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A black knight is a soldier or knight who either is not bound to a specific liege or does not want his liege, or himself, to be identified and so does not bear any heraldic standards or has blackened them out.

Since heraldic standards were carefully regulated by one official body or other (such as the Scottish Lord Lyon King of Arms or the English College of Arms), a fighting man who had not obtained a standard (through inheritance or endowment by a liege) would have no colors or devices to represent him. These would-be knights were often freelance soldiers. Because they usually lacked a squire or page to care for their armor, they would paint it black to prevent rust. An experienced and equipped soldier without a specific fealty was a wild card and an organized force of them could pose a serious problem for kings. This sort of dispossessed status ran contrary to the entire system of feudalism and this condition was looked upon with disfavor. This disfavoring viewpoint is a contributing factor towards the pejorative usage of the term.

The more commonly used, and negative reference, is that of a soldier or knight who has purposely hidden their standards. Knights involved in risky political intrigues or activities unbecoming of a man of station would blacken their shields so as to not be easily identified.

The last quality of the Black Knights (survived in later pop culture, fairytales and fantasy stories) is that Black Knights are solitary knights; master fighters but usually evil. They sometimes appear to have supernatural powers or serve a wizard.

• In Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, King Richard wears black armor and initially goes by "le Noir Fainéant", meaning "the black sluggard."

• This stock character appears for example in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Conquests of Camelot.

• In the video games Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: The Goddess of Dawn, the Black Knight is a foe of Ike, the main character. In the first game, nobody knows his true identity, and he uses magical armor and warp powder to assist the King of Daein, the antagonist of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. Near the climax of the game, he and Ike duel, only to stop when the fort begins to collapse. Ike escapes, and the Black Knight is assumed dead under the rubble. In the sequal however, the Black Knight returns alive to support the actions of the protagonist Micaiah, who wishes to revive the kingdom of Daien. In the end however, he is unmasked as the Begnion general Zelgius, and that his actions in both games were all orders from Begnion's prime minister Sephiran.

• In the manga Berserk the main character, Gutts, is a soldier who wears all-black armor and carries a dark sword. He is often called the "Black Swordsman" and is often mistaken for a knight without a nation.

• In the Black Knight film, the Black Knight is a legendary figure who served only the people, and bowed to no king. The main character, played by Martin Lawrence, uses the legend to his advantage and dons black armor in the final battle.

• In comics, the Black Knight refers to several villainous and heroic versions of the character.

• In the card game Magic: The Gathering, Black Knight is a creature card with Protection from White which protects it from its alter-ego the White Knight.

• In the video game The King of Dragons one of the later bosses is a called The Black Knight.

• In the Scooby-Doo cartoons, one of the many monsters Mystery Inc. has faced is the Black Knight Ghost.

• In the video game Shrek Super Slam, one of the characters is a Black Knight.

• In the video game Final Fantasy II, a group Black Knights are the first set of foes encountered and many other make appearances throughout the game. There is also a character who goes by the name of Dark Knight (who is actually Lionheart) and tries to hinder the party's progress throughout the game.

• In the online video game RuneScape, Black Knights can be found and fought at the Black Knight's Fortress, northwest of the Monastery.

A variation on the Black archetype is known as the Dark. Similarly to the Black, the Dark also fights on the side of the villain, but unlike the Black, the Dark himself is generally not evil. In fact, he is usually honorable, merciful, and may even help the hero(es) when they're not crossing swords. He is generally well-liked by the populace, and even his enemies. Dark Knights usually join the archetypical Evil Empire before it actually became evil or for honourable reasons, and usually serves out of a sense of patriotism, loyalty to the crown, or for a good ideal the villain claims to fight for. Some may serve under duress, perhaps for the sake of a loved one the villain holds captive, or promises of salvation (from an illness or unjust imprisonment, for example). Others may unwillingly serve and are under some spell or curse that forces them into servitude.

Such Dark Knights may end up dying over the course of the story - they may fall fighting with honor against the Hero, or be backstabbed by the Dark Lord or a Black Knight. Other times, however, he may survive the betrayal, or find that the villain's evil is too much for even his honor to stomach, at which point he may switch sides to join with the Hero.

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