Current Ideas About Knighthood
At the time of the Anarchy, the distinction between a knight and a man-at-arms is still a matter of degree and accomplishment, rather than being a sharp class distinction; we are still in the days when a soldier who excels and gains the approval of his commanders can get knighted despite not having a family history of knighthood.
Knighthood is an almost entirely secular institution. A major exception are the military orders of Crusaders, such as the Hospitallers and the Templars, but these are an extremely novel break from the norm. Bernard of Clairvaux’s writings in praise of the Templars at the time emphasises this: it’s very obvious from what he has to say that the idea of knights and warriors who live by a sacred code is new and stands in stark contrast to what people of this period expect of knights.
In the decades after the period our game is set in, the example set by the religious military orders would be looked up to; the idea of chivalry would, in fact, be developed specifically as an attempt to encourage secular knights to hold themselves to the sort of standard that religious knights did. Which leads to a very important point: at the time of the Anarchy, chivalry is not a thing.
Chivalry was not, to be honest, much of a thing even at the time when it was heavily promoted - it was a glorious ideal promoted in fiction that real life never quite matched up to - but at the time of the Anarchy, “chivalry” as a term was not in circulation, and the idea of knights as a class holding themselves to a standard set by a specific, defined code of chivalry had not been proposed. There were certain qualities which were admired in knights, of course - loyalty to liege and vassals, largesse, the benevolence of the strong towards the weak, enduring difficult conditions with grace, and showing mercy to fellow knights who yield in good faith were all considered aspects of knightly honour. The idea that there was a formalised code of knighthood though, is anachronistic for our time period.
Ceremonies of Knighthood
Since knighthood is, at this time, a very secular affair, the process of becoming a knight is very simple. The swearing of oaths and the sitting of vigils that would become a feature of receiving the accolade of knighthood in later decades have not come into use yet, because - and this is really worth repeating again - becoming a knight at this point was a simple recognition of merit, not a sacred charge to follow a particular code of conduct. With no religious component and no behavioural requirements set, there is no need to make a big song and dance of the process.
Often, it’s as simple as a superior knight presenting the newly-knighted individual with a gift of arms, and girding them with their sword belt. (It’s just this sort of gifting of arms which William the Conqueror is depicted as doing for Harold Godwinson on the Bayeux Tapestry.) More involved ceremonies come into play if the knight is also granted some lands at the same time - then declarations of homage and fealty come into play, as detailed in the page on feudalism. But if a grant of land is not happening, no such declarations are needed - after all, they’re the quid pro quo for getting the land in the first place.
Inspiration For Knights
Folklore surrounding King Arthur is known at the start of the Anarchy, but almost all of the Arthurian literature and troubadour’s poems we know today have yet to be penned; interest in King Arthur spikes after Geoffrey of Monmouth releases his grand History of the Kings of Britain, in which Arthur features prominently; this takes place in 1138, a short way into the Anarchy.
At the moment, the nobility of England and Normandy are very fond of the tales of Charlemagne, and have been for decades, with the major chanson de geste relating to it being the Song of Roland - Roland being a role model for knights at this time. Gormond and Isembart is another currently-popular chanson, though it's more of a cautionary tale than an example to be imitated, since Isembart is a rebellious and disloyal knight who switches his allegiance to Gormond the Saracen and goes so far as to renounce his Christianity, eventually being punished by Charlemagne's son King Louis I.
Performances of the chansons are usually done by jongleurs accompanying themselves on the fiddle. There is a great appetite for new chansons using the legends of Charlemagne's era to shed light on current affairs - stories about struggles against the Saracens naturally resonate with present-day Crusade matters, for instance.
The fact that these characters were held up as role models does not mean that people behaved very much like them in reality. Taillefer, William the Conqueror's jongleur, was so stirred up by the legends of Roland he was singing for the Norman forces at Hastings that he charged the English lines solo. He was cut down like a dog.