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Code of Conduct
(An Analysis of Chivalry in The Green Knight and Arthur)
Have you ever felt the need to do something in order to keep your honor? Have you ever followed something morally or religiously? Chivalry is the moral and religious code of all knights. It is found many times in several pieces of framer literature. In the Green Knight and Arthur, chivalry is found many times throughout the two stories.
The first form of chivalry in the Green Knight is when Sir Gawain decides to fight the battle with the Green Knight so that King Arthur doesn’t have to. Him stepping up shows that he is willing to protect the King and his court. It also shows that he is trying to keep his honor as a knight. He says in the story, “For I had come to this court on combat bent.” (Line 45) He’s basically saying that he has come to the court to fight. This shows a great amount of chivalry.
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Chivalry is shown when Arthur fights his own son, Mordred. It would be hard for any parent to kill their own child, but Arthur knows this is something he needs to do. Even though Arthur is told that he will die if he fights this battle he still goes through with it. He says, “Now, tide me death, tide me life, now I see him yonder alone, he shall never escape my hands.” (Page 189) Overall, he’s saying that even if he lives or dies, he will still fight this battle against Mordred and he shall not give up until Mordred is
When approached by the Green Knight, Sir Gawain encounters a stretch in character. The Green Knight, not invited to King Arthur’s party, made an entrance the court would never forget. They were, “celebrating in style: not a care in the world.” (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, 2006, p.4) His arrival not only caused a shock to the King and his court, but he advised a challenge to the knight who would accept it. Sir Gawain was the only knight who took the life threatening challenge. The court, full of supposedly chivalrous knights, did not take pride in the court and the King, but rather in themselves. The dilemma, then, was whether or not Sir Gawain would be fulfilling the role of a chivalrous knight when he was taking part in such a distinct situation compared to any of the other knights. “Most noble knights were afraid to respond, so stunned by his voice that they stayed there stock-still in an eerie silence which filled the great hall. Their voices were as silent as if they had fallen asleep.” (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, ...
Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’arthur, T.H. White’s Once and Future King, and George Romero’s Knightriders encompass the evolution of the Arthurian tale from Malory’s time to the 1980s. Through this time many things have changed and these changes can be seen within the differences between each work. While there are many prominent differences chivalry or the knightly code is one of the main forces that tie these tales together. Malory reworks many of his sources to bring attention to the grand fellowship of Arthur’s Round Table and the chivalry that holds the knights together. Malory idealizes the power of chivalry and gives a great importance to it throughout his text. Unlike Malory, White does not idealize chivalry, but he does see the good and honorable aspects of chivalry. From Sprague Kurth’s article, “Conclusion,” it is clear to see that White gives his text an anti-war stance and shows chivalry and the controlling moral compass of Arthur’s knights. Chivalry is once again idealized in George Romero’s Knightriders the situations within the film are modernized but the emotions and illusions remain the same. T.H. White is directly referenced within the film and Malory’s idealization of the glory of chivalry can once again be seen. In my essay, I will show how chivalry is used in all the texts above as a bonding agent between all Arthurian knights. As Arthur’s knights honor and respect chivalry they remain as one cohesive group, but once they begin to abandon chivalry the Round Table begins to crumble and chaos ensues.
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.
Chivalry was largely based upon the church’s teachings and many of the pillars of chivalry are directly involved with the church. The Knights of the Round Table are full of pride and enjoy many worldly comforts. Sir Gawain is the most chivalrous of these knights and so the one most aligned with the church. Sir Gawain is tempted throughout the story without giving into the comforts of this world, he rejects them again and again, all but one. This sash that he keeps not only causes him to be cut on his neck but also to realize that he was not a true chivalrous knight, he gave into the love of this world and his life, this failing kept him from being a proper knight in the eyes of the church, the code of chivalry and himself. By wearing his new sash and striving against the temptation to indulge in this world Sir Gawain became an even better knight, a knight who has no fear of
King Arthur and his knights represent the pinnacle of bravery, chivalry, and honor. However, when a strange knight, the Green Knight, enters Camelot with a challenge, none of the knights accept it (?). No knights wanted to go blow for blow with the Green Knight for fear of losing their lives. It is not until Arthur rises to face the challenge, to defend the honor of his court, that Gawain steps forward and accepts it. Therefore, the purpose of the Green Knight is to teach Sir Gawain to value his honor and the honor of the king more than his life.
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, King Arthur gets ready to commit in the battle of the Green Knight until Sir Gawain stepped up and insisted that he be the one to fight. Sir Gawain said to King Arthur, “I beseech you, Sire, / Let this game be mine” (Gawain Poet 124-25). By Sir Gawain requesting to King Arthur that he must step before the Green Knight instead of the King, Gawain showed many acts of bravery and loyalty to his people, which gave him the characteristics of showing honor and being an Anglo-Saxon Hero. Sir Gawain stepped up to this incredible mission because he knew he was the weakest of the knights, and believed that no one would miss him, but instead when Gawain went up for battle the Green Knight refused to strike. The Green Knight has said, “It was I who sent her to test you. I’m convinced / You’re the finest man that ever walked this earth” (Gawain Poet 354-55). The Green Knight had his wife give Gawain the green sash in order to test him, the Green Knight knew Gawain had the courage to compete against him but he just wanted the knights to realize it. Sir Gawain shows honor in this literary work, because even when he wanted to doubt himself and give up he never did, he kept fighting and eventually made it to the Green Castle even though he knew he might not make it out alive. He insisted to follow
In the movie A Knight’s Tale the two main knights were William Thatcher and Count Adhemar. They both showed chivalry and courtly love, but not correctly. More of chivalry was followed more and the right way. The movie is very loosely based on Geoffrey Chaucer’s book Canterbury Tales. His father always wanted him the change his stars so he would not live in poor life forever. Even though both knights were good, William was better because he followed chivalry, courtly love, and prowess in battle.
This was the code of conduct that the knights had to uphold in the tale. When Sir Lancelot is in danger of being killed, he says to Queen Guinevere that “I will save you from all manner adventurous dangers” (301). Here, Lancelot is obeying the Chivalric code because he is promising to protect Guinevere. However, Lancelot is also seen breaking the Chivalric Code. This is seen when he kills Sir Colgrevance of Gore.
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 a big part of this fourteenth century and it was embodied throughout the men of king Arthurs round table. In General, Chivalry was a set of religious values and moral goals that medieval knights
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.
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.
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...
Many tales of courtly love are also tales of chivalry. Chivalry began to develop in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and since then, chivalric literature has existed as one of the main sites of human rights and social criticism (Wollock 266). In chivalric theory, an honorable knight gives respect to others in all matters of action and of speech (267). Chaucer describes the knight in The Canterbury Tales by saying, “He nevere yet no vileynye ne sayde / in al his lyf unto no maner wight. / He was verray, parfit gentil knyght” (Chaucer 70-72). While Chaucer’s knight is not a true example of courtly love, for Chaucer assigns the Squire that trait, he does possess the qualities of chivalry, which allow him to present a story of courtly love in his tale.
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 ... ... middle of paper ... ...