The Christian Orders of Chivalry

Christian Orders of Chivalry:

The word chivalry is of French/Latin origin, derived from the old French word for horse, Cheval and medieval Latin; caballarius, horseman. Derived from this combination came chevalerie or chevalier, the French equivalent of 'a knight' and into English came the word; cavalry from the Italian form of chevaliar.

Christain Military Orders first appeared in the 11th century following the First Crusade launched in response of the conquest of the Christian Holy Land, or Lavent, by the Suljuq Turks. The first Christain Orders however came with the foundation of the Knights Hospitaller in 1023 from which later derived two military orders: Order of the Knights of St. Lazarus (1098) and the Order of the Knights of St. John (1099) . Another lesser known Hospitallar order was the Order of Saint James of Altopascio founded in 1075

Some thirty plus Christian orders of Chivalry was formed in the years between the 11th and 16th centuries. Some are obscure and long dissolved, others are well known but no longer with us, some are still with us but in other guises, while others are not only well known but are still in a semblance of their original form, i.e. Knights of Malta, or to give them their proper name: The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta.

New Christian Orders have been formed and some old orders have been transformed and reformed with some having links to the Noble of Houses of Europe enjoying Royal Patronage. Others, following the reformation, now have Latin and Protestant branches, not to forget the Christian Orthodox Orders of Byzantine origin.

It is in celebration of these Christian Chivalric Orders, that we have great pleasure in introducing our Defenders of the Faith Knights Busts to commemorate and celebrate the existence of these Orders both old and new.

Each Knight Bust is produced to order and is individually cast by skilled craftsmen, hand finished and then hand painted by talented artists. To further enhance the figure, the Mantle, Torque and Surcoat are painted to compliment the tinctures (livery colours) of the relevant order.

The Insignia on the Knight Bust is produced using an image transfer process, which, we have perfected. We are therefore able to replicate any insignia, however complicated, for any order and then paint the bust in the appropriate colours.