Editing Knight (section)

====Honorific orders of knighthood====
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2021}}
[[File:Andrea del Castagno 004.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Pippo Spano]], the member of the [[Order of the Dragon]]]]
After the [[Crusades]], the military orders became idealized and romanticized, resulting in the late medieval notion of [[chivalry]], as reflected in the [[chivalric romances]] of the time. The creation of chivalric orders was fashionable among the nobility in the 14th and 15th centuries, and this is still reflected in contemporary honours systems, including the term ''[[order (distinction)|order]]'' itself. Examples of notable orders of chivalry are:
* the [[Order of Saint George (Kingdom of Hungary)|Order of Saint George]], founded by [[Charles&nbsp;I of Hungary]] in 1326<ref>{{Cite web |last=Veszprémy |first=László |date=2023-08-19 |title=The Order of Saint George — The Oldest Secular Knightly Order in Hungary {{!}} Hungarian Conservative |url=https://www.hungarianconservative.com/articles/culture_society/order_saint-george_oldest-secular-knightly-order_angevin_kings_hungary/ |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=www.hungarianconservative.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
* the [[Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation|Order of the Most Holy Annunciation]], founded by Count [[Amadeus&nbsp;VI]] in 1362<ref>{{Cite web |title=Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation |url=https://www.savoydelegation-usa.org/supreme-order-of-the-most-holy-annunciation.html |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=American Delegation of Savoy Orders |language=en}}</ref>
* the [[Order of the Garter]], founded by [[Edward&nbsp;III of England]] in 1348<ref>{{cite web |title=The Order of the Garter |url=https://www.royal.uk/the-order-of-the-garter |publisher=British Royal Family |access-date=30 November 2023}}</ref>
* the [[Order of the Dragon]], founded by King [[Sigismund of Luxemburg]] in 1408<ref>{{Cite web |last=Veszprémy |first=László |date=2023-04-18 |title=Political Networking in the Middle Ages: The Order of the Dragon {{!}} Hungarian Conservative |url=https://www.hungarianconservative.com/articles/culture_society/king_sigismund_order_of_the_dragon_diplomacy_strategy_networking/ |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=www.hungarianconservative.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
* the [[Order of the Golden Fleece]], founded by [[Philip&nbsp;III, Duke of Burgundy]] in 1430<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-18 |title=The Order of the Golden Fleece {{!}} Philip the Good, Burgundy, Charles V {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Order-of-the-Golden-Fleece |access-date=2024-04-13 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
* the [[Order of Saint Michael]], founded by [[Louis&nbsp;XI of France]] in 1469<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-22 |title=Louis XI {{!}} King of France, Valois Dynasty, Reformer {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-XI |access-date=2024-04-13 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
* the [[Order of the Thistle]], founded by King James&nbsp;VII of Scotland (also known as [[James&nbsp;II of England]]) in 1687<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-11 |title=The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle {{!}} British Peerage, History & Significance {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Most-Ancient-and-Most-Noble-Order-of-the-Thistle |access-date=2024-04-13 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
* the [[Order of the Elephant]], which may have been first founded by [[Christian&nbsp;I of Denmark]], but was founded in its current form by [[Christian V of Denmark|King Christian&nbsp;V]] in 1693<ref>{{Cite web |title=THE HISTORY BEHIND THE ORDER OF THE ELEPHANT |url=https://www.kongehuset.dk/en/menu/news/the-history-behind-the-order-of-the-elephant |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=www.kongehuset.dk}}</ref>
* the [[Order of the Bath]], founded by [[George I of Great Britain|George&nbsp;I]] in 1725<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Most Honourable Order of the Bath {{!}} History, Ranks & Recipients {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Most-Honourable-Order-of-the-Bath |access-date=2024-04-13 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Order of the Bath |url=https://www.royal.uk/the-order-of-the-bath#:~:text=The%20title%20of%20the%20Order,up%20to%20women%20in%201971. |access-date=April 13, 2024 |website=www.royal.uk}}</ref>

[[File:Admiral_Drake_knighted_by_Queen_Elizabeth%27_(Sir_Francis_Drake)_from_NPG.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.15|[[Francis Drake]] (left) being knighted by Queen [[Elizabeth&nbsp;I]] in 1581. The recipient is tapped on each shoulder with a sword.]]
From roughly 1560, purely honorific orders were established, as a way to confer prestige and distinction, unrelated to military service and 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]] using the [[British honours system]] and some [[Commonwealth of Nations]] countries such as [[New Zealand]];
* Some [[Europe]]an countries, such as The [[Netherlands]], [[Belgium]] and [[Spain]] among others {{see below}}. The [[Order of Charles III]], the [[Order of Isabella the Catholic]], and the [[Order of Civil Merit]] are Spain's highest civil honours.
* The [[Holy See]] implementing the [[Papal Orders of Chivalry]].

There are other [[monarchy|monarchies]] and also [[republic]]s that also follow this practice. Modern knighthoods are typically conferred in recognition for services rendered to society, which are not necessarily martial in nature. The British musician [[Elton John]], for example, is a [[Knight Bachelor]], thus entitled to be called Sir Elton. The female equivalent is a ''[[Dame (title)|Dame]]'', for example Dame [[Julie Andrews]].

In the [[United Kingdom]], honorific knighthood may be conferred in two different ways:

*The first is by membership of one of the ''pure'' [[orders of chivalry]] such as the [[Order of the Garter]], the [[Order of the Thistle]] and the dormant [[Order of Saint Patrick]], of which all members are knighted. In addition, many British [[orders of merit]], namely the [[Order of the Bath]], the [[Order of St Michael and St George]], the [[Royal Victorian Order]] and the [[Order of the British Empire]] are part of the [[British honours system]], and the award of their highest ranks (Knight/Dame Commander and Knight/Dame Grand Cross), comes together with an honorific knighthood, making them a cross between orders of chivalry and orders of merit. By contrast, membership of other British orders of merit, such as the [[Distinguished Service Order]], the [[Order of Merit]] and the [[Order of the Companions of Honour]] does not confer a knighthood.
*The second is being granted honorific knighthood by the British sovereign without membership of an order, the recipient being called [[Knight Bachelor]].

In the British honours system the knightly style of ''Sir'' and its female equivalent ''Dame'' are followed by the [[given name]] only when addressing the holder. Thus, [[Elton John|Sir Elton John]] should be addressed as ''Sir Elton'', not ''Sir John'' or ''Mr John''. Similarly, actress [[Judi Dench|Dame Judi Dench]] should be addressed as ''Dame Judi'', not ''Dame Dench'' or ''Ms Dench''.

Wives of knights, however, are entitled to the honorific pre-nominal "Lady" before their husband's surname. Thus [[Paul McCartney|Sir Paul McCartney]]'s ex-wife was formally styled ''Lady McCartney'' (rather than ''Lady Paul McCartney'' or ''Lady Heather McCartney''). The style ''Dame Heather McCartney'' could be used for the wife of a knight; however, this style is largely archaic and is only used in the most formal of documents, or where the wife is a Dame in her own right (such as Dame [[Norma Major]], who gained her title six years before her husband Sir [[John Major]] was knighted). The husbands of Dames have no honorific pre-nominal, so Dame Norma's husband remained John Major until he received his own knighthood.

Up until 1965 it was not permitted to use these titles until after the knight concerned had received the [[accolade]]; but in that year the prohibition was lifted, and it is now permitted to use the titles immediately, from the time the award is [[gazetted]].<ref name="Galloway1996" />

[[File:Crécy - Grandes Chroniques de France.jpg|thumb|The English fighting the French knights at the [[Battle of Crécy]] in 1346]] 
With the award of a KCVO to the Rt Rev. [[Randall Davidson]] in 1902,<ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/27467/page/5461 The London Gazette, Issue 27467, Page 5461, 22 August 1902]</ref> the custom was established whereby a [[Anglican ministry|clerk in holy orders]] in the [[Church of England]], on being appointed to a degree of knighthood, does not received the accolade.<ref name="Galloway1996">{{cite book |editor1-last=Galloway |editor1-first=Peter |editor2-last=Stanley |editor2-first=David |editor3-last=Martin |editor3-first=Stanley |title=Royal Service (Volume I) |date=1996 |publisher=Victorian Publishing |location=London |page=22}}</ref> He receives the insignia of his honour and may place the appropriate letters after his name or title but he may not be called Sir<ref name="indyobit" /> and his wife may not be called Lady. This custom is not observed in Australia and New Zealand, where knighted Anglican clergymen routinely use the title "Sir". [[Clergy|Ministers]] of other Christian Churches are entitled to receive the accolade. For example, [[Norman Gilroy|Sir Norman Cardinal Gilroy]] did receive the accolade on his appointment as [[Order of the British Empire|Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire]] in 1969. A knight who is subsequently ordained does not lose his title. A famous example of this situation was [[Derek Pattinson|The Revd Sir Derek Pattinson]], who was ordained just a year after he was appointed [[Knight Bachelor]], apparently somewhat to the consternation of officials at Buckingham Palace.<ref name="indyobit">{{cite news|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article1879386.ece |title=Michael De-La-Noy, obituary in |work=The Independent |date=2006-10-17 |access-date=2009-11-19 |location=London |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123110436/http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article1879386.ece |archive-date=2007-11-23 }}</ref> A woman clerk in holy orders may be made a Dame in exactly the same way as any other woman since there are no military connotations attached to the honour. A clerk in holy orders who is a [[baronet]] is entitled to use the title Sir.

Outside the British honours system it is usually considered improper to address a knighted person as 'Sir' or 'Dame' (notable exceptions are members of the [[Order of the Knights of Rizal]] in the [[Republic of the Philippines]].) Some countries, however, historically {{em|did}} have equivalent honorifics for knights, such as [[Cavaliere]] in [[Italy]] (e.g. ''Cavaliere'' [[Benito Mussolini]]), and [[Ritter]] in [[Germany]] and the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]] (e.g. [[Georg von Trapp|Georg ''Ritter von Trapp'']]).

[[File:Battle of Montiel.jpg|thumb|right|Miniature from [[Jean Froissart]] ''[[Froissart's Chronicles|Chronicles]]'' depicting the [[Battle of Montiel]] (Castilian Civil War, in the [[Hundred Years' War]])]]
State knighthoods in the Netherlands are issued in three orders: the [[Order of William]], the [[Order of the Netherlands Lion]], and the [[Order of Orange Nassau]]. Additionally there remain a few hereditary knights in the Netherlands.

In [[Belgium]], honorific knighthood (not hereditary) can be conferred by the king on particularly meritorious individuals such as scientists or eminent businessmen, or for instance to [[astronaut]] [[Frank De Winne]], the second Belgian in space. This practice is similar to the conferral of the dignity of [[Knight Bachelor]] in the [[United Kingdom]]. In addition, there still are a number of hereditary knights in Belgium {{see below}}.

In [[France]] and Belgium, one of the ranks conferred in some [[orders of merit]], such as the [[Légion d'Honneur]], the [[Ordre National du Mérite]], the [[Ordre des Palmes académiques]] and the [[Ordre des Arts et des Lettres]] in France, and the [[Order of Leopold (Belgium)|Order of Leopold]], [[Order of the Crown (Belgium)|Order of the Crown]] and [[Order of Leopold&nbsp;II]] in Belgium, is that of ''Chevalier'' (in French) or ''Ridder'' (in Dutch), meaning Knight.

In the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] the monarchs tried to establish chivalric orders, but the hereditary lords who controlled the Union did not agree and managed to ban such assemblies. They feared the king would use orders to gain support for absolutist goals and to make formal distinctions among the peerage, which could lead to its legal breakup into two separate classes, and that the king would later play one against the other and eventually limit the legal privileges of hereditary nobility. But finally in 1705 King {{nowrap|August II}} managed to establish the [[Order of the White Eagle (Poland)|Order of the White Eagle]] which remains Poland's most prestigious order of that kind. The head of state (now the President as the acting Grand Master) confers knighthoods of the order to distinguished citizens, foreign monarchs and other heads of state. The order has its chapter. There were no particular honorifics that would accompany a knight's name, as historically all (or at least by far most) of its members would be royals or hereditary lords anyway. So today, a knight is simply referred to as "Name Surname, knight of the White Eagle (Order)".

In [[Nigeria]], holders of religious [[Order (distinction)|honours]] like the [[Knighthood of St. Gregory]] make use of the word ''Sir'' as a pre-nominal honorific in much the same way as it is used for secular purposes in Britain and the Philippines. Wives of such individuals also typically assume the title of Lady.