ES - Re: How does one become a knight

[willow l herbert]

>From HG, Master Jonathan DeLaufyson

I have been a belted fighter for the last 20 years.  In that time I have
encountered many confusing ideas about Knighthood and how one becomes a
Knight.  I have had a young man sneak off and whisper to me that he had
an ugly desire.  He wanted to be a Knight, but he did not want his
friends to know of this.

The 1st requirement is that you must attain an acceptable level of skill
in heavy fighting.  This level is not what you think it is, your friends
think or even what your knight thinks.  The belted fighters together make
this evaluation with the final decision belonging to the King.  To become
good at SCA fighting, one must work at it.  I like to use HG, Sir Inman,
as an example.  I can remember when he firstt joined the SCA.  I have
never seen a man either before or since who worked as hard as he did.  He
set out to learn and to attain a level of skill equal to the best in the
SCA.  You must work on your fighting not only at fighter practice but at
home by yourself.  You must travel and seek out the belted fighters and
learn from them.  You do not need to be a squire or a student, but you do
need a belted fighter you can talk to.  You need someone that you can
bounce ideas off of who can tell you that your great new attack does not
work and show you why.  I, at this time, would like to note that working
long and hard on tricks is a waste of time.  You must learn the basics
which make up the foundation of you technique.  You must stand right,
move right, block right and hit right.  Everything is a combination of
these four things.

The 2nd thing is, you must learn what it means to have been a Knight in
the middle-ages and what it means today.  What we strive for is the Ideal
of Chivalry.  Needless to say, few Knights in the middle-ages or in the
SCA live up to the Ideals of Chivalry because it is an ideal.  The only
perfect knights are those that have just been knighted and have not had a
chance to fail.  The clue is to strive for perfection.  It is important
that you read books on chivalry and Knights, and once again, talk to the
Knights about their view of chivalry.  Learn the  Code of Chivalry and 
then strive to live by it.  To be a Knight one must be proud.  It is
important to say that you want to be a Knight.  I would never take as
student one who would not say that he wanted to be a part of the
Chivalry.   There is nothing wrong with wanting to be a Knight and
letting others know that you wish to walk that path.  

We still believe that a Knight must be a well rounded person.  We believe
that a Knight must be a peer and a leader.  For many years I have teased
Knights of other kingdoms that most of their Knights would not be good
enough to be Ansteorrian Knights.  Then I tell them that their arts are
not good enough.  Over half of the belted circle have arts awards in this
kingdom.  The Ideal is not to have Knights that can only fight.

I am afraid I grow tired though I have much more to say.  If anyone would
like more information, please feel free to talk to me or e-mail me with
your questions.  I do not bite, except Knights.  My  e-mail address is
delaufyson at juno.com. 

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