Knights are people given a specific martial position after proving themselves to be capable warriors. As a member of the warrior tradition interwoven in the Andal culture and religion of the Faith of the Seven, a knight claims the title of Ser and elevates from the position of being a smallfolk. Unlike nobility, knighthood gains its prestigiousness from being a position that is not hereditary. However, it is lower than the rank of a Lord. Throughout Westeros’s history, there have been many incredible knights who have shown remarkable bravery and skill. Some include Ser Barristan Selmy, Ser Duncan the Tall, Ser Arthur Dayne, Ser Gregor Clegane, and Ser Jaime Lannister.
Though there is societal pressure to ensure that no one abuses their position to create unworthy knights, many men bribe and force their way into knighthood. Some lords also make their unworthy children knights, even though it leads to their ridicule.
Appearance
Though the concept of knighthood is from European tradition, the appearance of knights in A Song of Ice and Fire does not resemble any specific era in history. Knights from different regions in Westeros dress differently, with those from the Reach favoring plate armor more than those from the North, who use mail. They also wear helmets of different shapes, sizes, and colors. Some wear halfhelms, while others use fully customized greathelms.
Most knights have coat-of-arms on their shields. Those from noble families usually wear the sigil of their houses. However, some add slight variations, like Loras and Garlan Tyrell, who use three and two roses to signify their birth positions in the family. Some from noble families use a different sigil from that of their house, like Ser Brynden Tully, who uses a black trout.
Getting armor and a sword can be expensive, as even a plain kit could cost almost four gold dragons.
Status
Unlike nobility, any man can become a knight if he meets the requirements. Knighthood is a martial position that involves fighting. Hence, weak men can never become knights, no matter their nobility. However, sometimes, some lords make their sons knights even though they are unfit for the position; this leads to people ridiculing them. Though becoming a knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a prestigious position, the position is more prestigious if a Prince, King, member of the kingsguard, or legendary soldier gives them knighthood.
Though lords have a higher social rank than knights, some landed knights have more power than lords; these soldiers most times have more possessions and land than lesser-known lords. The majority of wealthy landed knights come from ancient houses.
A lordly house can also be reduced to the position of landed knights by a King as punishment. A prime example of this occurrence is when King Robert Baratheon demoted House Connignton for supporting King Aerys Targaryen during Robert’s Rebellion. A person can also be stripped of their knighthood by a royal decree or an attainder.
At the height of the Faith of the Seven’s power, the Warrior Sons was the pristine branch of the Faith Militant. It comprised knights who had given up all their possessions in service of the Faith. The group was later outlawed.
Path to Knighthood
Pages and Squires
Most boys of nobility can serve as pages and squires before getting knighted. Pages are the lowest level one can start from, and most boys in this group are between ages six and seven. Most lords send their sons to be fostered at another castle as a page to help them build their strength and independence. Some travel to the Night’s Watch. Sometimes, a page can be eight, as in the case of Ser Kevan Lannister.
After some years of being a page, most boys will become squires. There is no specific age range for becoming a squire, so it varies greatly. However, age ten seems to be the most popular age for the position as many men, including Aegon V Targaryen, Rollam Westerling, and Doran Martell, were in the position at that age. Some exceptions include Ser BArristan Selmy and Eric Dayne, who were squires at nine.
Squires and pages train at arms, but squires do more work, like tending to their master’s animals, helping with his armor, and cleaning his mail. They also follow their master to war and help with fighting. At tourneys, squires provide their masters with a fresh supply of lances and swords.
Knighthood
Making a boy a knight mostly coincides with his coming of age. At the time of Prince Maegor Targaryen’s knighting, he was the youngest person knighted in the Seven Kingdoms, at sixteen. Other men who received the position at the same age include Kevan Lannister, Prince Aerys Targaryen, Daemon Targaryen, and Barristan Selmy.
Some exceptional fighters have become knighted at a younger age, including Prince Daeron Targaryen, Jaime Lannister, and Loras Tyrell, who received the position at age fifteen. It is rare for a boy to get knighted. However, Daemon Blackfyre received a knighthood at twelve from King Aegon IV Targaryen.
Becoming Knights
Most squires get knighted after coming of age. However, in some rare instances, a person can be knighted for having exceptional skill. A young boy can become a knight while dying on the battlefield. Others can also ask for knighthood before being executed. Sometimes, knighthood can be political, as in the case of Laenor Velaryon, who got knighted because he was to marry Rhaenyra Targaryen, the Princess of Dragonstone and heir of King Viserys I Targaryen.
Though becoming a knight relies on skill and bravery, many people use shady means to get the position; these include bribery and threats. During the Dance of the Dragons, Perkin the Flea knighted many unworthy men to increase the fighting number of Trystane Truefyre’s army.
Ceremony
Becoming a knight is a partially religious ceremony that involves a candidate standing a vigil in a sept. He will perform a ritual of placing his sword and armor before the statue of the Warrior. Some walk barefooted to the sept to show their humble hearts. It is unnecessary to follow the religious route as some men get knighted when their dubber places his sword on their right shoulder and says:
In the name of the Warrior I charge you to be brave. In the name of the Father, I charge you to be just. In the name of the Mother I charge you to defend the young and innocent. In the name of the Maid, I charge you to protect all women.
A less formal route involves the dubber laying his sword on the knight-to-be’s right shoulder and saying:
[Knight-To-Be], do you swear before the eyes of gods and men to defend those who cannot defend themselves, to protect all women and children, to obey your captains, your liege lord, and your King, to fight bravelyn when needed and do other tasks as are laid upon you, however hard or humble or dangerous they may be?
After the person confirms he will do all stated, the dubber places his sword on the newly-made knight’s shoulder and orders them to rise.
Things Preventing Knighthood
The most prominent hindrance to becoming a knight is disability. As knighthood is a martial position, boys and men with a physical disability can never receive knighthood. People like Bran Star, Willas Tyrell, and Mollander could never become knights because they could not use a part of their bodies. Sometimes, an internal condition, like a traumatic head injury, can prevent a person from becoming a knight; this is not the case with Ser Gregor Clegane, who takes large amounts of Milk of the Poppy to ease his headaches. Other conditions that will result in disqualification include obesity and a lack of skill in martial arts.
Some skilled fighters refuse knighthood for personal reasons. Some include Sandor Clegane, an exceptional fighter who refused to become a knight. Though he lacked the position, Sandor became a member of the kingsguard.
Another crucial inhibitor to becoming a knight is gender. A woman can never become a knight as the position is for men, and though some female warriors, like Brienne of Tarth, are remarkably skilled, they are not knights.
Types of Knights
- Landed Knights are knights with a keep and land. They can sometimes be wealthier than some lords, but they do not have the power to deliver law and justice.
- Hedge Knights are knights known for sleeping in hedges. They ride from keep to keep serving multiple lords for a short time. Hedge knights have a terrible reputation.
- Household Knights are those who have entered the service of a lord.
- Knights Inquisitors are agents of the Iron Throne tasked with investigating threats and punishing criminals.
- A true knight is a courageous knight who upholds all the qualities of knighthood.
Relevance in Adaptations
In HBO’s Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, knights were crucial to the political balance of Westeros.
In Game of Thrones, Stannis Baratheon makes Ser Davos Seaworth the Hand of the King after he proves himself worthy. In Essos, Ser Jorah Mormont serves Daenerys Targaryen faithfully until she discovers he is an informant to the Iron Throne. When Barristant Selmy resigned from being the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, he traveled to Essos and became one of Daenerys’s trusted warriors. However, he died protecting the Queen.
In the prequel series, House of the Dragon, the knight Ser Criston Cole joins Queen Alicent Hightower’s cause to make her son King of the Seven Kingdoms. However, it sparks conflict between the blacks, led by Rhaenyra and Alicent’s greens.
Future Adaptation
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight is a show HBO has in the works. It will follow the lives of George R. R. Martin’s characters in his short stories collection, the Tales of Dunk and Egg. With executive producers Ryan Condal, Ira Parker, and Vince Gerardis, the show will follow the life of the knight Ser Duncan and his diminutive squire Egg, future King Aegon V Targaryen, as they go on dangerous exploits in an age where the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed.
Knights: The Warriors of the Seven Kingdoms
Though knights swore to protect the weak from harm, they became the greatest threat to the innocent. They were murderers, rapists, killers, and corrupt. Like most warriors, they took vows but never fulfilled them. The few knights who tried following the code became scum, like Jaime Lannister. He killed King Aerys, an evil ruler and husband, but no one saw his deed as good. Everyone hated him and nicknamed him the Kingslayer.
