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Women in medieval literature and society
Roles of women in the medieval literature pdf
Medieval society and knights in Europe
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“A man’s body is given to him to be trained and then used for the protection of the weak, the advancement of all righteous causes and the subduing of the Earth . . . This was a part of a wider revival of the ideal of chivalry.” (Richards) During the middle ages, a knight was expected to possess not only the skills and incredible strength to face combat, but was also expected to temper his aggressive side with a code of chivalry. There is no such thing as the authentic code of chivalry, it is more like a moral system which went way beyond the rules of combat to introduce the concept of appropriate conduct. The qualities most often idealized were bravery, courtesy, honor and gallantry, especially toward women. Before this, the incredibly aggressive …show more content…
The Knights of the Round Table are the primary individuals, alongside King Arthur that must uphold Chivalry. Arthur solidifies the importance of chivalry within the fellowship by presenting a strong representation of nobility himself. In fact, the word most commonly used to describe Arthur is noble. “But ever King Arthur rode throughout the battle of Sir Mordred many times and did full nobly, as a noble king should do, and at all times he fainted never.” (Arthur, 187) Arthur is the leader of a fellowship that vow their lives to the protection of this code of ethics. Arthur does something very significant though that the majority of other texts at the time do not do. Morte d’Arthur recognizes the importance of the women in the presentation and recognition of the chivalric code. Chivalry is something that is presented in a very masculine way throughout the entirety of the text. However, one of the most important aspects of chivalry is the treatment of women, and therefore, a value is placed on women that in most societies prior did not exist. “The Morte d’Arthur focuses on the masculine activity of chivalry—fighting, questing, and ruling— while simultaneously revealing the chivalric enterprise as impossible without the presence of the feminine.” (Armstrong) One of the most fundamental themes of this text is the presentation …show more content…
Then, over time, these individuals began to become held to very different standards of behavior. Though it wasn’t until the tales of King Arthur that the Chivalric Code was officially referred to, this separation of expectations existed even hundreds of years before, within texts like Beowulf and The Aeneid. Though there was never any sort of official code of conduct, warriors knew that they had to be setting the example for others simply because they were in positions of such high power. In these societies, it was most often the case that the strongest man was the one that ended up the most powerful, so if these men began behaving according to a code with rather decent ethics, than an outcome could be expected that was rather pleasant as
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 most important aspect of the chivalric code is honor. Without honor a man is
How are women in the story portrayed throughout the book as the journey goes on? In the story King Arthur and the Knights of his Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green, the once and future king makes his knights take on unthinkable quests on the expedition. Women are portrayed as devious, evil, and untrustworthy.
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 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
Malory's Le Morte D’Arthur isn't known to be classic just because of Arthur-but rather the themes of family, love, revenge, identity, loyalty and betrayal. As King, Arthur is put in many situations that test the people he surrounds himself with. Therefore, betrayal has become a reoccurring theme. Throughout the novel, people are seen betraying each other. Betrayal has become familiar in a way to the members of the round table, ultimately leading to it's demise. The acts of betrayal occur in various forms, whether it be through adultery or just going behind the other person's back. Regardless of how it happens it brings about serious disorder for all involved.
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...
In the tale, The Knight’s Tale, Chaucer made sure not to deviate away from what he saw during his time because some qualities emerged as prominent figures. The Knight’s Tale made sure to exemplify the idea of courtly love and what it truly means to be a knight who follows the code of chivalry. Some of the qualities of being chivalrous is being generous, honest, courageous, and supporting the notion of justice, which the readers can see that Chaucer understood the significance of the noble behavior and how that affected people at that time. Furthermore, the article, “The Canterbury Tales for Poetry of Students” highlighted how the noble life of the chivalry was a momentous part of the tale since the tale was “a comment on the possibilities
In the medieval period that is described by Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, chivalry was perhaps the most recognized quality of a true Christian gentleman. This quality is explored in Chaucer's two characters of the warrior class, the Knight and the Squire. The Squire is in fact the son of the Knight; both ride gallantly and have the air of true gentleman warriors. However, the two are very dissimilar despite their appearances. The Knight possesses the true qualities of chivalry, devotion to service, constancy in humility, and honesty. The Squire possesses none of these qualities truly, instead his demeanor is a shell that encloses a less virtuous constitution. Although both claim the same vocation, the Squire and the Knight display contradicting attitudes in respect to dedication, material possessions, and sincerity.
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 ...
Chaucer gives to the knight one of the more flattering descriptions in the General. Prologue. The knight can do no wrong: he is an outstanding warrior who has fought for the true faith--according to Chaucer--on three continents. In the midst of all this contentment, however, the knight remains modest and polite. The. Knight is the embodiment of the chivalric code: he is devout and courteous. the battlefield and is bold and fearless in it.