Hereditary chivalric dignity
A hereditary knight is a member of the nobility whose chivalric dignity descends according to the law or custom governing the grant. Unlike an ordinary personal knighthood, which normally ends with the recipient, an hereditary dignity forms part of a family's recognized patrimony.
Hereditary knighthood has appeared in several European traditions and should not be confused with every membership in an order of chivalry. Whether a dignity descends, and by what line, depends upon its original instrument, the competent authority, and the applicable law of succession.
Within the Roman-Ruthenian patrimonial system, hereditary status is recorded and treated as a form of nobility. Recognition does not convert a non-hereditary award into an hereditary one; the character of the dignity must arise from lawful grant, succession, or established custom.