Black Knight
Encyclopedia
The black knight is a literary stock character
, often contrasted with the white knight
. The character famously appeared in Arthurian literature and has been adapted and adopted by various authors, in cinema and popular culture. The character is sometimes associated with death.
In postmodern literary criticism it has also been discussed in relation to race issues in fiction.
composed a cantata
titled The Black Knight
.
is used to describe a company or business "savior", a Black Knight
is the term used to describe a "destroyer". It is difficult to identify a Black Knight
when they first enter a company or business.
Typically, a Black Knight
will enter a business/company as an influential person such as a major investor or a member of the board of directors of a profitable or asset rich business. The Black Knight will undertake dealings to enrich themselves which normally leave the previously profitable company in a weaker financial position.
Typically, the Black Knight will dismantle a profitable or asset rich business. This can be done through several ways including:
i) Siphoned out cash through high personal expenses, salaries and bonuses;
ii) Selling off profitable parts of the business to a private company related to the Black Knight;
iii) Buying of unprofitable businesses / assets previously owned by the Black Knight;
iv) Selling of assets at below market value to persons related to the Black Knight; and
v) Buying of assets at inflated prices.
Some people refer to a Black Knight
as an investor who acquires a firm opposing the will of its management, as in a hostile takeover. This is only partially true as the ultimate intention of acquirer is unknown. It could be for business reasons and not personal reasons, such as merging the entity with another entity owned by the acquirer to create synergy.
A real Black Knight's intention is to enrich himself usually destroying the company or business in the process.
Stock character
A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
, often contrasted with the white knight
Knight-errant
A knight-errant is a figure of medieval chivalric romance literature. "Errant," meaning wandering or roving, indicates how the knight-errant would typically wander the land in search of adventures to prove himself as a knight, such as in a pas d'armes.The first known appearance of the term...
. The character famously appeared in Arthurian literature and has been adapted and adopted by various authors, in cinema and popular culture. The character is sometimes associated with death.
In postmodern literary criticism it has also been discussed in relation to race issues in fiction.
Historical significance
- Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Prince of Aquitaine. The eldest son of King Edward III, father to King Richard II of England. An exepctional military leader popularly known as the "The Black Prince"Edward, the Black PrinceEdward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Prince of Aquitaine, KG was the eldest son of King Edward III of England and his wife Philippa of Hainault as well as father to King Richard II of England....
. - James Stewart, the Black Knight of LornJames Stewart, the Black Knight of LornJames Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorn was born about 1383, Innermeath, Scotland. He died after 1451.-Early life:He was a direct male line descendant of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland, through his second son Sir John Stewart of Bonkill, who was killed at the Battle of Falkirk...
, a descendant of Robert I of ScotlandRobert I of ScotlandRobert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...
, lived in the late 14th and early 15th centuries.
In music
Composer Edward ElgarEdward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
composed a cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
titled The Black Knight
The Black Knight (Elgar)
The Black Knight, Op. 25 is a symphony/cantata for orchestra and chorus written by Edward Elgar in 1889-1893. The librettist borrows from Longfellow's translation of the ballad Der schwarze Ritter by Ludwig Uhland.-Purpose:...
.
Literary use
- Le Morte d'ArthurLe Morte d'ArthurLe Morte d'Arthur is a compilation by Sir Thomas Malory of Romance tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the Knights of the Round Table...
by Thomas MaloryThomas MalorySir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author or compiler of Le Morte d'Arthur. The antiquary John Leland as well as John Bale believed him to be Welsh, but most modern scholars, beginning with G. L...
: "There sat a knight all armed in black harness, and his name was the Knight of the Black Laund. Then the damosel, when she saw that knight, she bade him flee down that valley, for his horse was not saddled. Gramercy, said Beaumains, for always ye would have me a coward. With that the Black Knight, when she came nigh him, spake and said, Damosel, have ye brought this knight of King Arthur to be your champion? Nay, fair knight, said she, this is but a kitchen knave that was fed in King Arthur's kitchen for alms. Why cometh he, said the knight, in such array? it is shame that he beareth you company. " - Idylls of the KingIdylls of the KingIdylls of the King, published between 1856 and 1885, is a cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson which retells the legend of King Arthur, his knights, his love for Guinevere and her tragic betrayal of him, and the rise and fall of Arthur's kingdom...
by Alfred Lord Tennyson - Sir Walter Scott has Richard the Lionhearted posing as a black knight to avoid detection while in England in his novel IvanhoeIvanhoeIvanhoe is a historical fiction novel by Sir Walter Scott in 1819, and set in 12th-century England. Ivanhoe is sometimes credited for increasing interest in Romanticism and Medievalism; John Henry Newman claimed Scott "had first turned men's minds in the direction of the middle ages," while...
. - J. R. R. TolkienJ. R. R. TolkienJohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
in The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
created the nine NazgûlNazgûlThe Nazgûl are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium...
, described as Black Riders or Dark Riders. They are supposed to be noble men who fell to the evil power of the One RingOne RingThe One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit , as a magic ring of invisibility. The sequel The Lord of the Rings describes its powers as being more encompassing than...
becoming wraithNazgûlThe Nazgûl are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium...
s bound to the Dark Lord SauronSauronSauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
. In The Simarillion, the Elf Lord Eol is described as having a special affinity for a black meteoric metal known as Galvorn. As such he makes his armor and weapons entirely out of this black material. - Raymond ChandlerRaymond ChandlerRaymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
in his first novel, The Big SleepThe Big SleepThe Big Sleep is a hardboiled crime novel by Raymond Chandler, the first in his acclaimed series about detective Philip Marlowe. The work has been adapted twice into film, once in 1946 and again in 1978...
(1939), lets his private eye Philip MarlowePhilip MarlowePhilip Marlowe is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler in a series of novels including The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye. Marlowe first appeared under that name in The Big Sleep published in 1939...
describe and comment on "a knight in dark armour rescuing a lady who was tied to a tree and didn't have any clothes on but some very long and convenient hair." - The Book of the DuchessThe Book of the DuchessThe Book of the Duchess, also known as The Deth of Blaunche, Encyclopædia Britannica, 1910. Accessed March 11, 2008. is the earliest of Chaucer’s major poems, preceded only by his short poem, "An ABC," and possibly by his translation of The Romaunt of the Rose...
by Geoffrey ChaucerGeoffrey ChaucerGeoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey... - BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
is often referred to as "The Dark Knight," because symbolically he is a modern-day version of a black knight. As an outcast he works anonymously for a greater purpose, and is known to go against authorities should his mission necessitate it. - Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
has a legacy character called Black KnightBlack Knight (comics)The Black Knight is the alias of several fictional comic-book characters that appear in the Marvel Comics universe.The first is a medieval knight created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Joe Maneely. The second is a supervillain descendant of the original, created by writer-editor Stan Lee and...
, whose current identity, Dane Whitman, has served the AvengersAvengers (comics)The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
at one point, among many other superhero teams. - Snake Eyes, a character from G.I. Joe: A Real American HeroG.I. Joe: A Real American HeroG.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is a military-themed line of action figures and toys in Hasbro's G.I. Joe franchise. The toyline lasted from 1982 to 1994, producing well over 500 figures and 250 vehicles and playsets. The line reappeared in 1997 and has continued in one form or another to the...
created by Larry HamaLarry HamaLarry Hama is an American comic book writer, artist, actor and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s....
is depicted as a tragic, modern, militarized and righteous black knight.
Popular culture
- The Black KnightThe Black Knight (1954 film)The Black Knight is a 1954 film starring Alan Ladd as the title character and Peter Cushing and Patrick Troughton as two conspirators attempting to overthrow King Arthur...
- Black KnightBlack Knight (film)Black Knight is a 2001 American comedy film starring Martin Lawrence. The film was directed by Gil Junger, whose experience was primarily with television sitcoms...
- Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail
- SegaSega, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
's Sonic TeamSonic Teamis a Japanese computer and video game developer established in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan in 1990, originally known as Sega AM8. The Japan-based division is also known as G.E. Department Global Entertainment. The studio has collaborated with several in-house Japanese studios as well as other American-based...
transforms King ArthurKing ArthurKing Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
into "The Black Knight" as a result of corruption from his immortality inducing scabbardScabbardA scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade. Scabbards have been made of many materials over the millennia, including leather, wood, and metals such as brass or steel.-Types of scabbards:...
of Excalibur given by the Lady of the LakeLady of the LakeThe Lady of the Lake is the name of several related characters who play parts in the Arthurian legend. These characters' roles include giving King Arthur his sword Excalibur, enchanting Merlin, and raising Lancelot after the death of his father...
in the Arthurian influenced Sonic and the Black KnightSonic and the Black Knightis a title within the Sonic the Hedgehog series, released exclusively on Wii as the second entry in the Sonic Storybook series, following on from Sonic and the Secret Rings. The game is directed by Tetsu Katano, who was the lead programmer of the Sonic Adventure titles and Sonic Heroes...
. - Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
has had several characters called the Black Knight who are descended from a Knight of the Round TableRound TableThe Round Table is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his Knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status. The table was first described in 1155 by Wace, who relied on previous depictions of...
. The current Black Knight is Dane Whitman, a superheroSuperheroA superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
who carries an enchanted sword, the Ebony BladeEbony BladeThe Ebony Blade is a fictional enchanted sword in the Marvel Comics universe. Though many have used the sword, it is most readily identified with the Black Knight.-History:...
. - Fire Emblem: Path of RadianceFire Emblem: Path of RadianceFire Emblem: Path of Radiance, known in Japan as is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube video game console. The game was released on April 20, 2005 in Japan, October 17, 2005 in North America, November 4, 2005 in...
and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn feature a character named the Black Knight. - Monty Python and the Holy GrailMonty Python and the Holy GrailMonty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1974 British comedy film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python , and directed by Gilliam and Jones...
features a Black KnightBlack Knight (Monty Python)The Black Knight is a fictional character who appears in a scene of the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. As his name suggests, he is a black knight who guards a "bridge" over a small stream, for unknown reasons...
who confronts King ArthurKing ArthurKing Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
. - The Black Knight Ghost is a recurring villain in the Scooby Doo series.
- The Black Knight is an NPC in the MMORPGMMORPGMassively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
World of WarcraftWorld of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
he was introduced as part of the argent tournament in patch 3.2. - The Kinshra, a fictional organisation in the MMORPGMMORPGMassively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
RuneScapeRuneScapeRuneScape is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game released in January 2001 by Andrew and Paul Gower, and developed and published by Jagex Games Studio. It is a graphical browser game implemented on the client-side in Java, and incorporates 3D rendering...
, are nicknamed 'black knights' by commoners. - The Black Knight in Fate/ZeroFate/zerois a prequel to Type-Moon's visual novel Fate/stay night. It is a light novel by Gen Urobuchi, illustrated by Takashi Takeuchi. The first volume was released on December 29, 2006, and is a collaboration between Type-Moon and fellow developer Nitroplus. The second volume was released on March 31,...
is none other than Lancelot of the Lake. - The Black Knights in Robin Hood, the 2006-2009 BBC series, are a secret organization formed by the Sheriff of NottinghamSheriff of NottinghamThe Sheriff of Nottingham was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order in Nottingham and bringing criminals to justice. For years the post has been directly appointed by the Lord Mayor of Nottingham and in modern times, with the existence of the police force, the position is...
for the purpose of overthrowing King RichardRichard I of EnglandRichard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
. - The MMORPG "AdventureQuest WorldsAdventureQuest WorldsAdventureQuest Worlds, often shortened to AQWorlds or simply AQW, is a browser-based MMORPG or massively multiplayer online role playing game developed by Artix Entertainment in 2008. Unlike most massively multiplayer role playing games, AdventureQuest Worlds was developed entirely in Adobe Flash...
" features both an NPC and a boss called The Black Knight, the NPC being the lamenting ghost of the man who wore the armor, and the boss being the man's evil armor continuing its dark deeds.- Even before Artix Entertainment released AdventureQuest Worlds, in their original game AdventureQuest there were monsters called both Dark Knights and Black Knights, with the description featuring a play on words (Dark Knight/ dark night).
- The Black Knight has featured in the game White Knight Chronicles as an enemy's incorruptus (an incorruptus is a 7 metre tall armor-like robot), dragon and white knights are featured as playable incorrupti.
- Prince Gares the Black Knight, a character from the video game Ogre Battle: The March of the Black QueenOgre Battle: The March of the Black Queenis a 1993 real-time strategy role-playing video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, directed by Yasumi Matsuno with artwork by Akihiko Yoshida...
, son of the Empress Endora and a primary antagonist in the game, is a black knight capable of magically animating numerous "copies" of his signature black armor to attack the player throughout the game, thus making him appear immortal. If his real body is found, however, he can be slain permanently. Later games in the series featured a military group of the Holy Lodis Empire alternatively known as "The Dark Knights" and "The Brigade of the Radiant Cross of the Caliginous Order" (in Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together and Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly CaliberOgre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber, sequel to Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen, is a real-time strategy role-playing video game developed by Quest and published by Atlus for the Nintendo 64 in 2000. Though basically similar to the original Ogre Battle, it has borne some notoriety for significant game play tweaks that...
respectively) who serve as primary antagonists to the player, the word "caliginous" connotating "dark" in the latter case. - Cecil HarveyCecil HarveyCecil Harvey may refer to:*Cecil Harvey , unionist from Northern Ireland*Cecil Harvey , lead character of Final Fantasy IV...
from the Final FantasyFinal Fantasyis a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
series is a black knight.
Sports
- The Black Knights are the United States Military Academy at West Point's mascots in a number of sports teams.
- The Black Knight is a moniker given to golfer Gary PlayerGary PlayerGary Player DMS; OIG is a South African professional golfer. With his nine major championship victories, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of golf. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. Player has won 165 tournaments on six continents over six...
in the 1960s by the media for his penchant for black attire on and off the golf course and for his courteous demeanour. The Black Knight logo identifies all the companies of the Gary Player Group.
Finance
While a White KnightWhite knight
White knight may refer to:*a literary stock character, see knight *The White Knight Fitzgibbon, an extinct hereditary Anglo-Norman title of nobility used in Ireland-In literature:...
is used to describe a company or business "savior", a Black Knight
Black Knight
The black knight is a literary stock character, often contrasted with the white knight. The character famously appeared in Arthurian literature and has been adapted and adopted by various authors, in cinema and popular culture...
is the term used to describe a "destroyer". It is difficult to identify a Black Knight
Black Knight
The black knight is a literary stock character, often contrasted with the white knight. The character famously appeared in Arthurian literature and has been adapted and adopted by various authors, in cinema and popular culture...
when they first enter a company or business.
Typically, a Black Knight
Black Knight
The black knight is a literary stock character, often contrasted with the white knight. The character famously appeared in Arthurian literature and has been adapted and adopted by various authors, in cinema and popular culture...
will enter a business/company as an influential person such as a major investor or a member of the board of directors of a profitable or asset rich business. The Black Knight will undertake dealings to enrich themselves which normally leave the previously profitable company in a weaker financial position.
Typically, the Black Knight will dismantle a profitable or asset rich business. This can be done through several ways including:
i) Siphoned out cash through high personal expenses, salaries and bonuses;
ii) Selling off profitable parts of the business to a private company related to the Black Knight;
iii) Buying of unprofitable businesses / assets previously owned by the Black Knight;
iv) Selling of assets at below market value to persons related to the Black Knight; and
v) Buying of assets at inflated prices.
Some people refer to a Black Knight
Black Knight
The black knight is a literary stock character, often contrasted with the white knight. The character famously appeared in Arthurian literature and has been adapted and adopted by various authors, in cinema and popular culture...
as an investor who acquires a firm opposing the will of its management, as in a hostile takeover. This is only partially true as the ultimate intention of acquirer is unknown. It could be for business reasons and not personal reasons, such as merging the entity with another entity owned by the acquirer to create synergy.
A real Black Knight's intention is to enrich himself usually destroying the company or business in the process.
See also
- Dark Knight (disambiguation)
- Black and white dualism
- Black CompanyBlack CompanyThe Black Company or the Black Troops was a unit of Franconian mercenaries during the Peasant's Revolt in the 1520s during the Protestant Reformation in Germany.The original German name of the Black Company was "Schwarzer Haufen"...