Time'' 2v. London: Central Chancery, 1906 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1970).
==See also==
*[[vityaz]] and [[bogatyr]], [[Kievan Rus']] terms translated as "knight".
*[[Samurai]] a similar class in Japanese history
*[[Xia (philosophy)|Xiá]], a similar class in Chinese history
*[[Jedi Knight]]
[[Category:Feudalism]]
[[Category:Positions of authority]]
[[Category:Honorary titles]]
[[Category:Knights| ]]
[[Category:Medieval warfare]]
[[Category:Noble titles]]
[[Category:Warriors]]
[[cs:Rytíř (titul)]]
[[da:Ridder]]
[[de:Ritter]]
[[es:Caballero]]
[[eo:Kavaliro]]
[[fr:Chevalier]]
[[he:אביר]]
[[nl:Ridder]]
[[nds:Ridder]]
[[ja:騎士]]
[[no:Ridder]]
[[pl:Rycerz]]
[[pt:Cavaleiro]]
[[ru:Рыцарь]]
[[sr:Витез]]
[[fi:Ritari]]
[[sv:Riddare]]
[[uk:Рицар]]
[[zh:骑士]]
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