KoRT (Knights of the
 

Caballarius – chivalry

"Justice consists not in being neutral between right and wrong, but finding out the right and upholding it, wherever found, against the wrong." Theodore Roosevelt

Arthur sat at the writing table, the thoughts of how future knights of court would act, filtered through his mind. He smiled as he thought of Bors, the vulgar, loud knight. Ah yes, his champion. Then he thought of Galahad… quiet, reserved, yet he was an excellent fighter. And Tristan, quiet… mysterious… a loner. These were his knights; but were they what the future required?

Caballarius, the latin for horseman… That is what he wrote at the top of his paper. In fact, all his knights were horsemen. What better way to begin? To take the best, and the worst of them as guides… (note: caballarius will be used instead of chivalry). And under the title, he made three major areas.… and beneath those, he wrote:

Duties to countrymen… As he wrote that, he wanted the phrase to contain virtues… such as courage, valor, mercy, fairness, protection of the weak and the poor, and in the servant-hood of the knight to his King. This also brings with it the idea of being willing to give one’s life for another’s; whether he would be giving his life for a poor man or his lord. He smiled satisfied, because all his knights would gladly give their lives for one another… and in fact, had protected the lesser from the stronger.

• To serve the liege lord in valor and faith
• To protect the weak and defenseless
• To refrain from the wanton giving of offence
• To live by honour and for glory
• To guard the honour of fellow knights
• To obey those placed in authority
• To fight for the welfare of all
• To shun unfairness, meanness and deceit
• At all times to speak the truth
• To persevere to the end in any enterprise begun
• Never to refuse a challenge from an equal
• Never to turn the back upon a foe

Duties to God… The feather was redipped in the ink… and as it scribbled his thoughts on the coarse paper , he quirked his head. He knew this would be a bit more difficult, as many were considered pagans by the Church in Rome. He knew Pelagius, if he were still alive, would be proud of him. Under this heading, he wrote… Being faithful to God; Protecting the innocent; Being faithful to the Church; Being the champion of good against evil; Being generous; and Obeying God above the King. 

• To fear God and maintain His Church
• To give help to widows and orphans
• To despise pecuniary reward
• To keep faith 

Duties to women… In this he had to chuckle, remembering Lancelot and Gawain’s frivolous ways with the females of the camps. But Arthur knew that with Britannia’s growth, a place needed to be safe for both women and children. So, the idea that the knight is to serve a lady, and after her all other ladies, was written as the third heading.
• To respect the honor of women

And under the three headings, he made a note – “Knights should have not only prowess in war, skill on horseback, dexterity with sword, lance, and bow, but with devotion and reverence, courtesy, the gift of persuasive, powerful expression, and eventually knowledgeable in the art of poetry.”

He laid the quill down and sat back in the chair, pulling the document up near his face and blew the ink dry. Laying it down, he looked it over. “The first of several moves toward a better land…”