Between the heights of the Grey Mountains and the depths of the Great Ocean there lies
the lands of Bretonnia.
Compared to the other nations of man that surround it, this realm might be seen as a
backwater, an archaic land of lowly peasants and antiquated ideals.
The foolish might mock the gallantry of its soldiers and the customs of its people, but
the Old World has not yet advanced beyond the need for men of courage.
Against foul creatures, vile sorceries, and the ruinous powers of Chaos itself, there
is no sight more striking than the thundering charge of the Knights of the Kingdom of Bretonnia.
More so than any other nation, Bretonnia is united under the high ideals of chivalry,
nobility, and social birthright.
The feudal society that exists within its borders was once commonplace across the Old
World, but has since been largely replaced by more efficient methods of governance elsewhere.
Bretonnia today is the last human nation that follows this system, with no direct central
government, overarching bureaucracy, or social mobility.
Instead, the foundation of the Kingdom is a series of vows and oaths of loyalty, sworn
between individuals across the nation’s rigid hierarchy.
Bretonnia can be broadly divided into two distinct groups.
The upper nobility and the common peasantry.
The nobility is honor bound to protect and provide for those under their charge, while
the peasantry is expected to tend the land granted to them, and muster to their liege
lord in times of war.
Lesser lords serve greater lords, bringing with them all the lands and peasantry under
their command.
At the top of this pyramid is the King of Bretonnia, known as the Royarch.
Whoever acts in this role wields absolute authority, able to pass any law or legislation,
while bound to none.
Beneath the Royarch serve the Dukes, nobles who, in turn, preside over their respective
dukedoms.
While the King has the power to create as many Dukes as he wishes, the title is meaningless
without land, and in practice, only fourteen such fiefdoms exist.
A complex hierarchy of marquises, earls, viscounts, barons, lords, and knights make up the remainder
of Bretonnian nobility.
Barons in particular enjoy a special place in the Royal Court, making up the majority
of the Royarch’s advisors and close servants.
Why this system has survived in Bretonnia while failing elsewhere in the world might
be explained by the uniquely Bretonnian Code of Chivalry.
This custom governs the actions of the nobility and serves as an informal set of laws by which
they regulate their respective lands and peoples.
At its core are a set of 7 commandments, which over time have become integral within the
Kingdom’s society and government.
A noble must above all: Serve the lady of the lake;
Defend the domains entrusted to him; Protect the weak and fight for the right;
Always fight the enemies of virtue and order; Never give up the fight until the foe has
been defeated; Never break faith with a friend or ally;
And always display honor and integrity.
What might be mere words to outsiders are, within Bretonnia, held to the highest esteem.
Different nobles might interpret these commandments differently, but they are universally adhered
to and respected.
Such idealistic values define the entire Kingdom but there exists a darker side of Bretonnian
society within the ranks of its peasants.
Its lands are notorious for the strict and harsh treatment of its commoners, whose lives
are lived in far worse conditions compared to the lower classes of Sigmar’s Empire,
Tilea, Estalia, or even Kislev.
Most are kept illiterate and uneducated by law, with few, if any, rights.
While the exact nature of their tithe will depend upon their lord, most peasants must
surrender upwards of nine tenths of their crops each harvest and therefore remain extremely
poor throughout their lives.
They are likewise restricted from leaving their home estate without explicit permission
and as a result, a certain degree of inbreeding is common.
Bretonnian justice is similarly harsh on the peasantry and often ruled by superstition.
It is not unheard of to be hanged for stealing or poaching, while far harsher penalties are
dealt to any commoner who attacks or harms his social superiors.
A small but growing class of professional tradesmen and merchants has started to emerge
between the historical division of Bretonnian society.
Without access to formal education, they are for the most part, self taught or instructed
through some private arrangement.
These artisans, craftsmen, and skilled semi-professionals live almost exclusively in the Kingdom’s
few cities and larger towns.
They are socially segregated from the bonded peasants, expected to give fealty to their
lord, but free to travel with few restrictions.
In times of war, both the nobility and peasantry are expected to muster, albeit in vastly different
roles.
Only the nobility is permitted to wear plate armor and carry heavy weaponry, and it is
from their numbers that the legendary Knights of Bretonnia are mobilized.
These Knights are exceptional warriors and guardians, surpassing even the Knightly Orders
of the Empire as the greatest armored cavalry in the Old World and likely beyond.
Bretonnian Knights are divided into four generalized categories.
The lowest of their order are the Knights Errant, the young sons of noblemen who must
work to prove themselves in battle.
While untested, they have honed their martial prowess through constant training and tournaments
and might already be considered elite warriors compared to their counterparts in other nations.
Those who have proven their skill and valor in combat are granted the title of Knight
of the Realm.
They are bestowed their own domain, typically a few acres of land, and a village or castle
over which they have absolute rule.
While Knighthood is generally seen as the path to achieve a higher station amongst the
nobility, there are those who would reject such rewards and responsibilities.
The most ambitious or desperate might become a Questing Knight, relinquishing all their
worldly possessions, titles, domains, and even family.
They are forbidden to use the lance, the traditional weapon of a knight, and instead must rely
upon a sword, until such time as they have earned their weapon back.
They set forth across the land to win both glory and the attention of the Lady of the
Lake, the beneficent deity of all Bretonnia.
Only by conquering the most dangerous challenges - Orcs, Dragons, Chaos Knights, and worldly
temptations - can a Questing Knight find entrance to the hidden glade and behold the Lady of
the Lake.
If his heart is pure and virtuous, he is allowed to drink from the ancient Grail and become
infused with a part of the goddess’s own power.
In that moment he is transformed into a saint amongst men and a warrior beyond compare.
They ride into battle atop the finest steeds, from armored warhorses to soaring pegasi and
ferocious hippogryphs.
By ancient tradition, only a Grail Knight can serve as King of Bretonnia, selected by
a conclave of such Knights upon the death of the previous Royarch.
When the Knights of Bretonnia muster, they call to them their vassals who in turn conscript
their sworn peasantry to serve as auxiliary forces.
Only commoners are permitted to wield ranged weapons such as bows or trebuchets, as such
things are seen by Knights as dishonorable and cowardly.
These men have drilled in only the most basic forms of military training and possess no
internal hierarchy.
Their tactics are therefore typically simple and homogeneous enough to function smoothly
in most circumstances.
The role of the peasants is to unleash volleys of arrows and maintain a line of men-at-arms.
Once battle has been joined, the true core of the army, the Knights, are unleashed on
the enemy’s flank or rear, tearing through firestorms of lead, arrows, or magic to crush
their foes in one overwhelming strike.
Of all the forces to wage war in the name of Bretonnia, there is none so dangerous or
inexplicable as the Green Knight.
This single warrior, feared throughout the Old World as the “Soul Killer”, is a being
of supernatural power, charging without warning from behind rushing waterfalls or still lakes
to wreck terrible vengeance against any who would threaten the land.
He has been known to appear to aspiring Grail Knights as the last test they must overcome.
The personal Champion of the Lady of the Lake.
For every Knight is armored as much in steel as in faith.
Religion within Bretonnia is again divided between class, with the nobility devoted to
the Cult of the Lady.
Revered throughout Bretonnia, the Lady of the Lake is the Kingdom’s goddess of purity,
nobility, and courage in the face of danger.
She is the romanticized embodiment of chivalry, a figure every knight aspires to serve without
any hesitation or doubt.
To some, she is the very heart and soul of the country, an elemental incarnation of the
land itself, and the guardian of all its people.
A mysterious representative of the Lady, known as the Fey Enchantress, walks the lands of
Bretonnia, with even the King himself bowing to her wise council.
She exists outside the hierarchy of political power in Bretonnia, appearing where she wills.
Tales are told of the children she gathers to her side, who are then taken to the enigmatic
“Otherworld”.
The girls taken occasionally return years later as “Damsels of the Lady”, blessed
in spirit and heart.
Of the boys taken, nothing is ever heard again.
While the Cult of the Lady has its adherents within the peasantry, it is the Cult of Shallya
that holds the most sway amongst the common folk.
Mutually respected by all the great human nations of the Old World, Shallya’s promises
of mercy and relief have enamoured the downtrodden lower classes of Bretonnia.
The teachings of the Lady and of Shallya might at times contradict, however both religions
are tolerated within the Kingdom and even represented within Castle Couronne, the current
home of the Royal Court.
The divide between the nobility and peasants is as ancient as the Kingdom itself, stretching
back to its very founding.
The earliest days of their history have been lost to myth or legend, but the lands that
would one day become Bretonnia were first settled by the High Elves of Ulthuan.
These colonies were eventually lost or abandoned during the disastrous War of the Beard fought
against the Dwarven Empire.
In time, these ruins were found by nomadic groups of humans, primitive tribes with little
knowledge of metalwork or warfare.
Successive migrations brought new waves of human settlers, among them, the Bretonni,
who eventually achieved a place of dominance.
When the great Barbarian King Sigmar founded the Empire of Man, he extended an invitation
unto all the Bretonni warlords to join his new confederation.
He was rebuffed, with the Bretonni unwilling to accept a foreigner as their king.
For nearly a thousand years their tribes warred against each other and the other threats of
the world.
It became tradition for the best and bravest young man of each village to be armed and
ready at all times.
In return for his protection, he was granted the finest food and drink by those he defended.
Over the centuries these “Knights” as they became known, grew physically superior
to the peasants they were sworn to protect, and their ramshackle watchtowers were replaced
by domineering castles.
The disparate villages of the land grew to become petty kingdoms, each with their own
ranks of nobility.
Such paltry domains were no match for the terrors of the Old World and the lands of
Bretonnia were ravaged by the taint of undeath and destructive greenskin hordes.
Outnumbered and surrounded, the lords of Bretonnia surrendered to despair, all save one.
The legendary Gilles Le Breton, newly crowned Duke of Bastonne rallied a grand army to his
banner, but even his united force was hardly a match for the Ork Waaagh that marched against
them.
The morning before the inevitable battle, a true miracle unfolded as an ethereal and
heavenly woman arose out of the mists of the lake beside which their army had made camp.
Inspired by some genius or desperate madness, Gilles Le Breton asked the Lady of the Lake
to bless their bloodstained and tattered banner.
When it was lowered beneath the waters, it then emerged completely restored and emblazoned
with the sigil of the Grail.
The Lady held forth the chalice itself and Gilles and his two most loyal companions drank
from it, becoming the first of the Grail Knights.
In the battles that followed, these three men did as much slaughter as the rest of their
army combined and the lands of Bretonnia were not only scoured of the Greenskin menace,
but united under their first true Royarch.
Gilles Le Breton formalized the Code of Honor that now form the basis for chivalric knighthood,
and all across Bretonnia, noble warriors gave up their castles to embark on the paths of
a Questing Knight.
By the time Le Breton and his companions had passed from the Earth, ever more knights succeeded
in their own quest for the Grail, strengthening and emboldening the Kingdom.
With Bretonnia itself secure, the dukes looked beyond their traditional borders.
When the Southern realm of Estalia was invaded by Jaffar, the hated tyrant of distant Araby,
envoys pleaded with Bretonnia for aid.
Bretonnia’s victory over Jaffar’s armies and the treasure they seized from the deserts
ushered in the first of the Crusades, Holy Wars fought across the world in search of
honor and riches.
Crusades have taken the Knights of Bretonnia far from home, even across the Great Ocean
in the jungles of the New World.
The greatest war, however, was fought within the Kingdom itself and would decide the very
fate of Bretonnia.
In the wake of a terrible plague known as the Red Pox, terrifying ratmen erupted from
the earth across all the Bretonnian duchies.
Nearly a third of the population had already been devastated from the plague and it seemed
that the Kingdom would fall to the verminous hordes that now assailed it.
Salvation arrived in Duke Merovech of Mousillon, the greatest and richest duchy within the
Kingdom.
Together with his black-armoured Knights, they lifted sieges and saved villages, routing
the ratman in every encounter.
The endless battles had begun to change the Duke of Mousillon, who revelled in the slaughter
and quickly repulsed the other Knights of the Realm.
The Royarch of Bretonnia, no longer able to ignore the crimes of Duke Merovech, challenged
him to single combat as punishment for his disgraceful acts.
When the two joined blades, the Duke tore out the King’s throat, drinking his dead
lord’s blood from his own chalice.
Faced with the combined might of Bretonnia, Merovech was eventually slain and the Dukedom
of Mousillon reduced to a cursed, impoverished land plagued by disease and the attention
of the darker powers.
Such wars have repeatedly threatened to destroy Bretonnia, but through the chivalry of its
guardians and the faith of its people, it has endured.
The Kingdom stands today as one of the great human realms of the world, an unshakeable
bulwark against the growing evils of Chaos and the other monstrous creatures that threaten
the continued existence of civilization.
Under the rule of Louen Leoncoeur, the greatest king in generations, Bretonnia has been mobilized,
ready to stave off the visions of destruction that have come to the Royarch from the Lady
of the Lake.
There is no end to the perils that must be defeated if mankind is to live in peace, but
if every morn brings a noble chance, every chance brings out a noble knight.
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