Can you be knighted

Gregory the Great. Fun fact: Bob Hope earned both of these. To be knighted by the Pope into the Order of St. Gregory the Great, you must do something good for the Holy See by setting an excellent example for their community and country.

Though usually reserved for Catholics, there have been exceptions made for converts and non-Catholics. He and his wife were well-known philanthropists in Los Angeles and would donate much of their earnings to Catholic churches in the area.

In fact, a number of people have turned down the honor due to uneasiness with its militaristic or imperialist overtones. According to an AP story, approximately two percent of the or so people offered spots in the Order each year decline them. David Bowie supposedly twice declined offers to join, including an offer of knighthood in , because he felt the whole business was a waste of time. John Cleese rejected a CBE and said he felt much more honored when a Swiss zoologist named a lemur after him in Vanessa Redgrave became a Commander of the British Empire in , but she turned down an offer of damehood in When asked about the decision to just say no in , Redgrave told The Independent , "My difficulty is in receiving anything that says British Empire, because I am a Unicef special representative at the service of children from any country.

If there were no mention of the British Empire, I would be as honored as anybody. If I were asked to be a baroness, for example, I would see that in a different light. Generally, when a person declines an honor, they don't crow to the media about it. Rather, they discreetly tell the tale after some time has passed. Knights came to be in Europe during the 9th century at a time when the central government was not too strong.

This caused a situation where each of the city, village or monastery requiring protection through the help of armed men. The most effective among warriors during this period were the armed cavalrymen. The entrance of the stirrup in the 8th century meant that cavalrymen could now use weapons with a great degree of force. Certain equipment upgrades also ensured that the cavalrymen were more formidable.

These servicemen soon became much sought after and it meant that Nobles were willing to give them lands. By the turn of the 11th century, the English started using the term Knight to stand for cavalrymen.

By the 12th century saw the adoption of the longbow in England and the crossbow in other parts of Europe. These were both potent weapons capable of shooting missiles which could penetrate chain mail. These and other innovations became threats to the supremacy of knights.

By the 13th century, the Knights started putting on plate armor along with chain mail. This and other innovations in armory soon saw Knights clothed in armor. This means that they were hopeless when they are on foot. This war was a revelation in the use of Knights in warfare. During the war, the English infantry equipped with longbows defeated with ease a French army that was thrice its size. The fate of the knights was almost sealed in the 14th century with the use of infantrymen who got armed with pikes.

This group of people got trained to fight in close formations. The Swiss pikemen demonstrated their effectiveness during some battles in which they destroyed the cavalry forces sent to fight against them.

The effectiveness of the infantry was further boosted by the shoulder-fired guns in the middle of the 15th century. By the close of the 15th century, the place of knights in battle was soon replaced with professional infantrymen and armies.

Do you have to achieve certain goals in order to be considered for knighthood? And how does someone like Mick Jagger get to be knighted anyways?

The Awards Intelligence Service summarizes what the high honor means. While there is no set time of year that someone can be nominated for the knighthood, the queen usually bestows the honor as part of the New Years honors list. People can be nominated for knighthood, although the government reportedly helps the queen decide who the best choice is to be knighted, depending on the level of knighthood.