Historically, knighthood was conferred upon mounted warriors and closely linked with horsemanship from its earliest days, when men, usually of noble birth, would be awarded the status of knight after completion of apprenticeships as page (a young servant or messenger who served a nobleman) and squire (a knight’s the shield or armour bearer).

As the Middle Ages progressed, connections between pages, squires and knights ended and the rank of knight became associated with ideas of courtly Christian, faith-upholding, elite warriorship and chivalry, popularised in medieval literature such as Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae and Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur. The concept of chivalry continued to take root, especially during the Renaissance. By the late 1200s a knightly code of conduct also began to take shape: the influence of the Church led to knights following a strict set of rules, or knightly virtues, including mercy, particularly towards the poor and oppressed, humility, honour, sacrifice, courage, faithfulness and courteousness. Knightly dress also developed to include a white belt and golden spurs.

By the later Middle Ages knighthood was considered a class of lower nobility. The title came to be honorary, usually granted by a monarch or head of state, and originally conferred for service especially in a military capacity. However, in the late medieval period new methods of warfare began to render classical knights in armour obsolete. Development of military weapons and tactics meant that knighthood became more and more an idealised concept. Knights did, though, still take part in courtly rituals such as jousting: they had often demonstrated their skills in tournaments in times of peace.

In the UK, the title is now honorific, non-hereditary and awarded for personal merit or for services rendered to the country.