Knighthood flowered long ago under the feudal system, before the advent of guns and gunpowder finally rendered the sword and lance ineffective and the knight obsolete. Yet legends of the knight continue to charm the fancy of new generations drawn to the chivalric notions of an earlier day. Some such notions ring of truth and reality; some do not. The writings of acclaimed medieval historian Frances Carney Gies help to separate truth from fiction in the Western world's enduring fascination with knights:

Of all the many types of soldier that have appeared on the military stage in the course of time, from the Greek hoplite, the Roman legionary, and the Ottoman janissary to members of specialized branches of modern armed forces, none has had a longer career than the knight of the European Middle Ages, and none has had an equal impact...