What did English people really say when knighting someone?
score:21
According to the British Monarchy website:
The first and simplest method of knighting was that used on battlefields, when the candidate knelt before the Royal commander of the army and was 'stricken with the sword upon his back and shoulder' with some words such as 'Advances Chevalier au nom de Dieu'. (The action of touching the sword on the recipient's shoulder is known as dubbing.)
So the reason you could not find the phrase in Latin is because it was in French.
Edit, MerilP notes that in French it should actually be 'Avancez Chevalier au nom de Dieu' and 'Soyez preux, hardi, et loyal'.
Upvote:7
The famous English antiquary, Elias Ashmole, wrote:
The first Christian Kings and Princes (saith in Favin) at the giving of the Cingulum militare, kissed the new Knight on the left cheek, and used these words, In the honor of the Father, of the Son; and of the Holy Ghost, I make you a Knight. And this was called Osculum pacis, the kiss of Favour or Brotherhood.
He is citing Andre Favin who wrote the book Theatre d'Honneur et de Chevalerie, an early and well-known tome on chivalry in the 16th century.
Of course, what might be said at various times and places would be completely different and the ceremony could range from being perfunctory or elaborate. As a general rule, a knighting pronouncement had three parts, the admonition (warnings and advice), the blessing and the bestowal (the actual title(s) and rank conferred announced).
Upvote:18
If it was really Latin that you saw, then it might have been:
Surge aut sis eques in nomine Dei 1
Stand up as a knight, in the name of God.
This is how William Camden described the ancient ceremony in his Britannia. There are variations, such as substituting vel for aut. I'd be a bit surprised if the site you originally found actually used Latin, though.
Since you expected to find the answer in English ("I dub thee"), I suppose the question is focused on England. In that case, as @SteveBird's rightly points out, the traditional words are in French, not Latin. Complementing his answer, the classical formula is for the sovereign to lay a naked blade on the candidate's left shoulder and pronounce:
Sois chevalier, au nom de Dieu 2
(Be thou a knight in the name of God)
Followed by the command to rise:
Avancez chevalier 2
(Arise, knight)
The use of French has long since died out in English governance. In later times, it appears the monarch simply pronounce:
Rise up, Sir (name) 3
This part is possibly slightly profane. Mouseover to show.
Jake Cade: Rise up, Sir Dick Butcher
- William Shakespeare, 3 Henry VI (certain versions).
Sources:
[1] Jacob, Giles, and Thomas Edlyne Tomlins. The Law-Dictionary: Explaining the Rise, Progress, and Present State, of the English Law. A. Strahan, Law Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, 1809.
[2] Burke, John Bernard. The Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Edward Churton, 1841.
[3] Cox, Thomas, and William Camden. Magna Britannia et Hibernia, Antiqua & Nova Or, A New Survey of Great Britain. Savoy: Nutt and Morphew, 1720.
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