Knight
Knights are an important part of the history and military structures of the kingdoms of Leanor. Being knighted is considered the greatest honour a soldier can achieve and is often the goal of young people who join the army. A knighthood can only be given by a King or another knight and is generally awarded for acts of great loyalty, bravery or sacrifice.
Theoretically, any person can be knighted, but mainly noble men have been annointed throughout history. It was and is uncommon for someone of low birth to be knighted, but it is not unheard of. With the exception of Eleonis, women can not be knighted. In all four leanorian kingdoms, members of their respective Royal Guards are required to be knights.
While there are honourable knighthoods that do not require any fighting or military involvement, this is extremely rare. In most cases, knights are skilled fighters and very loyal soldiers. A regular knighthood, so to speak, also requires daily fighting exercises. Knowledge of skills such as horseriding, penmanship and diplomacy is also generally expected from a knight.
People tend to think that knighthood is nothing but good pay, fancy armour and a life of comfort, but being a good knight, is hard work. In the case of most royal guards, it also means sacrificing any prospect of having a family and inheritance, as the vows forbid marriage, possession of lands and having children.
A person can be knighted by a King or Knight at any time, though a good reason is generally expected. Especially in cases of people who are not men of noble birth, other knights and soldiers will question the reasons for their knighthood.
This can make it difficult for people who had previously been close to the person who knighted them, as people will automatically assume preferential treatment or nepotism.
In three of four kingdoms, women cannot become knights, but even in Eleonis, where they can, noble men tend to scrutinize a woman's annointment in order to find any reason to dispute it.
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