Knights
The concept of chivalry first arose in the 11th century as part of feudal society. At the end of his military training, through the ceremonial bestowing of arms, a ritual known as dubbing, a young man would be made a knight, to faithfully fulfil his duty of defending the people and maintaining peace. In Europe, knighthoods soon became hereditary, gradually taking on a religious aspect under the influence of the Church and the Crusades. During the 12th century, the fundamental qualities of a good knight, courage, loyalty, generosity and courtesy, came to be recognised as the quintessential virtues of nobility.
Since that time, the spirit of chivalry has endured throughout the centuries, kept alive in particular by the existence of chivalric orders, and it has continued to capture the imagination of successive generations.
