An historical account of the Normans, paired with a travelogue based on an architectural tour of Sicily to study the influence of the Normans, by a British M.P., traveler, and writer who served as High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire in 1814-15.
Knight was the only son of Henry Gally (afterwards Gally Knight), barrister, of Langold, and was educated at Eton and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He succeeded in 1808 to estates at Firbeck and Langold Park which his father had inherited in 1804 from his brother John Gally Knight.
Knight was appointed High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire for 1814—1815. He also held the office of deputy-lieutenant of Nottinghamshire. He was a Member of Parliament for the constituencies Aldborough (12 Augst 1814-April 1815), Malton (1831—1832; 31 March 1835-9 February 1846), North Nottinghamshire (1835 and in 1837). In parliament he was a fluent but infrequent speaker. He was also a member of the commission for the advancement of the fine arts.
Knight owned Firbeck Hall in Rotherham. Sir Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe is set nearby, and Knight may have been Scott's source of local information when he was writing the book. He was admitted a Fellow of the Royal Society on 20 May 1841.
