knight-errant

[ nahyt-er-uh nt ]

/ ˈnaɪtˈɛr ənt /

a wandering knight; a knight who traveled widely in search of adventures, to exhibit military skill, to engage in chivalric deeds, etc.

Origin of knight-errant

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50

But I was still under the influence of the girl's melting gaze, and I saw that this was where I started in as a knight-errant.

My Man Jeeves |P. G. Wodehouse
This knight-errant would fling his shield over the very spies who tracked his steps.

Shelley, Godwin and Their Circle |H. N. Brailsford
Is it not strange, after the ingenious Don Quixote, to find ourselves reading with pleasure the adventures of a knight-errant?

Jaufry the Knight and the Fair Brunissende |Mary Lafon
But an animal in trouble was a sight which flung Peggy's shyness to the winds, and she sprang like a knight-errant to the rescue.

A Terrible Tomboy |Angela Brazil

Fair ladies entertain him as if he had been a knight-errant in quest of the Holy Grail.

Bunyan |James Anthony Froude