kempery-man

English

Etymology

From kemp (“to contend, struggle, compete”) +‎ -er, and Old English man.

Noun

kempery-man (plural kempery-men)

  1. A mediaeval knight-errant or champion.
    • 1856, “Ancient Irish Income”, in Ulster Journal of Archaeology‎, volume 4, pages 241-52:
      The Gaelic military force, whose status is well expressed in ancient ballads by the designation of "the Kempery men" or men of the camp, were, with their taoiseach, or leader, supported throughout the country by the creaghts.
    • 1866, Charles Kingsley, chapter 1, in Hereward the Wake, London: Nelson:
      I only want an excuse like that for turning kempery-man — knight-errant, as those Norman puppies call it, — like Regnar Lodbrog, or Frithiof, or Harold Hardraade.
    • 1928, “Native Poetry in East Africa”, in Africa: Journal of the International African Institute‎, volume 1, number 3, pages 348-57:
      What is known as his Utengi is a kind of battle-chant, extolling his own prowess and taunting his enemies, quite in the fashion of a Norse kempery-man.
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