Knight for hire
The knight from Webster Groves, Sir Karl Kindt
III, is available for weddings, parties,
schools and other events. He can be contacted
at knightforhire.com or 314-961-0987.
Sir Karl Kindt III dons his 82 pounds of
armor and presents programs for schools,
Scouts and others.
Have armor, will travel.
That is the motto of the St. Louis area's own
knight, Sir Karl Kindt III.
He has a full set of armor, an authentic copy
of the apparel of a 15th-century knight. The
armor cost nearly $5,000 and weighs 82 pounds.
He dons it and presents programs on chivalry
at schools and for Scout groups and others.
Kindt, 58, of Webster Groves, has a mission:
to return chivalry and honor to the conduct of
men toward women.
"We men are a sorry lot in this
age," he said. "We have forgotten
how to give a lady the respect God wants us
to."
His is a romantic story. The inspiration for
his quest came to him about eight years ago
when he visited his father's grave in St.
Avold, France. His father fought and died in
World War II before Kindt was born. His father
had made arrangements for a letter and a dozen
roses to be delivered to his newborn son
posthumously. The letter urged Kindt to be a
man of honor.
In the cemetery at St. Avold, Kindt saw a
statue of King Arthur. The statue made him
think of his father and the others who died in
World War II as knights fighting for freedom.
He wanted to be a knight, too.
He learned that when the United States wrested
its freedom from England, the Americans also
secured the right to dub knights. Kindt said
he had been dubbed a knight by four mayors, a
school principal and thousands of children.
His job by day is as a computer information
coordinator for the law firm of Lewis Rice
& Fingersh. Kindt has been married for 37
years and has two adult sons. He makes about
125 appearances as a knight each year.
One of his recent appearances was at the
wedding rehearsal dinner of Rachel Young, 26,
and Eric Nobles, also 26, of Affton and
Dittmer respectively. The dinner was at C.J.
Muggs in Webster Groves.
The groom's mother, Judith Nobles, engaged
Kindt for the event.
"I thought a young groom dedicating
himself to a woman should hear about honoring
a woman, respecting her," she explained.
"I thought the knight had a lot to say
and would add a lot to the occasion."
Kindt told a centuries-old tale about a knight
and his lady who discover that the road to
happiness lies not in getting what each wanted
but in living for each other.
In his version of the story, Sir Gawain agrees
to marry a woman to whom King Arthur has made
the promise that she would be married to the
most handsome knight of the Round Table. The
lady is the ugliest woman in the kingdom.
Nevertheless, the good knight marries her.
Gawain learns on their wedding night that he
can choose whether she will be beautiful by
day and ugly by night or beautiful by night
and ugly by day.
He would prefer that she be beautiful by night
for him. But he chooses that she be beautiful
by day to save her from the ridicule of the
court. At that choice - for her happiness and
not his own - she is transformed into the most
beautiful woman in the world day and night.
He also led the bride and groom in a ceremony
in which the groom cut a lock of the bride's
hair and placed it in a locket, which the
groom would carry to remind himself of his
pledge to his beloved.
Kindt also found the appearance fortuitous.
One of his goals as a knight is to meet Queen
Elizabeth. One of the guests, Steve Blundell,
is from Bedfordshire, England. Blundell works
as a gamekeeper and gardener in Bedfordshire
for an English knight. Blundell thinks that
when the knight hears of Kindt's work, the
English knight will put in a good word with
the queen.
Kindt can hope. He has armor and will travel.
Reporter Theresa Tighe:
E-mail: ttighe@post-dispatch.com
Phone: 314-340-8129