Our Charter

Members must have a desire to live by a code of conduct that is defined by Chivalry. Members must be dedicated to pursuing the chivalric fighting arts as close to the original sources as possible. 

Personal freedom and responsibility are highly valued by the Company, and as such the Company does not seek to restrict its members, except to ensure they do not act in a manner that is in conflict with the Company’s ideals.

New candidates must be squired by a Knight of the Company, and must have been known by the Company for at least a year’s time. A vote will be held among the current members before a new member will be added and their accolade awarded.

New candidates must have participated and conducted themselves well in a deed of arms, under the observation of the sponsoring Knight and at least one additional Knight of the Company before consideration will be given.

New candidates must be honorable, drawn to the knightly arts by a force within themselves. They must have a desire for self-improvement, for growth in the art, and for knowledge of history.

A candidate must also show a dedicated interest in the Order and its activities. They will be expected to understand what the Company is about, and what its ideals are.

To be knighted, a candidate must have heraldry, soft kit, and a full harness that is contemporary to the time period and region that the company focuses on.

Persons who do not yet possess a full kit but show dedication to the art can be taken on as a squire to a Knight of the Order, it becomes that Knights duty to train in the art, and assist the prospective member in choosing and acquiring a correct harness and soft kit.

The minimum age to be knighted is 18 years of age. 

A membership fee may be required to help cover costs of the accolade ceremony, and other costs (to be considered and voted on at a later date).

 Members who do not live up to the Company’s ideals, whose actions reflect badly on the Company, can be voted out and removed.

Members may also resign at any time, or request to be made temporarily “inactive”. Inactive members do not vote, but may return at a time of their choosing. The Captain can also place members into inactive status if they have been unreachable for some time or have shown no interest in participating in votes.

Members who are inactive for 6 months or more without being voluntarily inactive will be automatically considered for removal from the Company by vote. 

Voluntary Inactivation does not mean the member is kicked out, or barred from participation, or anything of the sort. It merely means they will be removed from the voting totals, and will be sorted to the bottom of the roster. The member may ask to be reactivated at any time. Voluntary inactivity may be done for personal, medical, or reasons uncontrollable by the member. Voluntary inactivity must be requested and acknowledged to avoid a removal vote.

Member Knights should adhere to martial standards and rules of the current version of the Dekoven Concord or other conventions of combat as necessary.

• Squire: A prospective member that does not yet meet the requirements to join the Company and receive the accolade. A sponsoring Knight of the Company is required and responsible for aiding in their training and assisting in choosing appropriate heraldry, soft kit, and harness. Squires will be allowed to wear a supporting badge of the Company.

• Esquire: Knightable candidate who has not received the accolade or chooses not to at this time. 

• Knight Errant: A member of the Company that has been knighted, but has not taken a squire. Full voting rights.

• Knight Bachelor: Established member of the Company. The Knight Bachelor will have taken at least one squire to mentor. 

• Knight Banneret: A knight who has mentored at least two squires to Knighthood within the Company.

• Sergeant: A fighting member of the Company not pursuing knighthood or is training with the Company pending the availability of a knight to take a squire.

• Attendants: Unofficial members not granted any title or voting rights within the Company, but recognized for their contributions. May wear a lozenge of the Company insignia

• Captain: The Captain is the highest position in the Company. It is an elected position. Duties of the Captain include membership on the Review Board, handling tied votes (Captain vote is doubled in the event of a tie), and in most cases, handling arrangements for Company demonstrations

A prospective member (or “applicant”) will need two sponsors in the Company to join. One of the sponsors will act on the applicant’s behalf, and assemble a petition for the applicant, which will be made available to the active Knights where it will be discussed and voted on, requiring a 2/3 majority to pass (with the understanding that if a full third of the voting members have a problem with the applicant, that’s a good sign that there’s a problem). The voting period is between 7 and 14 days (discretion at the start of the vote), and those who fail to participate in the vote during this time are considered abstentions that do not count toward the voting total. A minimum of 1/3 of the eligible voters must participate, or else the vote cannot pass. If it fails due to lack of participation, a second vote will be held by the Review Board, also requiring a 2/3 majority to pass.

In the event that the applicant is rejected, they must wait at least 30 days before applying again. If the vote succeeds, the applicant will be added to the roster and scheduled to receive the Accolade ceremony.

 Requirements:

• Outward display of dedication to the art, staying true to sources. Possessing the start of a harness, and soft-kit that is contemporary to the region and date of the harness they are building.
• Must be 15 years of age or older 
• Sponsorship from a Knight of the Company. There is no minimum or maximum time limit on the Squire. Squires must simply show dedication to the art, show personal improvement, working a harness and soft kit fitting for a Knight. They must also participate in a deed of arms and conduct themselves in a manner that reflects well on the Company. This must be witnessed by their sponsor Knight and an additional Knight of the Company. After the completion of their kit and the witnessed deed, a vote to award their Accolade ceremony will be held.
• Squires must submit custom heraldry for the roll of arms. Personal arms must be sufficiently different from existing arms in the Company, and may be updated as needed. Arms may be updated at the discretion of the member, within reason. The Captain, or a designated Herald, will have final discretion.

 Requirements:

• Learn about the Company and its ideals
• Embraced the path of the Chivalric Arts, and the path of Chivalry 
• Complete armor kit appropriate to a knight within the medieval period (1350-1485)
• Participate in a Deed of Arms and conduct themselves in a manner that reflects well on the Order, and shows the proper use of the art.
• Three Knights to perform the accolade (can be the 3 sponsor Knights)
• Approval from the Captain
• Once a Squire has progressed beyond the introductory period and has learned about the Order and its ideals, and is satisfied that he or she wishes to continue, and has looked inside and decided that the time has come, and has met the requirements outlined above, the Squire can seek to be knighted.
• Must attend regular classes of the knightly arts including harness practices.
• Must attend meetings of the Company as possible.
• Must be available to cast votes on matters pertinent to the Company.

 Requirements:

• Learn about the Company and its ideals.
• Embrace the Pursuit of Knightly Arts and period historical combat.
• Complete a partial harness suitable for “Squire’s Lists” and Melee combat to support the knights of the Company.
• Attend regular training of the Company.
• Has priority to be taken as a Squire over outside applicants.