Noble Class

The nobility is the upper class. Nobles are the leaders and warriors of society. They do not work for their own maintenance, but acquire the food and goods of their life from others. However, within this class not all persons are equal. Two distinct divisions exist, commonly called the higher and lower nobility. The lower nobility are the knights. The higher nobility are called lords. Lords include all knights who have their own vassals, and includes all hereditary landholders. Lords are also knights, of course, but are usually referred to by their higher rank. This division is common among most feudal cultures. In English, the terms for higher and lower nobility are lords (higher) and gentry (lower in French, they are barons and chevaliers; in German, Herren and Ritter; and in Spanish, grandes and hidalgos. Further, within the category of lord are several ranks of noblemen. Among the British, these are ranged from lowest to highest as follows: banneret, baron, earl, duke, king. The knights’ primary responsibility is to serve as the military force for their lord. They have many privileges and freedoms, which are not available to the lower classes, gained in exchange for the pledge to die, if necessary, for their lord. Knights fill the most advantaged class, and thus have the greatest freedom and most privileges of anyone else in the game. King Arthur Pendragon concerns itself primarily with this class of men.