The Black Knight, symbolizing a mysterious and treacherous enemy,
comes from the British legends of King Arthur, widely popularized by
Sir Thomas Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur," written in the 15th Century.
Sir Gareth of Orkney, called "Bewmaynes" or "Beaumains" (meaning "fair
hands"), is on a quest for honor. Along the way he encounters and
battles three knights, each of whom is wearing armor of a symbolic
color:
"Eventually he encounters the first of three highly symbolic colored
knights with which he must do battle. Bewmaynes' first encounter is
with the Black Knight, whom the discontent damsel beseeches for
assistance. Oddly, the damsel desires to be delivered from her escort
Bewmaynes. She only regards Bewmaynes with contempt and regularly
refers to him as a despicable "kitchen knave." The black colors of the
first knight that Bewmeynes encounters likely represents the testing
of Bewmaynes' social rebirth into knighthood. Malory's choice of
symbols is likely based on the Egyptian concept of the color black. To
the Egyptians, black was regarded as the color of rebirth and
resurrection... The knighthood during the middle ages was indeed a
type of spiritual rebirth, whereby the individual in many ways began a
new life. Like the Christian conception of spiritual rebirth,
induction into knighthood required the knight to redefine his
existence in the world. The chivalric knight, like the new born
medieval Christian, was also subject to strict codes of behavior which
clearly stated consequences of non-compliance. Therefore, Bewmaynes
confrontation with the black knight represents a testing of his social
rebirth. Bewmeynes has made a commitment to his Lord King Arthur to
honor the crown in his quest. Though the black knight attempts to
thwart his objective, Bewmeynes is determined to honor King Arthur and
obey the chivalric code. His victory over the Black Knight is an
important affirmation of his social rebirth into knighthood...
As Bewmaynes continues on his quest, he encounters the Green knight,
the brother of Black Knight. According to historical records, the
color green is associated with the life of sensations... The Red
Knight, brother of Green and Black knights, is the third and last of
the colored knights that Bewmaynes encounters in his journey. The
color red in this scene symbolizes the test of Bewmaynes' physical
prowess. Historically, the color red has been regarded as the color of
war."
Boticelli's Vision: Sir Gareth of Orkney
http://www.botticellisvision.com/st%20francis%20web%20site/Sir%20Gareth%20of%20Orkney%20%20Pg.4.htm
A different Black Knight in the King Arthur tales is encountered by a
young knight named Kymon as he stops to drink from a fountain. Later
this knight is vanquished by Owain:
"Kymon thought it most strange when from the opposite end of the trail
there came a knight the likes of which Kymon had never seen.
The knight was dressed in armour as black as a cauldron even the
shield was solid black with no crest. The knight even rode upon a
solid black charger which was the largest war horse Kymon had ever
seen.
The Black Knight did not address or even acknowledge Kymon as he
lowered his black lance. Kymon, feeling insulted that the strange
knight had not even properly greeted him, charged, and the Black
Knight followed suit, and with a loud crash Kymon was knocked down
from his steed onto the ground.
Kymon reached for his sword to continue fighting, but the Black Knight
instead wrapped his lance around the reins of Kymon's own steed and
rode away with it. Kymon was stranded and humiliated; he had no choice
but to return to the home of the lord who had befriended him."
Seanchaidh: The Legend of Owain
http://members.tripod.com/seanchaidh/owain.htm
There are other knights clad in black armor in Arthurian legend and in
fairytales. What they typically have in common is that, unlike the
King's knights, they are opportunistic mavericks who are particularly
dangerous because they do not follow the accepted rules of battle.
"A black knight is a soldier or knight who fights for evil or at least
against the monarch. Unlike a king's knights, black knights seldom
fight honorably or fairly, and often resort to trickery in order to
win."
The Free Dictionary: Black Knight
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Black%20Knight
The term "Black Knight" is commonly used in business terminology to
represent a company which attempts a hostile takeover:
"The process of a takeover involves a wide range of terminology that
is linked to who is doing the taking over and what view the 'victim'
has of the takeover. In the case of a hostile takeover, the firm
making the bid can be referred to as a 'black knight'. In such cases,
the 'victim' firm does not welcome the takeover attempt but it may
well be that the 'black knight' is too strong and powerful for the
'victim' to do anything about it. A 'white knight' is a firm that may
enter the fray as a 'friendly' bidder. It may be more acceptable to
the 'victim' and offers a more palatable partner in negotiations.
Other protagonists to the bidding process may well enter. A 'grey
knight' is a third firm that is not welcomed by the 'victim', seeking
to exploit the situation to their own advantage and a 'yellow knight'
is a firm who originally seeks to launch a hostile takeover bid but
then moderates its stance and negotiates on the basis of a merger -
the 'yellow' being used to imply some element of 'cowardice' in the
behaviour of the bidding firm who may begin to appreciate that it will
not be able to 'bully' its 'victim' into submission."
BizEd: Takeovers and Business Growth
http://www.bized.ac.uk/current/mind/2003_4/010304.htm
Google search strategy:
Google Web Search: "black knight" "king arthur"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22black+knight%22+%22king+arthur%22
I hope this is helpful. If anything needs clarification, please ask,
and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
Best regards,
pinkfreud |
,
0 Comments
)