Editing Knight (section)

==Real Knights in a Nutshell==
* Bureaucrat: in most areas of Europe, barons were the main land holding class and baronies roughly analogous to large townships (the modern word county coming from the slightly higher rank of count).  Knights owed allegiance to barons and generally served as their officers of government, from constable to tax collector.  A knight's fee (the quantity of land to sustain a knight) was roughly a couple thousand acres, and the typical barony consisting of roughly a dozen fees.  Since a family could reasonably tend a few dozen acres (acre being an amount of land one man with one ox could reasonably plow in a day), this basically means a knight was responsible for a few hundred homes.  
* Officer: you owe service to your lord.  If they call on you to fight, you have to.  In this regard knights were analogous to lieutenants or sergeants.  Being men at arms, knights were expected to know how to fight, how to lead and teach others to fight.  If they were particularly good fighters they might be used more like champions and vanguards, while the less martially able would still be expected to be capable of organizing and leading some men.  In medieval Europe, the basic formation was the "lance", roughly equivalent to a squad, consisting of a knight and his retinue (perhaps a dozen men).  Lances were organized into companies, captained by a noble (typically a baron or count).  Lances wouldn't necessary take the field intact; for field warfare, knights would assemble as cavalry and their retainers would form the body of infantry.  As the medieval wars dragged on, the concept of lances broke down and it became more normal for nobles to outfit and lead companies of their area's local men with consistent equipment and some once-a-month training (bowmen of Dumbhollow, Shitcreek company of pike, etc), which would be the norm until wars started waging so far away that kings and governments needed armies that were liable for service anywhere, not just in their area.
* Politician: you're part of the elite which means you have to spend an infuriating amount of time jockeying for influence or just protecting your current position.  If you don't play ball by engaging with the rest of the aristocracy and maintaining your status, you'll find yourself in disfavor.  If you're not seen as pious enough, the church will start hectoring you with the same effect.
* Mercenary: You fight for neighboring kingdoms in search for gold to pay for your needs but most importantly land to eventually claim as your own even after you claim a county or barony your descendants are not fully guaranteed to inherit the land. One example in history with many mercenaries is the taifa state period of the reconquista. Knights turned mercenary were common as the christian realms were not truly unified yet and the caliphate had collapsed into rump states meaning mercenaries would fight for various lords in attempts to become landed nobles.