House Winton

House Winton is a lesser known Imperial Knight House and noble family of the Imperium whose history stretches back to before the Long Night, when it first rose to prominence on its homeworld as its protector and ruler. Since becoming servants of the Emperor the scions of House Winton have branched out and by the 41st Millennium its members have continued to serve the Emperor as not only Knight pilots but also as merchants, financiers, and naval officers. In fact, only a small minority of its members end up becoming Imperial Knights. That is not to say that the dynasty has neglected its knightly origin and traditions, as it still prides itself on its martial capabilities, but they are no longer the only source of its influence and power. The family has significant financial and business interests. Unlike many of the other Knight Houses, however, House Winton prefers to remain in the shadows and avoids the public eye, instead subtly working to pursue its interests from behind the curtain, although in recent times many have wondered whether or not those interests still align with those of the Imperium.
It is based on the former Agri-World (now Knight World) of Manticore in Segmentum Ultima, from where the House manages both its territorial and financial holdings. By the 41st Millennium the Wintons have secured themselves a financial and trade empire that stretches across multiple sectors while also possessing an experienced force of Imperial Knights. Since it reached this status, Manticore has become more urbanized and produces less food but functions as a regional hub for trade and finance. The family's fortune and its secluded, secretive nature has made it the subject of suspicions of treason, although thus far none of these have been proven.
==History==
===Origin===
The origins of House Winton are in many regards far from unique among the ranks of the Knight Houses of the Imperium. Tracing its lineage back to before the Age of Strife, it has been a prominent family of the Agri-World of Manticore for millennia, but by M41 the exact date of its establishment is not clear as no documents from those times have survived (at least as far as House Winton has publicly acknowledged). Its prominence began with the interstellar colonizing ships in which noble families were formed over generations before arriving on a new world. During the time of the chaotic period of the Long Night began, the nobles of Winton had secured an existence for themselves as the protectors and rulers of Manticore. One aspect in which they were a bit more unique among their fellow Imperial Knights is that House Winton did not win its power with the (literal) iron fist of its machines. They refused to take part in the petty squabbles among the other lords, and while the Winton family did contribute its iron Knights to the defense of the planet from the myriad of xenos and rogue threats, they also worked behind the scenes to gain political control.
As the other feuding aristocratic houses bankrupted themselves by endless war, conscripting large peasant armies and destroying the farm fields that produced food, House Winton loaned to them money at an interest. It started out with the founder, Lord Julian Winton, loaning several million gold crowns (the planetary currency at the time) to another house at interest. This process continued throughout the centuries, with House Winton and its territory acting as a neutral party and loaning money to the other lords. By the time of the final millennium of the Long Night, this process had allowed it to gain control over the other noble families (which had exhausted themselves from the fighting) as all of them were deeply indebted to this one House. In the meantime, the House had also used its new increasing wealth to maintain its Knights to fend off rivals as well as acquire new ones from other families in strategic agreements. The Knights of Winton also gained invaluable combat experience while defending the world together in coalitions when it came under attack from the many threats within Segmentum Ultima.
Thus the Lords of Winton had established themselves as Manticore's main undisputed merchant and banker. Over the next few centuries the family branched off-world and made similar economic agreements with its neighboring systems, becoming very wealthy. Finding an array of petty warlords at war with one another, House Winton was more than happy to play the role of banker with them as well and assisted these worlds financially, forcing them into debt and using the threat of their formidable Knights—which most of them had no way of effectively dealing with—to make sure that these barbarians paid them back, although the interest insured that they kept having to pay. This began their interstellar business "empire" that would continue to persist over the next millennia well into M41, a family tradition that many of its members argued even surpassed the traditional warrior duties that House Winton had also taken upon itself with the possession of its Knights. Certainly, while it was a formidable Knight House, the name of Winton came to be associated in the sector with banking and trade just as much as it did with jousting or open warfare.
By the time the Imperium reestablished contact with this minor Agri-World during the Great Crusade, sometime around the 30th Millennium, they were greeted by House Winton's representatives. The pragmatic merchants and Knights agreed that it was best to pledge fealty to the Emperor. Although those Imperial authorities that became aware of the true nature of the Wintons' business practices tended to look down upon them, at the time the Great Crusade was raging on and they wanted the House's military support. The Wintons delightfully agreed, and while the Knights of Winton fought on many battlefields in the Emperor's name their more enterprising family members began to take advantage of the stabilized situation in their home sector to solidify the House's parasitic position as the main economic power there. The introduction of the official Imperial Mint, the Throne Gelt, was welcomed and promoted by the Wintons as a common currency made it even easier for them to engage in finance and decreased the need to exchange numerous local currencies while bickering over their value.
===Imperium===
As the Great Crusade progressed and House Winton expanded its financial dealings to other sectors, the family also invested in many Chartist Merchant Captains, making deals with the end goal of increasing their own wealth. Of course, their typical predatory practices also continued, but their fairly backwater location and ability to "make arrangements" with Imperial officials kept the Imperium's authorities from taking any direct actions to curtail these practices. When the unrest of the Horus Heresy began, their expansion was significantly stalled by the ongoing warfare, and this was when House Winton had the opportunity to brush up on their martial skills. It was a rude awakening to a family that had not engaged in direct warfare for decades by then. Still, the Imperial Knights of Winton proved on multiple occasions that they remained a worthy ally to the Imperium by fighting on multiple battlefields during the Heresy and remaining firmly loyal to the Emperor. It was during this time, under the leadership of Septimius Winton, that they adopted the saying Domine, dirige nos ("Lord, guide us" in High Gothic, referring to the God-Emperor) as their motto, but critics of them complained that it was merely symbolic posturing.
For their service in the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy, as well as thanks to many bribes, the local Imperial officials of the sector legally granted the House a special status in terms of all trade and finance in the region. In the aftermath of the chaos caused by Horus, the Lords of Winton made deals with more free merchant captains and rogue traders which were mutually beneficial and greatly increased the House's wealth. The Wintons also began to "infiltrate" other aspects besides Knighthood. Up until then, most members had originally fought as Knights before going into other fields, but around M32–M33 the name of Winton began appearing among the lists of Imperial Navy officers and Adeptus Administratum officials on Terra. Among the more famous ones was Baron Dimitrio Winton, who for several years had served as the Lord High Admiral Ultima.
In the following years after the conclusion of the Horus Heresy and the subsequent Great Scouring, the offensives against the remaining Traitor Legions, beginning in the 32nd Millennium, the House continued to focus on increasing its wealth. During the age known as The Forging, the Nobles of Winton took advantage of their new privileges to establish the sector's banking system. In a chaotic universe where permanent and effective communication was impossible and countless local currencies were in use, the Knight House used its already strong influence on the local economy to set up its own banking system. This was done with the usage of the Throne Gelt, which the family has always promoted, and the opening of these banks across the sector that were financed, managed, and protected by the House ended further solidifying their control. This made it much easier for the local populations to obtain access to rarer goods and services, especially if they came from more primitive worlds, and obtain some security for their wealth as it was well defended by the Knight House. This new system that continued to be developed throughout the sector until around M34 was regarded as a major success, greatly increasing House Winton's financial power.
The new wealth allowed it to expand its arsenal and hire more men-at-arms from Manticore, where it became the leading noble dynasty by the time of the Horus Heresy. It also allowed it to effectively maintain its Imperial Knights and acquire more.
===Present===
==Notable Campaigns==
==House Culture==
Unlike most of the other Knight Houses, that prided themselves solely on their combat ability, House Winton has always been more oriented towards finance and trade. Thus the Knights of Winton have always valued such traits as cunning, guile, and duplicity rather than honor, loyalty, or other traditional knightly ideals. Because of this other Knight Houses often view the Wintons with distrust and suspicion, and rightly so, while also despising their enterprising into finance which they view as evidence that the House is not living up to the martial heritage of the Imperial Knights. Their instance on being very inward-focused and secretive have also contributed to rumors and speculation about the House's true loyalties.
Members of the House of Winton themselves always valued deception above brute strength and have a strong sense of family bonds, even if these are for the purpose of gaining themselves more power. The pursuit of power and wealth has long surpassed loyalty to the Imperium or anyone else as their top priority. While they have focused on these pursuits, they have not completely neglected their martial role, as many of the House's members at least initially serve as Knight pilots and undergo the Ritual of Becoming. However, this number has become increasingly smaller in recent centuries.
==Notable Knights==
House Winton fields a variety of different Imperial Knights, many of them having long histories, but the most commonly fielded models are the Knight Errant and the Knight Crusader. Since coming into contact with and joining the Imperium, they have also obtained one Knight Styrix called Dominus Rex. Their wealth has allowed them to increase their arsenal in recent times.
==House Assets==
Besides its Knights themselves, House Winton have made themselves into one of Segmentum Ultima's wealthiest Knight Houses through their extensive financial and business empire, dating back to the days of the Long Night. They have an influence and business network that stretches across the sector and beyond it. The House is based on the former Agri-World of Manticore, which it rules directly. It also has banks, trade outposts and other facilities on different planets throughout the sector, and has a number of civilian starships for personal transport. Those are its publicly assets, at least, and the Wintons have never made it exactly clear how much wealth they have in total. This consists of both physical gold as well as money in different currencies (most notably the Throne Gelt), but also its investments in numerous businesses and merchant ships, revenue from different past agreements and deals, the value of Manticore and its food production, and of course the money it has been earning at interest from the various loans it makes. The exact total of this is a matter of speculation among those Imperial subjects that are aware of the House's extensive activities and members of the Inquisition.
===Men-At-Arms===
Following the tradition of noble families on Manticore conscripting massive peasant armies, House Winton has a considerable force of Men-At-Arms, officially known as the House Foot Guards. These often accompany Knights on missions or other members of House Winton on their business deals, primarily serving as bodyguards as opposed to soldiers. In some extreme situations they may function as line infantry, but protection of the Winton family is their primary goal. Protecting the House's estates and castles on Manticore is another one of their duties, along with occasionally policing the peasant population. The Foots Guards are in many ways like a Planetary Defense Force, but with a personal loyalty to the Wintons as opposed to Manticore. The average recruit comes from the commoner class of Manticore, enlisting for a chance of a better life in the employ of the Winton nobles, and undergoes training that is similar to other PDF training regimens across the Imperium. Additionally they also train for the specific role of accompanying and fighting with the Imperial Knights.
The Men-At-Arms are divided into a number of regiments, with each Knight being assigned a company for his protection, while others are stationed on Manticore to provide security and function as a police force or normal PDF.
==Notable Members==
The following individuals held the title of The Right Honorable Lord Winton (often shortened to The Lord Winton) as the high king of the House:
*Julian Winton (c. M26)
*Septimius Winton (c. M31)
*Andreas Winton (903.M41–present)
Other members of the House, notable Barons:
*Lord High Admiral Sir Dimitrio Winton
==Heraldry==
The coat of arms of House Winton includes a full achievement of armorial bearings consisting of a shield on which the arms are displayed, a crest displayed on a helmet above the shield, supporters on either side and a motto displayed on a scroll beneath the arms.
The motto "Domine, dirige nos" (Lord, guide us) was first used during the Horus Heresy as a way of showing the House's Loyalist status.
Category:Imperial Knight Houses
Category:Imperial Knights
Category:Imperium of Man