Swan Knights


 * And last and proudest, Imrahil, Prince of Dol Amroth, kinsman of the Lord, with gilded banners bearing his token of the Ship and the Silver Swan, and a company of knights in full harness riding grey horses ... - "Minas Tirith," Return of the King.

The Swan Knights are a heavy cavalry company commanded by the Prince of Dol Amroth. Companies of Swan Knights participated in the destruction of the shipyards of the Corsairs in T.A. 2980. They defended Minas Tirith during Sauron's opening strike of the Ring War, and later, the surviving members rode to the Black Gate with the Armies of the West. In T.A. 3020, they participated in the first war against the Easterlings around Dale and Erebor. In the Fourth Age, they fought in border wars with Harad.

Training
There are two routes to becoming a Swan Knight. Children of noble families may pass through up to two preparatory stages of training. Common soldiers may undergo Swan Knight training by invitation.

Page
Young boys may become pages at Dol Amroth and serve in a lord's hall, during which time they are taught the basics of riding and horsemanship, as well as being taught the fundamentals of fighting.

Esquire
At age sixteen, young men of the nobility may become esquires. Common-born soldiers may also be accepted as esquires, usually after proving themselves in battle.

Esquire training includes training in basic horsemanship for those who need it, but its primary aim is to train men to fight from horseback with lance, sword, and shield. It also involves instruction in fighting on foot with a variety of weapons, though primarily with a sword and shield; learning the mathematics behind siege engines; tactics, strategy, the code of chivalry and its history; training to read and write in two languages (Sindarin accepted as one of the two only for commoners or those whose Sindarin is deficient); and two skills other than fighting, which may be practical (medical care, horse-breeding and training) or courtly (scribing, dancing).

The usual training period for an esquire is four years, and requires the esquire to pass a series of trials in order to win his white belt and become a knight. Until that time, esquire uniforms are marked by their black belt, and their cloaks do not have any additional bordering or trim.

Uniform and Gear
On duty, Swan Knights wear a blue tunic with the device of the swanship upon it, in either white or silver, bordered in the same color(s), and a white belt. They have cloaks to match when the weather calls for it. Battle gear includes: helmet, chain mail, plate armor, tabard with the same arms as described above, bastard-sword, shield, dagger, and a horse with assorted gear of its own. Uniforms are differenced to show rank (see below).

Command Structure
The Swan Knights are ultimately beholden to the Prince of Dol Amroth, who can command their muster and who has ultimate authority to say who will be a member of that company and who will not be. During a knight's formation as an esquire, he takes a temporary oath renouncing all other feudal allegiances in order to put himself under the command of the Prince and the Swan Knights' Code of Chivalry.

Captain-Commander
Responsibility for the daily business of command belongs to the Captain-Commander, who reports to the Prince, whether or not the Prince is himself a knight and captain. The swanship device on the captain-commander's tabard and tunic is done in silver thread, as well as bordered in white and silver. His cloak will also have a silver trim. The captain-commander bears a chain of office, and his plate armor may bear unobtrusive decorative etching that indicates some special familial symbol or other personal motif.

Captain
This rank may be given to the three Swan Knights who serve as master-instructors to esquire classes. There may also be captains of different companies of Swan Knights, though this has not been definitively established. The swanship device on a captain's uniform also will be embroidered with silver thread for both the swanship and the border, and his cloak will have a silver trim to it. A captain's plate armor may also be embellished with a personal or familial motif, if it is unobtrusive.

Lieutenant
Younger men may serve as lieutenants to captains.

As officers, however junior, it seems likely that their cloaks would be bordered with a silver trim, or perhaps white trim.

Sergeant
Non-commissioned officers help keep order in smaller groups of men and are heavily involved in training esquires. A sergeant's uniform bears an anchor patch on the shoulder to identify him.

Knight
A Swan Knight is a man who has earned his white belt and been blooded in battle. It is the lowest rank, but one, and the most common; tradition however, has it that 'A Swan Knight from the ranks is a captain of men in other company'.

Knight-probationer
A knight-probationer is a man who has earned his white belt, but who has not been blooded in battle. His white belt is bordered in black to differentiate him from a fully-fledged knight.

Armsmaster
The Armsmaster is responsible for training esquires in all manner of weapons and fighting forms, for setting the esquires' duty roster and training schedule, and for overall discipline among the esquire body. It may also be his responsibility to train the sons of the Prince of Dol Amroth in arms, regardless of what military company they choose.

Like the Captain-commander, the Armsmaster bears a silver chain of office.

Master of Horses
The Master of Horses is responsible for training esquires and pages in horsemanship, care of horses, and in the art of fighting from the back of a horse. He is also involved in the breeding, purchase, and physicking of the horses of those knights who are stationed at Dol Amroth.

The Master of Horses also wears a silver chain of office when in formal dress.

Master of Records
The Master of Records is responsible for instructing esquires in strategy and tactics, the chivalric code and relevant legal history, the mathematics required to operate siege engines like catapults, overseeing their training in courtly skills and, even if he does not teach a language himself, is the one to whom the language tutors report.

It is unknown whether the Master of Records has a chain of office as do the other masters, although it seems likely that he would.

Numbers and composition

 * "[A]nother company of five hundred horse there should be, among which should ride the sons of Elrond with the Dúnedain and the knights of Dol Amroth" - "The Last Debate," Return of the King.


 * "Some time ago, we discussed what force the Outlands would bring to Minas Tirith in the event that the Enemy attacked. At that time, you promised half your total complement of Swan Knights. That is no longer enough. When you are called, Imrahil, I will expect you to bring every horseman you have." - Discovery

The exact size of the Swan Knights would appear to be no more than five hundred, allowing for losses sustained during the Siege of Minas Tirith and the Battle of Pelennor Field.

Although largely composed of men of Dúnadan heritage, the Swan Knights have taken men of Rohirric descent and two men of Haradric descent. In T.A. 3019, it admitted its first female candidate for knighthood, Hethlin of Anórien.

Meta
Tolkien introduced the name "swan-knights" in a passage describing the sortie to rescue the retreat across the Pelennor:


 * And from the walls an answering shout went up; for foremost on the field rode the swan-knights of Dol Amroth with their Prince and his blue banner at their head.


 * 'Amroth for Gondor!' they cried. 'Amroth to Faramir!'


 * - The Return of the King, Bk 5, Ch 4, The Siege of Gondor