Westerland Landed Knights

Westerland Landed Knights are part of the Westerland Peerage as well as the Westerland Chivalric Traditions. They were soldiers who ruled estates that were given to them (or protected, or granted lucrative trade rights, etc.), and in return provided military support to a nearby overlord. Until the Early Colonial Era, it was very common for both Governors, Earls and Freeholders to have Landed Knights. 
== Ranks and Structure ==
Landed Knights could, in some cases, work for other Landed Knights, or have Governors of their own. Landed Knights were relied on to provide a reliable and steady, continuous source of soldiers and resources needed by soldiers, and they also governed small settlements or fortifications that actually belonged to themselves entirely. Any people who lived on their lands were tenants or serfs, and were easily recruited into military action, or forced to train as militias. 
=== Bannerlord ===
A Bannerlord was a man who owned a fairly significant amount of land (enough that you could produce food and/or resources enough from it alone, to feed a whole village and still make a profit) and was capable of defending this land by means of commanding some men in the defense of it (known as his "Banner"). Almost exclusively, these would be Landed Knights, given their Land in remote parts of already established fiefdoms, and were basically glorified Bannerets. 
* See Westerland Military for more information on Bannerets. 
=== Manor Lord ===
A natural progression from being a Bannerlord, was the Manor Lord who ruled over a village and some surrounding land. It is important to note that the Manor Lord owned this village, and was Lord of all who lived within it, making him very different from a common Ealdorman or an Arl, who merely governed such settlements. 
* A Manor Lord would typically employ an Ealdorman to rule his village in his absence. 
=== Castellan ===
A Castellan was a Landed Knight who owned, and governed, both a village with land, and a fortification. It would be somewhat uncommon for a Castellan to rule a particularly grand fortification - more often than not, the fortification would be a Tower-House. 
=== Baronet ===
A Baronet is a Landed Knight who governs a considerable territory consisting of both a fortification and enough territories to form one shire, but not two. 
* Baronets control enough territory that they can realistically have other Landed Knights working under them.