Knights Who Say Ni Knights Who Say Ni The Knights Who Say "Ni!", also called the Knights of Ni, are a band of knights encountered by King Arthur and his followers in the film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". They demonstrate their power by shouting "Ni!" (pronounced "nee"), terrifying the party, whom they refuse to allow passage through their forest unless appeased through the gift of a shrubbery. The knights appear silhouetted in a misty wood, wearing robes and horned helmets; their number is never apparent, but there are at least six. The leader of the knights, played by Michael Palin, is the
Monty Python settled on "Python". On other occasions, Idle has claimed that the name "Monty" was that of a popular and rotund fellow who drank in his local pub; people would often walk in and ask the barman, "Has Monty been in yet?", forcing the name to become stuck in his mind. The name Monty Python was later described by the BBC as being "envisaged by the team as the perfect name for a sleazy entertainment agent". "Flying Circus" popularised innovative formal techniques, such as the cold open, in which an episode began without the traditional opening titles or announcements. An example