Knight of the Bath

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Knight of the Bath was an English knighthood that originated in the 12th century and was bestowed until 1661.

history

In the course of the Middle Ages special ceremonies developed for the initiation of new knights . In the Kingdom of England, the practice arose that selected candidates for elevation to the knighthood took a bath and kept a night watch before the actual accolade as a sign of ritual purification . The bath was probably used for physical cleansing and the night watch associated with fasting for spiritual cleansing of the person. The next morning, the candidates received the accolade as "Knight of the Bath". This special ceremony was usually performed on special occasions, such as on the eve of coronations, appointments of the heir to the throne as Prince of Wales or before royal weddings. This joint accolade gave those so distinguished priority over ordinary knights ( Knights Bachelor ), but in contrast to the Order of the Garter did not establish a common religious community.

Such a ceremony was first documented with certainty on Whitsun 1127, when King Henry I knighted his future son-in-law Gottfried V of Anjou in Rouen . On October 11, 1399, for example, on the occasion of the coronation of Henry IV. 36 selected young men of noble origin were knighted. They had previously taken a bath and spent a night watch together in the Tower of London , from where the coronation procession to Westminster Abbey started the next morning . The last time the ceremony took place on April 23, 1661, before the coronation of Charles II .

reception

On May 25, 1725, King George I explicitly referred to the tradition of the Knights of the Bath when he founded the Order of the Bath . He declared the intention to restore the splendor and dignity of the historical Knights of the Bath, but to unite this knighthood within a regular order of knights .

literature

  • William Arthur Shaw: The Knights of England. Volume 1, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906, pp. X ff; 109 ff.

Web links

Commons : Knight of the Bath  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Shaw, Volume 1, p. 109
  2. Shaw, Volume 1, pp. 127 f.
  3. Shaw, Volume 1, pp. 163 ff.
  4. Shaw, Volume 1, p. X