The same rolls also lists: Gilbert le Knyt in Cambridgeshire Roger le Knith in Oxfordshire and Ellis le Knyght in Wiltshire. The surname Knight was first found in Suffolk where one of the first records of the name was John le Cnitht who was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. By the 16th century knighthood became a civil distinction. The Knights Templar were suppressed by Pope Clement V in 1312. As time went by, cavalry decreased in importance in warfare and the excesses of the Knights Templar brought the institution of knighthood into disrepute. Because land was hereditary and knighthood was not, there grew up a body of landless knights, who often banded together into military orders, such as the Knights Templar, and the Knights Hospitalers. It was associated with the holding of land, but was not hereditary. With the Norman Conquest and the resultant changes in the social order, knighthood became an established feudal rank, directly under that of a Baron. Knighthood was established as a military profession by the 10th century. The word cniht also means servant and common soldier. It comes from a name for a knight, who was usually a feudal tenant deriving its origin from the Old English word cniht, which means knight. The ancient name of Knight finds its origins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain.
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