<P> A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a monarch or other political leader for service to the monarch or country, especially in a military capacity . Historically, in Europe, knighthood was conferred upon mounted warriors . During the High Middle Ages, knighthood was considered a class of lower nobility . By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior . Often, a knight was a vassal who served as a fighter for a lord, with payment in the form of land holdings . The lords trusted the knights, who were skilled in battle on horseback . </P> <P> Knighthood in the Middle Ages was closely linked with horsemanship (and especially the joust) from its origins in the 12th century until its final flowering as a fashion among the high nobility in the Duchy of Burgundy in the 15th century . This linkage is reflected in the etymology of chivalry, cavalier and related terms (see Etymology section below). The special prestige accorded to mounted warriors finds a parallel in the furusiyya in the Muslim world, and the Greek hippeus (ἱππεύς) and Roman eques of classical antiquity . </P>

What were knights paid in the middle ages