Knights of the Hare facts for kids
The Knights of the Hare was a funny name given to a group of knights. People sometimes thought King Edward III of England created them as a special club or "chivalric order." But actually, the name came from a funny event during the early part of the Hundred Years' War.
How the Knights of the Hare Got Their Name
At the start of the Hundred Years' War, King Edward III of England and King Philip VI of France both gathered their armies in France. They faced each other but did not start a big battle right away.
On October 23, 1339, both armies were lined up. They were in fields near places called La Flamengerie and Buironfosse. Suddenly, a hare (a type of rabbit) ran out from the space between the armies. It ran straight towards the French soldiers.
The French troops saw the hare and made a lot of noise, cheering or shouting. Some soldiers at the back of the French army heard the noise. They thought it meant the English were attacking!
To get ready for what they thought was a coming battle, William II, Count of Hainaut, quickly made 14 brave squires into knights. A squire was a young man training to be a knight. Making new knights before a battle was a common custom back then.
But the English army never attacked. When everyone realized the noise was just about a hare, those newly made knights became known as the Knights of the Hare. It was a humorous nickname because of the silly way they got their titles!
It's unlikely that King Edward III of England actually created a formal group for these knights. They were knighted by the French side. The confusion might have happened because Edward III also knighted some of his own squires around the same time. One of these was a famous soldier named Sir John Chandos.
