"UnKnightly Conduct"OOC WARNING - The opinions expressed are solely those of Areleth Duvalier, and not necessarily those of Camelot, the Round Table, the Council, Lord Exegete, his Web Page, AOL, NWN, TSR, or any other entity on, in, or around, the planet earth, it's galaxy, in this plane of existence. Also, these opinions may or may not be those of Pete, Areleth's player, so don't lynch me if you see me outside the game.) Of late it has come to my attention of several Knights, Squires, and Pages acting in an "UnKnightly" fashion. I however do not think the problem stems from acting in an "Unknightly" fashion, but an "UnKORTly" fashion, there is a huge difference between the two. Allow me to explain... First off, What is a Knight? Quite simply, a Knight is a Warrior (Typically mounted and armored), who swears an oath of fealty to a Lord, Lady, or in our case, a Cause. Once that's done and you go through training, someone thwaps you with a sword and says a few words, then poof, you are a Knight. Pretty easy eh? The reasons why a Warrior would swear an oath to the various Lords/Ladies/Causes are as varied as the stars. Some do it for money, some land, some power, and some like us, do it out of the goodness of our hearts. I must admit though I do get a big kick out of my Title. Secondly, How does one act like a Knight? Even easier! Just
follow Areleth's rule of thumb on how to act like a Knight:
A long while back, several Knights, with nothing better to do, got together and came up with a code of conduct called the code of Chivalry. They figured Knights should be a cut-above normal soldiers. They said a Knight should be honorable, humble and courteous to Ladies. (Notice I said to Ladies, yes these were a bunch of gender-centric Non-PC males. Who can blame them? While they had lots of Ladies around, not too many of them had the righteous right-hook of today's modern middle-ages KORT Lady.) A little later the church felt left out so they added Spirituality to the mix. Note however that the number of Knights who actually followed the code of Chivalry was pretty slim. Then came the Round Table. Our founding Fathers figured we should be a cut-above the cut-above. They refined and added too the code of Chivalry and came up with the Code we use today and it's seven virtues: Fealty, Spirituality, Courtesy, Honesty, Valor, Honor, and Humility. I won't go through each of them, but if you need a refresher course, Lord Exegete has kindly posted them in another section. This is the code of conduct that we as Knights OF THE ROUND TABLE are supposed to follow. I think there is some confusion on a few points of what this code does and does not cover, as well as how far we should follow it.
Quick Quiz: You are
defending Camelot against an evil army. In a fight with an Evil Knight, you are
out of spells and you drop your sword. What do you do? If you answered A you loose. He just ripped your heart out, and razed Camelot, killing all within. If you answered B, you win Camelot is saved. I know, that sounds horrible, but there is a time and place for everything. We are human, we make mistakes, we are fallible. Don't judge people too harshly and remember that the code is a guideline, not the end-all, be-all of KORT.
Speaking directly to the Squires and Pages. You ask, "Sir Areleth? If you are not required to respect your fellow Knights, why should we respect the Knights? Why should we call you Sir or Lady? Why should we bow or curtsy? Why should we even follow your orders?" Very good questions!! -Slaps all the Squires and Pages on the backs for asking such astute and intelligent questions and places a gold star on each of their foreheads- You are not going to like the answer I have for you very much I'm afraid. Simply put, because we Knights said so. "What??" you ask, "because you said so??? What kind of answer is that?". I shall elaborate. Once upon a time in Camelot there was a Page by the name of Areleth. Yes I too was a Page, then a Squire, then a Knight, now a Knight-Errant. As a Page I cleaned the stables and crossed the realms a thousand times on errands. My liege and mentor worked my fingers to the bone as a Squire. I did all the things that you now do. Like you, I questioned my Knights. I wondered why I should be sent on some stupid mission to collect the names of all the weapons shops in the land, when I could be out destroying the evil rot in neverwinter. I realized one thing however, so had they!! Just as I toiled they had toiled. Just as I learned, they had learned. Just as I struggled, they had struggled. Just as I questioned they had questioned. Soon I would make it to the Round Table, but until then, they had travelled a very difficult road to get where they are, and for that, they had my respect. It was a very hard pill to swallow for me as a Page and Squire to learn that I was not a member of KORT. I was on "probation" and until they carved my name into that chair at the Round Table, I would not be a member. Once as a Squire, I disagreed with a decision the council had made on some questionable activities. I along with several other Squires and Pages were pretty P.O.'d about it. There was even talk of quitting. Some did. I however pulled my Knight aside and in private told him how I felt. He said he understood, but tough. If I didn't like it I could leave. No one was forcing me to stay in Camelot. That irked me even more. I felt left out and hurt. Should I have felt that way? As a normal Human yes. But I thought about it. What had I done to earn the right to question my superiors? What had I done to earn the right to help decide the course of KORT? The Knights had already paid the dues to earn that right. I, as a Squire, was still paying. Soon enough you will have paid the dues to sit at the Round Table, and I shall welcome thee all as Brother and Sister! BUT until that great day comes (I do love a good Knighting), when a Knight says jump, you say "how high?"!! If any of you Pages and Squires have any questions on this, or anything else for that matter, do feel free to pull myself or another Knight aside and ask away. We will try to answer better than "tough", but no guarantees. :) Areleth Duvalier |
If it threatens your
Lord/Lady/Cause, Kill it.
A) Ask him if by the rules of Chivalry you may pick up your
