A Modern-Day Knight Discusses What Knightly Service Means in 2023 (Essentially, Less Crusading and More Volunteering)

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

Society & Culture, History

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2023

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1348, King Edward III founded a charity for impoverished men-at-arms, who came to be known as the Alms Knights (or Poor Knights). These knights were destitute because their families ransomed them in foreign wars, and their sovereign didn’t see fit to leave them as beggars. He also wanted them to commit to praying for the souls of him and his descendants, setting up a chapel for this very purpose (all part of the Chantry Craze in the 14th century) In 1833, their name was changed by William IV to the Military Knights of Windsor.
The order has continued to this day, unbroken for nearly seven hundred years. Over the centuries, there have been about six hundred and fifty such knights. Their backgrounds and careers have been very varied: one was a freed slave, another had to bind Casanova over to keep the peace. Most have had a military background (three have held the Victoria Cross) – but there have been astrologers, crusaders, mad baronets, politicians, artists,and con artists. Men-At-Alms tells their stories, set against the history of their times.
Today’s guest is Simon Durnford, one of the Military Knights of Windsor and author of Men-At-Alms: Six Centuries of The Military Knights of Windsor.” He discusses what it means to be part of a medieval institution and how the group has evolved over the centuries.

Transcript

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0:00.0	[♪ INTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪
0:04.4	Scott here with another episode of the History and Plug podcast.
0:07.4	In 14th century Europe, a popular religious craze was the chantry movement.
0:11.6	This movement involved a lot of things, including the building of chapels within a church,
0:16.2	and dad for the singing of masses for the founder after his death.
0:19.6	There also sunk for his descendants and was commonly believed that these liturgies could
0:23.4	atone for misdeeds and assist the soul while in purgatory.
0:26.5	King Edward III founded a chantry in 1348, which he also set up as a charity for impoverished
0:31.9	knights who were impoverty because if they were captured in battle, their family had
0:35.2	to ransom them and they had no money by the time they came home.
0:38.4	The impoverished knights who entered this order were required to pray for the benefactor
0:42.2	and they had to be present in St. George's Chapel every day at high mass.
0:45.6	They were also given room and board an appension of 12 pence per day.
0:50.0	This ordered grew in flourish and it also faced setbacks, especially during the English
0:54.2	Reformation, but it continued on throughout the centuries and it still exists.
0:59.0	Well, over the centuries there have been about 650 such knights.
1:02.6	Their backgrounds and careers have been varied, most of them were veterans, but another
1:06.6	was a freed slave who was captured by the Ottomans, and there have also been crusaders,
1:11.2	astrologers, politicians, artists, and even con artists.
1:15.6	Today's guest is Sir Simon Dernford, who himself is a military knight of Windsor.
1:19.4	He was born into a typical end of empire family.
1:22.2	Some others forebears served in India for over 100 years and his father was a naval commander.
	...

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