Chivalry

Literature of the Middle Ages can not be discussed without acknowledging the undeniable importance of chivalry. Chivalry in relation to the middle ages is defined as “the code of conduct adhered to by Medieval knights with gallant knightly values including honor, bravery, courteousness and honesty.” This key characteristic is essential in defining an ideal knight as well as his expectations. A knight must live by a chivalric code in which he becomes indebted to the people, his fellow knights, and most importantly, his lord. No other knight displayed more of a devotion to upholding the code then Lanval of Marie de France’s lai “Lanval.” Lanval demonstrates his chivalric nature in essential every action from maintaining comitatus amongst the

Elements of the medieval romance are evident in the movie First Knight. As such Chivalry is clearly evident through the action of Lancelot in the First Knight. This is shown when he goes out to rescue Lady Guinevere from the ambush in the forest and from Malagant castle where she is being held captive after being kidnaped in Camelot, Therefore, this is a clear depiction of chivalry in where the knight goes out to save the damsel in distress from danger. Another act of chivalry is when Lancelot embarks into the gauntlet which is a contraption that test one’s courage, bravery, and skill to be able to pass. Therefore, Lancelot goes through the gauntlet without any protection to display his skill and bravery to impress Guinevere. Consequently,

Whats a good medieval romance without chivalry? The combination of qualities expected of an ideal knight, especially courage, honor, courtesy, justice, and a readiness to help the weak. “The world of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is governed by well-defined codes of behavior. ... The ideals of Christian morality and knightly chivalry are brought together in Gawain's symbolic shield. The pentangle represents the five virtues of knights: friendship, generosity, chastity, courtesy, and piety.”

In two stories there is a code that knights follow. Chivalry is the code that they follow. The code says that a knight should be a brave warrior, a good christian, and selflessly fighting for justice. The knights are supposed to fight for their king and queen. In the stories Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and from Morte d’Arthur they show the idea about chivalry.

In the Medieval Period, knights dedicated their lives to following the code of chivalry. In Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, a number of characters performed chivalrous acts to achieve the status of an ideal knight. Their characteristics of respect for women and courtesy for all, helpfulness to the weak, honor, and skill in battle made the characters King Arthur, King Pellinore, and Sir Gryfflette examples of a what knights strove to be like in Medieval society. Because of the examples ofchivalry, Le Morte d’Arthur showed what a knight desired to be, so he could improve theworld in which he lived.

     An act of chivalry is described as the qualifications or character of the ideal knight. Knights were expected to uphold this code of conduct. In the English literature Le Morte d?Arthur, French for ?The Death of Arthur?, by Sir Thomas Malory, the characters display acts of chivalry from beginning to end. Though the code of chivalry contains many qualities or acts, nevertheless bravery, loyalty, and courtly love are demonstrated more throughout this literature.

My personal code of chivalry is to stand up for those who can not stand up for themselves. Those who are less fortunate, mentally challenged, and or physically disabled. I was raised in a house where you respect and stand up for anyone in need. Being a bully was not tolerated in my house, being a friend to all was expected by my parents. My mom told me at a young age “everyone understands a smile”, whether they speak the same language, have a handicap, or are considered an outcast. A smile can go a long way, and make anyone feel included.

A common belief is that a big part in the code of chivalry is courtly love. This is false. The documentary says the code of chivalry bound the aristocratic fighting class and protected the aristocracy families. This doesn’t have and didn’t have much to do with romance. Courtly love is more of the term to use for the code the knights followed in regards to romance. Chivalry was mostly a knights’ duties, roles, and behaviors he was to follow in order to remain honorable. It relates to the knights’ relationship with one another. Courtly love focused on how a knight treated his women. In The Knight’s Tale these two codes are at war with one another.

By analyzing Sir Gawain’s attempts of following the Code of Chivalry and the fundamental thoughts and actions of human nature helps to further analyze Gawain’s character. The definition of Chivalry is the “set of values and code of conduct for the medieval knightly class” (Shatz) examining Gawain’s attempts to achieve his goal of being the perfect chivalric knight, the nature of his obstacles has to be determined, and the development of his character has to be analyze. In trying to live up to perfection, Gawain discovers that he is not perfect just like society today.

It is largely acknowledged by historians that, while it is difficult to be definitive in the meaning of chivalry-with Maurice Keen believing it to be a ‘word elusive of definition’- it came to denote the culture of a martial estate which ‘regarded war as its hereditary profession’. Thus, it could be considered that the violence of war had large implications on what people began to perceive to be chivalry. Additionally, the focus on violence- such as the participating in tournaments and jousts- further emphasises the close link between carrying out violent acts and the idea that a knight was being chivalrous.

Tournaments during the medieval ages are not just to show look stunning but, to show how powerful from that particular castle. It also is used for entertaining other kingdoms with jousting. Tournaments can also be used to sharpen one’s skill set. Tournaments can help a knight in battle with the skills he learned from the tournaments.

The origin of the word chivalry is from the French term “chevalrie”, literally used to describe the characteristics of armed knights on horseback.1 It did not originally include the moral aspects which it had become later known for. Into the later times in the Middle Ages, chivalry began to be a more concrete code of conduct which was followed by the high class and knights.1

At this point in history the men who fought the wars were lead by their leaders with a code of chivalry. Chivalry can be explained as “the Anglo-Saxon code on steroids.” (McGee) Which is, explained further, a moral system for a good way to conduct fighting. The knights in Arthurian time went even further with that code to say that it was a way to conduct oneself not only in battle, but at all times. Knights, by being chivalrous, were kind to all people, fought well and true, kept faith and believed in the Christian God, and fought for their kings. Chivalry can be found across the Arthurian texts, The Song of Roland is one of the texts that has multiple examples of chivalry.

Chivalry as a concept is something that has baffled many medieval historians over the years. Chivalry was supposing a code that knights and nobles were to live their lives by however like many social structures of the past historians have debated over what exactly chivalry was. According to Sir Walter Scott chivalry was meant to be a code which knights could aspire to not necessarily carry out. His description does seem to be accurate. Chivalric principles could not be carried out in real life. Froissart’s image of The Hundred Years War are romanticised in such a way that the historian must be careful not to take a lot of the text too seriously. Perhaps we should forgive Froissart for this, compared to modern standards his accuracy would fall short simply given the time he lived in. His accounts often came from supposed eyewitnesses that would of course have manipulated their accounts to suit themselves. Therefore when reading Froissart’s Chronicles and concluding whether or not his accounts are accurate one must take caution and remember the purpose of his writings and who he is working for when completing them.

What was the middle ages in Europe like? Well, a man named Charles T. Wood wrote about it in a book called The Quest for Eternity: Manners and Morals in the Age of Chivalry. In this book, it is divided into four sections: The formation of Medieval Europe, The Age of Expansion, The Apogee and Hard Times and the Chivalric Afterglow. This book contains the living conditions of peasants, the church and the aristocrats. It also includes agricultural revolution such as the invention of the heavy plow and it looks over the fall of the Romans, the Crusades and lastly a time before the Renaissance. The following review of The Quest for Eternity: Manners and Morals in the Age of Chivalry by Charles T. Wood will include a summary of the book and a review.