Knights of Rausumea

From BelegarthWiki

The Knights of Rausumea are a small grouping of Knights in Belegarth. Origins stemming from the Gwynedd Knighthood it is still in it's infancy as Knighthoods go. After Sir Madog was Knighted by King Owen he was given the title of Knight of Rausumea. Before christening his first promotable squire he organized a committee of Rausumean to sit and discuss the official organization and rules of the Rausumean Knight. It's basically designed to be an emergency mode of operation for the realm of Rausumea should the Av Council ever fail or fall into disarray.

Membership

Squires

Pages

About the Rausumean Knight

Knight – the man at arms



Knighthood generally comes from an established lineage of knights; all lineages generally have a history that's origin may be known or unknown. Regardless of the separation of lineages all knights are connected by their history they have with each other and recognition. It is important for a Knight to know who came before them and who those people were and what they stood for.

Historically, Knighthood is granted from a sovereign power or from other Knight. Traditionally in many societies any man at arms who had forged through a path of battles was considered a Knight. But there were elite orders of Knights that required membership to be born into a birth write and quest in order to join. These orders are all but gone in today’s society. Historically there were few knights that live up to the standards we equate with knighthood. The chivalrous knight in shining armor was generally a far cry from the hulking war mongering machine of death a knight generally was.

In the Lords of Rausumea game, the knight is a very important recognized title. Any Knight coming in from a recognized lineage may be accepted by the autocrats and given land and income generally earned by any other person recognized as a Knight. Event coordinators understand that all knights are considered dedicated to the sport and as long as a visiting Knight shows a common respected to the sport they will be honored as a Knight in Rausumea. This is why any Knight coming from a recognized lineage should be recognized, and all others need to quest for the right to earn the title of Knight. In the lords game there are 4 major titles that a person seeking out the profession knighthood, they are; Page, Squire, Knight, and Grand Knight.

A Page is the first level of the profession of Knighthood, it is the introductory level. Anyone can ask any person with the title of Knight or higher to become a Page. Acceptance is the only requirement of the title. Any page is considered a member of a Knights court and thus receives any benefits of a court in the Lords of Rausumea game. A page also is awarded a single linked chain as a symbol of their service to their knight. After completing a set of tasks the page progresses to squire-ship. In squire-ship they are awarded a new chain that is woven in a Persian style. As a squire they are responsible for more duties and have quests that they need to complete in order to become a Knight. During this time a squire is in servitude to his Knight, all other knights, and to the game itself. After completing the prescribed tasks the Squire is then tested in combat and if they are successful they are elevated to the status of Knight. From here the Knight has the ability to take on squires or pages as well as join an order of Knights. The leader of an order of Knights is referred to as a Grand Knight.

In depth, the Page



When a Person wants to become a Knight they must first seek out a Knight who is willing to sponsor them to become a Knight. This Knight will lead them on down the path to become a Squire and eventually a Knight. Once a Knight accepts a person they automatically have gained the title of page. Unlike all the other titles in the Lords game there is no monetary benefit to becoming a Page. A page is considered a part of a Knights court and is allowed to wear a form of their knights heraldry and still be eligible to receive credit for a factions garb requirement despite they are not uniform with the faction. The page must be wearing a page's chain. The chain is one of the symbols of Knighthood to Rausumean Knights. This first chain is single links. They represent the weakness of anyone who first starts doing something. As a Squire advances to Knighthood they will receive stronger and stronger chains until they are a Knight.

Once they are titled a page then is ordered to complete three tasks. “GAW” is the short term for the first task. G.A.W. Stands for Garb, Armor, and Weapons. A page must first look like a page. Complete Garb according to the rules of Belegarth is required. What are expected are a simple shirt, tunic and some sort of pants. Combat boots or medieval footwear is also required. The Page should look like they are in garb. On top of this they need to acquire one piece of armor, preferably constructed by their own hands. And finally they are required to own weapons and a shield. “Weapons” one might ask, yes you need at least something with which to arm two people. For example a shield and a sword would arm one person, a second person could be armed with a long sword or a pair of swords.

The second task is the quest. The page must complete a quest from an Av who is not currently on the Av Council.. So they must first find a former member of leadership of their realm or local chapter. Then they must ask the person to give them a quest. Then the Page must complete that quest and have it approved by their Knight.

The third and final task set forth for a page is to make their squires tabard. A squire’s tabard is a reversible tabard. On the inside is a gold or yellow fabric so the tabard may be worn in the reverse as a marshals tabard and on the normal outside the tabard should be red or white in color with an eight inch square of the page's knight's heraldry, this tabard will be worn by the squire to denote which knight they belong to.

After the page completes all three of their tasks they may petition to the knight to be accepted as a full squire. The Knight has the right to defer squire ship of the page to another Knight or to deny the page advancement. When the Knight does however advance the page into squire ship he may choose to do so privately with the fellow knights of his order or publicly both processes should include combat centered around the advancing page.

Newly accepted the current squires may decide the test or challenge for their future peer, generally a public ceremony is performed where the new Squire gets to fight everyone in attendance in pairs along side their Knight. Following the challenge the Squire is then allowed to wear the tabard that they created while a page and is given a chain of a Persian weave, this chain represents that the Squire is dedicated to their Knight the Realm and to becoming a Knight. The Persian weave is an exotic one and it's three links in one pattern is difficult to comprehend just like the balance the squire will need to learn between the three.

The Squire of Rausumea



From here on out it will be the duty of the Squire to follow his Knight into battle, or when they are separated to lead others and follow instructions given to them in combat. Because a Knight is not always around their squire, a squire is dedicated to all other Knights of Rausumea. The Squire is to complete several tasks before they are ready to be tried in combat for the position of Knight. It is the duty of the Knight to determine when these duties are complete. The tasks are centered around several core competencies; The individual must have some knowledge of all weapons in their use and construction in a safe manner, They must demonstrate strong leadership skills on the field of combat and for the realm, they must have earned the title of Av Rausumea, they must own a knights level of armor, have an understanding of the National happenings and who is who of the sport. This may seem simple, but the Knight must agree that the Squire is ready to go to the magisterium of the Household. The Squire must then go along side their Knight and ask for a trial by combat to prove they are material for Knighthood.

At any time during a Squires journey to Knighthood their Knight feels that they are not fit to be a squire they may drop the squire. If no other Rausumean Knight offers to take the Squire the Squire looses his title.

Once the squire has proven themselves to the magisterium of the Household the Jarl of the Household or a Knight of Rausumea that the squire is not directly under may offer to try the squire in a life trial by combat that is traditional to the Rausumean Knight. If they complete this trial the Jarl or Knight may bestow upon the Squire the blessing and Title of Knight of Rausumea.

The Knight Av Rausumea.



Once the Squire Kneels down and is given the traditional blessing of Knighthood and stands up they are thence called “Sir”. A Knight is considered a man at arms and has “the right to carry arms and the power to meet Justice” as the virtue of all Knights. A New knight is expected to have personal Heraldry, which they can allow their squires and pages to wear in place of any faction requirements.

The Traditional Knight's Court consists of his Squires and Pages. A Knight may also have ladies or non-combatants join his or her court, and they are likewise given the privilege to wear the Knights Heraldry. Any woman or girl in the Knights Court is considered a “Lady” or if they are married or spoken for “Mistress”, and any man or boy is considered “Master”. These are considered honorary titles for people in the company of a Knight and bring no increase in retinue in the Lords game. The Knight over the Court member may grant and strip the title from those in his court at will.

A Knight can only loose his or her Knighthood in two ways. First at any time a Knight can remove his chain and drop it on the ground and say, “I am not a Knight”. At this point they loose their title and all lands and pleasures associated with the title of Knight. The second and third ways are if a Knight does something unbefitting a Knight the person who knighted them or the Jarl may strip the chain from a Knight and take away all the Knights lands and titles.

Every Knight is given an additional +10 copper for attending turned based events and they are also allowed to manage a square of land that is given to them by the Autocrats of the game. It is also traditional that all Knights in good standing with the Jarl will be allowed to live on said land tax-free. Any revenue from that land goes to the Knight.

Grand Knights



A grand Knight is a Knight that leads an order of other Knights. All orders of Knights must have two Knights that come from different factions or they can be dissolved by the Jarl. Each Order of Knights may carry an additional manifestation of Heraldry that can be worn in place of faction garb requirements this goes for the Knights of the orders' Squires Pages and Court. The Knight who leads the order is considered a Grand Knight.

The Grand Knight may take up to 2 additional fiefs of land by force like a faction during a turn based action event. These fiefs are however privilege to taxes, must be adjacent to the Grand Knights plot of land. As long as the Grand Knight is a Knight he may keep these plots of land.

Retrieved from "https://www.geddon.org/index.php?title=Knights_of_Rausumea&oldid=37833"