Please feel free to add yourself to this list. If you are struggling with the formatting, please reach out to Dragoon Antoinette the Moosewitch, Master Seneschal, and she will be more than happy to help!

History

During the Middle Ages, a retainer referred to a person, more specifically, a soldier who was in service to a Lord or other person or rank. There is a difference between a vassel and a retainer. The usual distinction is that a vassal is a landowner who owes military service to a larger landowner, while a retainer is a personal follower/sevent to either landowner.

Within Belegarth

Retainership is offering allegiance and service to a knight or squire. Often this is done to learn from and study with a chosen fighter and prepare for a squireship. A retainer is a job title, much like a squire. Service, learning, study and hard work are expected. In some regions of Belegarth, a retainer may be called a page.

From Sir Kyrian Hawksword:
In Wolfpack, the retainer program was specifically geared towards new members as a type of sponsorship/mentorship program. In my mind, this has been a pretty successful program:
a) Knights and their equivalents are allowed 2 retainers, while squires are allowed 1.
b) The retainer must not be affiliated with a unit.
c) The program lasts for no more than 4 months/1 semester of attendance.
d) A retainer may choose to leave at any time during the retainership, either voluntarily or by affiliating with a unit.
e) The knight/squire would be responsible for making sure the retainers obtain basic garb and equipment.
f) During battles other than unit battles, the retainers fight alongside their knight or squire and go with their knight if picked for a team. However, marshals may rebalance the teams if needed. A retainer would not fight with the knight or squire during unit battles.

While being a retainer is not a guarantee of Knighthood, it is, for many, the first step on the path to peerage. You may be able to find more information here on this Facebook Page.

Current Retainers

Retainer	Retainer's Realm	Retainer To	Knight's Realm
Xeo	Tir Asleen	Sir Argent	Tir Asleen
Vitani	Morva	Sir Vak	Morva
Celes	Dunharrow	Sir Cidion	Dunharrow
C. Ewan Hellstormme	Loderia	Sir Killian	Wolfpack
O'sha	Numenor	Sir Solaris	Numenor