So landholding knights obviously live in a manor, but I was wondering where poorer knights and such lived? Where do they keep their family, beds, and belongings? Where do they return after a long summer's work?

I'm talking household knights and such; would one live with their, say, uncle or brother if that one was the owner of the manor? I might guess that if a vassal owns more than one manor then another knight might live there and appoint, or possibly act, as a steward. What about knights from urban societies? Do they live in the castle defending the city or in big, fabulous mansions (according to their wealth level)?

What about officers, too? I would assume a castellan might live in a castle but what about the forester or marshall, or any of their deputies? Thanks in advance :)

household Knights live where in there lord's household. also called bachelor knights they are often unmarried. if the are married there family serve the knight's lord as pages, ladies in waiting ect. the bachelor knight isn't making enough money to afford the family otherwise. they don't stay with their relations they stay where the lord goes or behind to protect his land. i'm not positive but i don't think they do the summer/60 days of service i had thought i read they were his private army/bodyguard on station 24/7/365...

if a vassal has a second manor the HH Knight is likely a vassal of his. stewards are not likely to be knights themselves

city knight's likely live in roman style villas like any patrician

marshal is a knight. house accordingly

officers live by their job in better than common houses or travel with the court as part of the entourage.
this is why a visit from you lord can be a big expense

i'm not positive but i don't think they do the summer/60 days of service i had thought i read they were his private army/bodyguard on station 24/7/365...

That's very interesting about household knights - and it would make sense, but I wonder if we have sources for this.

give me a few days i'll track it down

Household or bachelor knights live in hall of the manor or castle of their lord. They own a chest with their personal belongings, but no more. As said usually these are unmarried knights.
This also goes for officers of lords (like the senechal, marshall or such).

Castellans usually oversee a castle of their own and are as such more like vassals with a manor, except that they have a castle with surrounding lands.

Btw there are two options for a second manor. they are usually either demesne or enfeoffed. In the first case the manor is part of the vassals own lands and he does not need to have a knight oversee the manor. He usually appoints only a steward, who is usually not a knight himself. If the manor is enfeoffed the vassal has the obligation to give to a knight, either as a gift (for the knight only) or as a grant (for the knight's family). the knight becomes a vavasour (vassal of a vassal). When the vassal is given the manor it is decided what he must do with it. Custom is important, so if it was enfeoffed, it usually stays that way.

In the mid-to-late 12th century, according to Georges Duby's book on William Marshal:

A knight without an inheritance might live in his father's house and hope for a lucky break, just like most of my college friends. This isn't necessarily a winning strategy, because if your father is wealthy enough to give you a good upkeep, you would have received it already; unless you get lucky and enough of your brothers die so you can inherit, you will probably die poor and unmarried.

Alternatively, he might live as a knight-errant, a heavily-armed hobo seeking to get enough of a reputation to be taken in as a household knight by some lord, also like most of my college friends. This is difficult and risky, but the rewards are worth it. You will probably be submitting your resume to your well-connected relatives first, perhaps a wealthy uncle or in-law.

Others have done well to answer this
I can only refine a few of their answer



So landholding knights obviously live in a manor, but I was wondering where poorer knights and such lived?
Where do they keep their family, beds, and belongings?

SirCripple, Cornelius and DorrKnobDeity answered this well


Where do they return after a long summer's work?

In general, people live where they work.
A knight's duty is in the hall serving his lord
He sleeps there as well
The trestle tables that serve dinner are often his bed


I'm talking household knights and such; would one live with their, say, uncle or brother if that one was the owner of the manor? I might guess that if a vassal owns more than one manor then another knight might live there and appoint, or possibly act, as a steward. What about knights from urban societies? Do they live in the castle defending the city or in big, fabulous mansions (according to their wealth level)?

SirCripple, Cornelius and DorrKnobDeity answered this well


What about officers, too? I would assume a castellan might live in a castle

A castellan has no job without a castle
He lives in the main and best room
When his lord comes, he moves into the best room
His officers take the 2nd best, 3rd best and so on, according to rank and glory
the castellan goes to whatever is the best space available, which might be3 the 2nd best, or any other down to the now-crowded hall
[/quote]
but what about the forester


A knightly foreste3r has a hut in the forest he tends
he too moves out and gives it to his lord when the latter is present
[quote]
or marshall, or any of their deputies?

As mentioned above, the 2nd best and so on
This all depends on what kind of castle it is
many have only one chamber that we might recognize as a "room"
Especially in the motte-and-bailey era
Larger stone castles might have a couple of mural chambers, which are rooms inside the thicker walls of a castle, at above ground level
mural = wall

A castellan has no job without a castle
He lives in the main and best room
When his lord comes, he moves into the best room
His officers take the 2nd best, 3rd best and so on, according to rank and glory
the castellan goes to whatever is the best space available, which might be3 the 2nd best, or any other down to the now-crowded hall


That reminds me of a scene in an animated adaptation of David Macaulay's "Castle" that I saw several years ago. The king (Edward I) pays a visit to the castle, and the lord and lady move into the second best room so that he can have the best room. Then, their chief official has to move into the third best room, and so on down the line, until the guy at the very bottom of the social pyramid has to move in with the pigs.

Okay, thank you everyone!

So I assume many of the famous Round Table knights lived as heavily armed hobos, being knights-errant and all?

Many of the famous Round Table Knights were princes and kings (or other assorted nobility) on their own right, so I would assume that they would have done better than true knight-hobos. However, the favorite past-time for the RTKs seemed to be questing (adventuring) during which they certainly would have travelled around and slept where they may. With the hospitality of a castle/manor conveniently located, or simply under a tree.

So I assume many of the famous Round Table knights lived as heavily armed hobos, being knights-errant and all?


What Morien said - plus RT Knights receive a stipend from Arthur sufficient to support them as rich knights and will always have a place at Camelot (and, given how Camelot is, that will be a very nice place).

They may well spend a lot of their time erranting around, but they will have a pretty plush tour bus when they are on the road.

Regards
Luke