The Paladin, Who Am I?
The following has been taken from many sources,
and altered in places for understanding or use within the Realms.
Rather then state what you should or should not do, I have looked
and listed core issues of a Knights life and allow people to form
thier own idea's, instead of listing all that is honorable, chivalrous
and so forth I hope that people will be able to look at this and
see what the correct path is.
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| Paladin
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Any of the Twelve Peers of Charlemagne's
court, of whom the Count Palatine was the chief; Knight
Errant; Champion
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Within the realms the Paladin is seen as a Holy Warrior and Knight,
with titles starting with Squire, moving up to Sir and on so forth.
They are the Champions of Justice and Honor, fighting for Light
against the Dark, their Soul one of the most important things
to them, to keep it clean, acts of Dishonor tarnish their Soul
and in turn lesson their power.
I am a Paladin, and often find that I am unsure
how to act, with this in mind I decided to find out how a Paladin
acts and to share this information in this place for others who
choose to follow the path.
There are many who claim the title Paladin, yet act as a Barbarian.
It is my hope that this will help those who choose the life of
a Paladin, act as a Paladin.
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| Knight : |
Military follower, especially one devoted
to the service of a lady as a attendant or champion in war
or tournament
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| Champion : |
Person who fights or argues etc. for another
or for a cause.
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| Knight Errant : |
Medieval Knight in search
of chivalrous adventure, person of chivalrous or quixotic
spirit
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Quixote
: |
Enthusicastic
visonary, pursuer of lofty but impractable ideals, persons
utterly reguardless of his material interests in comparison
with Honor or Devotion. Hence Quixotic.
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The Knight followed the Code of Chivalry. Chivalry was the dream
of the Middle Ages which, saw the Knight as the champion of the
downtrodden or oppressed, expressed a genuine desire for the betterment
of the human (or in the realms any race) state. A Knight was to
be Chivalrous at all times.
The Knight was seen as receiving his commission from God, or
Goddess, taking his Sword from the altar and kept vigil in a church.
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| Chivalrous : |
The ideal Knight, gallant, honorable, courteous, disinterested;
Quixotic
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| Chivalry
: |
Medieval Knightly system, with its Religious, Moral and
Social code; Ideal Knights characteristics; Devotion to
the service of a woman; Inclination to defend the weaker
party; Elite of a Nations soldiers.
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Against the idea of Spiritual Chivalry was set that of Armour
Courtise, or Courtly Love. Knights where instructed to devote
themselves solely and utterly to a single lady, irrespective of
whether she was already married or returned their amorous desires,
at its worst this was an excuse for adultery, yet at its best
it furthered a new respect, almost becoming idolatry, for women.
What this was about was the proper way of approaching or addressing
the lady or gentleman of choice.
Of course this must be tempered with Honor.
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Honor
: |
High Respect; Glory; Reputation;
Good Name; Nobleness of Mind; Allegiance to what is right
or to conventional standards of conduct.
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These are the ideals that a Knight lived by, one who dishonored
himself would be seen as though he was a fallen Knight, within
the realms to act without honor in key circumstances tarnishes
the Soul, to kill another citizen, to act cowardly etc., were
as to act with honor, healing the sick, paying tithes etc one
keeps the Soul clean, a clean soul means your God or Goddess empowers
you more.
Paladins are not unlike Templars, Knights who gave up their land
and joined a religious order headed by the Master, which could
be called the military arm of the Church. Life for a Templar was
excedenly hard, if they wished to stay in the land this side of
the sea, they were sent to the other and so forth. They are the
typical image of the Knights who lead the Holy Crusades throughout
the Holy Land wearing the white tabard with a red cross.
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