This is a argument research essay

The Knightly Faade: The unfeasible journey of knightly honor illuminated in Le

Morte D Arthur chivalric code.
Knighthood lies above eternity; it doesnt live off fame, but rather deeds. This quote
by Dejan Stojanovic symbolizes what people believe Knighthood and chivalry to be
about. As people, we learn from stories of the past to set examples or create life
lessons. The epic tales of knights and the honor they demonstrate is such an example.
Knights are held to an inhuman pedestal in our minds; their battles and acts of
heroism are what we in a realistic sense hope to aspire to character wise. However this
pedestal is proved false over and over again in perhaps the most famous of knightly
tales, that of king Arthur in Le Morte D Arthur.
(The Sun Watches the Sun)
Le Morte D Arthur is a classic collection of tales about the great King Arthur,
Guinevere, Lancelot and the Knights of the Round Table. It shows the life and death
of many characters that readers have known for years and have held in high regard.
Le Morte D Arthur outlines many great deeds, rescues and acts of heroism, but it also
shows the downfall of King Arthur and his moral system called the Chivalric Code.
Honor, trust and chivalry are huge factors in the world we live in today, without these
there would just be chaos and anarchy. This is what the world was to an extent in the
medieval ages; there was no police or giant prisons to lock bad people away. The only
government or rules where laid down by the king and enforced by his knights. With
most men, power goes to their head and like Lincoln said Nearly all men can
stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him
power. Le Morte D Arthur tests this theory repeatedly in all the characters and
shows how they fall short of our idealistic expectations, because in reality they are
just as mortal as everyone else.
Scholars say the idea of being knightly, is being honorably selfless and helping
those in need. This perception came from one of the variations of the Arthurian or
other medieval tales. It may the classic Le Morte D Arthur or just tales of King
Arthur and his knights of the round table. Le Morte D Arthur shows the introduction
of the chivalric code by king Arthur.
charged them never to do outrageousity nor murder, and always to flee treason; also,
by no means to be cruel, but to give mercy unto him that asketh mercy, upon pain of
forfeiture of their worship and lordship of King Arthur for evermore; and always to do
ladies, damosels, and gentlewomen succour, upon pain of death. (82)
The above quote taken from Le Morte D Arthur is part of the chivalric code laid
down by King Arthur. In succinct format it basically entails that he expects his knights
to never murder, refuse treason, do not be cruel, give mercy to those who ask, worship
the king and always uphold the honor of women. By agreeing to this they became
King Arthurs knights and doomed themselves to an impossible degree of perfection.
The characters do their best to uphold the code of ethics they have been sworn too and

repeatedly do so. They have such adventures as the quest for the Holy Grail, the
rescue of Guinevere and many more acts that earn them their stripes as knights. One
such example is by Sir Gryfflette, one of King Arthurs knights, when he goes in
search in of King Pellinore. Gryfflette knew Pellinore a vastly more experienced
warrior yet he still went to battle against him, which showed his passion and courage.
Moments like the battle between Sir Gryfflette and Pellinore show the stark contrast
and the eventual paradoxs to come in which the knights, King Arthur and even his
Queen fail at basic ethics let alone the chivalric code. Basic age-old flaws, such as
jealously, lust, adultery and power all come together to break down the perfection that
is the code.
Adultery in Malorys Le Morte d'Arthur is a prominent downfall and Achilles heel to
many of the characters, even King Arthur himself commits adultery when he was a
young man. Kennedy argues that in Malorys Le Morte d'Arthur readers mostly
predict that there is only one uniform code of ethics and chivalry for a knight.
Whereas she says that there are actually three ethical ideals of knighthood. The first of
three is the feudal ideal of heroic knighthood, the second is the religious ideal of
knighthood and the third and final, is the secular worshipful knighthood. Each one of
these ideals, which is manifested in certain characters, shows how they handle
adultery and the punishment that goes along with committing it. This scholarly
outlook shows how some of the knights deal with their indiscretions in different
ways, such as Lancelot who rationalizes his love for Guinevere, his kings wife. He
considers it to be true love, so how can that be wrong?
This approach that taken by Kennedy on this topic in Le Morte d'Arthur, is highly
interesting and different. In her writings she doesn't state that they are knightly and
should not do these things, nor does she condemn them all for their actions. She
separates them based on their knightly actions, so by committing their sins they are
still following a slightly "warped" version of their chivalric code. This is agreeable in
my eyes to a certain point, but in my mind they are merely just being mortal men and
not the "knightly" persona that stories and legends come from.
The chivalric code starts of as a moral oath; actions and heroic deeds came second. In
the medieval times there were no contracts or binding legal documents, a man's word
should be as good as his bond was the method that was implemented. So to fully
understand analysis must be done on the chivalric code its self.
Joanna Bukowska in her Promises kept and broken uses a research model of "speech
act theory to centre upon the illocutionary expressions invested with executive power
by socio-historical dynamics of conventional interaction." With this she shows the
verbal Chivalric culture of the medieval times and how it was used and how it was
manipulated. An Oath in the mediaeval ages was considered a verbal moral
commitment to do a certain task or feat. Your social character was viewed by your
ability to stay true to your word. By using this speech code theory it gives a
contemporary outlook to Le Morte D'Arthur and the characters that lay down the oath
to king Arthur. Bukowska shows that the more personal the oath the higher the
commitment or loyalty there is from the Knight.
Bukowska 's used a modern-day speech act theory and applied it to medieval literature
this I believe is a great analysis tool to divulge the deeper meaning of the chivalric
code or just enable a 21st century scholar to understand. The way we talk gives away
roughly ninety percent of what we mean and the more into to something you are the

more likely you'll invest yourself into it, such as the knights and their oaths. The
interesting part is applying this theory to the situations that arose during the Le Morte
D'Arthur as all the knights made the oath to their king and the codes that go with it.
But yet nearly all of them fail in keeping in direct line with them. Each character
upholds different parts more strongly than others and I believe this is where the
speech act theory comes in and deciphers between an action and where the characters
real moral compass actually lies.
They are all knights and serve King Arthur, but one wishes to overthrow him, his most
trusted Lancelot bedded his wife and even he himself committed adultery when he
was younger. This is truly ironic that as a reader we know of these facts but the
characters do not. So when Arthur lays down his chivalric code that he expects to be
followed to a tee, he himself has already broken some of them. What kind of ethics
code is that if you yourself cannot even abide by it?
Nature verses Nurture coined by Francis Galton is the reason behind the eventual
failure of the chivalric code. Humans naturally fail to their nature no matter how
much nurturing of rules are brought into play. Than seyde Sir Launcelot, "Fye uppon
hym, untrew knyght to his lady! That so noble a knyght as Sir Trystrames is sholde be
founde to his fyrst lady and love untrew, that is the Quene of Cornwayle! (272) The
quote above proves this point through the character Guinevere who knows that to lust
over or seduce Lancelot is wrong not only because she is married but because it is
also against the king. Yet she and he go ahead and commit adultery and treason
against their King. The nurture side being abiding to the chivalric code does present
itself throughout the story in such situations as knights showing mercy to those who
ask for it.

Possible conclusion will add more to it.

I believe it to be a paradox, although they set the standards and do their best to
achieve it, they are tragically doomed by their mortal urges and actions.
Throughout our lives and men specifically are taught to be knightly as if it to be the
pinnacle of behavior, but all the Le Morte DArthur and its chivalric code teaches us
that man sets its goals in the stars and fails to reach them due to their own humanity.