Knighthood, a distinction granted to commoners, ranking next to baronet, now bestowed by the crown; formerly knighthood was a military order, any member of which might create new knights; it was originally the highest rank of Chivalry (q.v.); it was an order of many subdivisions developed during the crusades, and in full flower before the Norman conquest of England.
Definition taken from The Nuttall Encyclopædia, edited by the Reverend James Wood (1907)
Knight, Charles * Knights of Labour