The Knights of Numenor

Knights serve as the leaders of Numenor. Decisions are made by a knight’s council. Knights do not have ranks, but tend to defer to seniority.

The Knights of Numenor Lineage

For the most recent lineage visit the Knights of Numenor on the Belegarth Wiki

Squires

Each knight will assign tasks to their squires, so requirements vary from knight to knight.

Listed below are some common tasks-

  1. Defeat all active knights in the realm.

    Challenges of inactive knights are optional (but highly encouraged). The manner of combat is chosen by the knight, as well as how many fights there will be. These challenges must be supervised by another knight of Numenor.

  2. Realm administration.

    A squire must take part in some aspect of realm administration. Their actions are auxiliary to the deciding body of Numenor, the KoN council.

  3. Event service.

    While it is less common in Numenor (due to the total experience of its members) for a squire to serve as an autocrat for a major event, event service is crucial to knighting. Key events for Numenor are Octoberfest, Fall/Spring Openers, and UIUC Quad Day. It is helpful, and encouraged to offer assistance to other realms running major events.

  4. Field combat and presence.

    A squire of Numenor should be able to command the field of Numenor on the battlefield and/or present an effective fighting presence on the field.

  5. Scholarly Work.

    Some knights require that their squire write some kind of essay about knighthood, compile a history of the realm, or write a how-to document on event planning, fighting, weapon building, etc.

Retainers

By invitation of a knight, a layman fighter may become a knight's retainer. A retainer is a position ranking below that of squire but above a common citizen.

Their roles vary from knight to knight but include some of the following.

  1. Simple wearing of the knights colors, and act as the knight's representative on the field.
  2. Guarding the knight from would be killers. (This may be helpful for those knights who take many retainers)
  3. Preparing to walk the squire's path by performing a limited amount of squirely tasks.
  4. Act as a "sub-squire" to a knight's squire. Ideally this helps in training that squire in how to one day take squires of their own.
  5. A knight may wish to foster a new fighter's fighting career by closely monitoring their progress.
  6. Lives on the knights "lands", which means that the knight sees to it that their retainer is well-outfitted on the field. The retainer returns that service by assisting the knight in realm administration, event coordination, realm training, etc.

The end goal of being a retainer is 3 fold

  1. To prepare the retainer for squireship; either by their knight or another KoN.
  2. To assist a phenomenal fighter in maturing their skills in Numenor, as well as their outlook on service, leadership, etc.
  3. To act as a guide for those who would start a unit and need a sponsor.

When the practice of having retainers was first started, a knight was allowed two retainers automatically, and then an additional retainer for every year of service. Knights were allowed to have retainers once released from service to the company and given their own lands. This was usually after a year of serving as a division (Sword, Axe, Bow) leader in Valdemar.

The Knights of Numenor banner 10/26/08