Westerland Chivalric Traditions

Chivalry becomes a core concept of Westerland Society and Culture in the beginning of the post-imperial era, having started in the Arch-Duchy of Dussante. Note that the concept of a "Knight" did exist prior to this, but was very different and after the post-imperial era ended, the concept of Knighthood changed again.
 * Note: Things are very cut and dry in the 21st Century, when everything is in restrospect. In modern language, we differentiate between a Knight and someone who wasn't a Knight, because somewhere along the way, this distinction was made, but once, only cavalry were Knights and later all Soldiers were, if they were professional soldiers. To reflect this in the Source Lands, you can refer to any man-at-arms as a "Knight" without technically being incorrect, but when you refer to Knights, relegating to the Chivalric Tradition of Knighthood, we're specifically referring to "anointed" Knights, making a simple distinction between those who work as Knights, and those who have, on their very soul before the Gods they worship and the authorities that they obey, sworn to always remain a Knight.

History and evolution of Knighthood
Toward the collapse of the Empire, in that in-between eras time period that spanned a more significant amount of time than many would care to remember, many smaller provinces were later absorbed by the newly formed Principalities (Petty Kingdoms). Dussante was actually a Petty Kingdom in its own right, but was facing conquest by the Orlesians. They bought the help of Riveran Mercenaries (Rivera was bigger back then) who came on horseback.
 * The Riveran Cavalry was an unexpected enemy on the field, and while in reality, most of these cavalrymen did not fight on horseback, a number of them did, and used shock-and-awe tactics to break the Orlesian lines, time and time again.
 * The Marklander term "Kneckt" was used to describe sworn House-Hold Guards and was an honorary position, similar to the Nordmarian Huskarls and came to be affiliated with these Riveran Mercenaries as well, though the impressed and indebted Dussantian nobility declared them to be heroes, dubbed them "Knights" and landed many of them on the large border territory of Dussante as reward for their services.
 * These Knights became the primary military forces of Dussante and became so important to Dussante that they completely eliminated the need for other military forces, collecting payment in food for waging war on the borders where they lived with their families in simple fortresses made from wood and soil, and they laid the foundation for the Feudal military model.
 * Eventually, Orlais used guile and cunning to cause a significant part of Rivera to peacefully secede into the Orlesian Petty-Kingdom, and when that happened, the Knights of Dussante were conflicted, and it was finally decided that Dussante would become an Arch-Duchy in Orlais, retaining significant sovereignty, but ultimately bowing to Orlais.

Knights as a Social Caste
As you can probably sense from the description of the Knights of Dussante, there was initially very little that separated a Knight from a Gendarme. In the time of the Knights of Dussante, Knights were the militant caste of society in Dussante, being separate from nobility and from commoner - their own group entirely, and the members of the Knight Caste held different titles - Gendarme was a common catch-all term for those that served as soldiers, where as the Hetsman was the leader of a Castle, but all were Knights.

Knights and Nobility
The fortresses of the Knights grew in population size, quality and importance. Eventually, there was no denying that the Knights themselves rivaled the nobility in power and wealth, and soon the lines became blurred. The Nobility soon were replaced by Knights who used might to take their lands, or they themselves became Knights also - Ultimately, Knighthood changed from being a Social Caste, to being the introductory step for a Dynasty to become elevated into the ranks of Nobility, and at this point, there was a clear separation between Gendarmes and Knights, though in some cases, the lines were still somewhat blurred - naturally, it seems like the Nobility utilized the model of Knighthood from the Imperial Era to try and work in some sort of solution that permitted the co-existence, and later merging of the two castes.

Importance of Knights
Knights were not truly important, with the exception of Landed Knights. Other types of Knights were really just trusted soldiers with honorific titles - and while it was obviously important to have soldiers that one could trust, it was not necessarily important for them to be Knights.
 * Landed Knights were feudal rulers of Freeholds, and some Freeholds were so large that they rivaled Counties in size, and that the Landed Knight himself was practically a rogue power in the greater scheme.
 * Freeholds were not taxable, and no one who lived on the land was sworn to anyone but the Landed Knight who held the Freehold in fief, meaning everyone on the land were sworn into vassalage under the Landed Knight - this made the Landed Knight different from a Lord or an Earl, who both merely had the honor of governing a fiefdom on behalf of the King.
 * Freeholds were given to Knights, in return for oaths of allegiance that were not intended to be broken, and in most cases it was not even feasible for a Landed Knight to consider this, but some of the more powerful Landed Knights were very much in a position to withdraw their alliance.
 * Freeholds, because they were given to the Knight, were no longer regarded as part of the Kingdom they were ceded from. Most of them were enclaves, found deep inside the Kingdom, but others were large territories that formed small countries in their own respect.
 * Landed Knights were typically wealthy and could raise armies of their own, provided their land was big enough to support anyone else living there.
 * Many had fortresses of their own, and they tended to raise horses, which meant that they could field cavalry.
 * A Landed Knight with a relatively small freehold was typically referred to as a "Bannerman" of the given authority he was sworn to. They provided the bulk of the military forces that these authorities relied on for protection and warfare.
 * For more information on the specific ranks of Landed Knights, see Westerland Freeholders.

Chivalric Traditions
Because Knights became a staple of Westerland Post-Imperial Society, legitimized by sharing a name-sake with an Imperial tradition, it was important to establish some ground rules for their existence.

Becoming a Knight
Any Knight can technically Knight anyone else, but this is only true if one believes that Knights are somehow genuinely special. Becoming Knighted without proper public acceptance is ultimately the same as not being Knighted at all. Those who wish to be recognized as Knights must follow a specific set of traditions:
 * Squiring - Toward the end of the post-imperial era, Knights started by squiring under a Knight, and historicaly, we've adopted our language to a similar phenomenon, namely that toward the end of the historical medieval period, Knights became quite rare, and those who sough to become Knights had to squire under one in a sort of apprenticeship. Even though, for the majority of history (both this fictional version, and real history), this was not the case, we lack a better term for what is aimed to be described here - namely the that the individual had to have some sort of formal training that was recognized as valid. Typically, the would-be Knight had served as a Junior-Paige.
 * Testing - The Prospective Knight must be tested against another Knight, with at least three Knights witnessing the event, all three Knights sworn to three different Lords (one witness will be the Knight that the Prospective Knight squired under). The witnesses have no bearing on the test, so long as the Knight that the Prospective Knight is tested against speaks to the ability of the prospective Knight - only when the witnesses believe that he has judged in error can there be a note of this, allowing the Prospective Knight a chance to be tested against another Knight. The Knight that the Prospective Knight is tested against, must not have direct ties to the Prospective Knight.
 * Anointment - The Knight must, upon passing his test, be anointed and sit in prayer until the sun rises, and while there is no technical rule that says when the Knight has to start praying, the rule of thumb is "before midnight", so most Prospective Knights begin their prayers immediately before Midnight, and three Knights as witnesses must stand vigil - there are no restrictions on who these Knights can be, but they are most often the same three witnesses as from before.
 * Knighting Ceremony - The Knight is formally Knighted and swears his oath, again this being witnessed by three Knights in good standing, receives a formal letter of proof, signed by all witnesses, the priest who performed the anointment and if the Knight swore fealty to a Lord at this point, he also receives the Lords signature on the document. The document itself is ultimately unimportant, but serves as proof of Knighthood.
 * The Donning - The Knight dons a suit of armor (at the very least a hauberk), a pair of metal gauntlets (at the very least a pair of mittens made of chainmail), dons his spurs, puts on a helmet with a visor (or a greathelm), straps his long sword by his side (by long sword is meant any full-sized sword, so technically an arming sword is fine), dons his coat of arms, saddles his stallion (yes, it has to be a stallion) with caparison and hangs his shield with sigil from the saddle and as he mounts the horse, must ride his device on a lance home to his residence (or at least through the streets for all nearby people to see). The last part is not so important, but Knights do consider the ownership of the aforementioned items to be fully essential to being considered a Knight.
 * Being Errant - After the Knight has become a Knight, he must solidify his status. This is done by going Errant, and the Knight tours the country for at least a year, participating in tournaments and attending the court of as many lords as the Knight can muster - saving that, the Knight can also participate in a war. Either way, the Knight earns recognition by meeting other nobles who will know that the Knight is in fact a Knight.

Knight Ranks
Knights are ranked following a simple system of status, but their status can rapidly change.

Hedge Knight
The lowest status among Knights, are those not sworn to any master, and who owns no lands. Often poorer than the average Gendarme. They often carried special scrolls that attested to their Knighthood, among their most prized possessions.
 * One can easily make an argument that a Hedgeknight is no Knight at all, because in reality, recognition as a Knight was everything. If people saw a person as a Knight, he might as well be, but if the reverse was true, a Knighthood did no good.
 * Hedgeknights were essentially mercenaries and traveling tourney knights, as well as Gendarmes for temporary hire.
 * Hedgeknights came into existence after Knighthood became an introductionary step into Nobility, as such, several people were required to witness the Knighting ceremony, and the deed was reported to higher authorities and recorded in several places, and so even if a Knight left the service of his Lord, he remained a Knight, and it did theoretically count for something.

Knight Errant
A Knight Errant was a recently appointed Knight. They were required to tour around, introducing themselves to the various noble courts, and to other Knights - and at least in the traditions of Dussante, they also had to prove themselves, either by accomplishing a deed of renown or more commonly, by participating in tournaments.
 * If the Knight was from a Religious Order, instead of erranting, the Knight was required to complete a minor pilgrimage.
 * After completing the errant or pilgrimage, the Knight became a Knight Bachelor or Knight Brother - respectively.

Knight Bachelor/Brother
A Knight Bachelor (Knight Brother if part of a religious order) was an agent of the Lord whom the Knight was sworn to. This title was taken after a Knight was done erranting, and was typically held by young Knights are a Lord's court, all competing for the positions likely to open up in the Lord's retinue.
 * In a Religious Order, it was much the same, the Knight served as an Agent or Heavy Cavalryman until a position opened up in the Army.
 * A Knight Bachelor, or Brother, was the closest equivalent there was to a Yeoman (a private among the Gendarmes), as he did remain in service of the Lord as a warrior.

Knight-at-Arms
A Knight-at-Arms is a Knight of any rank, who formally works inside the retinue of a Lord. They could hold ranks such as Knight-Sergeant (being the lowest) or Knight-Captain and so forth. For more information on this particular subject, see Westerland Military.

Landed Knight
Landed Knights were those who held hereditary knighthoods. They Freeholders, at least being Manor Lords of rank, though they could rank as high as Barons.
 * The concept of Freeholds versus Earldoms and Lordships was the result of how Knighthoods developed from being Soldiers living in border forts and into a type of nobility themselves. As a result, even in a traditional Feudal Society, Knights with titles are still typically a separate category of Land Owning Nobility.
 * The Knighthood passed from father to son, along with possessions and feudal obligations, making Landed Knights the most valuable resource that a Lord or Earl could have, because they were the closest descendant of the original concept of Dussantian Knights.
 * For more information on the specific ranks of Landed Knights, see Westerland Freeholders.

Knight-Exempts
Being a Knight-Exempt was the only way one could be a Knight in the Colonial Era. The concept of Knight-Exempts existed before the Knights as a whole became obsolete, but remained a very considerable honor.
 * Knight-Exempts enjoy being "exempt" from the restrictions of the traditional peerage, and are seen as immediate subordinates of the relevant authority that granted the Honor. While this was often the King in the beginning, it was later typically a more sequestered authority that, in itself, did not grant much authority upon the Knights.
 * Knight-Exempts were traditionally not hereditary positions, but they could be, though in such cases, they often came with specific titles attached.
 * Chivalric Orders who bestow a Knighthood, bestow positions as "Knight-Exempts", and this does elevate a person into the lowest ranks of Nobility, but in reality, differs little from the concept of a hedge-knight, apart from the fact that these Knighthoods were seen as badges of honor.

Descendants of Knights
Knighthood was an entryway into the lowest echelons of Nobility, but only hereditary knighthoods ensured that this status persisted beyond the Knight in question, which brought about the Gentry Class of society.
 * The Gentry were people who were "trusted" members of society, not important enough to be considered nobility, but at least they had the trust of the local authority - enough so that they were trusted as soldiers and permitted to retain their Coat of Arms, though they were not allowed to wear it, they could display it on their house or on jewelry, etc.
 * Relatives of a Landed Knight were entirely regarded as nobility, at least for so many generations, the specifics of which depended on the rank of the Landed Knight. For more information on the specific ranks of Landed Knights, see Westerland Freeholders.

Knighthood in other Eras
Obviously the concept of Knighthood wasn't just one day universally established as a natural part of human existence. The concept had its fledgling beginning in the Pre-Imperial Era and later changed again and again.

Pre-Imperial Era Knights
Knights are defined by their cavalry culture, and seeing as the Imperial-Era saw the introduction of proper cavalry, there were no real examples of proper Knights in the Pre-Imperial Era, but the equivalent of Gendarmes from that period largely filled the role of Knights in society.

Imperial-Era Knighthood
Knights in the Imperial Era were cadets. Serving the military as cavalry, they would either return to their homes as competent soldiers after a few years of service, or become officers in the legions after their initial conscription ended.

Colonial-Era Knighthood
After the end of the Post-Imperial Era, Knighthood became considerably less important, and was mainly used as badges of honor, initiating a given person into an esoteric order of Knighhood. These Knightly Orders did typically exist before the Colonial Era began, but most of them were different prior to the Colonial Era, and became fraternities that had political sway and formed an elusive elite.