knight errant:
(also ‘knight–errant’; plural: ‘knights errant’; pronunciation: the letter ‘k’ is silent — for the right pronunciation of this phrase, please click here)
a knight (← ← previous entry), a gentleman soldier from a noble or wealthy family, who went from place to place riding his horse in search of brave and noble deeds to perform, such as helping a poor farmer or saving a young lady from a villain, etc.,
a knight-errant on a quest
Don Quxote was a knight errant.
It was considered a gallant act when a knight went out into the unknown world in search of adventure, and many nobles turned into knights errant, but some returned to their home land victorious and some perished in their wanderings.
The cowboys in the lawless West in the USA in the 19th century were similar to the knights-errant of the medieval period, the difference being in clothing and weapons, but basically wandering in search of adventure and money.
There have been some modern day knights errant — scientists, philosophers and clergy — who use modern ways but wander through unknown places, such as Amazon rainforests, deserts, Australia’s out-back, in search of knowledge, to spread peace and to educate people about global warming, greenhouse gasses, etc.
