Knightages

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The collective institution and social class of mounted warriors bound by chivalry and service in medieval times ; the period or system characterized by the prominence of these armed horsemen and their societal role ; the state or condition encompassing the culture, duties, and hierarchy associated with medieval armored cavalry warriors
2. The organized class of noble horsemen serving under feudal lords, embodying martial skill and honor ; the era or practice focusing on the deeds, privileges, and responsibilities of these warriors ; the combined social and military framework of chivalric horse soldiers in a historical context
3. A historical social order formed by mounted fighters devoted to feudal lords and codes of conduct ; the time frame marked by the influence and traditions of such warrior elites ; the complex of customs, rights, and military functions defining this particular knightly estate

Etymology: The plural of "knightage", a collective noun for the knightly class as a whole. It is built from "knight" and the suffix "-age", which English took in from Old French, where it came from Latin "-aticum" and turned nouns into words for a collection, a status, or a set of people. "Knightage" thus means the group of knights taken together, much as "peasantry" or "chivalry" gather a social order into one term. The plural "knightages" simply refers to more than one such body, such as the knightly classes of different realms or periods. The word appears in English as a formation on the native "knight", so its ingredients are mostly older than its suffix, and it reads as a fairly transparent compound rather than a borrowed term.

Synonyms: knighthoods, titles of knighthood