Sentence:  Despite his eloquent praise of the gentlemanly qualities of the highwayman, Ainsworth's robber is more coarse-grained than Bulwer's Paul Clifford. In the best traditions of the ideal <WSD>knight of the road</WSD>, he is loath to hurt or kill anyone—but he reserves the right to do so in self-defence. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A highwayman.