Imperial Knights (Warhammer 40,000)

The Imperial Knights are an army that feature in Warhammer 40,000.

History

Questoris Pattern Knight Paladin.

The Imperial Knights were a military organization that was part of the Imperium of Man.

In the period later known as the Dark Age of Technology, scouts from Earth travelled far throughout the galaxy seeking planets to be used as agricultural worlds to provide food for the hiveworlds of Humanity. They would copy the farming techniques used by the Eldar who were already living on some of the worlds discovered. To the Exodites, 'the Coming of Men' saw the Eldar and Human colonists clashed in a series of bloody wars. (White Dwarf UK #126)

During the Age of Strife, these planets were cut off from one another and became feral worlds. In that time, a warrior aristocracy grew up on these Human worlds that came to mimic the Eldar Knights lifestyles. On many of these worlds, the Eldar clans came to battle with the Humans in an effort to reclaim what they had lost. The wealth of the Human nobles and Eldar clans depended largely on the herds they maintained and the raiding they did to acquire more for their herds. (White Dwarf UK #126)

Thousands of years later, these worlds were re-discovered by the Imperium when Rogue Trader Jeffers encountered the agriworlds they populated and referred to their inhabitants as Knights. Their many Knightly virtues were emphasized as those planets values were highlighted as both massive food resources and a source of born and bred warriors. The Administratum agreed with Jeffers findings and quickly went about re-discovering the rest of the long lost agriworlds. They came to find two in three of the originally settled worlds were still occupied by Humans working along very similar social lines. (White Dwarf UK #126)

Overview

The Human nobility enforced a feudal system below them. A sub-class of Drovers emerged who looked after the herds under their care as the nobles would not sully their hands with such work. By law, the Drovers walkers were not armed with weapons even though they lived in constant danger from raiders and predators. This ensured that the Drovers had to rely on the Knights of the nobility for protection thus nullifying any chance of revolt. (White Dwarf UK #126)

In addition to the nobles, each house could field large numbers of men at arms either mounted on horse or foot. They were equipped much like a Planetary Defence Force (PDF) and Imperial Guard units elsewhere in the Imperium. One of the differences was that they lacked the heavy weaponry often seen in those forces. Nobles getting too old to carry on fighting in the raids or in the melee of battle would give their armour to their eldest son and instead take the armour of a Warden. Wardens formed the steadiest element within the noble houses where they were usually found defending the keep or protecting the Drovers. (White Dwarf UK #126)

On many of these worlds, there existed a group of artificers and technicians emerged who became the most important subjects of the nobles. At first, they simply maintained the Knights of the nobles but soon leant to speak with one voice to the point that they could threaten to withdraw their services from any Lord who failed to heed them. They came to style themselves as a priesthood maintaining the forgotten mysteries of technology with them becoming known as the Sacristans. As their power grew, they came to arbitrate conflicts between the different to ensure that they did not wipe one another out in a bitter feud. The ever present dangers on their worlds meant that Knights could not survive wars of attrition and genocide which necessitated the usage of chivalric values to settle disputes. In time, the Sacristan orders of many of these worlds came to ritualise the virtues of Honour, Duty and Valour with these being passed down form one generation to the next. It was the acceptance of these values by the nobles that saw the widespread use of Chivalry among the Knight Worlds. (White Dwarf UK #126)

In addition to the threat posed by hostile houses, the dictates of Chivalry compelled the nobles to contend with fearsome beasts such as the Carnosaur. Constant battles were fought against such swift beasts that preyed on the herds of the knights. Hunting them thus honed the nobles fighting skill into a deadly art which prepared for the periods of violent warp activity that had created the monstrous mutated beasts that haunted their worlds. When such beasts were sighted, all the Chivalry would go on quests to to seek out and destroy the creature before it could taint the land. (White Dwarf UK #126)

Members

• Hekhtur :
• Raf Maven :
• Soberan :
• Solaria :
• Tybalt :

Notes

• The Imperial Knights were created by Games Workshop and featured in the setting of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Appearances

• Warhammer 40,000:
• White Dwarf:
• Codex Titanicus:
• Codex: Imperial Knights:

External Links

• Lexicanum Entry

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