Knight, SCA

The rank in the Society for Creative Anachronism where those recognized are to have distinguished themselves in martial combat and possess the qualities expected of a nobleman. Without doubt the rank of knighthood is an honor of the highest level for those who attain it, usually won after an average of three to ten years of martial experience and much growth in the character of the individual. It is often recognized not as an ending, but as the start of a lifelong journey for excellence, the recognition by the other knights in a kingdom that the individual has a good base from which to learn, grow, and teach. In most kingdoms, the knights meet and recommend candidates to the king, who listens to their counsel and makes the final decision as to who has attained the necessary support and renown to be accorded the accolade. It is then the king who performs the knighting, with great ceremony, either at an SCA court or upon the battlefield. It ranks equally with the Order of the Laurel and the Order of the Pelican, but below a Baron, Viscount, or other higher nobility.