The Knightly Title

The knightly title originally came with military obligations and was granted by commanders, even in the 16th century, on royal orders. Later, knights received their titles based on the annual income from their lands. In the late Middle Ages, the number of knights dramatically decreased. While there were about 1,200 knights in England in 1324, by 1434 there were only 73. During the York dynasty, their number started to rise again, and the Tudors freely awarded the title. In the reign of Elizabeth I, there were 600 knights in the kingdom. Elizabeth was relatively cautious in granting titles, which meant that their numbers did not increase further, even though the population grew and more families entered the landed gentry based on their wealth. Between 1558 and 1573, 153 new knights were appointed, and between 1574 and 1583, 178 knights were appointed. Still, the total number of knights decreased from 600 to 300. Toward the end of her reign, the number of appointments significantly increased. Between 1584 and 1593, 257 knights were appointed, and between 1594 and 1603, 290 knights were appointed. Yet, the number of knights still kept declining.

Elizabeth's caution in granting titles meant that many families deserved public recognition for their wealth, lifestyle, and roles in administration, but did not receive it. Most of the new knights had participated in the Tudor's Irish adventure or other expeditions, and their titles were awarded by the Lord Deputy or the Lord General. The Earl of Essex, in particular, was generous in granting titles, which angered the queen. He knighted some people from very humble backgrounds who had only achieved modest successes. Essex's goal was to gather a large number of armed men, but because many adventurers received the title, it damaged his own dignity. With the ascension of James I to the throne in 1603, royal frugality was replaced by extravagance. On the day of his coronation, July 23, 1603, he knighted 432 individuals. In the first four months, no fewer than 906 people were knighted. By the end of 1604, the number of knights had reached 1,161, three times the number in Elizabeth's reign. Between 1605 and 1609, 371 knights were appointed, an average of 74 per year. It was rumored that the king was imitating King Arthur, except that Arthur's 1,000 knights had fought for him.

The excessive number of knights had the damaging consequence that there were hardly any knights left to serve as judges. James I's extravagance (46 appointments during one journey to breakfast) led to the unprecedented degradation of the title's prestige. He personally did not even know those he appointed. The sale of letters of recommendation for the king also began. The king himself did not participate in this, but he granted titles as favors in exchange for some compensation. The right to appoint knights was increasingly handed over to his courtiers. Not only did letters of recommendation and appointments cost money, but the ceremony itself was also paid for by the candidate, and its costs increased. The commercialization of knighthood led to growing dissatisfaction. The old rural nobility found it humiliating that they could only preserve their prestige through such methods. Judicial officers also complained that the granting of knighthood led lawyers to try to strip them of their privileges. In 1610, yielding to the discontent, the king gave a conciliatory speech in Parliament and promised to halt his previous policy. However, he did not keep his promise. The discontented proposed a new plan: the creation of a new order, the "Knights of the Crown," aiming to preserve the dignity of knighthood. James I presented another unrealistic plan. Gold mines had been discovered in Scotland, and the king, lacking capital, would have taken money from the 24 wealthiest nobles to fund this, granting them the title of "Knights of the Gold Mines." However, the creation of a new knighthood order did not solve the issue of the title's prestige; instead, the introduction of the baronet title in 1611 helped. By this time, the number of knights had already halved. The cost of knighthood was raised, but due to the lack of new financial resources, James was forced to reduce the fee again and increase the number of knights. As a result, the value of knighthood once again plummeted. His successor, Charles I, even imposed fines on those who hesitated to purchase the title, bringing significant revenue to the king. Thus, the title of knight was openly sold by both kings and their courtiers. They yielded to the pressure of the nobility, who did not want to wait too long for the title. In their financial difficulties, the kings could not reward their supporters in other ways, and by selling titles, they could also gain new supporters. While Elizabeth and her generals knighted 878 people in 44 and a half years, the two Stuart kings knighted 3,281 people in 38 years. This not only diminished the king's prestige but also disrupted the hierarchical structure of society. Instead of seeking knighthood, people sought other titles to advance, and the baronet title became the preferred alternative.

Lawrence Stone "The Crisis of the Aristokracy 1558-1641", Oxford, 1979, ford. Bolyán Anita