The Code of Chivalry in The Once and Future King

1147 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Arthurian legends and royalty's effects on English society

The Code of Chivalry in The Once and Future King

T.H. White's novel The Once and Future King presents a code of chivalry that outlines the expected knightly behavior of the time. This particular code stresses loyalty to one's liege, love and respect toward women, and absolute devotion to justice. At the height of Arthur's kingdom, this code was widely accepted by all. However, as Arthur's kingdom begins to decline, the code of chivalry begins to hold less importance among the people. The fall of Arthur's kingdom is directly related to the absence of the code of chivalry in the behavior of the Knights of the Round Table. Sir Lancelot betrays Arthur when he has an adulteress affair with Guenever. Sir Lancelot also disrespects women when he leaves Elaine to be with Guenever in Camelot. King Arthur himself is disloyal to justice when he allows Guenever to be rescued by Lancelot.

The love triangle of Arthur, Lancelot, and Guenever is a constant theme throughout every account of the Arthurian legend. Geoffrey Ashe's The Arthurian Handbook states that "We may say that these knights are expected to serve their King..."(81). The revelation of the affair finally comes when Sir Agravaine shouts, "'Traitor Knight! Sir Lancelot, now art thou taken'"(White 569). Lancelot was summoned to Queen Guenever's bedroom, and Sir Agravaine is finally exposing the affair and gaining revenge on Lancelot for unhorsing him many times in the past. The two people that Arthur trusts most are Guenever and Lancelot. Arthur is well aware of the affair between the two, but chooses to pretend that nothing is going on. Due to this naivety, Arthur earns the disrespect (and even hatred) of Agravaine and Mordred, who eventual...

... middle of paper ...

...misuse of justice make way for Mordred and his ideas to take root in Camelot. All of these actions eventually lead to Arthur chasing Lancelot and waging war upon him, while Mordred takes over in Camelot. This symbolizes that there is no middle ground between good (Arthur) and evil (Mordred). As good dissipates, evil always grows stronger. However, the same goes for evil dissipating and good rising to power. Given the time period in which T.H. White wrote (post World War II), White is speaking of the downfall of Hitler and the rise of a new order in Europe.

Works Cited

Ashe, Geoffrey. The Arthurian Handbook. New York, USA: Garland Publishing, 1988

Morris, Rosemary. The Character of King Arthur in Medieval Literature. Cambridge:

Brewer Publishing Co., 1982

White, T.H.. The Once and Future King. New York: Penguin Putnam, 1987

Show More
Related

  • Code Of Chivalry In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Arthur's Unrealism: Monty Python, Gawain and the Green Knight, and the Destruction of

    4237 Words  | 9 Pages

    One of the most enduring myths in the Western world is that of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Regardless of the origins of the tales, the fact is that by the time they had been filtered through a French sensibility and re-exported to England, they were representations of not one but several ideals. Courtly love and chivalry and the various components thereof, such as martial prowess, chastity, bravery, courtesy, and so on, were presented as the chief virtues to aspire to, and the knights as role models. Arthur's eventual fall is precisely because of having failed at some level to fulfill these ideals in his life.

    Read More

  • Chapter Summary Of Francis Of Assisi

    1375 Words  | 3 Pages

    Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential personalities in the entire world. In the book ‘Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life,’ Cunningham recounts the life of this humble monk who lived in the medieval times, and shaped the Christian life, which spread in Western culture throughout the rest of history. I believe Cunningham accurately accounts for the life of Francis of Assisi, and in doing so; he provides a trajectory of the Christian faith from its early and historical proponents through its fusion with western culture, and its subsequent spread throughout the world.

    Read More

  • Saint Augustine’s Confessions Outline

    1158 Words  | 3 Pages

    Augustines first book is devoted to his early childhood and his reflections on human origin, memory, and desire. His ideas of God were very much influenced by the religious teachings of his day.

    Read More

  • Lancelot In The Knight Of The Cart

    1122 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the story The Knight of the Cart by Chretien de Troyes, the knight of the cart, or better known as Lancelot, shows off his prowess as a knight time and time again. There can be no doubt as a reader that Lancelot is a knight of incredible skill and ambition, and that he would do whatever it took to appease those around him, especially Queen Guinevere herself. While his skill may be unmatched, there is one flaw of Lancelot that seems to be overlooked by Chretien de Troyes, and possibly other readers, and that is his commitment to adultery with Queen Guinevere. Writing as a romance author, of course, the text includes Lancelot finally achieving what he seemed to desire most, the Queen. For Chretien de Troyes, his way of portraying Lancelot achieving his goal, was to have him sleep with Queen Guinevere.

    Read More

  • Augustine And Christianity: The Story Of Saint Augustine's Confessions

    1395 Words  | 3 Pages

    Which resulted Augustine in exploring the philosophical road that led to his conversion from Macheanism to Neo-Platonism to Christianity. But later felt sorrowful for his mother that had died and confesses to God that everyone is a sinner right when they were born and through God that this sin can only be absorbed. He later moves back to Thagaste and then became Bishop of Hippo. As a “doctor” of the Chruch, he defended Christianity against false (heretic) interpretation. After his conversion, he refused to teach rhetoric. Yet, in the end, no matter what sin he had done Augustine found his savior. Which led him to write about how to convey God’s truth to diverse audiences and demonstrates that both the Bible and one’s own life are texts to be read and assessed against the true Cristian Doctrine. The last four books were like an appendix and offers an interpretation of the opening of the Book of Genesis. When Augustine’s converted to Christianity his appropriation of Platonic ideas uses his past sins and later confesses to God that will eventually enhance his soul and body. The consequences of this appropriation are that sins are considered to be

    Read More

  • Saint Francis Of Assis

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    When news came out saying that “Assis and Pergiua were in a war,” Francis eagerly joined the army. Francis was then later caught and taken as a prisoner by Pergiua. But, then he was released from the hands of Pergiua. Francis was injured. So, St. Francis had to stay in the hospital while he recovered. There were no TVs, tablets, smartphones, or computers back then, so he had to try to find a way to entertain his self. There was a book in his quarters and out of boredom, he started reading the book. The book was about the ministries of God and the scripture readings. St. Francis thought the book was very intriguing, so he read more of the book. Then he had the warm, loving feeling in his heart. While St. Francis was praying outside of the San Damiano, St. Francis he had a vision from God saying, “Francis, go and repair my church which as you can see is in ruins.” The Lord was with him! After his time in the hospital, St. Francis went out into the world and did wondrous

    Read More

  • St. Francis Of Assisi

    2952 Words  | 6 Pages

    St. Francis of Assisi was born in Umbria in the year 1182. He was a child every father hoped for, he was filled with life, a determined and courageous individual. He was gifted with rather good looks, qualities that attracted friends and a gift of leadership. His father was an extremely wealthy merchant in Assisi. But this son, his favourite, was the one who broke Peter Bernardone’s heart. The boy turned on his father, and in a vicious event that eventually resulted into a public scene. St. Francis of Assisi stepped away from his father, his business and left his father in a state of immense emotional suffering.

    Read More

  • The Code of Chivalry

    1625 Words  | 4 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • The Baptists

    2831 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Baptist denomination started in the 17th century during the Stuart monarchy, in Britain. An assembly of Puritan Separatists that were exiled in Amsterdam began the first distinguishable Baptist group in 1608. This group of radicals lead by John Smyth and Thomas Helwys, arose in England along side the Puritans. They believed that the Church of England had been corrupted by the Roman Catholic tenents. The radicals believed that Anglicanism could not be transformed and that true believers should separate from it. While in Amsterdam, they developed an idea that baptism should be directed to those who could testify that they were a true believer and that their infant baptism had no standing in the New Testament. To this John Smyth led a small clan into denyin...

    Read More

  • Chivalry Lesson in Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

    1589 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Role of the Qur’an in Muslim Religion

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Qur’an is believe to the ultimate source of God by many Muslim believers. It contains 114 suras for the believers as the core practices of the Islamic religion and Muslims throughout the world recites its verses (Chang, Lecture. 1/21/14). They believed the prophet of Allah was Muhammad, who received the words of Allah through Angel Gabriel, and was passed on with the Qur’an during Ramadan. Angel Gabriel one night came to Muhammad “in clear human form” (“Scripture and Tradition in Islam- The Qur’an and Hadith” 104), and gave the messages from Allah to him. From the establishment of the Qur’an, Muslims have viewed the book as the last revelation of their god Allah, and thus are the true words from God for their ways of life and in reaching Allah in their afterlife. The book also teaches “mankind’s responsibility assigned by God” (Gordon 115). Therefore, Muslims practices in ways to prove their devotion towards the new religion of Islam by being faithful, and performing religious practices.

    Read More

  • Philosophies Through the Years: Augustine of Hippo, St. Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther and Karl Marx

    1554 Words  | 4 Pages

    In researching his life, I found interesting facts that originally he did have a Christian belief system. However, after the death of his mother, he returned to Rome where he by a bishop named Ambrose began teaching him scripture and later who baptized him. What I found extremely interesting is that he was not a fan of Greek literature and in fact disliked many Greek writings. Because of this one fact, he was limited to the language of the Christians, which was Latin. This I also found to be a break from previous philosophers who seem to be great thinkers of Greek society. Augustine also framed the concept of the original sins and just war. Augustine believed that Christians should be passive and peaceful people but he would lay the foundation of terms that a nation should go to war about.

    Read More

  • Sir Lancelot Character Analysis

    616 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sir Malory once again makes us ponder whether this could be true after we witness Lancelot’s actions in “Morte D’Arthur”. Sir Lancelot’s heroism and constant response to King Arthur’s call of duty show us that he is chivalrous. However, once Sir Lancelot “slew Sir Agravain, and after twelve of his fellows” his chivalry was stained (p 444). The controversy of Lancelot’s chivalry is inflamed when his “love for Guinevere drives him into battle” and causes the “deaths of Sir Gareth and Sir Gaheris” (Harrington 67). Is the killing of several people justified by one act of chivalry? Sir Lancelot essentially “modifies his points of honor” in order to justify his actions.(Harrington 69) Sir Lancelot’s need to modify his code of honor in order to escape a predicament let us know that his character is at times

    Read More

  • Religion Essay

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...er of Allah. However, god protect the writing of Quran but humans still possess free will and it mean they change or twist the “MEANING” of the words in their own languages to suit their agendas. And because of that there are many sects in Islam today but they all have the same Quran.

    Read More

More about The Code of Chivalry in The Once and Future King

Open Document