Volume 1
Cyclopaedia: or, an universal dictionary of arts and sciences ... The whole intended as a course of antient and modern learning, extracted from the best authors, dictionaries, journals, memoirs, transactions, ephemerides, &c. in several languages / By E. Chambers.
- Chambers, Ephraim, approximately 1680-1740.
- Date:
- 1741-1743
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Cyclopaedia: or, an universal dictionary of arts and sciences ... The whole intended as a course of antient and modern learning, extracted from the best authors, dictionaries, journals, memoirs, transactions, ephemerides, &c. in several languages / By E. Chambers. Source: Wellcome Collection.
1053/1066
![tion of Exod i tA i i “ , 5 tke w°rd m his tranfla- Old Saxon^«r^7„o^7“uPlr/ ,he Bible- In * paralyticus, was turned, Myu knafa. J“C“ d°”'° pLcotper?igtnw, &cn additi°ni Wil‘ and martial proweft ^' ^k^l a, Perfon> _ who for his virtue of entlemen ini-n 5 I tbf ^InS’ rai^ above the rank Nomu?;;^ 0fdignit^ “d h°°“r- S« * lift' V it!’°risiml Germa’ *»«■», fignifiet wa( Iwe' 'have b t Z in” ““ f°r ‘ foIdier' of ufed in the firft ft. r one Indan<;e among us where knigbt is P operlv it“d “ in *”&* °f th‘ Me. who parliament for fuch a county.^In the Latin, nrpfT rl k ^ j ^ta Ian> and Dutch languages, knight is ex- • witeZrd z^r&r 7v;z 7be. cads therrmw/AV ij” ^or^e^ac^- -Indeed our common law t £ X -ecaufe they ufual]yheld landa in whfch fenfe the w/jVe ^ kmg foldiers in his wars; in TCnlo-hfhfwl u wleSt was ufed pro vaffallo• mie? 7d w7 of honour ■ the ancient ar- thlr’t ki .,? ™ Wlth a Sreat deal of ceremony on Pte in arms Th ”gUilhed ■themfeI',eS bf fomc otable ex- we now 2dl7lv7 T faid ,to be adoPKd. which fons of him h I ^ bjIng ^uPP°^edJ in fomemeafure, the ions of him who knighted them. See Adoption. ThenrinZ!JieSat creatl°nof a Mght have been various. on the SoPM WereTa,b°X T the ear’ and a ftroke with afword n the fhoulder. Then they put on him a fhoulder-belt, and gI,t. 7'°[d’ fPurs’ and the other military accoutrements; after the^h’ armed as a knight, he was led in great pomp to The manner of making a knight with us, is defcribed by Cam¬ den in a fe w words : <2>ui equejirem dignitatem fufcipit., /lexis genibus lev iter in humero percutitur, princeps his verbis affatur, JUS velJ°fs C^aker au nom de Men, /urge vel fis equesin no- Tnga \ TIh,s,lsmeantof knights-bachelors, which is the loweft, though the moft ancient order of knighthood amono- K. N I Knights grew fo very numerous, that the dignity became of much lefs repute. Charles V. is faid to have made five hun- dred in a tingle day: on which account, therefore, new or- ders of knighthood were inftituted, in order to diftinguifh the more deferving from the croud.—For the feveral kinds of knights among us, fee Bachelor, Banneret, Baronet, Bath, Garter, b’c. 3 Knight* is alfo underftood of a perfon admitted into any or- der, either purely military, or military and religious, infti- tuted by feme king or prince, with certain marks and tokens of honour and diftin&ion. °f the garter, of the elephant, of the holy Ghojl, of Malta, &c. All which fee under their proper names, Garter, Elephant, &V. Knight, Eques, among the Romans, was the fecond degree of nobility; following immediately that of the fenators. At the time of.building the city of Rome, the whole army of Romulus conftfted of 3000 foot and 300 horfe; which 300 Tnw Were origina^ °f -the Roman equites, or knights. Thefe made the fecond order that had places in the fenate. Manutius and Sigomus are of opinion, that befides the ecjue- ffrian order, and thofe knights immediately below the fena¬ tors, Romulus inftituted a military order, whereof the Roman cavalry was compofed. But no ancient author takes notice of any order of knighthood inftituted on purpofe for the war, nor any other knights but thofe 300, which, as we have ob- ferved, were the firft foundation of the equeftian order. See Cavalry. The knights had a horfe kept them at the public charge; but when they were taken in among the fenators, they refigned that privilege: To be a knight, it was nccelTary they fhould have a certain revenue, that their poverty might notdifgrace the order; and when they failed of the preferred revenue, they were expunged out of the lift of knights, and thruft down among the plebeians. Ten thonfand crowns is computed to have been the revenue required. The knights grew lo very powerful, that they became a ba¬ lance between the power of the fenate and the people. They negle&ed the exercifes of war, and betook themfelves princi¬ pally to civil employments in Rome ; infomuch that Pliny obferves, in his time, they had no longer a horfe kept at the public expence. Some fay, that the order of knights, as diftinft from the people, did not begin before the time of the Gracchi; others IMV. fnf* nrivfirfl- n-ronfivl tKntvi ftiould be chofen, but out of their order: fome time after which, they took them into the fenate. This, however, is certain, it was only from that time that a certain revenue was necellary, and that this intitled them to the knighthood, with- T^x°TUT^being defcended from ancient knights. KNIGHTHOOD, a military order, or honour, or a mark, or degree of ancient nobility, or reward of perfonal virtue, and merit. See Knight, and Nobility. There are four kinds of knighthood\ military, regular, honora¬ ry, and foetal. 6 ’ Military Knighthood, is that of the ancient knights, who acquired it by high featsof arms. See Knights-Errant. iJieleare called milites, in ancient charters and titles, by which they were diftinguilhed from bare bachelors, &c. See Bachelor. Thefe knights were girt with a fword and a pair of gilt fpurs, whence they were called equites aurati. Knighthood is not hereditary, but acquired. It does not come into the world with a man, like nobility; nor can it be re- V?k 6 r * • k°nS °k k‘n§5» and kings themfelves, with all o er overeigns, heretofore had knighthood conferred on them as a mark of honour. They were ufually knighted at their baptiim or marriage, at their coronation, before or after a battle, &c. Regular Knighthood, is applied to all military orders, which 6 cj°i WCar *ome Particular habit, to bear arms againft <-1 6 u 1 V’ f0 frJccour and afirft pilgrims in their pallage to tiie holy land, and to ferve in hofpitals where they fhould be received ; fuch were the knights templars, and fuch ftill are the knights of Malta, &c. See Templar, Malta, or. * Honorary Knighthood, is that which princes confer on other princes, and even on their own great minifters, and favou- ntes ; fuch are knights of the garter, S. Michael, &c. See LrARTER, &C. Social Knighthood, is that which is not fixed, nor con- nrmed by any formal inftitution, nor regulated byanylaftina: ftatutes; of which kind there have many orders been ereded on occafions of fadions, of tilts and turnaments, mafquerades, ^hnefabb°; ^erJlardo Juftiniam, at the beginning of his hifto- y offe^U, gwes us a compleat catalogue of the feveral orders, according to whofe computation they are in number <ru Tin™sJlven us two volumes of them under the title TA nr d Hlnneur & de Chevale™> Menenius has pub- E?Ue/i:fm 0rd'^m, and And. Mendo has written deordmibus Mihtanbus. Beloi has traced their origi- n; ’.;annd G^°t71 h,s Armorlal Index, has given us their in- ltitutions; To thefe may be added Father Meneftrier, de la Chevalcne Jnaenne & Moderne-, Michieli’s Trejor Militaire, Caramud s fheohgia Regolare, Minus’s Origines Equefrium five Mihtanum Ordinum: But above all, Juftiniam’s Hiftorie Chronologiche de l Origine de gP Ordine Militari, e di tutte le eligione^ Cavalerefche: The edition which is fulleft, is that of Venice in 1692, in 2 vols. fol. S- Catharine of Mount Sina. See Catherine. Knights of the Chapel. 7 c , cChapfl Knights of the Collar. } See the artlcle {collIrI Knights-Errant, a pretended order of chivalry, whereof ample mention is made in old romances. They were a kind of heroes, who travelled the world in fearch of adventures, redrefling wrongs, refeuing damfels, and ta¬ king all occasions of fignalizing their prowefs. This romantic bravery of the old knights was heretofore the £ tbe SPan,ards 5 among whom there was no cava- but had his miftrefs, whofe efteem he was to gain by fome heroic adion. The duke of Alva, for all his age a/d gra¬ vity, is laid to have vowed the conqueft of Portugal to a young lady. Knights ofS. George, i Q . CGeorgf Knights of Honour. J See the article ) H * KMGHT MARSHAL, an officer in the king’s houfe, who hasjunfdiaion and cognizance of any tranfgrelfion within the king s houfe, and verge; as alfo of contrails made there, ^ whereof one of the houfe is party. Knights of the Mine. See the article Mine Knights of Mary. Knights of Mount Carmel. (c , . \cARMRT Rad Knights. r ^ee the article 3 Knights of the Round Table. ; ^ Table Knights of the Shire, or Knights f Parliament, are two gentlemen of worth, chofen on the king’s writ in pleno comi- tatu, by fuch of the freeholders of every county as can ex- pend 4°s per ann. to reprefent fuch county in parliament. Thefe, when every man who had a knights-fee was cuftoma- rily conftramed to be a knight, were of neceftity to be milites gladio anSti, for fo the writ runs to this day; but now cu- ltom admits efquires to be chofen to this office. They muft have at leaft 500/. per ann. and their expences are to be def.ayed by the county, though tiiis be feldom, now, required. See Parliament . .. WI.VJI4LUI1, otneis required. See Parliament fay, the privilege was then firft granted them, thatnojudgelKrr.crrrs, in a (hi,,, two thick, fhort pieces of timber ufo ally y, A](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b30454992_0001_1054.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
