Pacific Trading Medieval Knight 7 Tall Crusader Templar Guard Statue Figurine Suit of Armor

Knight is the term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. In the Commonwealth of Nations, knighthood is a non-heritable form of gentry. Elsewhere, the Portuguese Cavaleiro (like the following, related to "chivalry"), the Spanish Caballero , the Italian Cavaliere, the French "Chevalier", the German Ritter (like the following, related to "rider"), the Swedish Riddare and the Norwegian, Dutch and Danish "Ridder" as well as the Czech rytí?, Finnish Ritari and the Polish Kawaler (for Modern Era knighthoods or Rycerz for medieval knighthoods) are commonly used in Continental Europe. Outside the British Commonwealth, the title is respected but may carry less significance, and thus may or may not appear, for example, in the mass media and other publications. There are technically differing levels of knighthood (see Order of the British Empire), but in practice these are even more symbolic than the title itself today and thus only express the greatness of the recipient's achievements in the eyes of the Crown. The British legend of King Arthur, popularised throughout Europe in the Middle Ages by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae ("History of the Kings of Britain") written in the 1130s, and Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur (The Death of Arthur) written in 1485, were important in defining the ideal of chivalry which is essential to the European ideal of the knight as an elite warrior sworn to uphold the values of faith, loyalty, courage and honour such as Knights Templar.