Chivalry began in the 12th century in the form of a knightly code of conduct, with special emphasis on courtly manners toward women. Thirteenth century stories that showed the ways a warrior should behave in romance became popular . Churchmen liked the idea of high standards and made the knighting ceremony a religious occasion with a church vigil and purifying bath. Books on the subject soon began to appear.
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.
I chose to use ‘The Code of Chivalry’ for my comparisons on literary characters great successes and failures. For my first example, I chose the brave and fearless Beowulf. According to the 19th code of chivalry, one must ‘Destroy evil in all of its monstrous forms,’ and also ‘Exhibit courage in word and deed.’ Beowulf proclaimed to fight the evil Grendel, saying “We shall fight for our lives, foe against foe; and he whom death takes off must resign himself to the judgment of God (1200).” After the battle, the terror-filled Grendel crept away, mortally wounded. Beowulf had upheld this particular code with valor and bravery.
For my second example, I looked to Sir Gawain. The story of the Green Knight is seeped with instances of chivalry, and honorable men. “Always keep one’s word of honor,” was an obvious code for this particular story. Not only did Sir Gawain show respect for the codes of chivalry by serving his king, exhibiting courage, and fighting with honor; he kept his words of honor that had been spoken with the Green Knight. Although he was distracted in his course, he kept the appointed new year challenge with the knight. Not a perfect instance of chivalry, yet his example leads nicely into my next character assessment.
Don Quixote, if nothing else, must be praised for his valiant efforts to follow the laws of the great knights. After encountering a man beating a half naked youth, he informs him that “it is a caitiff’s deed to attack one who cannot defend himself.
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. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain shows qualities
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.
In White’s work chivalry can be seen as the substance that pulls knights away from the ugly violence they possess within themselves. In my essay, I will use this source as an Example to show the positive perspective of chivalry within an anti-war society. Archibald, Elizabeth “Malory’s Ideal of Fellowship.” Arthuriana 43.171 (1992): 311-328. Web.
This code of chivalry all came from King Arthur. It all began with Arthur’s father, Uther. Uther gets a sword from the Lady of the Lake and this sword is named Excalibur. Later on in the battle among England, Merlin (the magician) grants Uther his wish in return for whatever he asked for. As for this wish, Uther slept with Egrain’s wife as he asked and impregnated her with his soon to be son, Arthur. When Arthur was born Merlin came for what he was promised, and took Arthur away with him, raising him. What Merlin did know was that Uther’s son was soon to be the new King of England. This soon to be king, Arthur, must become a knight and granted the right to be king. However; there are three examples of chivalry from the two texts, "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and "Morte d’Arthur" are courage, honor and to protect the queen and all women.
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.
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.
The epic poem, “The Lay of the Nibelungs” (1200’s), set to practice the major pillars in the code of chivalry that the Duke of Burgundy in the 14th century eventually condensed and ascribed to the Burgundian Knights: Faith, Charity, Justice, Sagacity, Prudence, Temperance, Resolution, Truth, Liberality, Diligence, Hope, and Valor. Though values bear merit, “The Lay of the Nibelungs” teaches that true worth and longevity comes from assessing the situation and applying intellect to the code, from submitting to God, and from not cheating the system (the laws and cultural norms of the time that be).
In the 13th century, knights were held to a high standard in society; not only because of their military skills and fighting abilities, but because of their gentlemanly behavior and activities in the community. The church created a code of manners (according to Barbara W. Tuchman) that helped put the knights in favor in the church as well as put the knight's prowess with a blade to use. In the excerpt of Barbara W. Tuchman's "A Distant Mirror", she goes in depth about the code of manners and behaviors that the knights of the 13th century had to follow to be held honorable at that time. Knights in the 1300's were given a code of manners that they went by to be the best of a Gentleman, Lovers, Fighters, and to be a great man in total.
The legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table molded chivalrous conduct. The Knights of the Round Table possessed many aspects of chivalry, but each of them had flaws. Sir Lancelot, for example, wasn’t entirely loyal to King Arthur because of his desire for Guenevere. He remedied the situation by fighting for his king in the battle against Sir Modred. While the chivalry of the Middle Ages is thought by most to have been reserved for royalty, this was not the case. Common folk also exhibited chivalrous conduct, though in less glamorous ways.
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 first example of “Chivalry” can be found in Morte D’Arthur when Sir Bedivere shows his courage to King Arthur. When he finds King Arthur lying in the field dying he weeps “Then Sir Bedivere wept for the death of his brother.” (page 191 middle of page) he weeps but soon he stops because it is cowardly to weep over someone who fought for his honor. Soon after King Arthur has him take his sword (Excalibur) and throw it in the water even though it’s a holy sword and he could take it for his own well being. He shows courage by showing that he will do what the King wants and will do it in a timely manner, but he doesn’t throw that sword in the water. He shows courage by betraying his King but still sticking around to see what the Arthur wants him to do next.
First, The Knight is an extraordinary character because of his excess amount of chivalry. Chivalry is the medieval knightly system with its religious, moral, and social code. “And at a Knight I therefore will begin. There was a Knight, a most distinguished man, who from the day on which he first began, To ride abroad had followed chivalry, Truth, h...
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 is the combination of qualities expected of an ideal knight, especially courage, honor, courtesy, justice, and a readiness to help the weak. In the 12th and 13th century, chivalry was normal to every knight ever known. They wouldn’t think twice when it came to helping the elderly, less fortunate, or women. In
Chivalry was a code of honor that developed for armed knights on horseback, the most powerful fighters in medieval warfare. The word is related to cavalry and to the French word chevalier, which means horseman, and gained its meaning during the Middle Ages (E...