Each different aspect of the code of chivalry held a separate role in society. Whether it be religious or barbaric, chivalry tended to hold a moral guideline among those who followed it. This moral guideline held them true to their duties to man, God, and women (Sex, Society, and Medieval Women). All of which are reflected in the three themes of Chivalry: Warrior chivalry, religious chivalry, and courtly love chivalry (Sex, Society, and Medieval Women). These three hold their individual roles, all stimulating a different part of the mind and creating a code held by all areas of life in those who hold it. The underlying question posed in this intense pledge is whether those who took the oath lived it out accordingly. To live out Chivalry is to go against the logic of the human mind. That is a hard task. Canterbury Tales provides one example of a man fighting against the odds. The kenight portrayed in the story can be compared to that of the quarterback of a football team. That knight truly took the leadership of his role and lived out all of its responsibilities. On the other hand, in midst of the popularity, a large majority of knights truly embraced only certain aspects of the pledge of Chivalry. They used their title and their pledge to court women and gain an upper hand on everyone else around them. The corrupt behavior of these knights is why the general consensus of a knight’s success in following the pledge of Chivalry is failure. The mind of a man still finds its origin in the Social Darwinism concept of a man’s mind. This idea plays the leading role in the failure of knights in the medieval period to live out their oath of Chivalry in every aspect of this oath. The first of three roles of a Chivalrous knight is his du... ... middle of paper ... ...creates impossibility within the system. It is impossible to perform duties to the Lord and a king at the same time for the overlap causes a choice to be made at some point. Knights failed in the oath of chivalry. They let their natural instincts take the reins in an almost impossible system where no room is left for fault. Works Cited Beals, Natalie. "Chivalry in Malory." Digitalcommons.liberty.edu. Liberty University. Web. . "Medieval Code of Chivalry." Castles. Web. 04 Nov. 2011. . "Medieval Knights." Think Quest. Oracle. Web. . "Sex, Society, and Medieval Women." River Campus Libraries. Web. 04 Nov. 2011. .
Life during the Middle Ages was full of social change, division, and classism. This feudal society of Britain was divided into three estates. (social classes) Within the second estate was the the knight who was a soldier for the king who fought in many battles. Even though the knight is expected to have the strength and the skills to fight in battle, all knights during the Medieval period additionally had a chivalrous aspect to them. Chivalry was the honor code of a knight which included bravery, courtesy, honor, and gallantry toward women. Within the stories of the “Wife of Bath’s Tale” and “Le Morte d’Arthur”, the code of chivalry was broken by knights which show the corruption of England’s feudal society.
When Maurice Keen set out to write a book on the components and development of chivalry, he did not know it would be “the last word on a seductive subject,” as stated by one Washington Post reviewer. Instead, Keen was merely satisfying a curiosity that derived from a childhood fascination of stories filled with “knights in shining armour.” This juvenile captivation was then transformed into a serious scholarly interest by Keen’s teachers, the product of which is a work based upon literary, artifactual, and academic evidence. Keen’s Chivalry strives to prove that chivalry existed not as a fantastical distraction, as erroneously portrayed by romances, but instead as an integral and functional feature of medieval politics, religion, and society. The thirteen chapters use an exposition format to quietly champion Keen’s opinion of chivalry as being an element of an essentially secular code of “honour” derived from military practices.
Many forms of chivalrous code can be found today, from The Cowboy’s Code to the Rules of Courtly Love. These codes are stated with the hope that people will try and follow them to some degree; yet only the perfect could adhere to them all. Considering the fact that such perfection is impossible, the authors merely set out a guideline for honorable behavior. In the context of medieval times, a knight was expected to have faith in his beliefs; for faith was considered to give hope against the despair that human failings create.
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.
Chivalry is the code of conduct on which someone, in particularly the Knights, acts on honor, courage, and to protect the Queen and all women. I’m sure that we all know someone who acts on this basis and strives to make it so he gets it to where everyone else does. In today’s world we don’t call it chivalry, instead its called rules and laws, laws that keep us in line so we don’t get out of control and accidentally do something that we shouldn’t have done. I know in wrestling and every other sport we have these special rules that go for everyone on the team, we can’t do anything that will become an issue with our training. It’s kind of like in every where that we have regulations, no smoking, no drugs, no this or that, but sometimes those are hard rules to follow and when they are broken there are consequences. In the two stories Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Morte D'Arthur we see knights actually following the code of “Chivalry.”
Closely associated to the romance tradition are two idealized standards of behavior, especially for knights: courage and chivalry. The protagonist within many medieval romances proved their worth by going on quests, as many a knights went in those times, thus returning with great tales of their travels and deeds. Many modern people think of chivalry as referring to a man's gallant treatment of women, and although that sense is derived from the medieval chivalric ideal, chivalry could be seen as more than that. Knights were expected to be brave, loyal, and honorable-sent to protect the weak, be noble to...
The knight from The Wife of Bath Tale is the least moral of all the knights, because of his unbelievable actions towards women. “He saw a girl...alone as she was born, and, despite her resistance, he ravished her” (Chaucer, “The Wife of Bath Tale” 184). He clearly didn’t care about being chivalrous or having any morals when he molested this girl. Even though he is considered a knight, or squire, by King Arthur’s court “..King Arthur had in his court a lusty squire..” (Chaucer, “The Wife of Bath Tale” 184). The knight still had the nerves to undertake such a disgraceful and despicable action towards someone whom he was suppose to have courtesy for. His actions have not only dishonored King Arthur but every knight of the court as well. Although the knight is hopelessly adulterated in his own selfish desires, he does show a scant amount of chivalry when he says to the old lady“You have my word” (Chaucer, “The Wife of Bath Tale” 187). By saying this the knight shows that he possesses honor, a virtue of chivalry, the virtue of being able to keep one’s word. But after being saved by what the old lady taught the knight, he tries to bail on his word when she requested him...
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 was done for nothing.
The code of Chivalry can be described as a brave, loyal, courteous, distinguished courage or ability that is admired for their brave and noble qualities. Chivalry is a system of ethical ideals that arose from feudalism and had its highest development in the 12th and 13th centenry.(Columbia ElectronicEncyclopedia).Respect is an essential part of chivalry. The code of chivalry is a set of rules followed by the knights during the middle ages. The evolution of heroic and chivalry code has changed over time beginning from the Middle ages to now. The three stories Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Lanval and Beowulf illustrate what it takes to be considered a chivalrous knight.
If you were to live during the Feudal System era there would be divisions in classes. One of the more honorary titles would be of knighthood. During the late middle ages the rank of a knight had become associated with the code of chivalry. The code insightfully explained how Knights were not to be crazed, but instead were to be gentlemen with devout Christian beliefs. Because of their belief in Christianity all of the biblical principles came upon them. In one of the better known Arthurian stories, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the code of Chivalry becomes exposed. “ For that is my belt about you, that same braided girdle…” (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, 458) Sir Gawain had made a promise to the Lord of the house that they would exchange what each had received each day. In being selfish and deceitful he decided to break the code of chivalry. Instead of keeping the promise, he kept the girdle that he had received from the Lord’s wife. Another example of Chiv...
In today’s society the differences in morals between the rich and the poorer classes are virtually non-existent, but during Medieval times “morals and, above all, the virtues at its center, played an important role not only for distinguishing between good and bad, but, more importantly, even for the structuring of society” (Virtus 1). The aristocracy class and the immoral poor class had morals but how they demonstrated them varied; the aristocratic class used chivalry as the basis of their morals, while the immoral poor class did not. Chivalry was not only a code of conduct for those who followed it; chivalry was a way of life. ‘Chivalry first arose in Europe during the Crusades. Chivalry dealt with loyalty honor, and service to women on and off the battle field’ (“The Medieval Period: 1066-1485” 76). The Knight in The Canterbury Tales is the perfect example of someone who follows the code of chivalry. Chaucer describes him with much admiration as “a most distinguishable man, who from the day on which he first began to ride abroad had followed chivalry, truth, honor generousness and courtesy” (Chaucer, "The Prologue." 117). While Chaucer praises the knight for ...
In everybody's life, there is something that makes him or her strive for success. That something can be money, a significant other, fame or many other incentives. To the medieval knights, victory renown and glory are the ambitions they strive for. Breaking a law in this code would be considered a disgrace, and would bring a dishonor worse than death itself. However, by applying the Code of Chivalry, the knights in medieval time displayed certain character traits that would secure success and honor in both battle and morality. In the book Ivanhoe, by Sir Walter Scott, a knight named Wilfred of Ivanhoe illustrates this by devoting his attention to keeping the rules of the Code of Chivalry, which consisted of love of adventure, integrity and loyalty to the king, to name just a few. These character traits of Ivanhoe coupled with strong characters and a realistic setting allow the reader to understand the importance of a strong set of moral guidelines to all individuals of all times in spite of Sir Scott's excessive detail and confusing subplot.
Over the past several decades, chivalry has transformed into something completely different than what it was considered in historical society. Chivalry flourished in western Europe between the mid-12th and the 16th centuries, and its rules applied primarily to the aristocratic fighting men who were called knights. The ideals promoted by the heroic code—bravery, loyalty, and service to one’s lord—were later softened by contact with the Christian church as its influence spread westward. During the Middle Ages, knighthood emerged as a feature of feudalism, the political, economic, and social system in medieval Europe in which kings and other overlords granted land to certain of their followers in exchange for military and other services. (Rossignol) Among other things, chivalry placed women on pedestals where they were to be worshipped and protected.
Chivalry of knights and kings different than chivalry is now “There are four elements in great medieval romances of chivalry, they are heroism, prowess, love, marvels, and the romance form itself “ (Barber 55). This says what their morals were and how they lived. This is important because people get a glimpse at how they thought and acted. So they liked to act like heroes, they wanted to be good at what they did, they loved romance, and needed adventure and wonderment in their lives. “Loyalty, comradeship and prowess are the knight’s great virtues; counterparts are treachery, faithlessness and cowardice” (Barber 60). The best thing about being chivalrous is individuals are considered loyal, have great friendships and a determination to be great. This is important because people understand how high of a standard they lived by. They were held to a high bar some more things that were required were “ To fear God and maintain his church, To protect the weak and defenceless, To live by honour and for glory, To obey these placed in authority, To eschew unfairness, At all times to speak the truth, To respect the honour of women” (Alchin). This is only a few things off of a pretty long list, the word choices are pretty old but these are actually rules or guidelines we try to follow today. They are loyal which is a very good character