Order of Paladins
Lesson : 10
Knighthood
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Hint:
 Refer to the notes
pages in this
Power Point
presentation for
more in-depth
information on the
subject of each
slide.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Warrior’s Admonition
Your body is your temple: Care for it!
Do not engage in useless activity.
Listen to the Goddess.
Help thyself.
You create your own reality.
The Warrior’s path is creativity.
A serene path to enlightenment.
Know thyself.
Master thyself.
Create your own reality.
Nurture the ability to perceive the truth in all matters.
Perceive that which cannot be seen with the eye.
Learn from your mistakes.
Teach thyself.
Create your own reality.
Do not be negligent, even in trifling matters
Grace and guilt do not exist:
Strive for responsibility.
Honor thyself.
Create your own reality.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
13 Precepts:
1. Know thyself.
2. Nurture the ability to perceive the truth in all matters.
3. You create your own reality.
4. Develop a sense of Right Action.
5. Do not be negligent, even in trifling matters.
6. Your body is your temple: Care for it!
7. Minimal appearance, maximum content.
8. Perceive that which cannot be seen with the eye.
9. Power with.
10. Who dares wins.
11. The Gods cannot help those who will not help themselves.
12. Be creative!
13. Do not engage in useless activity.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Code of Chivalry:
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All members of the Order of Paladins must live according to the principles of
chivalry, which include:
Sincerity.
Courtesy.
Compassion.
Perseverance.
Industriousness.
Justice.
Loyalty.
Courage.
Self-Discipline.
Humility.
Largesse.
Truth.
Honor
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Knighthood
 This lesson is about
the principles of
Knighthood that form
the foundation of the
Order of Paladins
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Knight
The English term “knight” is derived from
the Old English cniht (“boy”, “servant”,
“page”, cf. German “knecht”). The
German term for a knight is “ritter”
(“rider”). In the Middle Ages the Latin
term for knight was “miles”, though the
Latin term “eques” was often used
instead in more modern times.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
History
Knighthood, which emerged in the 11th century, was
originally a professional association. It included those
men who could afford to make and maintain the heavy
capital investment required by mounted warfare (horse
and armor). Its members included nobles and landholders (large and small), free men, and craftsmen.
Even in the feudal era anyone who, by luck or effort,
managed to obtain the training and equipment to be a
knight, could eventually enter that class. For example,
in Flanders, there is a famous case of a family of serfs
who entered into knighthood and became castellans in
the 12th century.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
History 2
Thus, in the beginning, knights were not necessarily nobles, nor
were nobles necessarily knights. The nobility and knighthood
slowly merged from the late 12th century onward. Nobles became
knights with increasing frequency. From the 13th century onwards
heredity became increasingly important as the sons of knights
took up their father’s profession of arms. Thus knight’s sons
became squires and led to an emphasis on ancestry as a
qualification for knighthood. Legal restrictions were imposed: For
example, in the late 13th century, a decision of the Parliament in
Paris forbade the count of Artois from making villeins or serfs into
knights without the king's consent. Those who had achieved
knighthood without these qualifications were fined, which actually
led to some people accessing the knighthood by purchasing the
title.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Female Knights
There is ample historical evidence to
show that women were knights too.
The example that is probably going
to spring into most people’s minds is
Jeanne d’Arc, although there is
actually no evidence that she had
such a title. However Jeanne’s
family was made noble, with nobility
transmissible through women, which
was quite unusual. Jeanne d’Arc did
ride a horse and dress up in armor,
but she did not wield a sword and
never killed anyone. She carried a
banner, not a sword.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Image from
Shieldmaiden site:
Lady Dagrny,
Shieldmaiden of
Wolfslair
http://ladydawn.rens
pace.com/
Order of the Hatchet
One example of female knights is the Order of the
Hatchet (Orden de la Hacha) in Catalonia, founded in
1149 by Raymond Berenger, count of Barcelona, to
honor the women who fought for the defense of the
town of Tortosa against a Moor attack. The Moors had
laid seige to the town in December 1149. On
December 31 the women of this town donned male
clothing and surged to the attack, raising the siege.
The dames admitted to the order received many
privileges, including exemption from all taxes, and took
precedence over men in public assemblies.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Military Monastic Orders
In the 12th century the strong influence of Cluny monks
lead to the development of military monastic orders.
This introduced an element of chivalry (at least in
theory) to knighthood, just as Bushido became the
ethos of the Samurai. During the Crusades knights
formed professional associations with strict, quasimonastic lifestyles and institutionalized structures
defined by statutes and managed by officers. Their
goals included the sanctification of their members
through their devotional and charitable activities, the
protection of pilgrims as well as defensive or offensive
military operations.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Original Military Monastic orders:
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The earliest military monastic orders of chivalry
in Western society were:
Order of Saint-John ca. 1080
The Templars ca. 1119
The Avis in 1143
The Alcantara in 1156
The Calatrava in 1158
The Santiago in 1168
The Teutonic Knights ca. 1190.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
The Order of Saint Thomas of
Acre
This order was originally founded as a purely religious
order in in Acre in 1190, probably by my ancestor,
Richard Lionheart. It was devoted to Saint Thomas
Becket. In 1228, Peter des Roches, bishop of
Westminster, reorganized the order into a military
monastic order on the model of the Teutonic Order.
The order did not play a major military role, and after
the fall of Acre in 1291 it retired to Cyprus. Sometime in
the 1370s the order was moved to its London house.
There it survived as a mainly hospitaller order until it
was dissolved along with other orders in 1540.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Revival of the Templars
Legends emerged in the 18th century alleging that the
Templars had survived as an order. Stories circulated
claiming that Jacques de Molay, on his way to the
stake, had appointed someone as his successor and
entrusted him with perpetuating the Order in secrecy.
That successor is variously named as the preceptor of
Auvergne (who fled to England but died there in jail) or
an English knight. The successor is said to have gone
to England or Scotland and found refuge among the
freemasons, who were just coming into being at that
time. Knights Templars became a grade in some
forms of freemasonry in the mid-18th century, and an
offshoot of that grade became an order in the US and
Canada in the late 19th century.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Revival of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint-John of
Jerusalem
The current Order of St. John started as a
19th century revival of a defunct
organization, the English branch of Malta,
abolished in 1540 by Henry VIII. The Order
of St. John got a Royal Charter from Queen
Victoria in 1890, becoming a British order of
chivalry (albeit one with a peculiar status,
totally independent of the government, and
the only one conferring neither precedence
nor use of the title "Sir").
The relations between the English Order
and the Order of Malta were predictably icy
for a long time. But in the end the two
groups reconciled in 1963. To this day,
members of the Order of Malta are also
members of the British Order.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Modern Day Order of St.
Lazarus
The Order of Saint Lazarus was a hospitaller order
founded in the 12th c. in Jerusalem to serve as hospital
for knights who had contracted leprosy. Since leprosy
did not necessarily incapacitate, the hospital acquired
a structure modelled on the other military-monastic
orders in the Holy Land, and, as manpower grew
scarce in the late 13th c., some members were
involved in battles
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
End of an Era
The development of
more powerful archery
and ultimately the use of
gunpowder weapons
eventually brought
about the end of
massive cavalry
charges to break enemy
lines. The dominance of
cavalry came to an end.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Agincourt
A key example of this was
the battle of Agincourt on 25
October 1415. The charging
French knights,
compressed by the terrain
and the volleys of English
archers, were fragmented
and reached the English
line without any room to
maneuver. French knights
and their horses went down,
further preventing mobility.
The French knights were
massacred within a half an
hour.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Modern Knighthood
Because each institution tried to
use the prestige of the previous one
by imitating it, the term "order of
knighthood" has been passed on
and is now used for modern awards
and decorations which are neither
orders nor composed of knights. In
modern society, only a very few
orders survive from the times of the
Crusades, and most "orders of
knighthood" awarded by sovereigns
or governments (such as the
English Garter or the Spanish
Golden Fleece) are, in spite of their
historical connection, awards of
merit.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
An Honorific Title
Knights faded into history
but the legends surrounding
them lived on. Monarchs
began creating orders of
knighthood of their own,
modeled in part on these
original orders, but intended
to bind their nobility to
themselves. By the late 16th
century these monarchical
orders inspired the formation
of new orders of merit which
became common throughout
Europe. The title of knight
became an honorific title,
totally unrelated to anything
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
martial.
Chivalry
The term chivalry is
derived from the
French “chevalerie”,
which was their term
for a knight.
Chevalerie comes
from the Low Latin
“caballus” (“horse”).
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Chivalry
Codes of chivalry
encouraged knights to be
brave, honorable, to uphold
the honor of women, and to
protect the weak. Even so,
many knights failed to live
up to these high standards.
Chevaucheé, not chivalry,
was often the order of the
day.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Why Chivarly?
 You may ask, why should chivalry be a
part of Wicca? If you go back to the
roots of Wicca, you’ll find that chivalry
was one of the things that inspired Wicca
in the first place.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Order of Woodcraft Chivalry
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In 1900 an American (though born in Canada), Ernest Thompson Seton,
attempted to deal with issues of juvenile delinquency by creating an
organization that woodcraft and civilized values based on his knowledge
of First Nations peoples. “Seton’s Indians” rapidly became popular, and
in 1912 resulted in the publishing of his book The Book of Woodcraft and
Indian Lore. This was one of the principal influences leading to Robert
Baden-Powell founding the Boy Scouts movement. In fact, Baden-Powell
originally gave leadership of the North American part of his organization
to Seton. Seton ultimately resigned from Baden-Powell’s organization in
1915. Where Baden-Powell’s views were jingoistic and militaristic,
Seton’s were not and this ultimately led to differences between them. In
1916 Ernest Westlake, was a naturalist, anthropologist and traveler of
Quaker upbringing, founded the Order of Woodcraft Chivalry in the United
Kingdom, making Seton its honorary Grand Chieftain. 1909 Westlake had
forsaken Quakerism for the "old gods" of Paganism, inspired by authors
such as Edward Carpenter, Nietzsche, Havelock Ellis, Jane Ellen
Harrison, Tylor and Frazer. Westlake’s Order of Woodland Chivalry
avoided the military overtones of Scouting, instead focusing on the virtues
of kindness, fellowship, animal conservation and woodcraft. Westlake
saw women as incarnations of God, revered the Jack-in-the-Green, which
he considered to be the English equivalent of Dionysus, and held that the
"Trinity of Woodcraft" consisted of Pan, Artemis and Dionysus.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Order of Woodcraft Chivalry II
 So it is not surprising that the Order of Woodcraft
Chivalry, unlike Scouting, accepted many of the
premises of modern Neopaganism. Nature was
described as the Mistress and Mother, God as Creator
and All-Father and Christ as a teacher rather than as
God incarnate. The greatest ceremony of the Order of
Woodcraft Chivalry was lighting the campfire: At their
first folkmoot ceremony at Lammas 1921, held on an
estate at Sandy Balls on the northern edge of the New
Forest, the sacred fire was lit by four people dressed in
colors of the elements of each quarter, bringing
greetings from the elemental powers in succession
from north round to west.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
7 Principles of Bushido
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Chu: Duty and Loyalty
Gi: Justice and Morality
Makoto: Complete
Sincerity
Rei: Polite Courtesy
Jin: Compassion
Yu: Heroic Courage
Meiyo: Honor
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Nine Noble Virtues: Ásatrú
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Courage
Truth
Honor
Loyalty
Hospitality
Industriousness
Perseverance
Self-Discipline
Self-Reliance.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Twelve Æþeling Þews
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Boldness
Steadfastness
Troth
Givefullness
Gestening/Guestliness
Sooth (Truth)
Wrake (Justice)
Evenhead (Equality)
Friendship
Freedom
Wisdom
Busyship/Workhardiness.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Order of Paladins Chivalric Code
The thirteen chivalric values that ;the
Order of Paladins upholds are:
 Sincerity
 Courtesy
 Compassion
 Perseverance
 Industriousness
 Justice
 Loyalty
 Courage
 Self-Discipline
 Humility
 Largesse
 Truth
 Honor.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Sincerity
 Freedom from deceit, duplicity and
hypocrisy. This was one of the seven
keystones of Bushido (makoto).
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Courtesy
 Showing respect and consideration at all
times towards others. This is one of the
keystones of Bushido (rei).
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Compassion
 Sympathy and consideration for others.
Compassion is one of the ethical principles
named in Doreen Valiente’s Charge of the
Goddess: “Let my worship be within the heart
that rejoiceth; for behold, all acts of love and
pleasure are my rituals. And therefore let there
be beauty and strength, power and
compassion, honor and humility, mirth and
reverence within you.”
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Perserverance
 Steadfastness. Seeing things through to
completion. This is one of the Nine
Noble Virtues of Ásatrú and the Twelve
Æþeling Þews.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Industriousness
 Living life to the full through being
creative. The Ásatrú call this “bisignes”
(“workhardiness/busyship”), and it is one
of their Nine Noble Virtues. It appears in
the Twelve Æþeling Þews as well as in
Eric Wodening’s list of thews in his book
We Are Our Deeds.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Justice
 Upholding freedom, rationality, equality
and enlightenment and the rule of law.
This is an essential element of right
action and another of the seven
principles of Bushido (gi). The Twelve
Æþeling Þews call this Wrake.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Loyalty
 This is about keeping one’s word and
supporting your fellow Warriors. One of
the Nine Noble Virtues and another of the
seven principles of Bushido (chu). The
Ásatrú call it Troth: Fealty, faith, and
fidelity.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Courage
 Standing by one’s principles in the face
of fear. This is one of the seven
principles of Bushido (yu), one of the
principles of Medieval chivalry, and one
of the Nine Noble Virtues of Ásatrú and
the Twelve Æþeling Þews
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Self Discipline
 Taking responsibility for one’s actions.
This is what the Wiccan Rede is all
about. It is one of the Nine Noble Virtues
of Ásatrú
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Humility
 To be modest and dignified rather than
arrogant. Modesty One of the principles
of Medieval chivalry
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Largesse
 Generosity towards friends and community. Charity
was a cornerstone of the military monastic orders in the
Western world. The aforementioned Three Wynns call
it Wealthdeal: Generosity with one’s family and
friends. The Twelve Æþeling Þews call it Givefulness
and list hospitality as Gestening or Guestliness.
Hospitality is one of the Nine Noble Virtues. I believe
that his should be expanded beyond family and friends
to embrace the greater community whenever possible.
For example: Scáthach supports Kiva
(http://www.kiva.org/), an organization that helps third
world people improve their lives through micro loans to
empower help them develop their businesses and help
themselves out of poverty.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Truth
 Being committed to truth and clear
perception. This is one of the Nine Noble
Virtues of Ásatrú and the Twelve Æþeling
Þews.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Honor
 Honor is defined in Webster’s New Twentieth Century
Dictionary as: ". . . A sense of what is right, just and
true; dignified respect for character, springing from
probity, principle, or moral rectitude." This is we mean
by the expression “right action”. Simply stated, right
action is "what is right, just and true.” It is about being
ever mindful of how your actions reflect upon yourself
and your community. This is another ethical principle
mentioned in the Charge of the Goddess. It is one of
the principles of Bushido (meiyo). This is one of the
aforementioned Three Wynns, which call it Worthmind:
The maintenance of a personal sense of honor.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Heraldry
 One of the things that can help us
establish our identity as Warriors is our
heraldry.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Heraldry
The term heraldry refers to the
practices of heralds, a special form
of minstrels, who became
responsible for identifying and
cataloguing the arms of
participants at tournaments. Their
knowledge of coats of arms also
helped them identify fighters in
battle and dead on the battlefield,
and for this reason heralds
became associated with battles,
truces, declarations of war, in an
official capacity.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
German Hyghalmen
roll of the 15th
century
Heraldry
Heraldry appeared in the landed
aristocracy and quickly spread
to the knightly class in the 12th
century, at a time when
knighthood and nobility
remained very distinct classes.
Over the course of the 13th
century, knighthood and nobility
came to merge, just as heraldry
spread far beyond either class
to be used by all classes of
society. Thus, heraldry is not
particularly linked to nobility,
although the most easily
documented uses of heraldry
are among nobles, simply
because nobles were the elite.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Basic Heraldry Patterns
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Order of Selohaar
The Order of Selohaar™ is a modern
initiatory order of chivalry dedicated to the
preservation of honor, nobility, arcane
wisdom, and martial excellence in an age
where such traditions and values have
generally been forgotten. Their order was
founded in 1979 by Sirs Christian H. Tobler
and Carl L. Johnson to provide a creative
environment and a climate of mutual
assistance for those who appreciate such
ideals, beyond the constraints of the usual
outlets for anachronistic or mystical study
and activity.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Order of Paladins Heraldry
 By now you will
all be very
familiar with
our banner.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Order of Paladins Heraldry
 The moon represents the
divine feminine. It
represents the intuition and
psychic powers that directs
and inspires us on our path
as Warriors. It is a symbol
of the divinity which shines
through us and illuminates
our Warrior path.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Order of Paladins Heraldry
 The candle represents the
divine masculine. It
represents the life energy, chi,
that flows through us and
helps us to grow and achieve
on our Warrior path.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Order of Paladins Heraldry
 Members of the
Order of
Paladins that
learn in person
at the
Motherhouse
will be familiar
with Kerr
Cuhulain’s
banner…
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Comparison
At the age of seven boys in Medieval society
were fostered, learning manners, letters,
arithmetic, music, basic weapons skills and
horsemanship. In Medieval society, pages
became squires at the age of 13 when they
became apprenticed to a knight. They served
their mentor and further developed their martial
arts skills. As their skills increased they began
to follow their mentor into battle. Between the
ages of 18 and 21 the squire in Medieval
society went through a ceremony to make him
a knight.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Order of Paladins
The Order of Paladin’s training and degree
system in part reflects the progression of the
knight from novice through page to squire and
knight. The Order of Paladin’s novices learn
energy work, magick and psychic skills. Upon
completing this training they pass through an
Armoring ritual that makes them squires. The
Order of Paladins squires learn about ritual and
how to master the Greater and Lesser
Magickal Weapons. The Order of Paladins’
squires pass through an Arming ceremony to
become knights.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Motherhouse
We refer to the founding
Preceptory of the Order of
Paladins as “the
Motherhouse”. This is a
term which appeared in
Catholic literature circa
1665-75 referring to a self
governing convent having
authority over other houses.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
“Degrees”
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Most orders of knights in Western society had
three levels of initiation, just as Wiccan covens
do. The Order of Paladins uses these:
Novice
First degree: Squire
Second degree: Knight
Third degree: Master
Fourth degree: Paladin
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Titles
Order of Paladins members are on a first
name basis and refer to one another as
brothers and sisters. However, in dealing
with people outside of the Order,
members may use the following titles:
 1st degree/Squire: Brother or Sister
 2nd degree/Knight: Sir or Madame
 3rd degree/Master: Sir or Madame
 4th degree/Paladin: Lord or Lady
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Novice
This comes from
the Middle English
word “novyce”
(1330 – 50), which
is derived from the
Latin “novicius”
(“newly come into
a particular
status”).
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Squire
This word is derived
from the word
“esquire”, which comes
from the late Middle
English (1425 – 75)
term “esquier”, derived
in turn from the Middle
French word “escuier”.
These all stem from
the Latin term
“scutarius”, which
means “shield bearer”.
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Knight
Having completed the second cycle of
training, the squire becomes a knight in the
Arming ceremony. At this stage the knight
begins working at training others.
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Master
Having completed
the third cycle of
training, the Knight
becomes a master.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Paladin
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The word paladin comes from the Latin palatinus, referring to an Roman official of
the imperial palace on the Palatine Hill. Eventually the term came to refer to other
high-level officials in the imperial, majestic and royal courts. It appeared in Old
French as palatin and Middle French as paladin. Paladin first appeared in the
English language in a poem written by Samuel Daniel in 1592.
Charlemagne called the foremost warriors of his court “The paladins”. They were
sometimes also referred to as the Twelve Peers. They first appear in the early
chansons de geste such as The Song of Roland, where they represent Christian
valor against the Saracen hordes. The paladins and their associated exploits are
largely later fictional inventions, with some basis on historical Frankish retainers of
the 8th century and events such as the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. By the 13th
century words referring specifically to Charlemagne's peers began appearing in
European languages. Eventually paladin came to refer to any chivalrous hero.
The term appealed to Kerr as a term for our Order as he is directly descended from
Charlemagne.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Belts
The Order of Paladins uses colored belts
rather than cords to indicate the level of
initiation attained:
 Novice: white
 Squire: green
 Knight: brown
 Master: black
 Paladin: black with violet stripe
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Escrima/Arnis
To be a knight, you have to learn
defensive techniques, whether they be
magickal or mundane. In Scathach, we
use Escrima techniques.
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Push/Pull
 We’re going to be looking at techniques
like siniwali, hubud (see above) and
sumbrada that teach you how energy
flows.
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The Bo
Another weapon
that we will be
studying is the bo
(staff), which is
used in Aikido
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“Cutting Away”
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Siniwali
A Filipino word
that means
“weaving”. I will
be creating a
separate Power
Point with
instructions on
these forms.
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain
Lesson 10 homework reminder
 Chose a pair of Lesser/Greater Magickal
Weapons to dedicate yourself to (refer to
lesson 3).
 Practice the siniwali exercise.
 Write down why you want to be a knight
 Design heraldry for your knighthood
 If you haven’t already, send in a ritual
that you’ve written for Lesson IX
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Order of Paladins
Be Glorious!
copyright 2013 Kerr Cuhulain