The Ceremony and Ritual of Knighthood

By S.K. Ray Hayward

Ever since I was a boy I've been fascinated with Knights and swords.  I have read many books, and conducted many hours of my own research into the history of Knights and their way of life.  When I joined the fraternity of Freemasonry I was pleasantly surprised to find my fascination with Knights would have an outlet.  After the most recent conferral of the order of the Temple I was impressed by the seriousness of the Knights conferring the order, of the candidates receiving the order and the solemnity and impressive manner of this order of knighthood. Studying for my parts, I realized that the four orders in the commandery followed exactly the prescribed manner and ritual of the making of a knight.  I decided to gather all the various material, which I've collected over the years concerning the ritual of knighthood, in the form of an article.  This is by no means an exhaustive study, but merely an introduction. 

Before we look at the sequence and ritual of the ceremony of knighthood, let us look at some of the most common words used and their basic meanings.  For instance, the word Knight is a Saxon word originally meaning youth, but later taking on the meaning of servant.  The word Chevalier is a French word meaning horsemen, alluding to the Knights use of the horse.  In Latin, the word Miles simply means a soldier or can mean a servant.  The Norman word sir can mean a master, a man of rank, or one with a title or office.  The French word accolade does not mean the striking on the shoulders with the sword, nor praise, but literally means" around the neck" and alludes to the embrace of welcome.  The word dub or dubbing is either from the Anglo-Saxon word dubbon, which later evolved to drubbing, which means to strike or beat or from the French word adoboue which means to equip.  Chivalry, also a French word deriving from Chevalier, simply means the demonstration of various knightly abilities.

A man had to pass through several stages before he could become a knight. The first stage was that of a Page, usually begun when a youth.  The first lessons taught to the page were love of God, respect for females, manners, conversation, virtuous habits and the veneration for sacred places and things.

  The second stage was that of Squire, or Esquire, which was completed as a teenager.  A Squire was invested with a belt and practice sword, and wore it at all times to familiarize himself with being armed.  The Squire attended the knight and assisted the knight in arming himself, as well as caring for the horses.  The Squire also learned and drilled the skills of defense and offense with a variety of weapons.

The last stage was that of a knight.  The two most common times for the making of a knight was during times of war and throughout the season of Pentecost, although any time would do.  I would like to take you through the ceremony of knighthood step-by-step, with some basic explanations and insights into this most solemn of ceremonies.

When a Squire was accepted or chosen to be made a knight, he had to follow an exact, prescribed sequence of events, which constituted the ritual of knighthood.  Whether the ritual was elaborate or simple, long or short, there were many common aspects which had to be performed which constituted one a knight.

The first thing the perspective knight had to do was to perform a fast, anywhere from one to three days before his ceremony.  The night before his ceremony he spent in a Church or chapel with two friends as attendants, who were already Knights.  Long hours of prayer, and meditating upon a suit of armor, constituted what was called” the watch”.( Edward II of England, before he was the Prince of Wales had two Knights Templar as his attendants during his watch.)  After staying awake the whole night it was in the early hours of the morning the candidate took a bath to wash away his sins and was clothed in a white robe as a symbol of his purity.  Some chroniclers say that the bath and white habit symbolize a kind of baptism.  The candidate then went to a priest and made his confession and then performed any penance he was instructed to do.  After that he heard morning mass and received Holy Communion and was then ready to be knighted.

At this point, the king, lord, or knight who was going to perform the ceremony came forward and told the candidate to approach the altar and kneel.  At this time, the candidate was required to make a solemn oath or obligation.  Some oaths were as simple as promising to defend the religion, the Church, widows and orphans.  One vow from history states that the new knight, would” fear God, obey the Church, serve the king, live for honor, protect the weak, respect women, and be chivalrous, generous, and truthful”.

Then, the king would come over to the kneeling candidate and slap him on the cheek.  There were many reasons for this slap.  One was to give him a taste of the humiliation, insult, and future pain he will experience as a servant.  Another reason was to shock him and impress the remembrance of the ritual into his memory. To make someone a knight was akin to adopting someone like a son and an old Roman custom required the new adoptee to be slapped as an entrance.  Next came the dubbing. The sword about to be used for the dubbing was blessed by a priest. Sometimes the sword used for dubbing was first placed upon the altar to show that they would become Gods knight. Originally, the candidate was struck with the flat of the blade on the side of the neck to give him a taste of the fighting and hardship he would experience in his future.  The candidate was lightly struck on the left shoulder with the flat of the blade, and then on the right and again on the left.  First, they were dubbed in the name of God, then in the name of St Michael and lastly in the name of St. George.  St. Michael is the patron saint of Knights and soldiers and St. George is the patron saint of England.  It is worthy of note that historically, when someone joined the Order of the Temple, and became a Knight Templar, they were already a knight .The joining of the order made them a monk and they were received in the name of our Lady, whom some believed was Sophia or wisdom, and the holy Sts. John, the Baptist and the Evangelist. These blows or affronts, were the last to be suffered without retaliation.  The dubbing was considered by some chroniclers to represent a kind of confirmation.

At this point, the candidates was told to arise, was taken by the hand, embraced warmly in welcome, and given a kiss either upon the cheek, forehead or sometimes even the mouth.  This was called the osculum pacis or kiss of favor and brotherhood.  The kiss was to show the sweetness of servant hood, and was a common part of the ceremony. The kiss was also a sign of peace and love.  During the suppression of the Templer's, false accusations twisted this innocent act into something lewd and wicked.  At this point, the attendants dressed the new knight in armor and various equipment.  The last thing to go on was the belt with the empty scabbard. The king then put the sword in the scabbard, called girding, and that constituted the conclusion of the ceremony. Sometimes the sword was given as a gift and paralleled the gift the godparents gave to the newly christened.  This is the origin of the saying" a belted knight".  It is interesting to note that only a knight could wear a mantle in those days.  Usually the mantle was scarlet colored and represented the blood that would be shed for Christ and for others.

I'd like to give some of the symbolic meaning to the various equipment of the new knight.

• Helmet-symbolized wisdom

• Chain mail-was a fortress against Vice and defended against treason, disloyalty, pride, and evil passions

• Breastplate-symbolic of virtue

• Back plate-symbolic of prudence.

• Shield-symbolic of mercy, and a reminder that the knight, should act as a go-between for princes and the people to preserve peace and tranquility

• Gauntlets-symbolic of friendship

• Lance-symbolize truth, because truth is straight

• Spurs-symbolic of diligence, and zeal for deeds of honor and virtue

• Sword-symbolic of justice, the arms of mercy, reminding you to conquer by mercy, the two edges symbolize justice and chivalry one edge is to defend the poor from the rich, the other, the weak from the strong

There were two classes of Knights.  The first was called knight bachelor.  This had nothing to do with marital status but referred to a knight of lower rank, an adventurer who sword was for hire.  The second was called knight bannerette, who was a high-ranking knight, a landowner, a battle leader, and one who is answerable to the king.  There were also two associations of Knights; religious and honorary.  The religious orders of knights were fighting monks, such as the Knights Templar or the Teutonic Knights.  Associations of knights gathered for a common purpose or goal.  King Edward III of England created the Order of the Garter as an association of knights, whose goal was to revive the chivalry and brotherhood of King Arthur's Roundtable.

Adherence to his word was esteemed the most honorable part of a Knights character.  To lie was considered the most mortal and reprehensible affront, only to be expiated by blood.  An oath or solemn promise, given in the name of a knight, was of all oath's the most inviolable.  A knight, degraded from the order, had his Spurs cut off and the handle and strap of his shield reversed so that it hung upside down and was useless.

I asked my mentor and friend, Charles Nelson, if a Masonic knighting was valid or legitimate. Here is his answer.

“I think the use of the word "valid" is misleading when referring to Masonic knighthood being a valid knighting. Both ceremonial/royal knighting and Masonic knighting are valid, that is they are prescribed in ceremonies which are accepted through time-tested protocol. They are just different means of ceremonial recognition or "consecration", that's all.  The ceremonies leading to the dubbing of a Masonic Knight Templar have roots in the history of the Templars. Although some dispute the association of Templary and Masonry, I do believe that it was the Templars that are responsible for the creation of Masonry as we have come to know it.  Clearly, the association has been established in a very detailed manner. I am not sure if the same detail is exercised in the Knights of Columbus or Knights of Pythias, or other fraternal organizations which claim to be knights. In Masonic knighting, however, the association is clear and has been laboriously detailed by scholars such as Mackey and others. So, yes, Masonic knighthood is valid, but different.” 

Being a knight denotes one who is expected to be distinguished with peculiar fidelity to the cause in which they are enlisted.  Although the Masonic knight is not in the service of a king or lord, they are in the service of maidens, widows, orphans, the poor, the afflicted, and their brother Knights.  The associations that Knight serves are the Commandery, the Grand Commandery, and the Grand Encampment.  The order the Knight serves is the valiant and magnanimous Order of the Temple.  The common purpose of the knight is the pursuit of honor, integrity, and truth. In Blue Lodge Masonry we have speculative and operative masons, operatives really not needing to concern themselves with morality and brotherhood, and speculative not needing to know how to place one stone on top of the other, yet both are bound by the application of the laws of Geometry. In Chivalric Masonry we also have speculative and operative, speculative not needing to fight a crusade and operatives not needing to educate themselves, yet both have a code to live by. In my opinion, anyone dubbed a knight in the various degrees and orders in Freemasonry may consider himself consecrated and recognized a true knight.

Not unto us, Oh Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory.

Some resources;

Cyclopedia of Masonry by Robert Macoy

Encyclopedia of Freemasonry by Albert Mackey

Born in Blood by John Robinson

Dungeon, Fire and Sword by John Robinson

Knights Templar, A New Knighthood by Helen Nicholson

Ritual of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States of America

Right Eminent Sir Knight Charles W. Nelson, Past-Grand Commander, Minnesota Knights Templar