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'''Knights of the Hare''' was a [[chivalric order]] of twelve to fourteen<ref name="number"/> knights that was allegedly created by the King [[Edward III of England]] in 1338. |
'''Knights of the Hare''' was a [[chivalric order]] of twelve to fourteen<ref name="number"/> knights that was allegedly created by the King [[Edward III of England]] in 1338. |
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At the beginning of the [[Hundred |
At the beginning of the [[Hundred Years' War]] Edward III and [[Philip VI of France]] both assembled armies in France, but they did not engage in any decisive battle. At one occasion both armies were partially in sight of each other, when a hare, caught in the field between them, started running towards the French lines. The French troops greeted the approaching hare with a lot of noise. Some troops on the English site mistook the noise as a sign of an imminent French attack and prepared for battle. As a preparation for the battle the count of Hainault quickly knighted 14 distinguished [[squire]]s.<ref name="barber"/> However the French attack never came and after the reason for that became clear on the English side, those knights became known as the ''Knights of the Hare''.<ref name="james"/><ref name="neilland"/> |
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It is doubtful however, whether Edward III really created a formal order for those knights.<ref name="biedenfeld"/> |
It is doubtful however, whether Edward III really created a formal order for those knights.<ref name="biedenfeld"/> |
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Revision as of 12:07, 7 May 2012
Knights of the Hare was a chivalric order of twelve to fourteen[1] knights that was allegedly created by the King Edward III of England in 1338.
At the beginning of the Hundred Years' War Edward III and Philip VI of France both assembled armies in France, but they did not engage in any decisive battle. At one occasion both armies were partially in sight of each other, when a hare, caught in the field between them, started running towards the French lines. The French troops greeted the approaching hare with a lot of noise. Some troops on the English site mistook the noise as a sign of an imminent French attack and prepared for battle. As a preparation for the battle the count of Hainault quickly knighted 14 distinguished squires.[2] However the French attack never came and after the reason for that became clear on the English side, those knights became known as the Knights of the Hare.[3][4]
It is doubtful however, whether Edward III really created a formal order for those knights.[5]
Notes
- ^ The exact number varies between 12 and 14 in different sources
- ^ During the Middle Ages (already) distinguished squires were sometimes knighted directly before the battle, so that they could join the battle as knights (see Barber).
- ^ George Payne Rainsford James: A history of the life of Edward the Black Prince, and of various events connected therewith which occurred during the reign of Edward III, King of England. Green & Longman 1836, p. 168 (restricted online copy, p. 168, at Google Books)
- ^ Robin Neilland: The Hundert Years War.Routledge 2001, ISBN 9780415261319, p. 79-80 (restricted online copy, p. 79, at Google Books)
- ^ Ferdinand von Biedenfeld, Geschichte und Verfassung aller geistlichen und weltlichen, erloschenen und blühenden Ritterorden..., Band 1, Verlag Bernhard Friedrich Voigt, Weimar 1841, p. 100 (restricted online copy, p. 100, at Google Books) (German)
Historical sources
References
- Robin Neilland: The Hundert Years War.Routledge 2001, ISBN 9780415261319, p. 79-80 (restricted online copy, p. 79, at Google Books)
- Richard W. Barber: The Reign of Chivalry. Boydell Press 2005, ISBN 9781843831822, p. 16 (restricted online copy, p. 16, at Google Books)
- Nathan Bailey: An Universal Etymological Dictionary. 1764, p. 479 (restricted online copy, p. 479, at Google Books)
- George Payne Rainsford James: A history of the life of Edward the Black Prince, and of various events connected therewith which occurred during the reign of Edward III, King of England. Green & Longman 1836, p. 168 (restricted online copy, p. 168, at Google Books)
- Knights of the Hare. In E. Cobham Brewer: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898