ACCOLADE (from Ital. accolata, derived from

See also:

• LAT

Lat. collum, the

See also:

• NECK (O. Eng. hnecca; the word appears in many Teutonic languages; cf. Dutch ride, Ger. Nacken; in O. E. the common word was heals; cf. Ger. Hals)

neck)  , a ceremony anciently used in conferring knighthood; but whether it was an actual embrace (according to the use of the modern French word accolade), or a slight blow on the neck or cheek, is not agreed . Both these customs appear to be of great antiquity . Gregory of Tours writes that the early kings of France, in conferring the gilt shoulder-belt, kissed the knights on the left cheek; and William the Conqueror is said to have made use of the blow in conferring the honour of knighthood on his son Henry . At first it was given with the naked fist, a veritable box on the ear, but for this was substituted a gentle stroke with the flat of the sword on the side of the neck, or on either shoulder as well . In Great Britain the sovereign, in conferring knighthood, still employs this latter form of accolade . " Accolade " is also a technical term in music-printing for a sort of brace joining separate staves; and in architecture it denotes a form of decoration on doors and windows .