LEGO® History - Knight Theme
09 Föndo 2022
The LEGO® knights are a very popular theme within the LEGO® worlds. This is also one of the longest running themes. The first knights appeared in the iconic yellow LEGO® castle (375) that came out in 1978. The knights released at this time along with the castle wore a breastplate and had a helmet with a movable visor that had a small slit through which they could see. In 1979, the first minifigures came out with a printed chest plate and pointed helmets without visors.
Lion Knights
It wasn't until 1984 that a whole new castle came out with a more realistic colour. Namely in grey. Also a lot of new parts came out this time. Like the horses (which you had to build yourself from LEGO® bricks before), flags in different colours, feather plumes for the helmets and new helmets for the minifigs. LEGO® also introduced the bow and arrow. From this time on you also got differences in factions, there were figures with a lion as emblem and figures with a black/white bird as emblem. LEGO® fans later gave these the names Lion Knights and Black Falcons. The armour of the knights was mainly printed on the LEGO® figures at this time. In 1986 a female figure was finally added in the form of a damsel with a pointed hat and a printed bead necklace on the torso.
Forestmen
The Forestmen theme was introduced in 1987. This theme is a small departure from the castles but it does belong to the knight theme. In the first Forestmen set, also a new colour of horse was introduced, namely brown, previously there were only black and white horses. The Forestmen were considered the enemies of the other factions that had knights and castles, such as the Crusaders, Black Falcons, and Black Knights. Some suggested that the Forestmen could be compared to Robin Hood, while the Lion Knights represented King John and the English throne. (In legend, Robin Hood supported King Richard the Lionheart, who led one of the Crusades, but after Richard's younger brother John ascended the throne, Robin Hood was outlawed).
Black Knights
In 1988 a new faction was released together with a new castle, namely the Black Monarch's Castle (6085). The knights that came with these sets were called the Black Knights and were, like the Lion Knights and the Black Falcons, in conflict with the Forestmen. The Black Knights' emblem was a blue, yellow and red Wyvern dragon. This emblem was never printed on the chest like the other knights, but they only wore it on their flags and shields. You could also find the dragon logo on the armour of the horses that appeared for the first time in this set. The Black Knights and Forestmen appear in several sets published up to 1994.
Wolfpack Renegades
From 1992 to 1993, there was briefly another opponent to the Black Falcons, the Wolfpack Renegades. This group of bandits only appeared in three sets, making it the smallest castle faction. Unlike the Forestmen, who were never labelled as good or bad, most Lego literature implies that the Wolfpack were amoral outlaws.
Dragon Masters
The Dragon Masters faction sets came out in 1993. The Dragon Masters were at odds with the Black Knights and Wolfpack who were often guests in Dragon Masters sets. This faction was more fantasy based, bringing mythical creatures and magic to the LEGO® Knights world. The Dragon Masters were led by Merlin the Wizard (Majisto the Wizard in the US) and aimed to tame dragons and use them in the fight against the Black Knights. The emblem of the Dragon Masters shield was the same as the egg-shaped shields of the Black Knights, except that they had a green dragon instead of the blue, yellow, red one. The largest Dragon Masters set was the 6082 Fire Breathing Fortress, followed by 6076 Dark Dragon's Den, and then 6048 Merlin's Magical Workshop. Interestingly, the total number of dragons in all Dragon Masters sets was three; besides 6082 and 6076, the only other set to include a dragon was 6056 Dragon Wagon; due to the inclusion of the dragon, these sets contained fewer minifigures and horses than other sets of similar size in Lego Castle.
Royal Knights
The Royal Knights were the first Lego theme to feature skeletons. Their leader was the Royal King. Their largest set was the 6090 Royal Knight's Castle. This faction also introduced the fan favourite silver longsword and a silver helmet used by the Royal King. This faction's emblem was a lion, which was printed on the torso, flags and shields.
Dark Forest
In 1996 there was a brief reintroduction of the Forestmen, the Dark Forest faction. They used the same emblem as the Forestmen, a deer. The largest of the total three sets was only released in North America, which was the Dark Forest Fortress set (6079). With only three sets, the Dark Forest faction is, like the Wolfpack Renegades, the smallest Castle faction.
Fright Knights
Basil the Bat Lord was the leader of the Fright Knights, a group of soldiers who for the first time were not ruled by a king. With these sets came some more supernatural magic in the form of black dragons with fire wings and Willa the Witch, a dark sorceress who was the real power behind Basil's throne. The emblem of the Right Knights was a black bat. Basil also wore a special bat helmet and cape with bat print.
Knights' Kingdom
LEGO® introduced Knights' Kingdom in 2000. In these sets, the Lions, led by King Leo, took on the Bulls, led by Cedric the Bull. The Lions' emblem was the same as that of the Royal Knights, a lion. The Bulls' emblem was, how could it be otherwise, a black bull with red eyes. The large King Leo's Castle set (6098) also included two female figures, Queen Leonora and Princess Storm. The Bulls had to do without a castle in this series. Also in 2000 a computer game was released called Lego Creator: Knights' Kingdom. In this game based on the Knights' Kingdom, players could create their own kingdom.
Knights' Kingdom II
Although officially called Knights' Kingdom on the packaging, a new castle was released in 2004. Knights' Kingdom tells the legends of the Kingdom of Morcia, a fantasy world, and the adventures that take place within it. The main characters are the knights of the warring factions. It is an updated version of an earlier Knights' Kingdom LEGO theme, with larger, action figure-like characters and more colourfully dressed minifigures in the traditional sets. Because there is a completely different story here, this series is also popularly known as Knights' Kingdom II. A trading card game and a book series were also made from this series. Vladek's Dark Fortress (8877) was the largest set of this theme.
Castle II
A human faction led by a king who fights an undead skeleton faction ruled by an evil Necromancer (someone who uses black magic and communicates with the dead) was released in 2007. The human faction wears the emblem of a crown, giving them the nickname "Crownies" by LEGO® fans. The undead faction carries the emblem of a skull. In 2008 and 2009, orcs, trolls and dwarves were also added to the Castle II sets to bring more magic to these worlds.
Kingdoms
Kingdoms is the name of the medieval LEGO® theme that was released in 2010. The Orcs and other fantasy creatures from the previous series disappeared, leaving a more realistic medieval based world. Wizard minifigures remained for a little bit of magic. So these sets go back to the basics of the original LEGO® castle theme and that is also shown in the King's Castle set (7946) which is based on the 1984 King's Castle set (6080). King's is the first theme to feature printing on the backs of the minifigures' torsos. This theme also features new knight helmets, new horse armour (smooth armour with horn), goats and a new portcullis. This theme also saw the return of the full lion emblem, instead of the lion's head used in the Royal Knights, Knight's Kingdom I, and Knights Kingdom II. They are called the Lion Knights in this theme. In Kingdoms, there are two human factions fighting against each other. One side has the role of the attackers, with more vehicles and siege engines (Dragon Knights, with dragon emblem). The other side has the role of the defenders with an emphasis on buildings (Lion Knights). This theme, like the fantasy-era Castle theme from 2007, includes farmers and civilians, rather than just focusing on military factions.
Castle III
Lego released a new Castle theme in 2013 to replace the previously e Kingdoms theme. It ended up being a very short-lived theme with only five sets released in late 2013 and two battlepacks released in early 2014. The two factions were "King's Knights", who wore blue with a crown insignia on their torso and lion insignia on their shields and armour. And the Dragon Knights, who wore red and black clothes and had a dragon's head as their emblem. This theme was fantasy based and included a wizard and a large dragon.
Nexo Knights
The story of Nexo Knights is set in the Kingdom of Knighton, a futuristic, high-tech world. Nexo Knights follows five young knights as they battle Jestro, his sidekick, the Book of Monsters and their Monster Armies. The knight Clay Moorington leads the group of knights, which includes superstar Lance Richmond, hipster Aaron Fox, Macy Halbert, a princess who would rather be a knight, and Axl the Giant. Together, under the tutelage of Knights' Academy mentor, Merlok 2.0, they join forces to defeat the enemy.
A total of fifty sets were released in 2016. Each set contains new Nexo Powers for the Nexo Knights app. The story that year involved the Knights fighting Jestro's Lava Army for the magical books. Jestro would use these books to unlock more monsters. In the 2017 story, Monstrox, the spirit in the monster book, appears and creates a new stone army. Thirty-five sets released in this year show how the knights get new sleeker armour and new vehicles. Nexo Power packs were introduced as a new way to get the collectible Nexo Power shields. Some of the key sets include Jestro's Headquarters and Knighton Castle.
More Knights
Since the end of Nexo Knights in 2018, no new sets have been released in a major castle theme. However, there have been references to the old sets in the form of the Medieval Blacksmith (21325) and the LEGO® Creator Medieval Castle (31120). Although the lego knights are no longer available in the sets you can still order them at ToyPro. Take a look at the page of the Castle Minifigures or the Nexo Knights minifigures. Are you looking for parts or weapons of the Knights then you can visit our parts page.
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