What is "black knight"

n. (context fiction English) a villain, an evil character

The Black Knight is a fictional character who appears in a scene of the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. As his name suggests, he is a black knight who guards a "bridge" (in reality a short plank of wood) over a small stream - which could have been easily stepped over by King Arthur but, for unknown reasons, he does not. Although supremely skilled in swordplay, the Black Knight suffers from unchecked overconfidence and a staunch refusal ever to give up.

The black knight is a literary stock character, often contrasted with the knight-errant; also see white knight. The character famously appeared in Arthurian literature and has been adapted and adopted by various authors, in cinema and popular culture. The character is sometimes associated with death.

Black Knight was a British launch vehicle to test and verify the design of a re-entry vehicle for the Blue Streak missile.

The United Kingdom's first indigenous rocketry project, Black Knight was manufactured by Saunders-Roe on the Isle of Wight, had its engines tested at High Down Rocket Test Site 1956 - 1959 under Paul Leyton,1 and was launched at Woomera in Australia. Designed in 1955 by the Royal Aircraft Establishment and Saunders-Roe, 22 vehicles were fired between 1958 and 1965.

The Gamma rocket engines were designed and built by Armstrong-Siddeley at Ansty, near Coventry. One of the men who designed the engine was C. Donald.

The first two vehicles were 'proving rounds' - that is, launches without a payload in order to prove the design of the rocket. The third firing carried a re-entry vehicle. This flight showed that the chosen design for the re-entry body was a success.

Further firings with different heads showed up some unusual phenomena, and further tests under the code names Gaslight and Dazzle were carried out in conjunction with the United States.

A variety of heads were flown in these tests, including a plain copper sphere and a silica sphere. Heads composed of a composite asbestos-based material known as Durestos were also flown, and later tests finalised on a cone-shaped head re-entering pointed-end first, as used on many subsequent missile RVs.

All the re-entry firings took place on clear moonless nights, so that the luminous wake of the re-entry body could be observed photographically.

An improved Black Knight, with the tank diameter increased from 36 inches to 54 inches, and a more powerful second stage, named Kestrel, was proposed for a further set of experiments codenamed 'Crusade'.

However, the Royal Aircraft Establishment made various studies into extending the vehicle into a satellite launcher. The Treasury refused to fund both projects, and the enlarged Black Knight was cancelled in favour of the Black Arrow satellite launcher.

25 Black Knight vehicles were built in total at a unit cost of just over £40,000 each. One (BK02) was used for ground testing. One (BK11) was fired as part of the ELDO project, to check out range facilities. 21 were fired as part of the re-entry experiments and the remaining two (BK02 and BK22) are in museums in Edinburgh and Liverpool.

The Black Knight BK02 rocket is on display at the Royal Museum Connect Gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is nearly 11 m high and stretches up for three floors. The Black Knight BK22 rocket is on display at the World Museum in Liverpool, England. It is suspended from the ceiling near the Planetarium, and there are other Black Knight components on display.

The Black Knight appears in various forms in Arthurian legend.

In Sir Perceval of Galles (written in the early-14th Century), the Black Knight jealously tied his wife to a tree after hearing she had exchanged rings with Perceval. Perceval defeated the black knight and explained that it was an innocent exchange.

A supernatural Black Knight is summoned by Sir Calogrenant ( Cynon ap Clydno in Welsh mythology) in the tale of Yvain, the Knight of the Lion. The Black Knight bests Calogrenant, but the Black Knight is later killed by Ywain ( Owain mab Urien) when he attempts to complete the quest that Calogrenant failed.

A black knight is the son of Tom a'Lincoln and Anglitora (the daughter of Prester John) in Richard Johnson's Arthurian romance, Tom a'Lincoln. Through Tom, he is a grandson of King Arthur's, though his proper name is never given. He killed his mother after hearing from his father's ghost that she had murdered him. He later joined the Faerie Knight, his half-brother, in adventures.

A black knight is also mentioned La Morte D'Arthur: The Tale of Sir Gareth (book 4) as having been killed by Gareth when he was traveling to rescue Lyonesse.

A black knight is a literary stock character.

Black Knight or Black Knights can also refer to:

Black Knight is a 1980 pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie (who also provides the Knight's voice) and released by Williams Electronics.

The Black Knight is a prototype unmanned ground combat vehicle (UGCV) designed by BAE Systems. It weighs approximately 12 tons and is deployable from a C-130; thus, the Black Knight can be airlifted by military transport aircraft. Similar in appearance to a tank, it is armed with a turret-mounted 30 mm gun and a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun. The vehicle is fitted with a 300-horsepower Caterpillar Corporation diesel engine. The vehicle is currently being evaluated by the US Army. It is a proof of concept for military unmanned vehicles, specifically as a combat asset.

The Black Knight is the alias of several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

The first is a medieval knight created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Joe Maneely. The second is a supervillain descendant of the original, created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Dick Ayers. The third, created by writer Roy Thomas and artist George Tuska, is the villain's nephew, a superhero and a member of the superhero team the Avengers. A fourth Black Knight, with no revealed genetic connection, debuted in The Black Panther #3 (June 2005), created by writer Reginald Hudlin and penciler John Romita Jr.

Black Knight is a 2001 American comedy film starring Martin Lawrence. The film was directed by Gil Junger, whose experience was primarily with television sitcoms. In addition to Lawrence, Black Knight had a supporting cast of Marsha Thomason, Tom Wilkinson, Vincent Regan, and Kevin Conway.

In the film, Lawrence plays Jamal, an African American theme park employee who is transported through time to medieval England. The film was shot at various locations in North Carolina, mainly Wilmington and Carolina Beach.

The film was released in November 2001 and went on to gross $39,976,235 at the worldwide box office, a loss from its $50 million budget. Its critical reception was poor.

Dane Whitman is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the company's third character to bear the name Black Knight. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, he first appeared in The Avengers #47 (December 1967)

The third Black Knight is the descendant of the original Black Knight, Sir Percy of Scandia and inherited the original Knight's Ebony Blade, a mystical sword that carried a curse. Whitman is the nephew of Nathan Garrett, a super villain who was also known as the Black Knight. Whitman took the Black Knight name to help restore honor to it, and has been a long time member of various incarnations of the Avengers, as well as the Defenders, Ultraforce, Heroes for Hire, and MI: 13.

The Black Knight character was featured in a four issue mini series in 1990 and a one shot in 1996 and 2007. Starting in 2015 Whitman was the main character in Marvel Comic's All-New, All-Different Marvel ongoing Black Knight series, the first ongoing series to feature Dane Whitman as the titular character.

Sir Percy of Scandia, also known as the original Black Knight, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was a medieval knight created by writer- editor Stan Lee and artist Joe Maneely.

Nathan Garrett, also known as the criminal Black Knight, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was a supervillain and descendant of the original Black Knight, and was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Dick Ayers.

is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Kai Tsurugi. It is licensed in North America by Blu Manga, the boys love division of Tokyopop, which released the four volumes between July 2006 and February 2009.

Black Knight (27 August 1979–2002) was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse. He was best known for winning the Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse in November 1984.