King Arthur Chivalry

Chivalry is portrayed many times throughout the medieval story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The code of Chivalry is mainly what defines, or establishes, King Arthur and his knightly court. It is the one object that keeps them mended together. There are

The chivalry code is from the knights including, constant attention to strength and courage, showing proper respect, especially to women, and truth telling, honesty, moral, loyalty, and ethics. King Arthur and his knights in Excalibur, shows the perfect code of chivalry. The three scenes that show perfect acts of chivalry are Arthur pulling the sword from the stone, being reunited with his wife and being glad to see her, his belief in the round table, and his brother admitting that he did not in fact pull the sword from the stone. The story, Excalibur shows perfect actions of chivalry with King Arthur and his knights.

It is interesting to note that King Arthur's life depends on two things: his remaining faithful to his word, and Sir Gromer, also a knight bound by the code of chivalry, remaining true to his word. If Arthur does not trust that Sir Gromer will honor the code and spare his life, it would seem unreasonable for him to agree to such a deal. In the end, we find that both men remain honorable, thus upholding this aspect of the code of knighthood.

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.

What are the main ideals of chivalry? More importantly, who followed and lived by the code of chivalry? Knights during the time of King Arthur were notorious for following the ideals of chivalry, and an honorable knight would follow these ideals till the end of his time. Chivalry is a combination of Christian and military ideals including: courage, honesty, faith, respect, loyalty and humility. In the movie Excalibur the life of King Arthur is followed from the days before his conception to the end of his life. King Uther Pendragon used magic from a sorcerer with immense supernatural powers named Merlin to change his appearance to look like the Duke; so, that he could sleep with the Duke’s wife. However, Merlin made lustful Uther Pendragon promise that whatever came out of this union would be his, and Merlin ends up getting Arthur from this union. Arthur grows up as a squire raised by another family who happen to be knights. Arthur soon finds out that he is going to be the next King of England and finds out that his father was the great Uther Pendragon. Throughout the movie Excalibur there are many instances and examples of chivalry in many different scenes. Ultimately, three of my favorite scenes exhibit instances of chivalry in the movie Excalibur.

Chivalry can be considered the code of the medieval warrior, that was based on a set of rules that include honor, valor, courtesy, and, at the center of it all, loyalty. Throughout Njal’s Saga, Njal and his wife are consistently showing chivalry especially when Njal helps Gunnar at the Althing, when he warns Gunnar about the Halberd, and when Bergthora says she will die in the fire with Njal. Similarly to the Nilsson, another character, from Beowulf, who is both a king and warrior consistently shows his chivalry throughout his poem; this warrior is called Beowulf. He shows his chivalry in different ways than that of Njal and his family; he shows his chivalry when he makes an oath to the king, affirms his promise my killing Grendel, and when he protects his men from Grendel. Njal, Bergthora, and Beowulf are both examples of chivalry, and they prove it through their actions that take place in their books.

The film first illustrates chivalry by a scene where knights sit around a round table. The type of chivalry that this scene shows is respect. Arthur built a castle for himself and the kingdom, in which he placed this table in the center of the castle by itself. Most tables that leaders sit at are rectangular, in which they sit on the ends, representing that they have the most power amongst the people. However, Arthur uses a round table to speak to his men. He does this because he respects their opinion and wants each of the men, including himself, to have an equal amount

     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.

In Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem, The Knight’s Tale, the author encapsulates chivalrous characteristics in his telling of a battle for love. In its fundamental form, chivalry idealizes a knight’s conduct, both on and off the battlefield (Gregory-Abbott). Chaucer employs this “heroic code [of] bravery, loyalty, and service to one's lord” to illustrate the idillic knight throughout the narrative (Rossignol). Chaucer’s poem, The Knight’s Tale, exhibits the ideals of chivalry in the form of two knights, desperately in love with the same woman, and a wise Duke who embodies the voice of reason. Each knight upholds honor through compassion, troths, and heroism on the battlefield, despite their afflictions with each other.

Chivalry was considered to be the code of behavior expected of a knight. It was the conduct, ideas, and ideals of the knightly class of the Middle Ages. It became standardized and referred to as chivalry, a term derived from the French word chevalier, meaning knight. The code urged the knight to be brave, courageous, honorable, true to his word, and loyal to his feudal overlord, and to defend his Church. A knight was truthful, honest, capable, educated, physically fit, noble, sincere, and subservient to the king. A serious violation of these vows could result in a knight being classed as an undignified knight, which was the ultimate insult because of all the hard work that was put into becoming a knight. It made it seem as if all of work

Chivalrous conduct can be described as, "qualities idealized by knighthood, such as bravery, courtesy, honor, and gallantry toward women,” (Ramsay) In the many stories surrounding King Arthur, his own story included, all contain this chivalrous conduct in the text. In the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain shows his courage and honesty. The Song of Roland is the story of a chivalrous man that is humbled and courageous through his experiences. The tale of Perceval, one of Arthur’s knights, is one that displays a whole new level of dedication and loyalty, The story of King Arthur himself also contains several elements of chivalry that he depicts to his followers. The theme of chivalry resonates within the four texts, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Song of Roland, Perceval: The Story of the Grail, and Morte D’Arthur, leaving the readers with a new hope for the future.

In The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer tells “The Knight’s Tale”, a story of the two knights Palamon and Arcite who fall deeply in love with Princess Emily, a member of Theseus’ kingdom. Even though both knights are imprisoned within a tower, each finds a way to escape jail and try to win Emily. Ultimately, this leads to a duel between the two knights for which the prize is the hand of Emily. Chaucer uses the knights to reflect the very male-oriented time period through the strong chivalry and courtly love displayed towards Emily, when in reality, he was trying to expose the flaws of the chivalric code, which led to the deadly feud between two fellow knights. Essentially, Chaucer is holding up a magnifying glass to what people of the

As a matter of fact, besides Atticus demonstrating the act of courage, one of the most courage attributes that Arthur proves is facing suffering with dignity, in other, display moral courage. One main important way Arthur reveals this skill is to conquer challenges is by attempting to communicate with Jem and Scout in the forms of gifts as messages. In the novel, Arthur is a shy and ‘innocent’ person, but not accordingly to the people of Maycomb. As rumors started surrounding Arthur as a young child, this led Arthur being humiliated if he were to show himself to society after isolating himself away from contact with human contact for almost more than twenty years. Because of separating himself from civilization “As Tom Robinson gave his testimony, it came to me that Mayella Ewell must have been the loneliest person in Maycomb in the world.

Chivalry is a medieval system that guided men to be honorable in faith, deeds, and social interactions. Many great men follow chivalric codes to contribute to their actions and what they are expected to achieve. In Le Morte D’Arthur, chivalric codes such as loyalty and faith in God are revealed throughout the story. Many of the knights in this poem are loyal to the king by displaying selflessness and serving him in battle and after he dies. Moreover, the excerpt reveals faith in God through the statement of King Arthur being alive in another place with the Lord Jesus rather than dead. “Yet some men say in many parts of England that King Arthur is not dead, but carried by the will of our Lord Jesus into another place; and men say that he shall come again, and he shall win the Holy Cross” (Malory 100). In The Lady of Shalott, Tennyson presents the

In a land with magical elements- elves, wizards, and potions- medieval heroes are brought to light. When a boy, born out of wedlock, draws a sword out of a stone, he unknowingly fulfills a prophecy and is proclaimed the rightful king of Camelot. This king, Arthur, and his Knights of the Round Table inspired stories that are reiterated even today. The formation of these tales can date back to as early as the twelfth century, when the foundational myth, Brut, was first written in Latin (Simpson 130). Often poems, many works of the time were told orally, resulting in the loss of sections or entire manuscripts. As time passed, other authors have added to the legends, even turning their focus to other characters and themes. Arthurian legends have evolved over time due to the introduction of Christianity, transformation of knight’s morals, love, and literary trends.