The Knights of Solamnia are commonly known as disgraced at best or outlaws and murdered on sight at worst. But this wasn’t always the case, and would drastically change in the War of the Lance. Let’s discover the knighthood’s history, orders and purpose.
Transcript
Cold Open
There are many notable Knights of Solamnia, but it’s the organization behind them that was once a shining light revered by all and then fell to abject darkness.
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about the Knights of Solamnia. Don’t forget to like and subscribe to this channel, ring the bell, and you can further help this channel, and pick up Dragonlance Gaming materials, using my affiliate link in the description below. I will have to be succinct as it can be a lengthy discussion, but on my honor, I will strive to do the knighthood justice in this presentation.
Discussion
When I reflect on the Knights of Solamnia I immediately think of the order’s heroes or the Oath “Est Sularus oth Mithas”, or My Honor is My Life, but that is just a small part of what makes up the order. Let’s explore the Knighthood through the Ages of Krynn for a full measure on which to judge them by.
It all starts in the Age of Dreams with a conflict between the Ergothian Emperor and a rebellion in the northeastern reaches of his empire. In the spirit of brevity, the emperor sent his commander, Vinas Solamnus, to crush the rebellion, but when Vinas arrived he judged the rebellion justified and not only switched alliances, but lead the raid on Daltigoth that would be later known as the War of Ice Tears. The capital fell to the rebellion within two months, and the citizens sued their emperor for peace and won their freedom. They declared Vinas Solamnus their king and named their newly won land Solamnia after him.
Vinus was an honorable man, and was not foolish enough to think all others would be the same. In 1775 PC he decided to go on a Quest of Honor in order to discover how he could maintain unity in his united kingdoms of Solamnia. After weeks of searching he found himself in the wilds of the Sancrist Isle. He came upon a glade featuring a black granite stone in its center. Upon that stone, Vinus supplicated himself to the gods’ wisdom. Three deities appeared before him: Paladine. the god of balance, justice, and defense; Kiri-Jolith, the god of just warfare; and Habbakuk, god of good nature, loyalty, and the elements. They gave him the outline for a knighthood which would serve to inspire and defend the citizens of Solamnia. The knighthood would consist of three separate orders to balance each other. Each order would reflect one of these three gods ideals. As a final blessing the gods transformed the stone into a pillar of translucent white crystal which would sanctify the glade and seal the unity of the gods to uphold the knighthood as long as they walked in honor and worthiness.
The Knighthood would become known for developing men into true heroes. One of which is Bedal Brightblade who single handedly stood between fierce desert nomads and a pass into Solamnia and fought them to a standstill. He held that pass as guardian until reinforcements arrived. Another is Huma Dragonbane, who with the aid of a Silver Dragon managed to slay the Queen of Darkness, banishing her to the Abyss with the Dragonlance, and ending the third dragon war.
The Age of Might would prove to be a defining moment for the Knights of Solamnia. Up until the Cataclysm, the Knights were the greatest order of Chivalry in the history of Krynn. After the cataclysm, they were blamed for the loss and devastation. Though as an order, they were not responsible, but there were knights who had an opportunity to change the course of history, preventing the cataclysm from ever taking place. One such knight was Lord Soth of Dargaard Keep, a Knight of the Rose. Lord Soth was warned by his mistress about the Cataclysm, and when he started toward Istar to stop it he crossed a troop of elven clerics who threatened to reveal the truth of his murdered wife and his illegal wedding to his mistress. Rather than face his own shame, he turned back and the fiery mountain crashed down on Krynn. Not all knights had such shame or lived as corrupt lives, but rather tried to leverage the catastrophe to expand their land holdings. Combined, these acts turned the citizens against the order and their fate was sealed. Knights were murdered, their homes were invaded and families slain or forced into exile. The Knights who remained were forced to live in secret. And some would leave their homeland and settle on Sancrist Isle.
The Knighthood consists of three orders, all ruled by the Lord of Knights. The Lord of Knights is an elected office which occurs in a Grand Circle of Knights. The position must be filled by a High Justice from the Order of the Rose, a High Clerist from the Order of the Sword or a High Warrior from the order of the Crown. These positions are elected from within the respective order, without interference from the other two orders. Since the Cataclysm, there haven’t been knights in sufficient numbers to convene the circle, so the post has stayed vacant. There are individual cells or circles of Knights, some open and other clandestine, which provide aid to the community they reside, and receive the pledge of local Knights.
The Knights of Solamnia subscribe to the Oath and the Measure. The oath is the aforementioned, “Est Sularis oth Mithas, and the measure is an extensive set of laws, many volumes in total that clarify what honor means. The Measure is complicated and exacting, and all knights are expected to live up to and are ruled by the Measure. It wouldn’t be until the most dire moments of the War of the Lance that the knighthood would realise the spirit of the Oath and that honor doesn’t lie in the measure, but rather it lies in the heart of the true knight.
The Knights of the Crown personify Loyalty and Obedience. Knights of the Sword live by heroism and courage. And Knights of the Rose exemplify honor through wisdom and justice. All those who desire to enter the Knighthood must begin as squires, then when found worthy, must be sponsored by a Knight and presented to the Knightly Council. If there is no doubt to his honor, he is accepted into the Knights of the Crown. A Crown Knight must be experienced and have no question to his honor in order to petition to become a Sword Knight. To join the Knights of the Sword the applicant must pass a witnessed quest of heroism and valor. If the Knight wished to be a member of the Order of the Rose, they must start in the Order of the Sword. Joining the Knights of the Rose historically meant being born into a loyal house. After the Cataclysm, it changed only little, requiring the applicant to recite his honorable lineage. If there is no question to the knight’s loyalty they are sent on a quest to prove his worthiness.
Depending on the order, knights must tithe to the Knighthood they belong to or are forbidden from retaining personal wealth. Crown Knights gain weapon specializations. Sword Knights are Clerics, gaining access to spells and Rose Knights are commanders who gain elite proficiencies. The military power of the knights is structured so as to temper the leaders judgement in battle and maintain knightly unity. Each order maintains seven armies apiece. Each of the twenty-one armies is jointly ruled by three Lord Knights, one from each order.
Knights are decorated by wearing a clasp bearing the symbol of his order, a rose, sword or crown, used to fasten his cloak to his armor. All knights carry a shield bearing the symbol of the Knights of Sola mnia-A kingfisher with wings half extended, a sword grasped by both its claws; a rose centered on the sword between the claws; and a crown held over the bird’s head in its beak.
Outro
And that is a brief synopsis of the Knights of Solamnia. I will return in future installments to dive deeper into each order. Are you a fan of the knighthood or do you still think they are a disgraced order? Do you have a favorite Knight of Solumnia? Leave a comment below, subscribe to the channel and like this video. You can support this channel and pick up some Dragonlance gaming materials by using the affiliate link in the description below.
This channel is all about celebrating the wonderful world of the Dragonlance Saga, and I hope you will join me in the celebration. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time, remember:
My feelings and I are not on speaking terms.
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