Some have asked why we use the term "Knight". Some people hear the word and immediately associate it with one brand of historical knight. They might associate the word with the historical Knights Templar, the Crusades, or bloody holy wars in general.
But what of those who are knighted in modern times, as a title of honor for their service? What of the Knights of Columbus, the Blue Knights (police organization), the Golden Knights (an Army skydiving team), the Pythian Knights (a charitable organization), the Corporate Knights (a Canadian group for corporate responsibility), and so on? For that matter, what of the fictional example of Star Wars’ Jedi Knights or Batman, whose nickname is the "Dark Knight"? What of the London Knights hockey team? Are all of these just guises for religious bloody wars?
We take the view that a Knight is a broad label, and not necessarily tied to the activities, beliefs, or actions of one particular type of knight at one period of history. While many dictionaries would, of course, include references to feudal soldiers serving a king, there are also definitions including ‘holding a nonhereditary title in recognition of personal merit or service to the country’ or ‘an upholder of a cause’. The original meaning of the word from which "knight" came (cniht) meant "man-at-arms", a military term. Knights went on, over time, to be considered more than soldiers, but fighters for a cause.
While many orders of historic knight were brutal zealots, it is the romanticized view of the noble knight that inspires the Virtue Knights’ name. The Virtue Knights too fight for a cause, although here the "fighting" is metaphorical and the causes are much different, even opposite, to those of the historical European knight. Where historic knights were dogmatic, the Virtue Knight promotes rational discourse. Where the historic knights were violent, the Virtue Knights strive for peace. Where the historic knights were religious extremists, the Virtue Knights practice religious tolerance. Where the historic knights were exclusive to one ethnicity and gender, the Virtue Knights are open to all human beings.
It makes sense that knights in medieval times would be organized according to the social structures of their time and society, and that they would stand for the beliefs of their culture. It likewise makes sense that modern knights would be organized as modern organizations and stand for modern values. The values that the modern Virtue Knight stand for are those essential to a diverse, free, and democratic world today. It is in this spirit that we utilize the "noble knight" format as a way to make promoting and living virtuously fun and exciting.
