King Pétaud, a king whose subjects are all his equals. The court of King Pétaud is a board where no one pays any attention to the chairman; a meeting of all talkers and no hearers. The king of the beggars is called King Pétaud, from the Latin, peto, “I beg.”
King Stork, a tyrant who devours his subjects and makes them submissive from fear. The allusion is to Æsop’s fable of the Frogs asking for a King. Jupiter first sent them a log, but they despised the passive thing; he then sent them a stork, who devoured them.
King and the Locusts. A king made a proclamation that, if any man would tell him a story which should last forever, he would make him his heir and son-in-law; but if anyone undertook to do so and failed, he should lose his head. After many failures, came one, and said: “A certain king seized all the corn of his kingdom, and stored it in a huge granary; but a swarm of locusts came, and a small cranny was descried, through which one locust could contrive to creep. So one locust went in, and carried off one grain of corn; and then another locust went in, and carried off another grain of corn; and then another locust went in,” etc.; and so the man went on, day after day, and week after week, “and so another locust went in, and carried off another grain of corn.” A month passed; a year passed. In six months more, the king said, “How much longer will the locusts be?” “Oh, your majesty,” said the story-teller, “they have cleared at present only a cubit, and there are many thousand cubits in the granary.” “Man, man!” cried the king; “you will drive me mad. Take my daughter, take my kingdom, take everything I have: only let me hear no more of these intolerable locusts!”—Letters from an Officer in India (edited by the Rev. S. A. Pears).
King and the Beggar. It is said that King Copethua or Cophetua of Africa fell in love with a beggar-girl, and married her. The girl’s name was Penel´ophon; called by Shakespeare Zenel´ophon (Love’s Labor’s Lost, act iv. sc. 1, 1594).
King and the Cobbler. The interview between Henry VIII. and a merry London cobbler, is the subject of one of the many popular tales in which Bluff Hal is represented as visiting an humble subject in disguise.
King of Bark, Christopher III. of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. So called because, in a time of scarcity, he had the bark of birchwood mixed with meal for food (died 1448).
King of Bath, Beau Nash, who was for fifteen years master of the ceremonies of the bath-rooms in that city, and conducted the balls with great splendor and judgment (1674-1761.)
King of England. This title was first assumed by Egbert in 828.
King of Exeter ’Change, Thomas Clark, friend of the famous Abraham Newland (1737-1817).
King of France. This title was first assumed by Louis VII. (1171). It was changed into “King of the French” by the National Assembly in 1789. Louis XVIII. resumed the title “king of France” in 1814; and Louis Phillipe again resumed the more Republican title “king of the French” (1830).
King of France. Edward III. of England assumed the title in 1337; but in 1801 it was relinquished by proclamation (time, George III.).
King of Ireland. This title was first assumed by Henry VIII. in 1542. The title previously assumed by the kings of England was “lord of Ireland.”
King of Painters, a title assumed by Parrhasĭos. Plutarch says he wore a purple robe and a golden crown (fl. B. C. 400).
King of Preachers, Louis Bourdaloue, a French clergyman (1632-1704).
King of Rome, a title conferred by Napoleon I. on his son the very day he was born; but he was generally called the duke of Reichstadt.
It is thought that this title was given in imitation of Charlemagne. If so, it was a blunder; Charlemagne was never “king of Rome,” but he was “patrician of Rome.” In the German empire, the heir-apparent was “king of the Romans,” not “king of Rome.” This latter title was expressly conferred on the German kings, and sometimes on their heirs, by a coronation at Milan. The German title equivalent to “dauphin,” or “prince of Wales,” was “king of the Romans.”
King of Ships, Carausius, who assumed the purple in A. D. 287, and, seizing on Britain, defeated the emperor Maximian Herculius in several naval engagements (250, 287-293).
King of Yvetot [Ev-to], a king of name only; a mockery king; one who assumes mighty honors without the wherewithal to support them. Yvetot, near Rouen, was a seigneurie, on the possessor of which Clotaire I. conferred the title of king in 534, and the title continued till the fourteenth century.
King of the Beggars, Bampfylde Moore Carew (1693-1770). He succeeded Claus Patch, who died 1730, and was therefore king of the beggars for forty years (1730-1770).
King of the World, the Roman emperor.
King Sat on the Rocky Brow (A). The reference is to Xerxes viewing the battle of Salmis from one of the declivitiesdeclivities of mount Ægăl´ĕos.
(“Ships by thousands” is a gross exaggeration. The original fleet was only 1,200 sail, and 400 were wrecked off the coast of Sêpias before the sea-fight of Salamis commenced, thus reducing the number to 800 at most).
Kings should Die Standing (A), Vespasian said so, and Louis XVIII. of France repeated the same conceit. Both died standing.
King’s Cave (The), opposite to Campbeltown (Argyllshire); so called because King Robert Bruce, with his retinue, lodged in it.—Statistical Account of Scotland, v. 167.
Kings. Many lines of kings have taken the name of some famous forefather or some founder of a dynasty as a titular name.—See Selden, Titles of Honor, v.
Kings of Cologne (The Three), the three Magi who came from the East to offer gifts to the infant Jesus. Their names are Melchior, Gaspar, and Belthazar. The first offered gold, symbolic of kingship; the second, frankincense, symbolic of divinity; the third, myrrh, symbolic of death, myrrh being used in embalming the dead. (See Cologne).
Kings of England. Since the Conquest, not more than three successive sovereigns have reigned without a crisis:
Charles I. beheaded.
Kings of England. Except in one instance (that of John), we have never had a great-grandchild sovereign in direct descent. The exception is not creditable, for in John’s reign the kingdom was given away twice; his son, Henry III., was imprisoned by Leicester; and his great-grandson, Edward II., was murdered. In two other instances a grand-child has succeeded, viz., Henry VI., whose reign was a continued civil war; and Edward VI., the sickly son of Jane Seymour. Stephen was a grandchild of William I., but a usurper; Richard II. was a grandchild of Edward III., and George III. was a grandson of George II.; but their fathers did not succeed to the throne.
William I.; his sons, William II., Henry I.
Stephen (a usurper).
Henry II.; his sons, Richard I., John (discrowned).
From John, in regular succession, we have Henry III. (imprisoned), Edward I., Edward II. (murdered), Edward III.
Richard II., son of the Black Prince, and without offspring.
Henry IV., Henry V., Henry VI., (civil wars).
Edward IV., Edward V.
Richard III. (no offspring).
Henry VII., Henry VIII., Edward VI.
Mary, Elizabeth (daughters of Henry VIII.).
James I., Charles I.
Cromwell (called lord protector).
Charles II., James II. (two brothers).
William III.
Anne.
George I., George II.
George III. (great-grandson of George I., but not in direct descent), George IV.
William IV. (brother of George IV.).
Victoria (the niece of William IV. and George IV.).
Kings of England. Three seems to be a kind of ruling number in our English sovereigns. Besides the coincidences mentioned above, connected with the number, may be added the following:—(1) That of the four kings who married French princesses, three of them suffered violent deaths, viz., Edward II., Richard II., and Charles I. (2) The three longest reigns have been three threes, viz., Henry III., Edward III., and George III. (3) We have no instance, as in France, of three brothers succeeding each other.
Kings of France. The French have been singularly unfortunate in their choice of royal surnames, when designed to express anything except some personal quality, as handsome, fat, of which we cannot judge the truth. Thus, Louis VIII., a very feeble man in mind and body, was surnamed the Lion; Philippe II., whose whole conduct was overreaching and selfish, was the Magnanimous; Philippe III., the tool of Labrosse, was the Daring; Philippe VI., the most unfortunate of all the kings of France, was surnamed the Lucky; Jean, one of the worst of all the kings, was called the Good; Charles VI., an idiot, and Louis XV., a scandalous debauchee, were surnamed the Well-beloved; Henri II., a man of pleasure, wholly under the thumb of Diane de Poitiers, was called the War-like; Louis XIII., most unjust in domestic life, where alone he had any freedom of action, was called the Just; Louis XIV., a man of mere ceremony and posture, who lost battle after battle, and brought the nation to absolute bankruptcy, was surnamed the Great King. (He was little in stature, little in mind, little in all moral and physical faculties; and great only in such littlenesses as posturing, dressing, ceremony and gormandizing). And Louis XVIII., forced on the nation by conquerors, quite against the general will, was called the Desired.
Kings of France. The succession of three brothers has been singularly fatal in French monarchism. The Capetian dynasty terminated with three brothers, sons of Philippe, le Bel (viz., Louis X., Philippe V., and Charles IV.). The Valois dynasty came to an end by the succession of the three brothers, sons of Henri II. (viz., François II., Charles IX., and Henri III.). The next or Bourbon dynasty terminated in the same manner (Louis XVI., Louis XVIII., and Charles X.).
After Charles IV. (the third brother of the Capetian dynasty), came Phillipe de Valois, a collateral descendant; after Henri III. (the third brother of the Valois dynasty), came Henry de Bourbon, a collateral descendant; and after Charles X. (the third brother of the Bourbon dynasty), came Louis Philippe, a collateral descendant. With the third of the third the monarchymonarchy ended.
Kings Playing with their Children.
[F1: not a paragraph line break?]The fine painting of J. D. Ingres, represents Henri IV. (of France) carrying his children pickaback, to the horror of the Spanish ambassador.
Plutarch tells us that Agesiläos was one day discovered riding cock-horse on a walking-stick, to please and amuse his children.
George III. was on one occasion, discovered on all fours, with one of his children riding astride his back. He is also well remembered by the painting of “George III. Playing at Ball with the Princess Amelia.”
Kingsale (Lord), allowed to wear his hat in the presence of royalty. In 1203, Hugh de Lacie treacherously seized Sir John de Courcy, lord of Kingsale, and King John condemned him to perpetual imprisonment in the Tower. When he had been there about a year, King John and Philippie Auguste of France agreed to determine certain claims by combat. It was then that John applied to de Courcy to be his champion; and, as soon as the giant knight entered the lists, the French champion ran away panic-struck. John now asked his champion what reward he could give him for his service. “Titles and estates I have enow,” said de Courcy; and then requested that, after having paid obeisance, he and his heirs might stand covered in the presence of the king, and his successors.
Lord Forester had the same right confirmed to him by Henry VIII.
John Pakington, ancestor of Lord Hampton, had a grant made him in the 20th Henry VIII. “of full liberty during his life to wear his hat in the royal presence.”
Kingship (Disqualifications for). Any personal blemish disqualified a person from being king during the semi-barbarous stage of society; thus, putting out the eyes of a prince, to disqualify him from reigning, was by no means uncommon. It will be remembered that Hubert designed to put out the eyes of Prince Arthur with this object. Witi´za, the Vizigoth, put out the eyes of Theodofred, “inhabilitandole pāra la monarchia,” says Ferraras. When Albuquerque took possession of Ormuz, he deposed fifteen kings of Portugal, and, instead of killing them, put out their eyes.
Yorwerth, son of Owen Gwynedh, was set aside from the Welsh throne because he had a broken nose.
Count Oliba of Barcelona was set aside because he could not speak till he had stamped thrice with his foot, like a goat.
The son of Henry V. was to be received as king of France, only on condition that his body was without defect, and was not stunted.—Monstrelet, Chroniques, v. 190 (1512).(1512).
Kinmont Willie, William Armstrong of Kinmonth. This notorious freebooter, who lived in the part latter of the sixteenth century, is the hero of a famous Scotch ballad.
Kinney (Elder). A good man, married to a pure, good woman. They work together in their home and parish, a benefaction to one another and to their little world, until the husband and pastor is called home by a fatal accident. His wife’s hair turns white under the shock, yet she rallies her strong heart to read her husband’s sermons to his people until they will hear of no other spiritual leader.—Draxy Miller’s Dowry, Saxe Holm Stories (1886).
Kirk (Mr. John), foreman of the jury on Effie Deans’s trial.—Sir W. Scott, Heart of Midlothian (time, George II.).
Kirkcaldy (Scotland), a corruption of Kirk-Culdee, one of the churches founded in 563 by St. Colomb, and his twelve brethren, when they established the Culdee institutions. The doctrines, discipline and government of the Culdees resembled Presbyterianism.
Kirkrapine (3 syl.), a sturdy thief, “wont to rob churches of their ornaments and poor men’s boxes.” All he could lay hands on he brought to the hut of Abessa, daughter of Corce´ca. While Una was in the hut, Kirkrapine knocked at the door, and as it was not immediately opened, knocked it down; whereupon the lion sprang on him, “under his lordly foot did him suppress,” and then “rent him in thousand pieces small.”
The meaning is that popery was reformed by the British lion, which slew Kirkrapine or put a stop to the traffic in spiritual matters. Una represents truth of the Reformed Church.—Spenser, Faëry Queen, i. 3 (1590).
Kit [Nubbles], the lad employed to wait on little Nell, and do all sorts of odd jobs at the “curiosity shop” for her grandfather. He generally begins his sentences with “Why then.” Thus, “’Twas a long way, wasn’t it, Kit!” “Why then, it was a goodish stretch,” returned Kit. “Did you find the house easily?” “Why then, not over and above,” said Kit. “Of course you have come back hungry?” “Why then, I do think I am rather so.” When the “curiosity shop” was broken up by Quilp, Kit took service under Mr. Garland, Abel Cottage, Finchley.
Kit Carson’s Ride tells how he, his newly-made bride, and Revels, his comrade, rode before a prairie fire, entangled in a herd of frightened, savage buffaloes, until Revels dropped dead, and the red flames snatched his bride from him, and his horse bore him senseless, into safety.
Kite (Sergeant), the “recruiting officer.” He describes his own character thus:
“I was born a gypsy, and bred among that crew till I was 10 years old; there I learnt canting and lying. I was bought from my mother by a certain nobleman for three pistoles, who ... made me his page; there I learnt impudence and pimping. Being turned off for wearing my lord’s linen, and drinking my lady’s ratafia, I turned bailiff’s follower; there I learnt bullying and swearing. I at last got into the army, and there I learnt ... drinking. So that ... the whole sum is: canting, lying, impudence, pimping, bullying, swearing, drinking, and a halberd.”—G. Farquhar, The Recruiting Officer, iii. 1 (1705).
Sergeant Kite is an original picture of low life and humor, rarely surpassed.—R. Chambers, English Literature, i. 599.
The original “Sergeant Kite” was R. Eastcourt (1668-1713).
Kitely (2 syl.), a rich City merchant, extremely jealous of his wife.—Ben Jonson, Every Man in His Humor (1598).
Kit-Kat Club, held in Shire Lane, now called Lower Serle’s Place (London). The members were whig “patriots” who, at the end of William III.’s reign, met to secure the Protestant succession. Joseph Addison, Steele, Congreve, Garth, Vanbrugh, Mainwaring, Walpole, Pulteney, etc., were members.
Kitt Henshaw, boatman to Sir Patrick Charteris, of Kidfauns, provost of Perth.—Sir W. Scott, Fair Maid of Perth (time, Henry IV.).
Kittlecourt (Sir Thomas), M.P., neighbor of the laird of Ellangowan.—Sir W. Scott, Guy Mannering (time, George II.).
Kitty, one of the servants of Mr. Peregrine Lovel. She spoke French like a native, because she was once “a half boarder at Chelsea.” Being asked if she had read Shakespeare: “Shikspur, Shikspur!” she replied. “Who wrote it? No, I never read that book; but I promise to read it over one afternoon or other.”—Rev. James Townley, High Life Below Stairs (1759).
Kitty, younger daughter of Sir David and Lady Dunder, of Dunder Hall, near Dover. She is young, wild, and of exuberant spirits, “her mind full of fun, her eyes full of fire, her head full of novels, and her heart full of love.” Kitty fell in love with Random, at Calais, and agreed to elope with him, but the fugitives were detected by Sir David during their preparations for flight, and, to prevent scandal, the marriage was sanctioned by the parents, and duly solemnized at Dunder Hall.—G. Colman, Ways and Means (1788).
Kitty Ellison. Young woman from Eriecreek, who travels up the Saguenay, and into Canada, with Boston cousins, and meets en route Mr. Arbuton, a Bostonian of the Bostonians. He cannot help loving her, and incidentally saves her life, yet is ashamed of her plain travelling-gown when they encountered certain Boston women. Kitty sees it, and proudly dismisses him.
“I couldn’t alter both our whole lives or make myself over again, and you couldn’t change yourself. Perhaps you would try, and I know I would, but it would be a wretched failure and disappointment as long as we lived.”—W. D. Howells, A Chance Acquaintance (1873).
Kitty Pry, the waiting-maid of Melissa. Very impertinent, very inquisitive, and very free in her tongue. She has a partiality to Timothy Sharp, “the lying valet.”—Garrick, The Lying Valet (1741).
Kitty Willis, a loose woman, employed by Saville to attend a masquerade in the same costume as Lady Francis, in order to dupe Courtall.—Mrs. Cowley, The Belles’ Stratagem (1780).
Klabot´ermann, a ship-kobold of the Baltic, sometimes heard, but rarely seen. Those who have seen him say he sits on the bowsprit of a phantom ship, called Carmilhan, dressed in yellow, wearing a night-cap, and smoking a cutty pipe.
Kläs (Kaiser), a nickname given to Napoleon I. (1769, 1804-1814, 1821).
Klaus (Doctor), hero and title of a comedy by Herr Adolph l’Arronge (1878). Dr. Klaus is a gruff, but noble-minded and kind-hearted man, whose niece (a rich jeweller’s daughter) has married a poor nobleman of such extravagant notions that the wife’s property is soon dissipated; the young spendthrift is reformed. The doctor has a coachman, who invades his master’s province, and undertakes to cure a sick peasant.
Klaus (Peter), the prototype of Rip van Winkle. Klaus [Klows] is a goatherd of Sittendorf, who was one day accosted by a young man, who beckoned him to follow. Peter obeyed, and was led into a deep dell, where he found twelve knights playing skittles, no one of whom uttered a word. Gazing around, he noticed a can of wine, and, drinking some of its contents, was overpowered with sleep. When he awoke, he was amazed at the height of the grass, and when he entered the village everything seemed strange to him. One or two companions encountered him, but those whom he knew as boys were grown middle-aged men, and those whom he knew as middle-aged were gray-beards. After much perplexity he discovered he had been asleep for twenty years (See Sleepers).
Your Epimenidês, your somnolent Peter Klaus, since named “Rip van Winkle.”—T Carlyle.
Kleiner (General), governor of Prague, brave as a lion, but tender-hearted as a girl. It was Kleiner who rescued the infant daughter of Mahldenau at the siege of Magdeburg. A soldier seized the infant’s nurse, but Kleiner smote him down, saved the child, and brought it up as his own daughter. Mahldenau being imprisoned in Prague as a spy, Meeta, his daughter, came to Prague to beg for his pardon, and it then came to light that the governor’s adopted daughter was Meeta’s sister.—S. Knowles, The Maid of Mariendorpt (1838).
Knag (Miss), forewoman of Mde. Mantalini, milliner, near Cavendish Square, London. After doting on Kate Nickleby for three whole days, this spiteful creature makes up her mind to hate her for ever.—C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, xviii. (1838).
Knickerbocker (Diedrich), nom de plume of Washington Irving, in his History of New York (1809).
Knight of Arts and Industry, the hero of Thomson’s Castle of Indolence (canto ii. 7-13, 1748).
Knight of La Mancha, Don Quixote de la Mancha, the hero of Cervantes’ novel called Don Quixote, etc. (1605-1615).
Knight of the Blade, a bully; so called because when swords were worn, a bully was for ever asserting his opinions, by an appeal to his sword.
Knight of the Ebon Spear, Britŏmart. In the great tournament she “sends Sir Artegal over his horse’s tail,” then disposes of Cambel, Tri´amond, Blan´damour, and several others in the same summary way, for “no man could bide her enchanted spear.”—Spenser, Faëry Queen, iv. 4 (1596).
Knight of the Fatal Sword, Emedōrous of Grana´da. Known for his love of the incomparable Alzay´da.
“Sir,” said the lady, “your name is so celebrated in the world, that I am persuaded nothing is impossible for your arm to execute.”—Comtesse D’Aunoy, Fairy Tales (“The Knights-Errant,” 1682).
Knight of the Invincible Sword. So Am´adis de Gaul styled himself.—Vasco de Lobeira, Amadis de Gaul (fourteenth century).
Knight of the Leopard. David, earl of Huntingdon, prince royal of Scotland, assumed the name and disguise of Sir Kenneth, “Knight of the Leopard,” in the crusade.—Sir. W. Scott, The Talisman (time, Richard I.).
Knight of the Lions, the appellation assumed by Don Quixote after his attack upon the van containing two lions sent by the general of Oran as a present to the king of Spain.—Cervantes, Don Quixote, II. i. 17 (1615).
Knight of the Pestle, an apothecary or druggist.
Knight of the Post, one who haunted the purlieus of the courts, ready to be hired to swear anything. So called because these mercenaries hung about the post to which the sheriffs affixed their announcements.
Also a man in the pillory, or one that has been publicly tied to a post and whipped.
Knight of the Rainbow, a footman; so called from his gorgeous raiment.
Knight of the Roads, a foot-pad or highwayman; so termed by a pun on the military order entitled “The Knights of Rhodes.”
Knight of the Rueful Countenance, Don Quixote de la Mancha, the hero of Cervantes’ novel, is so called by Sancho Panza, his squire.
Knight of the Shears, a tailor. Shires (counties), pronounced shears, gives birth to the pun.
Knight of the Sun, Almanzor, prince of Tunis. So called because the sun was the device he bore on his shield.—Comtesse D’Aunoy, Fairy Tales (“Princess Zamea,” 1682).
Knight of the Swan, Lohengrin, son of Parsival. He went to Brabant in a ship drawn by a swan. Here he liberated the Princess Elsa, who was a captive, and then married her, but declined to tell his name. After a time he joined an expedition against the Hungarians, and, after performing miracles of valor, returned to Brabant covered with glory. Some of Elsa’s friends laughed at her for not knowing her husband’s name, so she implored him to tell her of his family; but no sooner was the question asked than the white swan re-appeared and conveyed him away.—Wolfram von Eschenbach (a minnesinger), Lohengrin (thirteenth century).
Knight of the Tomb (The), Sir James Douglas, usually called “The Black Douglas.”—Sir W. Scott, Castle Dangerous.Dangerous. In the episode of Argalus and Parthenia in Sidney’s Arcadia. Parthenia, to avenge her husband’s death, disguises herself as “The Knight of the Tomb.”
Knight of the White Moon, the title assumed by Samson Carrasco, when he tilted with Don Quixote, on the condition that if the don were worsted in the encounter he should quit knight-errantry and live peaceably at home for twelve months.—Cervantes, Don Quixote, II. iv. 12-14 (1615).
Knight of the Woeful Countenance, Don Quixote de la Mancha.
Knight with Two Swords, Sir Balin, le Savage, brother of Sir Balan.—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, i. 27, 33 (1470).
Knights. The three bravest of King Arthur’s knights were Sir Launcelot du Lac, Sir Tristram de Lionês or Lyonês and Sir Lamorake de Galis (i. e. Wales).—Sir T. Malory, History of Prince Arthur, i. 132 (1470).
⁂ The complement of the knights of the Round Table was 150 (ditto, i. 120). But in Lancelot of the Lake, ii. 81, they are said to have amounted to 250.
Knights (’Prentice), a secret society established to avenge the wrongs of apprentices on their “tyrant masters.” Mr. Sim Tappertit was captain of this “noble association,” and their meetings were held in a cellar in Stagg’s house, in the Barbican. The name was afterwards changed into “The United Bull-dogs,” and the members joined the anti-popery rout of Lord George Gordon.—C. Dickens, Barnaby Rudge, viii. (1841).
Knights of Alcan´tara, a military order of Spain, which took its name from the city of Alcantara, in Estremadura. These knights were previously called “Knights of the Pear Tree,” and subsequently “Knights of St. Julian.” The order was founded in 1156 for the defence of Estremadura against the Moors. In 1197 Pope Celestine III. raised it to the rank of a religious order of knighthood.
Knights of Calatra´va, a military order of Spain, instituted by Sancho III. of Castile. When Sancho took the strong fort of Calatrava from the Moors, he gave it to the Knights Templars, who, wanting courage to defend it, returned it to the king again. Then Don Reymond, of the Cistercian order, with several cavelleros of quality, volunteered to defend the fort, whereupon the king constituted them “Knights of Calatrava.”
Knights of Christian Charity, instituted by Henri III. of France, for the benefit of poor military officers and maimed soldiers. This order was founded at the same time as that of the “Holy Ghost,” which was meant for princes and men of distinction. The order was completed by Henri IV., and resembled our “Poor Knights of Windsor,” now called “The Military Knights of Windsor.”
Knights of Malta, otherwise called “Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem,” a religious military order, whose residence was in the island of Malta. Some time before the journey of Godfrey of Bouillon into the Holy Land, some Neapolitan merchants built a house for those of their countrymen who came thither on pilgrimage. Afterwards they built a church to St. John, and an hospital for the sick, whence they took the name of “Hospitallers.” In 1104 the order became military, and changed the term “Hospitallers” into that of “Knights Hospitallers.” In 1310 they took Rhodes, and the order was then called “The Knights of Rhodes.” In 1523 they were expelled from Rhodes by the Turks, and took up their residence in Malta.
Knights of Montesa, a Spanish order of knighthood, instituted by James II. of Aragon, in 1317.
Knights of Nova Scotia, in the West Indies, created by James I. of Great Britain. These knights wore a ribbon of an orange tawny color.
Knights of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Chevaliers de l’Ordre de Notre Dame du Mont Carmel), instituted by Henri IV. of France, in 1607, and consisting of a hundred French gentlemen.
N. B.—These knights must not be confounded with the Carmelites or L’Ordre des Carmes, founded by Bertholde, count of Limoges, in 1156; said by legend to have been founded by the prophet Elijah, and to have been revived by the Virgin Mary. The religious house of Carmel was founded in 400 by John, patriarch of Jerusalem, in honor of Elijah, and this gave rise to the legend.
Knights of Rhodes. The “Knights of Malta” were so called between 1310 and 1523. (See Knights of Malta).
Knights of St. Andrew, instituted by Peter the Great, of Moscovy, in 1698. Their badge is a gold medal, having St. Andrew’s cross on one side, with these words, Cazar Pierre monarque de tout le Russie.
Knights of St. Genette (Chevaliers de l’Ordre de St Genette), the most ancient order of knighthood in France, instituted by Charles Martel, after his victory over the Saracens, in 782, where a vast number of genets, like Spanish cats (civet cats), were found in the enemy’s camp.
Knights of St. George. There are several orders so called:
1. St. George of Alfama, founded by the kings of Aragon.
2. St. George of Austria and Corinthia; instituted by the Emperor Frederick III., first archduke of Austria.
3. Another founded by the same emperor in 1470, to guard the frontiers of Bohemia and Hungary against the Turks.
4. St. George, generally called “Knights of the Garter” (q. v.).
5. An order in the old republic of Genoa.
6. The Teutonic knights were originally called “Knights of St. George.”
Knights of St. Jago, a Spanish order, instituted under Pope Alexander III., the grand-master of which is next in rank to the sovereign. St. Jago or James (the Greater) is the patron saint of Spain.
Knights of St. John at Jerusalem, instituted in 1120. This order took its name from John, patriarch of Alexandria, and from the place of their abode(Jerusalem.) These knights subsequently resided at Rhodes (between 1310 and 1523). Being driven out by the Turks in 1523, they took up their abode in Malta, and were called “Knights of Malta.”
Knights of St. Lazare (2 syl.), a religious and military order of Knights Hospitallers, established in the twelfth century, and confirmed by the pope in 1255. Their special mission was to take care of lepers. The name is derived from Lazarus, the beggar, who lay at the gate of Divês. The order was introduced into France under Louis VII., and was abolished in the first Revolution.
Knights of St. Magdalene (3 syl.), a French order, instituted by St. Louis (IX.) to suppress duels.
Knights of St. Maria de Mercede (3 syl.), a Spanish order, for the redemption of captives.
Knights of St. Michael the Archangel (Chevaliers de l’Ordre de St. Michel), a French order, instituted by Louis XI. in 1469. The king was at the head of the order. M. Bouillet says: “St. Michel est regardé comme le protecteur et l’ange tutélaire de la France.”
Knights of St. Patrick, instituted in 1783. The ruling sovereign of Great Britain and Ireland, and the lord-lieutenant of Ireland, are ex-officio members of this order. The order is named after St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.
Knights of St. Salvador, in Aragon, instituted by Alphonso I. in 1118.
Knights of Windsor, formerly called “Poor Knights of Windsor,” but now entitled “The Military Knights of Windsor,” a body of military pensioners, who have their residence within the precincts of Windsor Castle.
Knights of the Bath, an order of knighthood derived from the ancient Franks, and so termed because the members originally “bathed” before they performed their vigils. The last knights created in this ancient form were at the coronation of Charles II., in 1661.
G. C. B. stands for Grand Cross of the Bath (the first class); K. C. B. for Knight Commander of the Bath (the second class); and C. B. for Companion of the Bath (the third class).
Knights of the Blood of Our Saviour, an order of knighthood in Mantua, instituted by Duke Vincent Gonzaga, in 1608, on his marriage. It consisted of twenty Mantuan dukes. The name originated in the belief that in St. Andrew’s Church, Mantua, certain drops of our Saviour’s blood are preserved as a relic.
Knights of the Broom Flower (Chevaliers de l’Ordre de la Geneste), instituted by St. Louis (IX.) of France, on his marriage. The collar was decorated with broom flowers, intermixed with fleurs de lys in gold. The motto was Exaltat Humĭlês.
Knights of the Carpet or Carpet Knights, i. e. non-military or civil knights, such as mayors, lawyers, authors, artists, physicians, and so on, who receive their knighthood kneeling on a carpet, and not in the tented field.
Knights of the Chamber or Chamber Knights, knights bachelors made in times of peace in the presence chamber, and not in the camp. These are always military men, and therefore differ from “Carpet Knights,” who are always civilians.
Knights of the Cock and Dog, founded by Philippe I., Auguste, of France.
Knights of the Crescent, a military order, instituted by Renatus, of Anjou, king of Sicily, etc., in 1448. So called from the badge, which is a crescent of gold enamelled. What gave rise to this institution was that Renatus took for his device a crescent, with the word loz (“praise”), which, in the style of rebus, makes loz in crescent, i. e. “by advancing in virtue one merits praise.”
Knights of the Dove, a Spanish order, instituted in 1379, by John I., of Castile.
Knights of the Dragon, created by the emperor Sigismond, in 1417, upon the condemnation of Huss and Jerome, of Prague, “the heretics.”
KnightsKnights of the Ermine (Chevaliers de l’Ordre de l’Epi), instituted in 1450 by François I., duc de Bretagne. The collar was of gold, composed of ears of corn in saltier, at the end of which hung an ermine, with the legend à ma vie. The order expired when the dukedom was annexed to the crown of France.
Knights of the Garter, instituted by Edward III. of England, in 1344. According to Selden, “it exceeds in majesty, honor, and fame, all chivalrous orders in the world.” The story is that Joan, countess of Salisbury, while dancing with the king, let fall her garter, and the gallant Edward, perceiving a smile on the face of the courtiers, picked it up, bound it round his own knee, and exclaimed, “Honi soit qui mal y pense.” The blue garter and the motto of the order are thus accounted for.
Knights of the Golden Fleece, a military order of knighthood, instituted by Philippe, le Bon, of Burgundy, in 1429. It took its name from a representation of the golden fleece on the collar of the order. The king of Spain is grand-master, and the motto is Ante feret quam flamma micet.
Knights of the Golden Shield, an order instituted by Louis II., of France, for the defence of the country. The motto is Allons (i. e. “Let us go in defence of our country”).
Knights of the Hare, an order of twelve knights, instituted by Edward III. while he was in France. The French raised a tremendous shout, and Edward thought it was the cry of battle, but it was occasioned by a hare running between the two armies. From this incident the knights created on the field after this battle were termed “Knights of the Order of the Hare.”
Knights of the Holy Ghost (Chevalier de l’Ordre du Saint Esprit), instituted by Henri III., of France, on his return from Poland. Henri III. was both born and crowned on Whit-Sunday, and hence the origin of the order.
Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, an order of knighthood founded by St. Hel´ena, when she visited Jerusalem, at the age of 80, and found (as it is said) the cross on which Christ was crucified, in a cavern under the temple of Venus, A. D. 328. This order was confirmed by Pope Pascal II. in 1114.
Knights of the Lily, an order of knighthood in Navarre, founded by Garcia, in 1048.
Knights of the Order of Fools, established November, 1381, and continued to the beginning of the sixteenth century. The insignia was a jester or fool embroidered on the left side of their mantles, cap and bells, yellow stockings, a cup of fruit in the right hand, and a gold key in the left. It resembled the “Odd Fellows” of more modern times.
Knights of the Porcupine (Chevaliers de l’Ordre du Porcépic), a French order of knighthood. The original motto was Cominus et eminus, changed by Louis XII. into Ultus avos Trojæ.
Knights of the Red Staff, an order instituted by Alfonso XI. of Castile and Leon, in 1330.
Knights of the Round Table. King Arthur’s knights were so called, because they sat with him at a round table made by Merlin, for King Leodegraunce. This king gave it to Arthur on his marriage with Guinever, his daughter. It contained seats for 150 knights, 100 of which King Leodegraunce furnished when he sent the table.
Knights of the Shell. The argonauts of St. Nicholas were so called from the shells worked on the collar of the order.
Knights of the Ship, an order of knighthood founded by St. Louis IX., of France, in his expedition to Egypt.
Knights of the Star (Chevaliers de l’Ordre de l’Etoile), an ancient order of knighthood in France. The motto of the order was Monstrant regibus astra viam.
Knights of the Swan (Chevalier de l’Ordre du Cygne), an order of knighthood founded in 1443 by the elector Frederick II., of Brandenburg, and restored in 1843 by Frederick William IV., of Prussia. Its object is the relief of distress generally. The king of Prussia is grand-master. The motto is Gott mit uns (“God be with you”); and the collar is of gold. The white swan is the badge of the house of Cleves (Westphalia).
Lord Berners has a novel called The Knight of the Swan (sixteenth century).
Knights of the Thistle, said to be founded by Archaicus, king of the Scots, in 809; revived in 1530 by James V., of Scotland; again in 1687 by James II., of Great Britain; and again by Queen Anne, who placed the order on a permanent footing. The decoration consists of a collar of enamelled gold, composed of sixteen thistles interlaced with sprigs of rue, and a small golden image of St. Andrew within a circle. The motto is Nemo me impune lacessit. The members are sometimes called “Knights of St Andrew.”
The rue mixed with the thistles is a pun on the word “Andrew” thistles And-rue.
⁂ There was at one time a French “Order of the Thistle” in the house of Bourbon, with the same decoration and motto.
Knights of the Virgin’s Looking-Glass, an order instituted in 1411 by Ferdinand of Castile.
Knights Teutonic, originally called “Knights of St. George,” then “Knights of the Virgin Mary,” and lastly “Teutonic Knights of the Hospital of St. Mary the Virgin.” This order was instituted by Henry, king of Jerusalem, in compliment to the German volunteers who accompanied Frederick Barbarossa on his crusade. The knights were soon afterwards placed under the tutelage of the Virgin, to whom a hospital had been dedicated for the relief of German Pilgrims; and in 1191, Pope Celestine III. confirmed the privileges, and changed the name of the order into the “Teutonic Knights,” etc. Abolished by Napoleon in 1809.
Knights of To-day, under this caption Charles Barnard has given us stories of engineers, mechanics, inventors, and other followers of peaceful arts that make for the enduring prosperity of the race, and call into practice nobler virtues than the trade of war and greed of conquest.
Knighton, groom of the duke of Buckingham.—Sir. W. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel (time, James I.).
Knockwinnock (Sybil), wife of Sir Richard of the Redhand, and mother of Malcolm Misbegot.—Sir W. Scott, The Antiquary (time, George III.).
Koh-i-noor (“mountain of light”), a diamond once called “The Great Mogul.” Held in the fourteenth century by the rajah of Malwa. Later it fell into the hands of the sultans of Delhi, after their conquest of Malwa. It belonged in the seventeenth century, to Aurungzebe the Great. The Schah Jihan sent it to Hortensio Borgio to be cut, but the Venetian lapidary re-reduced it from 793-5/8 carats to 186, and left it dull and lustreless. It next passed into the hands of Aurungzebe’s great-grandson, who hid it in his turban. Nadir Schah invited the possessor to a feast, and insisted on changing turbans, “to cement their love,” and thus it fell into Nadir’s hands, who gave it the name of “Koh-i-noor.” It next passed into the hands of Ahmed Shah, founder of the Cabûl dynasty; was extorted from Shah Shuja by Runjet Singh, who wore it set in a bracelet. After the murder of Shu Singh, it was deposited in the Lahore treasury, and after the annexation of the Punjaub, was presented to Queen Victoria, in 1850. It has been recut, and, though reduced to 106 carats, is supposed to be worth £140,000.
⁂ There is another diamond of the same name belonging to the shah of Persia.
Kohlhass (Michael), an excellent historical novel of the Lutheran period, by Henry Kleist, a German (1776-1811).
Kolao, the wild man of Misanichis. He had a son who died in early youth, and he went to Pat-Koot-Parout to crave his son’s restoration to life. Pat-Koot-Parout put the soul of the dead body in a leather bag, which he fastened with packthread, and hung round the neck of Kolao, telling him to lay the body in a new hut, put the bag near the mouth, and so let the soul return to it, but on no account to open the bag before everything was ready. Kolao placed the bag in his wife’s hands while he built the hut, strictly enjoining her not to open it; but curiosity led her to open the bag, and out flew the soul to the country of Pat-Koot-Parout again.—T. S. Gueulette, Chinese Tales (“Kolao, the Wild Man,” 1723).
⁂ Orpheus, having lost his wife, Eurydĭcê, by the bite of a serpent, obtained permission of Pluto for her restoration, provided he looked not back till he reached the upper world. He had got to the end of his journey, when he turned round to see if Pluto had kept his word. As he turned he just caught sight of Eurydicê, who was instantly caught back again to the infernal regions.
Korigans or Korrigans, nine fays of Brittany, who can predict future events, assume any shape, and move from place to place as quick as thought. They do not exceed two feet in height, sing like syrens, and comb their long hair like mermaids. They haunt fountains, and flee at the sound of bells, and their breath is deadly.—Breton Mythology.
Kosciusko (Thaddœus), the Polish general who contended against the allied army of Russia under the command of Suwarrow, in 1794. He was taken prisoner and sent to Russia, but in 1796 was set at liberty by the Czar.