Primer: Knighthood

[GhostWolfe]

Source: SIFRP Campaign Guide

Knighthood is an honorable position, both martial and religious. It is limited to men but not to noble men, as it is possible for the base-born to become knights. Bastards, however, are forbidden from being knighted by law. A man becomes a knight on his merits, not by birth.

In reality, skill at arms is the most important aspect of knighthood. All knights are at least competent in battle, and a nobleman with no martial interest or ability would neither seek nor be granted knighthood. In principle, there is no dishonor for a noble not to become a knight, though some families have fixed ideas about the sorts of sons they should have.

While any knight can dub a knight, it is prestigious to be knighted by someone of high status, the most prestigious being the king. A knight who granted the title to those who were obviously unworthy would quickly become an object of ridicule and probably a target for duels by knights who care about such things, so such appointments are rare.

The other requirements of a knight are somewhat nebulous, but there is agreement on the core principles. Knights should be brave and loyal and not resort to trickery in battle. They should defend the weak and innocent, particularly the young, and be respectful to all women. They are courteous to all, possess cleanly manners, and fight mounted and armored in metal. The sword and lance are the classic weapons of the knight, but more flexibility is allowed here.

Hedge knights are the lowest level of chivalry. They are called such because of their habit of sleeping under hedges, along with peddlers, wandering minstrels, and the keepers of trained bears. The key feature of a hedge knight is that he is poor, for a knight. Almost all own a horse, a suit of metal armor (though it may be merely chain, ring, or scale), and a sword. These possessions are enough to make them rich by many standards. However, since they cannot sell these, almost all of their wealth is tied up, leaving them little to spend on such fripperies as food and lodging at an inn.


Heraldry is the practice of painted personal devices on shields and flags, so a knight can be clearly identified. It is not regulated, so in principle, anyone can take any device as his own. However, practical limits do exist.

First, the device must be easily recognisable in the heat of battle; that is what heraldry is for, after all. This rule keeps arms simple, with typically no more than three images on a simple background. It also means that two knights cannot bear the same arms. There is no formal mechanism for resolving conflicts, but they are rare; mistaken identity on the field of battle could be deadly.

Second, most of the noble houses have their own designs, and variants of these designs are adopted only by members of the house. The direwolf of the Starks, the trout of the Tullys, and the flower of the Tyrells are all examples. Ser Loras, the Knight of Flowers, often bears three flowers on his shield, for example. An outsider who dared to imitate the heraldry of a great house without permission would most likely be hunted down and persuaded of the error of his ways.

But beyond this, a knight can choose his own design—and change it at will. A few knights combine the arms of their mother’s house with those of their father’s. This combination generally happens when both are from great houses, but it is rare, as it tends to make the arms complex and difficult to recognize at a glance. Similarly, frequent changes are rare, as others could lose track of what the knight’s arms were this week. A knight’s arms normally refer to his house, an important event in his life (Ser Davos’ arms bear an onion) or pun on his name.