The Knighting Ceremony on page 34 of KAP5 has a distinctly Christian feel to it (e.g. the Vigil).

Questions:

#1) Is there an alternate ceremony for pagans?

#2) Does the religion of the Lord or the candidate have any influence on the ceremony (e.g. an especially religious lord may insist on a Christain vigil).

The Knighting Ceremony on page 34 of KAP5 has a distinctly Christian feel to it (e.g. the Vigil).

Questions:

#1) Is there an alternate ceremony for pagans? [---]

anyone?

The Knighting Ceremony on page 34 of KAP5 has a distinctly Christian feel to it (e.g. the Vigil).

Questions:

#1) Is there an alternate ceremony for pagans?

#2) Does the religion of the Lord or the candidate have any influence on the ceremony (e.g. an especially religious lord may insist on a Christain vigil).


Good questions. I wish I could give an appropriate answer. I'm surprised this has not come up earlier. From what it says in the Book of Knights and Ladies, The GPC, and Pendragon 5th edition. I can't really see much in the ceremony other than the vigil that is expressly Christian. Depending on the lord and his attitude toward other faiths I can see the actual ceremony being a bit tense depending on which deities are mentioned.

I don't know much about Celtic Paganism per se, but perhaps a night spent standing vigil in a sacred grove would be fitting. A fertility right might be fitting for pagans as well. The mini-series Mists of Avalon has such a scene in part II (I'm not such a fan of the series, but if you're looking for a quasi-historic fertility right there aren't many in film other than this one). It should be available on DVD, or maybe even on download somewhere (Hulu? Netflix?).

I think there are some Norse rights described in Land of Giants, the Viking supplement for Pendragon available on Drivethru RPG that might give inspiration as well.

I'm really curious to hear what Greg has to say about this.

I think the type of Paganism is more important than a specific ceremony reserved for pagans, as any ceremony that doesn’t mention God would be considered pagan by other Christians. Culture of the people performing the ceremony would also impact its form.
In general I would give the ceremony the appearance of being Roman in form. Akin to an investiture ceremony, this is where the church drew its ceremony from to begin with. Some of the elements would be:
1.) Bestowing a token or symbol of the office by someone with the authority to do so
2.) Acclamation by the people or peers as one fitting to the ceremony
3.) A pledge to uphold the office and the requirements there of.

Due to its nature it doesnt have to lay claim to any divine source, but it instead could also be rendered as an office. If you’re looking for an exact text or something to read one of the formularies of Marculf could with a little tweaking work out great. The Formularies were composed to give the Merovingian Kings a format to just plug names in spaces to forms that were recognized as being legal. The one below translated by Alice Rio is a charter regarding an office:

"The clemency of Royal foresight is celebrated perfectly when he looks for kindness and vigilance in persons from among all the people; and it is not fitting for judiciary dignity to be conferred easily upon any person unless his faithfulness and diligence have first been ascertained. Therefore, since we have learned of your faithfulness and usefulness, we give to you the office of (count, duke, knight, etc) in the pagus (city, county, manor, etc) of A, which your predecessor B was seen to hold until now, for you to administer and govern, in such as way that you will always keep complete fidelity to our rule, and all the people living there, Franks, Romans, Burgundians or people of any other origin, will live and be disciplined by your rule and government. And you will rule them in the right way, according to their own law and custom; you will count as the greatest defender of the widows and orphans; and the crimes of robbers and evil-doers will be punished by you most severely, so that the people, living well under your rule, may, rejoicing, remain peaceful. And whatever the fisc may expect from this office will be paid by yourself every year to our treasury."

What I like about this is that it has the spirit of being something Roman, meets a need, and addresses the fact that there are mixed cultures living together that have different legal codes. For the purposes of Pendragon it demonstrates the mixed cultures of Britain with a few word changes, and also leaves out any reference to a specific divinity. It being contemporary to the period helps to add realism as well and could be used to appoint a person to any office. As well as open the game up to some politics where people have charters from different lords for the same place or claim hereditary right through a previous charter.

I'm really curious to hear what Greg has to say about this.

As am I! WHAT SAY YOU GREG? About A Pagan Knighting Ceremony?

The Knighting Ceremony on page 34 of KAP5 has a distinctly Christian feel to it (e.g. the Vigil).

Of course, the vigil is a Christian ceremony.
The vigil was actually a pretty late addition to the ceremony.


Questions:
#1) Is there an alternate ceremony for pagans?

I just use what is there, and change the necessary words like God and Christian.


#2) Does the religion of the Lord or the candidate have any influence on the ceremony (e.g. an especially religious lord may insist on a Christain vigil).

This will depend on how much you wish to emphasize religion in your campaign, or perhaps how much you wish to emphasize religion for the particular lord.

A couple of facts:
Pagan knights never existed. Knighthood as we understand it is an entirely Christian institution.
Pagan knights are in KAP because some people like the setting where Britain is not entirely Christianized, as per Bradley's Mists of Avalon
Some people I know would not play KAP if they were obliged to play Christian knights
(I'm not Christian myself, but I do find that refusal a strange attitude to take for a fantasy game. So it goes.)
I do intend to write up some material concerning Paganism specifically for KAP because it will be fun
and full of surprises.
Finally, look under "Arthur: Legend, Literature and References" for a couple of more comments with a sideways relagionship to this

THANKS GREG FOR THE INFO! I really liked what Sir Thomas Wrote above and plain on using it in my new campagin in which the players are all pagon! I had them roll on the old 4th ed tables for homeland and they ended up in Brun a Cymric/Pagon Country which just happens to be right above some of the action taking place in the GPC! And of Course Right smack dab in the savage forest which is an awsome chapter Greg! This will be where I start my new Campagin! Also You could actually take the forest savage now and with using KAP 5th ed Rules to play the Story of The Earl Robert of Huntington and his son Robin of Loxly V.S. The Shireff of Nottingham Hugh De Lacy and his sons Walter and Roger During the anrchy period. Just a thought about Some possibilties we could do with the GPC! I am Loving Reading ii and running it as a gm!