Godord / Knights of the Order of Saint John (Hospitaler)
Origin: The godord originate from mostly within the tribe itself. The basic idea behind the Godord is that they are a philosophical group or clan within the tribe and as such made up from the many different people from within the tribe and not from any one area of the world in general. They have come together to represent basically the best that the peoples of our time period would have had to offer in the forms of intellectual learning, science and all other areas that would have required some form of education beyond the basic skills that the average man would have had. They are the defenders and teachers of customs and beliefs that our people would have had in pre-Christian Europe as well as the keepers of records and knowledge in our society and the spiritual guiders of our people.
Members: Members of the godord are drawn from all the clans within the tribe and as such one can not become a member of the godord without first being a member in good standing of any of the other clans for at least 6 months. This represents the time it would have taken in real life experience to gain the respect of the people within there own lands needed to be seen as a teacher and defender of the faith and the faithful. As such being a member of the godord is a privilege that must first be granted by the council of there own clan and then accepted by the council of the godord. All members of the godord are referred to as Gothi/male or Gyoja/female and the plural Form would be godar. There leadership ideally would only truly be known to those within the godord with the exception of the Grand Gothi/Gyoja who will hold the voting power on the tribal council for the clan.
Colors: The colors of the godord will be silver and brown.
Totem:
History of the Clan: The godord for Tribe Woden Thor started the day that Elder Gerath came into the lands of the peoples of the Tribe and has since been developed from those members of the tribe that have gained the respect and knowledge needed to be recognized as teachers and healers and even judges among there people. This clan is a mixture of beleif systems including the more pagan and christian. In the later times of the Tribe the governing system of the clan respresents and order such as the Kights Hospitaler.
Clan Chieftain, (Grand Gothi) Elder Gerath In our later time this person will be referred to as Grand Master.
Clan First Sword, (First knight) unknown, This person is the leader of the military arm of the godord which will be referred to more commonly and in our later years as Hospitalers.
Clan First Defender, (First Defender) unknown, This person is the law keeper of the godord and in the later time would b referred to as Grand Prior
Clan Herald and Historian, (Herald and Historian) unknown, title is the same for the later time period.
This next section is added solely to provide some historical information concerning part of the role that is represented within the Godord
History of the Knights Hospitaler
The History of the Knights Hospitaler can be dated back 600AD when Abbot Probus was commissioned by Pope Gregory the Great to build a hospital in Jerusalem to treat and care for Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land. In 1005 Jerusalem was taken by the Turcomans, who came from the kingdom of ancient Persia. 3000 Christians were massacred and the remaining Christians were treated so badly that throughout Christendom people were stirred to fight in crusades. The hospital was destroyed during the battle for Jerusalem. In 1023, merchants from Italy were given permission by the Caliph Ali az-Zahir of Egypt to rebuild the hospital in Jerusalem. The new hospital was built and served by the monks of the Benedictine Order during the First Crusade. The monastic hospitaller order was founded following the First Crusade by the Blessed Gerard, Gerard acquired territory and revenues for his order throughout the Kingdom of Jerusalem and in Europe. His successor was Raymond du Puy de Provence who established a new Hospital near to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
Duties of the Knights Hospitaler
The group initially cared for the pilgrims who had reached Jerusalem following a long and arduous journey. However the order was soon extended into providing an armed escort to pilgrims. The escort soon grew into a substantial force. The Order of Saint John the Hospitaller included both knights and monks. The members of the Knights of the Order of Saint John the Hospitaller were both monks and knights. These men of the new order took the monastic vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience and they added a fourth vow, which bound them to protect pilgrims and fight the infidels.