<P> In the course of the 12th century knighthood became a social rank, with a distinction being made between milites gregarii (non-noble cavalrymen) and milites nobiles (true knights). As the term "knight" became increasingly confined to denoting a social rank, the military role of fully armoured cavalryman gained a separate term, "man - at - arms". Although any medieval knight going to war would automatically serve as a man - at - arms, not all men - at - arms were knights . The first military orders of knighthood were those of the Knights Hospitallers and of the Holy Sepulchre, both founded at the First Crusade of 1099, followed by the Order of Saint Lazarus (1100), Knights Templars (1118) and the Teutonic Knights (1190). At the time of their foundation, these were intended as monastic orders, whose members would act as simple soldiers protecting pilgrims . It was only over the following century, with the successful conquest of the Holy Land and the rise of the crusader states, that these orders became powerful and prestigious . </P> <P> The great European legends of warriors such as the paladins, the Matter of France and the Matter of Britain popularized the notion of chivalry among the warrior class . The ideal of chivalry as the ethos of the Christian warrior, and the transmutation of the term "knight" from the meaning "servant, soldier", and of chevalier "mounted soldier", to refer to a member of this ideal class, is significantly influenced by the Crusades, on one hand inspired by the military orders of monastic warriors, and on the other hand also cross-influenced by Islamic (Saracen) ideals of furusiyya . </P> <P> The institution of knights was already well - established by the 10th century . While the knight was essentially a title denoting a military office, the term could also be used for positions of higher nobility such as landholders . The higher nobles grant the vassals their portions of land (fiefs) in return for their loyalty, protection, and service . The nobles also provided their knights with necessities, such as lodging, food, armour, weapons, horses, and money . The knight generally held his lands by military tenure which was measured through military service that usually lasted 40 days a year . The military service was the quid pro quo for each knight's fief . Vassals and lords could maintain any number of knights, although knights with more military experience were those most sought after . Thus, all petty nobles intending to become prosperous knights needed a great deal of military experience . A knight fighting under another's banner was called a knight bachelor while a knight fighting under his own banner was a knight banneret . </P> <P> A knight had to be born of nobility--typically sons of knights or lords . In some cases commoners could also be knighted as a reward for extraordinary military service . Children of the nobility were cared for by noble foster - mothers in castles until they reached age seven . </P>

Term for a knight commanding troops under his flag