The earliest recorded instance of the word paladin in the English language dates to 1592, in Delia (Sonnet XLVI) by Samuel Daniel. It entered English through the Middle French word paladin, which itself derived from the See more

The Italian Renaissance authors Matteo Maria Boiardo and Ludovico Ariosto, whose works were once as widely read and respected as William Shakespeare's, contributed … See more

In the Roman imperial period, a palatinus was one of the closest retainers of the emperor, who lived in the imperial residence as … See more

In the French courtly literature of the 12th century, the paladins are the twelve closest companions of Charlemagne, comparable to the role of the Knights of the Round Table See more

Paladin was used informally of the closest confidants of the German Emperor. Thus, Die Gartenlaube in 1871 named Albrecht von Roon See more