www.heraldica.org/topics/orders/knights.htm Under heading of "Knights and Nobility" (pertaining to France) --- apparently using knight to be same as chevalier and squire to be same as ecuyer. "Heredity enters the knightly class in the 13th Century. The son of a knight [i.e., chevalier] is automatically a squire [i.e., ecuyer], thus eligible for knighthood on the basis of his ancestry ...."