Knights, some on horseback, in hand-to-hand combat. A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a monarch or other political leader for service to the Monarch or country, especially in a military capacity. Historically, in Europe, knighthood has been conferred upon mounted warriors. During the High Middle Ages, knighthood was considered a class of lower nobility. By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior. Often, a knight was a vassal who served as a fighter for a lord, with payment in the form of land holdings. The lords trusted the knights, who were skilled in battle on horseback. Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is a code of conduct associated with the medieval institution of knighthood. Over time its meaning has been refined to emphasize social and moral virtues more generally, and the Code of Chivalry as it stood by the Late Middle Ages was a moral system which combined a warrior ethos, Christian virtue and courtly manners, all conspiring to establish a notion of faith, loyalty, courage, honor and nobility. Illustration from: Faits d'armes et de chevalerie (Feats of arms and chivalry). Printed by William Caxton, July 14, 1489 (4th year of the reign of Henry VII).