In the campaign I am running we are only a few years from the Anarchy phase and I've been thinking that some of knights may justify being given titles by then. How have other people handled this? How much glory did they gain by being given a title? I think the book mentions 35 glory for a title under an Earl. Do they get a monetary reward for this? If someone is appointed Castellan, do they get money as if it was a normal manor, to help with the upkeep of the castle?

Let's clarify one thing from the start: being made an Officer isn't being titled. Elevation to the rank of lord, with vassals of your own, is being titled. You become a member of the peerage, to use the more modern terms. It's hereditary.

Most of the time an Officer will receive either lands or a stipend to support himself at an appropriate level of maintenance, plus whatever might be required for the job. Being castellan is a job. If you're invested with lands to maintain the castle and its garrison, chances are those go with the job and you don't keep them if you lose it nor would your heirs have any claim to them. If you become castellan of Tilshead, for example, you may control the demense manors which exist to support the castle but they're technically a limited form of gift.

Do you have sources for this?

What sort of person becomes castellan, or any other office? Not any old scrub, and they're not treated like mere middle management: look at a listing of holders of high office, like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constable_of_France or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Marshal . Lots of dukes, lots of counts, lots of earls. It seems that either you were chosen because you were a lord, or, if low-born, you were made a lord after you were chosen (e.g. du Gesclin, William Marshal). While these examples hold true on the royal scale, I can't imagine that the comital counterparts wouldn't have a similar correspondence between rank (as a prerequisite and/or a reward for office-holding).

Besides, it's not like having hereditary right to land in exchange for services rendered was extraordinarily rare. I mean, this was common for the sergeantry and other non-nightly members of feudal society. There's a record of one English family which held the manor of Hemingstone in Suffolk in return for its services: to "leap, whistle, and fart for the king's amusement every Christmas Day." (source: http://books.google.com/books?id=fFdBfrlM0YQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=medie val+warfare+the+english+experience&hl=en&ei=JhuQTa _lM8mI0QGt2Z2nCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&res num=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false ; this also gives other examples of sergeants being given land for various services). If the whistling jumping farting sergeant gets a manor from the king, then certainly a knight performing a more prestigious service should merit something similar from the count.

In short, though being made an officer isn't necessarily the same as being titled, it does seem like the two go hand-in-hand one way or another. A manor or something should be fitting.

We're not talking about Officers to the High King, which is to what the Constable of France or the Earl Marshal would be equivalent, we're talking about Officers at the county level, who are apt to be local luminaries and that's all. Chances are good that they're already landed, but they were selected for a proven record of loyalty, competence and good council. Note I did suggest that they receive a manor or manors to keep themselves at an appropriate level of maintenance, but the manors which support the castle need to support the castle no matter who may be castellan. Unless the real estate changes hands with the job, a lord would find himself out of land to dole out fairly soon.

Unless the real estate changes hands with the job
I can't think of anything in Western Europe that follows this model, outside of some ecclesiastical figures; do you have any specific examples in mind?


Unless the real estate changes hands with the job, a lord would find himself out of land to dole out fairly soon.
Once a generation, and even then only if there's a need to elevate your officer to a respectable status.

Unless the real estate changes hands with the job
I can't think of anything in Western Europe that follows this model, outside of some ecclesiastical figures; do you have any specific examples in mind?

The discussion has gotten a bit fuzzy here, but I will offer my input

A county--for a count has the state large enough for us to discuss here--is set up to be self supporting. For many of these jobs, there is no separate stipend for the holder of the office. The castellen gets charge of the castle and all its attached finances, to dispense as needed. His upkeep is included in that.
Most officers just live at court under the king's roof and eat at his board. That is, they eat the best food possible, and have a room that is as private as possible (only the lord really has privacy. Normally, his closest ranking officer has the next room out, and the third outside that and so on. To get to the lord's room, one must walk through everyone else's room.) and nice clothes.
In all of these cases "the real estate changes hands with the job."

An officer is not really a good job for a player knight, unless the play is about his job. That is, a steward or a castellen have 24/7 jobs at home, but a Marshall is at the front of the troops in war.
I have a detailed version of all this but the book is backed up. Let us hope that the pdf versions get rolling soon!

*sigh* :(