Knights of Ilbarych

Those who exalt themselves in service to the Crown are often awarded with knighthoods. This is a minor, non-hereditary title.

Squires

• Though not all knights started as squires, the majority of them did.
• From about the age of thirteen, a young man (or occasionally, a young woman) may be taken on as a knight's squire.
• Their duties primarily focus around caring for their knight-mentor, tending to menial duties, acting as a personal servant and messenger, and overseeing upkeep of the knight's equipment.
• In exchange, the knight protects and teaches the squire, teaching them martial and courtly skills. The knight is responsible for the equipping and feeding of their squire.

Receiving the Spurs

=Knight's Equippage

According to the chivalric traditions of the Crowndom, a would-be knight must possess a full set of equippage. The precise list has changed over the years, but this is the generally accepted gear a squire with his spurs must have to enter into the Summer Vigil.

• Noble's Garb, at least one set (between 100 and 1000 silver), so that a knight may appear in the Crown's court in appropriate attire;
• A longsword (500 silver), a dagger (20 silver), and a war lance (60 silver)
• A large shield (40 silver), emblazoned with either the heraldry of the knight's liege, or with the knight's own heraldry (if he has applied and paid for such with the Heralds);
• A suit of heavy armor, of the scale (600 silver), splint (1000 silver), brigandine (1200 silver), half-plate (2000 silver), or plate (3000 silver) varieties;
• A war-mount, either a courser (600 silver) or a destrier (1000 silver), along with barding fitted for that mount, of leather (1100 silver), ring (2400 silver), scale (2400 silver), mail (3200 silver), brigandine (4800 silver), or plate (12,000 silver) varieties;
• A riding mount, typically a rounsey (50 silver)
• Costs: At minimum, this equippage comes to 15 imperials, 70 silvers; at maximum, it is 88 imperials, 70 silvers.

• At some point, when the knight feels their squire is ready, will award that squire their spurs.
• For some this is a solemn ritual, for others a raucous celebration, and for others yet simply a private moment.
• Once a squire has been awarded their spurs, but has not yet been knighted, they are referred to as a "spurred squire," or a "squire who has their spurs."
• Two things are required of a spurred squire: that they have a full suit of armor, arms, and a war-trained horse; and that they undertake the Summer Vigil in Crownhold.
  • Fully equipping a new knight costs 1 point of a House's Wealth rating, or an equivalent amount of coin otherwise.
  • Squires from noble families usually have their material needs tended to by their families.
  • Poorer squires must acquire the expensive knightly equipment from somewhere.
    • Often this means finding a patron noble to whom they can swear fealty upon their knighting, or winning renown and coin in the competitions squires are permitted to participate in at tournaments.
    • Rarely, a knight of means may decide to give this gift to a deserving squire, but it is not the norm: a squire must have learned self-sufficiency to be a knight, and a squire who is handed everything by the knight who teaches them has not demonstrated that.
  • Some squires who never manage to acquire the required equipment never become full knights. Such squires may remain with their knight-mentor well into their adulthood, or they may leave service to sell their sword elsewhere.

The Summer Vigil: The Conferring of Knighthood

• During the height of the Summer Moon, the Crown hosts the Summer Vigil.
• Nobles and knights are invited to a formal dinner, during which would-be knights (who are called "vigilants" during the event) are scattered among the assembled nobles.
  • They are expected to comport themselves with gentility and etiquette, proving that they deserve to be among genteel company.
  • As the dinner winds to a close, the would-be knights' names are called by the Crown, one by one. The one called stands, and if any noble has a reason to suggest they not be permitted their knighthood, they are permitted a chance to oppose the calling at that time. (In practice, this almost never happens – if someone has gotten to this point, it's basically a given, and nobles who use this opportunity to cause trouble or exercise petty vendettas do not receive invitations to this dinner in the future.)
• Once called by the Crown, and remaining unopposed, the vigilant is then taken to a watch post at some point in the Crown's castle and given duty to protect that point all night.
• When the sun rises, those who have comported themselves with integrity and dignity are taken to a ritual bath and then garbed in Imperial colors.
• At midday, a knighting ceremony is held in the courtyard, with each new knight swearing a Crown-oath and being knighted.

The Unspurred

• Occasionally, a warrior who so proves themselves on the field of battle or in service to a noble may be sponsored to the Crown for their actions.
• If the Crown agrees, the unspurred warrior may present themselves to the Summer Vigil alongside the squires – in essence, their actions have been deemed noteworthy enough to replace an extended squire apprenticeship.

Knights of Ilbarych

The Knightly Virtues

• Knights bridge the span between commoner and noble, recalling that the Crowndom's nobility are all descended from warriors, and are ultimately still a military caste.
  • Though they are not nobility proper, the children of knights are considered socially acceptable potential spouses for nobility (most often non-heirs).
• Only the Crown has the right to elevate someone to a knighthood. This is done at the Vigil every year during the Summer Court.
• Only two kinds of candidates are ever knighted:
  • Those who have passed through a squire's apprenticeship with a properly anointed knight; or
  • Those who are given a knighthood as a result of remarkable deeds, given by the Crown, but often sponsored by a Head of House.
• Knights always swear fealty to the Crown. Like a lord, they are also permitted to bear a second oath of fealty to a House's head, but legally the oath to Crown is foremost of them.
• Knights have an obligation to maintain a set of cavalry armor, a selection of armaments, and at least one horse trained for war, all ready for use in case their service is required by the Crown.
  • Because of the expense of this maintenance, it is common for a House's head to assume responsibility for those things as part of their oath of liegeship to a household knight.
• Knights are given the legal right to a heraldic device, as registered to the Heraldic Canon. Because of the expense of such registration, many knights do not do so, and instead simply bear the heraldry of their sworn liege.

• Knighthood: Knights are expected to embody two core Virtues: Martial Readiness (that is, possession of arms, armor, and mounts, and the ongoing training to use them all) and Courtly Worth (a knowledge of etiquette, manners, comportment, and the code of knightly honor that separates the knight from any man-at-arms). Knights are given the title of address "Sir" (or "Dame" for women).
  • Commoners may be knighted, and may even come to hold land as a landed knight. Though this is still not hereditary, the children of landed knights are considered to make good marriage matches and generally can be counted on to achieve the lower levels of nobility if luck, their own skill, and their parents' aspirations favor them.
  • Nobles can also hold knighthoods. This is largely a ceremonial role, with a single exception: when in the Court of the Crown, a lordly knight is treated as being part of the Crown's household, rather than part of a visiting one. This grants the lordly knight greater access to higher placed individuals of Status than their own noble status might ordinarily grant, particularly when part of a knightly order.
  • Knightly Virtues: The Crown or knightly orders may also award knights with what is called a Virtue: an honorary designation that suggests a particular skill above and beyond the two associated with knighthood. These so honored are referred to by a hypenated term and a "title of virtue" used in formal address.
    • The knight-sophiste (see below) is an artist or gently educated knight. They are titled "Worthy Sir."
    • The knight-sanctified is part of a religious order and upholds the ideals of one of the unctæ. They are titled "Holy Sir".
    • The knight-cavalier is recognized for superior horsemanship in both battle and tourney. They are titled "Stalwart Sir".
    • The knight-sorcerous is a knight who is also trained in the use of magic. They are titled "Wise Sir".
• Knight-sophiste: A particular path of knighthood is the knight-sophiste, who trains in a narrower selection of the traditional knightly skills to allow the pursuit of an education specializing in an area of the arts or sciences. An education in the arts is considered a virtue in the noble houses, so many knights-sophiste come from their ranks, an option attractive to the later-born children who are less likely to inherit the lordship of their house. An education in a more practical area, such as one of the sciences, is less in vogue among the nobility but still seen as a worthy pursuit.
  • Knights-sophiste are usually lightly itinerant in their younger years, hosted by a house in order to share their specialty as a tutor, instructor, or consultant for a year or two and then moving to another house that is desirous of their knowledge. The itinerancy often ends when the knight-sophiste becomes engaged for marriage or is offered a landed position with an appreciative house. Hosting knights-sophiste is considered a matter of prestige, and they are often a means of strengthening ties between houses, up to and including establishing marriage bonds between them.
  • The knight-sophiste is expected as a matter of honor to also observe their regular knightly duties in service to their host house even in their itinerant years, but some unscrupulous knights-sophiste have taken advantage of their role to act as a saboteur, seducer, or spy.