The Knight's Vigil

In the Middle Ages or Western Civilization, the position of Knight in any of the respected orders was a coveted position and often shrouded with secrecy and filled with deep religious connotations.  The act of being knighted was much more than what we see on the big screen where a Sovereign dubs a person into an order by laying on his sword or sceptre.  It often included a number of preparatory activities such as deep prayer, meditation, fasting, cleansing and ritual. 

During the middle ages a squire would commence his Vigil on the eve of his knighting ceremony.  The evening would begin with a ceremonial cleaning bath during which time he would also observe a fast.  He would confess his sins and often commit to a period of prayer in the chapel of his order.  All this while dressed in white as a symbol of his purity. 

Originally, knighting took place on the battle field where a soldier, valiant and brave, would receive the battlefield honor immediately after the Battle by his Liege.  Around 1200 A.D. the Catholic Church imposed its control over the dubbing of knights and established a system of ritual and ceremony.  Often these rituals would take two days and would include 12 or more hours of standing or kneeling in vigil. 

In some cases, the vigil would only last all night, until the next day.  The Vigil of arms was an act of being “watchful” where the knight ceremoniously kept a vigil through the night by staying awake at watch or in prayer in preparation for the ceremony.   At dawn, he would attend Mass, then be presented to him t his Lord where he was presented with the tools of his trade and he took the obligations of his Order. 

Every act of his vigil established his worthiness to “earn his spurs” which were the symbol of his office.  If he failed to properly complete his vigil, he was deemed unworthy and prevented from receiving the position.  Each action represented purity and integrity, attributes of a man worthy of the title Sir Knight. 

Historically there were six basic actions of the vigil.  The first was for the candidate to cut his hair.  This act, of sacrificing your hair, was seen as a sign of devotion to God.  Depending on your order, dictated how much of your hair was sacrificed.  It could have been as little as a single lock all the way to shearing your hair into the cut of your respective Order’s monks. 

The second act was a cleansing bath which symbolized the cleansing of your sins, which was also may have been later supplemented with a confession of your sins to a priest of your order.  Once absolved of his sins, the next act was for a candidate to be dressed in white, which symbolised his purity. 

The next  acts were meditative in nature and in some cases may have included added clothing of a particular color to establish your acceptance of the concepts for which he meditated on.  The candidate would meditate on the fact that he may have to shed blood in the service of God and his Order.  The next was to mediate on his own mortality and that he should not fear death.

The next act was to fast, an act meant to purify his body after he had purified his soul.  The act of fasting was to remind him of his humanity and his service to the meek and poor to which he would be obligated to protect. 

The final act was to enter the chapel, kneel before his armour and weapons and humble himself before God.  This final act would after be during a Mass where the candidate stood the final hours of the vigil in the House of God.  The actual dubbing was the shortest part of the entire ritual.  Depending on your order, it was usually a quick act which conferred the title, such as laying on hands, a tap on the shoulder with a sword or sceptre or a blow to the back of the head with the flat of the sword, as it was done in early England. 

The Vigil died out years ago, but can still be found used in some rare cases, one of which is the basis for the ceremony candidates for the Vatican’s Swiss Guard go through before taking their office protecting the Pope. 

The ritual varied in some cases, for example, in England after the mass but before the dubbing, the fast was ended with a big breakfast feast with family and friends.  Some secular organizations and orders included a lunch or dinner feast prior to the observance of the rituals, not all of which included a fast.  In all cases, the Vigil was used to prepare a candidate spiritually, emotionally and sometimes physically to accept the title and obligations of the Order.