The 12 Knights

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Who hasn't heard of the legend of King Arthur and the Twelve Knights of the Round Table ? If that is only a legend, the concept of having 12 preeminent knights just under the king originated with Frankish kings of the Merovingian dynasty, around the same period as the mythical 5th-century King Arthur. At the Frankish court, Count Palatine (palatine = from the palace) was a non-hereditary court title of high rank.

The system was maintained by the Carolingian sovereigns. Emperor Charlemagne (742-814) had Twelve Paladines, whose tales constitute the first chansons de geste.

Upon the death of Charlemagne's son in 843, his empire was split between his 3 grandsons. Charles would get West Francia, which would become the Kingdom of France, while Louis got East Francia, later known as the Holy Roman Empire (or Germany).

Although the title of Count Palatine remained in the Empire, France also had its equivalent, with the Twelve Peers, created in the early 13th century. There were six prelates (all prince- or arch-bishops), who took precedence over the six lay vassals (dukes and counts).

The twelve peers were :

* Archbishop of Reims (who had the distinction of crowning the king)
* Bishop of Langres
* Bishop of Beauvais
* Bishop of Châlons
* Bishop of Laon
* Bishop of Noyon
* Duke of Normandy (also King of England)
* Duke of Burgundy
* Duke of Aquitaine (also called Duke of Guyenne)
* Count of Champagne
* Count of Flanders (later also Count of Hainaut)
* Count of Toulouse


Modern Paladins

Modern heroic fantasy games have not failed to revive the term of "Paladin", which is now well known amongst children. Thanks to that, Paladins are one of the better known heritage of the Franks

Significance of the number 12

The number 12 has had a particularily strong significance in European culture since ancient times.

The ancient Greeks already had the 12 signs of the Zodiac, 12 Olympian Gods and the 12 labours of Heracles. The Romans divided the calendar into 12 months. The Western civilisation has divided the day in two cycles of 12 hours.

Since medieval times, many Europeans have counted by dozens, i.e. by 12 (instead of 10), especially for trade and shipping. In the former British currency system, there were twelve pence in a shilling.

The Beaufort wind force scale was divided into 12. Most PC keyboards have function keys (F1 to F12).

The USA is divided into twelve Federal Reserve Districts. The European Union has 12 symbolic stars on its flag.

It is certainly no coincidence that there were Twelve Knights of the Round Table, Twelve Paladins and Twelve Peers of France.
 

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