The knight is an iconic martial character of fiction and history. He is often a armored member of the cavalry and adapt at armed combat on foot. What sets him apart from just being a warrior with armor and a sword is his or her code of conduct and membership in an group established for a purpose.
Code of chivalry: Formal rules and practices the knight follows.
- Duties to countrymen and feudal lord
- The virtues of mercy, courage, valor, and fairness.
- Protecting the weak and the poor.
- Being a faithful servant to the feudal lord.
- Being willing to give one’s life for another, be it for a poor man or a noble.
- Duties to Gods
- Being faithful to Gods.Protecting the innocent.
- Being faithful to the temple.
- Championing of good against evil.
- Providing charity to the poor.
- Obeying the Gods above the feudal lord.
- Duties to Opposite Sex
- Knight is to serve a gentlemen or lady and after that thier companions.
- Remain gentle and gracious to the opposite sex.
- Knightly Order: A organization of knights who have jointed together for some reason.
- Knightly orders by purpose
- These knight joint together for are particular task. Knights must swear an oath of mutual loyalty and that they will complete the quest or task.
- Statutes - Required to fulfill the vow of completing the task unless released from the task by the orders leader.
- Restriction - Must share the same goal and prove capable of performing the task.
- Examples - Recover an artifact, defeat a villain, slay a dragon, etc.
- Knightly orders by religion
- These knights join together to serve a god or gods. Knights must swear an oath the the god or gods to defend the faith and temple.
- Statutes - Bound to perform the duty to the gods they serve and obey the priesthood.
- Restrictions - Membership is available only to the faithful of a particular god or gods.
- Examples - Protect pilgrims, defeat cultist, crusade, etc.
- Knightly orders by war
- These knights join together for war.
- Knights must swear an oath to serve the country and the feudal lord.
- Statutes - Obligated to defend the country and the feudal lord.
- Restrictions - May be limited to nobles or sponsored by a noble
- Examples -Defend the country from invasion, service to the feudal lord, patrolling the boarders, etc.
- Exception to Knightly Orders
- Knight-Errant
- These roving knights typically do not join an order but may at some point in their careers. They travel the land search for adventures to prove themselves. The knight performs the deed in the name of a love interest or for a righteous cause. He wanders the land performing noble deeds. This is either to prove his worth to himself, a love interest or a noble who he wishes to serve. He also tests his skills by competing in tourneys, completing quests and performing duals. He may be noble or peasant but must acquire the abilities and equipment as he travels.
Really nice write-up on knights.
ReplyDeleteI haven't played a role-playing game since HS, but with this A to Z Challenge, I;m coming across a lot of D&D type blogs, and I have to tell you, it's making me itch to get a group together and start playing again.
Anyway, great post,,,will come back to see more.
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~Deirdra