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No more Knight Errants

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Worlder What? Since: Jan, 2001
What?
#1: Mar 1st 2011 at 4:57:40 PM

Basically the premise is that in during the early ages of this kingdom, there where plenty of knights serving nobility as well as freelance knights.

However as time went on due to changes in social structures and technology, all lines of knights more or less got consolidated into one unified organization of elite soldiers by the monarchy.

The story then becomes more or less about one of the few freelance knights still romping about and how the kingdom is putting pressure on these few to swear loyalty to the royal family.

breadloaf Since: Oct, 2010
#2: Mar 1st 2011 at 10:44:55 PM

A sort of "a man born in the wrong age" type story?

NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#3: Mar 2nd 2011 at 7:02:52 AM

A way I could see to accomplish this would be through the failure of the knights errants to replenish their numbers. Being a knight is a fairly dangerous job, and being a knight errant moreso, given that they don't have the dedicated support structure that a sedentary knight can. If new knights are trained by old knights (ie, squires serving knights eventually become knights themselves), then knight errants getting killed off means that their squires — if they even survive the event that killed their knight, which isn't a given — would be unable to continue their training. Depending on how far along they were, this would mean either that they fail to become a knight at all, or that they become a knight with less skill than their predesessor, since their training was cut short. By contrast, squires whose sedentary knights are killed can be "adopted" by other sedentary knights in the same area.

So unless there's some tremendous advantage to being a knight errant, they'd slowly dwindle as they found themselves unable to replace their numbers. They probably wouldn't ever go away entirely (sedentary knights would occasionally be pushed into becoming knight errants for one reason or another) but they would likely cease to be an important force in the setting.

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
Worlder What? Since: Jan, 2001
What?
#4: Mar 2nd 2011 at 9:30:52 AM

To clarify it is more like the closing of a frontier.

Like how the mythology surrounding the cowboy was of rugged independence and self reliance. Then as a time went on they just became wage workers for big companies that owned ranches.

Similarity the story of this character is that he is still freelances despite the obvious benefits (logistics, salary, titles of nobility...) of join the kingdom's circle of knights. He refuses to submit because he doesn't want to become just another soldier (only distinguished by wealth).

breadloaf Since: Oct, 2010
#5: Mar 2nd 2011 at 11:00:21 AM

So perhaps it's a story what he can do as a freelance knight that the imperial knights cannot.

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#6: Mar 4th 2011 at 11:44:05 PM

Weren't errant knights historically the younger children of the nobility, given arms/supplies/money and sent out to earn honor and fortune?  *

If you're looking to close off that line of 'work' for them, the simplest way is probably present them with a better reason to keep the younger sons at home than send them off to go erranting.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
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