-= -.. Maryland Masonic Research Society October William T. Stover, Sr." II. Presented,to. Maryland College S.H.I.C.F. O::tober 2.

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "-= -.. Maryland Masonic Research Society October William T. Stover, Sr." II. Presented,to. Maryland College S.H.I.C.F. O::tober 2."

Charles Elvin Walters
5 years ago
Views:

1 -= -.. l " E VOL UTI 0 N 0 William T. Stover, Sr." II OFKNIGIiTHOOD ) Presented,to Maryland College S.H.I.C.F. O::tober Maryland Masonic Research Society October ,.

2 'iiol _ ". EVOLUTION, OF KNIGHTHOOD William T. Stover, Sr. KnighthoOO, Chivalry and Heraldry as we understand and accept them, didno.t begin simultaneously, 'nor with the'christian efforts to recover the Holy Land. This paper will attempt to convey their beginnings and impart a better understanding of their origin and meaning. It will not, however, go into the extensive details related to the:development of each phase of the history of these events. The word "Knight" is said to be derived from the AnglO-Saxon "Cniht", a servant, one who serves; Hence in' feudai times it was used for certain persons' doing service to a superior lord 'or the king. of riders in war service. Succeding kings increased the number and elevated this booy of armed riders to a status above that of citizenship. By the law ',of Rosicus (267 B.C.) the condition was imposed of owning a fortune of 4,000,000 sesterces to become a member. The external badge on the' campaign uniform of this body of, cavalry, was a narrow stripe on the tunic, also the distinction of wearing a, gold ring and having special seats in the theatre and circus, besides other political and social features. Page 1..

3 :" - These early'identifying emblems relating toone's social position" by virtue of belonging to su~h a.selectgroup, can be compared toth~ Heraldic coats of arms,which developed much later in history, aild to the aprons, emblems';, rings, uniforms, caps, etc~ used by the Masonic Fraternity to iildicate one's standing wi:thin the 'Order. At this point we feel a definition of "Chivalry" is required to fully understaild the following advancement of the early cavalry "knights" into the modern acceptation of, the wom "Knight", which did not appear until the establishment in France of the order of chivalry reflecting the European morals of that day. Thence knighthood 'rapidly passed into the other countries of Christendom I for it always was a' Christian institution. "Ch i valry" A term which iildicates strictly the organization of knighthood in the,~~ddle Ages. Its chief characteristics were a warlike spirit, a lofty devotion to women, inspired by the widespread veneration of the Virgln,!ary, a love of adventure" aild a th1rst for glory." I During the Saxon heptarchy in England, the omerof kinghthood was conferred by a priest at the altar, Athelstan (900 A.D.) being the first king to Create a Knight. By the 11th Century the ceremony of the investiture of arms had bee ome general practice. The,knighthood of chivalry is an iildepeildant and,voluntary service., The Crusades increased the number and ranks of these hired knights and at the same time'altared aild advanced the status of Chivalry itself. While the ritual of investing, the,hired officer with knighthood included such maildates as oaths of fidelity aild honor, as well as gallantry and protection 'to women over aild beyoild the former claim to discipline demanded of the common soldier,this act of crusading for the capture of Jerusalem

4 : and the Holy land introduced a. religious feature that did not,before enter into the realm of knighthood's services,. Chivalry had.become a religious institution and the crusading!might of the 12th Century iias the. militant bear~r of the,, Cross and protector of his Church. We now arrive at the time when the following were the qualifications of a deserving knightl great respect for the female and three other virtues. were enjoined on!mighthood, namely, loyalty, courtesy and munificence. In return for his vows of renunciation of vices the knight received numerous privileges. These.were the right to wear distinctive adi resplendant armor-crested.helm, heavy armor displaying his heraldic bearings, spurs of gold, etc. ( simiiar to the earlier Roman cavalry status )... '!here were class distinctions of knighthood such as knights bannerets and bachelors, i a The former belonged to these having large estates and able to summon acerta1n number of lances for battle. A squire carried his master's sign of distinction in the form of abanrier on.the end of a lance. '!he knight bachelor was permitted to carry only pointed pennant. By the 16!!!. Century we find the honor of Imighthood conferred by the 'Sovereign as.. a civil more tha:il a military honor, as a rewaid for services to state or ruler. From the "right to wesrdist1nctive and resplendant armor displaying his heraldic bearings" we.enter the thiid ph~e of our paper, Heraldry -~ which is defined as... " '!he science and ;uot of armorial bearings or coats of arms,. devices used originally in med ieval western Europe on the shields and s urcoats.of!mights and men-a.t-arms. " As armorial bearings are essentially hereditary, they are sharply distinguished from other symbols which have been used in different parts of the world. Frain - time immemorial ensigns. and designs have.been used in war and peace all over the. world, but with rare exceptions they have not become hereditary. There would appear. '..~"- to be a reference to some hereditary symbols in Numbers 2,2, where the men of Israel. Page)

5 '.' ~... ~ 4It were told to pitch there tents under'the standarct of their father's house. Heraldic terms such as, armorial bearings, coat,of arms, achievement, escutcheon, and shield are all correct and mean the same thing. The last of these terms, shield, denotes the basic component of 'the arms on which the various charges appear. Above' the shield is placed 'a helmet befitting the, rank of the owner; the helmet of an esquire or plain gentleman, for example, is of steel" in profile"and has the visor ~losed, whereas the helinet of a peer is silver, in profile, and has the visor open and guarded by gold grills. A few Heraldic terms,with brief' explanations,may,-assist the reader in understanding... ; their purpose I COAT OF ARMS - Since men in full armor were unrecognizable, a distinctive coat by which,he could be recognized. was worn over the armor, and was called, his "Coat of arms". These "Arms" were displayed on his banner, shield, and horsecloth, and came to be worn, in civil life too. HELMET. AND CREST;" A personal.~ Crest" of light wood or boiled leather came to be worn - like a cock's comb - on top of the helmet. Below the crest is a mantle secured by a wreath of twisted silk. Some great men wore a "Chapeau" or a crest-eoronet instead of the wreath used for normal "mantling". With, the addition of a motto on a scroll, this f<1rms the normal heraldic "Achievement" of an ordinary gentleman. BADGE - The crest is of,ten depicted for convenience on the wreath alone, without the helmet, as a mark of ownership. This badge, is used to show ownership of retainers, staff and family. comportment.

6 .. ~. FAMILY - Wives and. Daughters, Eldest Sons., Other Sons,. Natural Children,, English Children, Scottish Children, Heirs,.and More P.eirsi~ I a. Daughters use the1.r father's coats on a diamond-shaped "lozenge''',. When they marry they place their family coat beside their husbai1rl. 's on his shield. b. Eldest Sons must place a "I"ark" on his' father's coat while his father lives. c. Younger Sons and'descendants. had to make a permanent change in their father's coato! arms. d. Natural Children in Scotland are entitled to arms by right, but are given special marks of difference; In Er~land they have to '... :. ' seek a new grant of arms from the Crown. e. In England, there has been since Tudor times a regular system of differencing the coats of arms of younger sons. In Scotland there.is nowadays, a long-established logical system of. differe~ing the.. coats of younger branches f. Heirs use their family coat of arms unless ir~erited through a mother and then it is"quartered" with the father's coat of arms. g. More Heirs resulting from several generations of marriages to,'t: heiresses can bring a large number of "qua.x:t,e:r:.i!!6!?" into a family. Communities, Realms, Republics, Towns and Districts. Fiefs and Nations have had their own Coats Of Arms and must not be used by private citizens. These Heraldic Coats Of Arms extend way beyond the explanations given, and identify the owner,family, servants, property. nations, companies, Royalty, Military, etc. Considering the period in which they evolved, and the inability of people to _ read and write, the ent1.re system was extraordinary and.enabled armies to follow their Sovereign,.families to identify each other.show hereditary lines, etc., etc, etc. '......n- ~

7 ;,.,." ~ find; Not long after the institution of knighthood as an offshoot of chivalry, we besides the Knights Bachelors and Knights Eannerets, associations of.knights banded together for some common. purpose,. of which there were two classes. First: Fraternities possessing property and rights of their own as independent bodies into which knights were admitted,as monks were into religious foundations. Of this class may be mentioned, as examples, the three great religious Orders - The Templars, The Hospitalers, and the Teutonic Knights. The Second Class consisted of honorary associations established by sovereigns within their respective dominions, consisting of members whose only common tie is the possession of the same titular distinction. Such are most of the European OrCers,of Knighthood now existing, as the Knights of the Garter in England, the Knights of St. A.'1drew ir: Russia, and the Knights of :i.. the Golden Fleece in Spain., ~ 1 I III.. '.'...,,,,,'1. Page 6 " :-"~':~.~;j,~.<p'$:'!:g," ~:~ \:,: \.,..... '.~" ~.;~..,;~>:"'::"~': ".".i;,.*~t4i~~\:~~1i~~~~f~~-\-~ ~ ' ~f#"~"'~if?:~ :'-~1

8 :,-. '.. '.. ~ : My deep appreciation and lasting gratitude are extended to my very dear friend','. Dr. Thomas 'E. Weir for his suggesting the subject of this paper, securing the reference material on Heraldry, recommending the preparation of slides to show the Heraldic Coats Of Arms, and his efforts in assisting me in.the preparation of, the content with numerous suggestions. BIBLIOCRAFHY.. The Enc'yclopedia Americana Etlition,,,, b ' Encyclopedia of Freemasonry - Albert G. f:ackey, Etlit10n Supplement To Mackey's Encyclopedia Of Freemasonry - H. L. Haywood - Ninth Printing 1966 Simple Heraldry - lain r.ohcreiffe and Don Fottinger Thoms Nelson & Sons, Ltd. Published 1953 and 1954 Lomon, England..;.~.~"...'. I. ".".., "."

The Knight In History (Medieval Life) By Frances Gies READ ONLINE

The Knight In History (Medieval Life) By Frances Gies READ ONLINE If you are searched for a book by Frances Gies The Knight in History (Medieval Life) in pdf format, in that case you come on to right site.