knight-errantry
Roving heroic adventure
Knight-errantry is the practice or lifestyle of a knight-errant—a medieval knight who wandered in search of adventures, quests, and opportunities to prove valor.
The term often carries a romantic or ironic tone, suggesting idealistic but impractical heroism: His knight-errantry led him to defend causes no one else would touch.
Don Quixote is literature's most famous send-up of knight-errantry.
Sacred sought-after vessel
- crusadeZealous effort for change
- odysseyExtended adventurous journey
- pilgrimageReligious journey to shrine
- missionPurpose-driven task
venture · saga · pursuit · campaign · endeavor · quest · trial · deed
Courage, especially in combat
- honorHigh regard, moral dignity
- courtesyRespectful, considerate behavior
- nobilityTitled ruling class
- virtueMoral goodness or merit
fealty · altruism · benevolence · gentlemanliness · magnanimity · selflessness · service · righteousness
Chivalric romantic ideal
- troubadourMedieval Provençal lyric poet
- damselOld-fashioned maiden
- minstrelTraveling performer of songs
- balladNarrative poem or song
gallantry · serenade · wooing · suitor · devotion · enchantment · ladylove · favor
Boldness before danger
- courageFortitude facing danger
- heroismExceptional courage under duress
- fortitudeEnduring courage under pain
- daringAdventurous courage
boldness · intrepidity · fearlessness · prowess · mettle · grit · steadfastness · resoluteness
grail
Sacred sought-after vessel
- crusadeZealous effort for change
- odysseyExtended adventurous journey
- pilgrimageReligious journey to shrine
mission · venture · saga · pursuit · campaign · endeavor · quest · trial · deed · adventure
gallantry
Courage, especially in combat
virtue · fealty · altruism · benevolence · gentlemanliness · magnanimity · selflessness · service · righteousness · heroism
courtly love
Chivalric romantic ideal
- troubadourMedieval Provençal lyric poet
- damselOld-fashioned maiden
- minstrelTraveling performer of songs
ballad · gallantry · serenade · wooing · suitor · devotion · enchantment · ladylove · favor · tournament
bravery
Boldness before danger
- courageFortitude facing danger
- heroismExceptional courage under duress
- fortitudeEnduring courage under pain
daring · boldness · intrepidity · fearlessness · prowess · mettle · grit · steadfastness · resoluteness · undauntedness
feudalism
Land-for-service social structure
manor · vassal · fiefdom · tourney · heraldry · crusades · longsword · armor · lance · castle
roaming
Moving without fixed purpose
sojourner · pilgrim · vagabond · peregrination · wanderlust · rootless · aimless · roadside · solitary · exile
- Don QuixoteDon Quixote, Sancho Panza, Rocinante, La Mancha, tilting at windmills
- CervantesDon Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes, Sancho Panza, Cervantes, Rocinante
knight-errantrysedentary life
Habitual physical inactivity
garrison duty · domesticity · rootedness · homesteading · staying put
knight-errantrypragmatism
Practical problem-solving philosophy
realpolitik · realism · worldliness · practicality · cynicism
knight-errantrydrudgery
Hard, boring work
clerkship · servitude · office work · wage labor · nine-to-five
knight, errant, knights, chivalry, knighted, knightly, knighting, knighthood, knightliness