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Britomart

After the Middle Ages, Edmund Spenser, court poet for Queen Elizabeth, began a huge allegorical poem called The Faërie Queen. It was never fi nished, but one of its main characters is Britomart, the virginal fi ghter who personifi ed the virtue of Chastity.

WOMEN KNIGHTS IN PLAY

Perhaps the lack of women knights in Arthurian literature is not so surprising when we consider that the European society of that time had only begun to seriously consider women to be anything more than baby machines, a great leap in consciousness that Western society is even now only widely starting to accept. Twentieth-century thinking allows for extrapolation where the Middle Ages did not.

Keep in mind this important fact: The Arthurian legend has survived for 1,400 years because it has been able to adapt to the needs of its audience. Therefore, if you wish, there is certainly room in the Enchanted Realm for women knights.

A woman may choose to take up the profession of arms for several reasons. For instance, a military emergency might make great and unusual demands for soldiers; a kinsman may need rescue, without any other family member or champion available; or she may be motivated by a fierce independence that outweighs any desire to follow custom.

ACCEPTABILITY

Each Gamemaster determines the prevailing attitude of Britain toward women during his or her campaign. In some, female knights may be common and acceptable, raising no eyebrows at all. Or they might be strange and unaccepted. Most likely, reactions will vary from person to person, and can be summarized in one of the following ways:

Scorn: Women belong in the kitchen and nursery, and any deviance from this is met with scorn, contempt, and hostility. This refl ects the actual, historic attitude.

Reluctance: Women knights might exist, if they can prove themselves and do not get too uppity about it. (Some have noted that this is similar to the attitude prevalent in liberal businesses today…)

Acceptance: Women knights are accepted as the equals of men in every way.

DISGUISE

Perhaps the best way for a female warrior to begin is to operate disguised as a knight. Such a woman will have many problems retaining her secret when not in armor (and perhaps even then). Gamemasters should decide whether they wish to press this point or not — the roleplaying that results could be fun, or it could be oppressive.

Once a woman masquerading as a man has revealed her true gender, another problem presents itself: Finding a lord willing to knight her. If she has acquired 1,000 or more Glory points, her status ought to carry considerable weight. Nonetheless, a reluctant lord might never accept the situation, in which case she must fi nd another lord.

Alternately, a lord may set some diffi cult quest to be obtained before he grants his permission. Success would undoubtedly make him, however grudgingly, accept the reality of her prowess.

CHARACTER GENERATION

Generate a female knight exactly the same way you would a male knight. In the real world, women are statistically smaller and weaker than men by about 15%, but female knights should be allowed to use the same attributes for men to generate female characters. Pendragon does not seek to limit characters arbitrarily, but rather tries to provide only basic standards. (Obviously, though, in the game’s culture, women warriors are not standard.)

The fi nal consideration for the Gamemaster is how to entitle a female knight. “Sir” is traditional, but “Sir Ellen” or “Sir Alice” may sound strange enough to make some people grind their teeth. On the other hand, “Lady Ellen” and “Dame Ellen” both mean other things entirely, and could be misleading in context.

In the end, “Sir,” which is the proper title of a knight, is the most appropriate title.

CHIVALRY BONUS

If women knights are allowed in the game, then they should also be allowed to become Chivalrous knights (see Appendix 1: “In the Future”), assuming they qualify. However, if the Gamemaster rules that they are eligible to be Chivalrous knights, they cannot receive the Gentlewoman bonus.

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