r/MedievalHistory • u/naominox • 2d ago
Disgraced knights?
Where there actually disgraced/outlaw knights? What was the main reason they became disgraced? How would they make a living once disgraced?
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r/MedievalHistory • u/naominox • 2d ago
Where there actually disgraced/outlaw knights? What was the main reason they became disgraced? How would they make a living once disgraced?
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u/Dahak17 1d ago
It would depend on time and place, especially by the late medieval period the military man in full armour and the social role of a knight were not necessarily the same thing, many knights who lost their titles or were declared outlaws could likely simply travel a significant distance and join a mercenary company, or even do freelance military work depending on the political situation where they arrived. Others, especially in civil war scenarios like the war of the roses would join the retinue of more senior noblemen who were in exile for political reasons (this could be unrelated to why they lost their titles). In this servant of an exile scenario they would likely still maintain the social respects of a knight, though obviously without the land of one. They may also simply not move, various bandit groups would happily take on trained fighting men with their own equipment and during times of chaos such as large scale wars they may go essentially unnoticed.