Estates

Four gray walls, and four gray towers
Overlook a space of flowers,
And the silent isle imbowers
The Lady of Shalott. Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The Lady of Shalott

There is a hole in the heart of every knight, and it can only be filled by land.

Represented by a special half-page sheet, an Estate is a grant of ownership¹ of some physical parcel of land and associate rights and titles. Having an Estate is what makes a knight a landed knight, ensures a stable income² and a power base they control and might be able to pass down the family. For a lady, having an Estate is usually a big bargaining chip³.

Footnotes

1. “Ownership” in a feudal sense. Your liege (or theirs) owns the land, but you are granted possession, within certain provisions and stipulations. ↩

2. Often a prerequisite for marriage, or at least a good marriage. ↩

3. Which for some gives them the ability to be independent. For others, though, the value of the bargaining chip makes them a pawn in their own game. It can be a mixed bag. ↩