Knight's Cross (

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

''Ritterkreuz'') refers to a distinguishing grade or level of various

orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

that often denotes bravery and leadership on the battlefield. Most frequently the term Knight's Cross is used to refer to the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

, a military decoration of Nazi Germany. However, numerous orders have a Knight's Cross grade. Examples include the Cross of Merit on the ribbon of the Bundesverdienstkreuz, the French ''Chevalier'' (Knight) of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, a grade of the War Merit Cross, the Knight's Cross of the Brandenburg Bailiwick of the Knights' Order of the Hospital of St John in Jerusalem, the Knight's Cross of the

Order of Franz Joseph The Imperial Austrian Order of Franz Joseph () was founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria on 2 December 1849, on the first anniversary of his accession to the imperial throne. Classes The order was originally awarded in three classes: ''G ...

, the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa, 1st class (Knight) of the Order of the Sun, and the Knight's Cross of the

House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern ( or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various versions of the order were crosses an ...

References

Orders of chivalry {{Orders-medals-stub