Griffen Riley

Research Paper

3010A Fall 2016

11/28/16

The Role of Chivalry in Literature

The idea of chivalry takes on different roles throughout both modern and

historical literature. Chivalry in the Middle Ages was a moral, religious and social code

of knightly and courtly conduct. While the actuality behind the execution of this code can

be disputed, the idea of it is present all throughout early literature. The code varied, but it

often emphasized honor, courage and service.

The term chivalry was derived from several different languages. The French term

chevalier, the Italian term cavaliere, and the Spanish term caballero (all meaning warrior)

created the word chivalry. While the term was originally used the same as it had been

previously (for warriors on horseback) it eventually represented a broad idea for the code

of conduct followed by knights.

There were three main ideals of chivalry in the Middle Ages. These included

duties to your country, duties to your God and duties to your women. These areas often

intertwined and were hard to distinguish a between. Sometimes referred to as warrior

chivalry, this area of chivalry deals with a knight’s virtue. This included valor, honor, and

protecting those below you. This was the most important ideal in chivalry. This type of

chivalry also calls for knights to put others’ lives before their own. An example of

warrior chivalry can be seen in Sir Gawain in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Sir

Gawain took the Green Knight's challenge, as this was part of the chivalry code of honor
of all knights. He asked to take the challenge himself, while King Arthur was being

humiliated. Gawain does his moral duty by standing up for his King, and showing him

his loyalty by saying that his life would be worth less.

Medieval courtly literature not only glorifies knights, but also glorifies the

ideologies of the ancient Romans. An example of this is De Re Militari, a handbook on

war and warfare written by Vegetius.

Other attributes of warrior chivalry included:

 Loyalty to your lord

 Helping the needy (poor, orphans)

 Refraining from offenses

 Refusing awards

 Glory

 Honor

 Discipline

 Persistence

 Honesty

The idea of chivalry in the Middle Ages also extended to the faith. A knight’s

duty to the faith under chivalry included being loyal to God, being loyal to the church,

fighting for good against the evils of the time, and putting the worship of God above all

others, even the lord and house that the knight was a part of. This was known as religious

chivalry.

Today, the most commonly understood form of chivalry in the Middle Ages is

chivalry towards women. Chivalry towards women included honoring one woman before
all others, as well as a general admiration towards all women. This was known as courtly

love. A famous example of courtly love chivalry in the Middle Ages was Sir Lancelot.

Chivalry towards women was derived from worship of the Mary. This worship stemmed

from the presence of Christianity throughout. It’s important to note that the Virgin Mary

is worshipped even more in the Catholic faith in comparison to basic Christianity.

Courtly love was the practice of chivalrously expressing love. It was usually very

innocent in nature and expressed quietly through writing and admirations from afar. The

nature of courtly love existed somewhere in between spiritual enlightenment and erotic

desire. Generally, only nobility participated in affairs of courtly love. This could be due

to the fact that only nobility was writing about courtly love and their experience with it.

Those not of noble birth generally could not read or write during this time. The term

courtly love was not coined until the late 19th century. The rules of courtly love were

described in detail for the first time in Andreas Capellanus’ very influential work De

Amore. Today, the book is listed under the title The Art of Courtly Love. The book gives

information on how to love depending on class. On top of this, it contains examples of

potential conversations as well as 31 rules to live by in regards to love. The Art of Courtly

Love is one of the first published self-help love books. “He saw a written parchment

which was fastened… with a little gold chain. When he inquired carefully concerning

this, he was told, ‘This is the parchment on which are written the rules of love which the

King of Love himself, with his own mouth, pronounced for lovers. You should take it

with you and make these rules known to lovers…” –De Amore

While the idea of chivalry was ever-present in medieval times, the execution was

not quite as noble. The core values of chivalry are honor, loyalty, honesty, and respect of
women. Let’s back up a little bit and look at the influence the church had over feudal

Europe during this time.

Christianity was a huge influence over all people during the Middle Ages. It’s

resurgence was cemented by Clotis I who institutionalized Christianity in all of his

dynasties and lands. Christianity was a huge influence over all people during the Middle

Ages. Its resurgence was cemented by Clotis I who institutionalized Christianity in all of

his dynasties and lands. Nobles of high authority used these churches as a source of

revenue to pay soldiers. They also used them as an opportunity to appoint selected

members as bishoprics. These positions carried high social influence. This massive

institutionalization of the Church in feudal lands meant there was no separation of church

and state. The Church entered into “feudal contracts”. These contracts furthered the

conjoining of church and state. These contracts meant that a church official could be the

servant of the pope at the same time that he was the vassal of a king. Because the Church

is an institution and not an individual, it did have one special benefit in these feudal

contracts.

When vassals die, their lands return to the king. However, because the Church

can’t “die”, if their official died then the land would be kept, just given to another church

official. Because of this loophole, the Church gained land and power quickly. The Church

took advantage the influence it already had. They were able to teach ladies and lords how

they should act according to the Church. This informal code became known as chivalry.

The chivalric code enforced the ideas of feudalism. It also gave the Church even greater

unifying force. The Church then used this unifying force to call knights and soldiers from

various countries together to try to free the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Church played
upon the feudal ideas of duties and responsibilities and the chivalric ideas of justice and

honor. They then used these ideas to call knights and soldiers from various countries

together to try to free the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

In conclusion, Clotis I began the relationship between the Church and feudalism.

This led to feudal contracts that allowed the Church to gain land and power for little cost

to no cost. This increase in influence led to the Church creating the idea of chivalry,

which further strengthened their influence. They then used this influence to increase their

land and power. The Church manipulated the common people of the time with the ideas

and values of chivalry to do their bidding.

As you can see, chivalry was not always what it seemed to be. The idea of

chivalry was consistently pure in nature, but not a lot of people actually followed it.

During this time period, masculinity was defined more by the pillaging of villages and

raping of women than the codes of honor found in the Chivalric Code. “Historians of

masculinity agree that the early nineteenth century saw a change in the definition of the

gentleman and that this change had consequences for the definition of masculinity. There

is, however, less agreement about why this shift occurred and what was meant by the new

gentleman and by masculinity. In part, this is because different historians refer to

different versions of eighteenth‐century gentlemanly masculinity and, therefore, to what

it was that changed” (Cohen). Cohen writes about the changing idea of masculinity, and

it’s perceived meaning. Masculinity, at one time, was defined by your ability in battle.

This was shaped by feudal Europe. During the 18th century, the idea of masculinity

shifted. No longer were you defined by your skills with a sword, rather, one was defined
by what he had. Your standing in the community, your nobility if you will, defined your

masculinity.

You may have heard the common idea that chivalry is “dead” in our modern

society. The 21st Century Chivalry code goes as follows according to their website

(condensed by me): “TRUTH- seek the truth in every situation before making judgments,

to value the truth over personal agendas or the immediate benefits which falsehoods may

offer. HONOR-to keep your word, to know yourself, to uphold your beliefs, to act with

keen moral judgment, to maintain high standards of conduct. JUSTICE-to defend the

helpless, to challenge evil wherever you encounter it. VALOR-to have not the lack of

fear but the ability to set aside self-interest when faced with evil, to be willing to fight for

what is right, regardless of what other people may say or do to you. PROWESS-to have

the discipline to train body, mind and spirit for the work of a knight and to aschew the

self-destructive behaviors which tear down physical and spiritual health. LOYALTY- to

choose for yourself the Worthy One or Ones, whether they be your God, your loved ones,

your country, your leader or your cause and to dedicate yourself to the protection and

fulfillment of those Ones. LARGESSE- to give freely of what you have without

impoverishing yourself, to show generosity to friend and stranger alike, to be merciful

and fair in all your dealings. COURTESY- to be polite and mannerly in dress, speech and

carriage, to treat all people as equals, to be kind to animals, and in war

or competition to follow the rules, lose with grace and win with humbleness.

NOBLESSE- to be diligent in study, enhance your knowledge of the world, practice your

skills, use your natural gifts to generate goodness, thereby enriching your life and the

lives of those around you. HUMILITY- to have all the above qualities without ever
proclaiming them, to bear the heavy burden of Chivalry without so much as a breath of

exertion, to be a silent strength which supports and sustains us all. Humility is the most

difficult principle to master. Only the very best knights do.”

As you can read, there are many similarities between the original ideals of

chivalry and the modern adaptation. One could argue that there is more of a presence of

chivalry today than there ever was. No longer are people raiding each other, villages

aren’t being seized in most parts of the world, women have more rights than they ever

have (although still not quite as much as men), and most governments have some form of

welfare system set up to assist their poor, needy, homeless, and sick. These weren’t even

fathomable ideas in medieval or ancient times. Societies were completely segregated by

class systems. The nobility didn’t even associate with the peasants, let alone help them.

Women were idealized but not taken seriously. Thus the true essence of chivalry was not

even realized until recent years.

 Works Cited

Brevik, Mads. "The Military Institutions of the Romans (De Re Militari)." The Military

Institutions of the Romans (De Re Militari). N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

"Chivalry Today - Don't Just Talk Chivalry. Live It." Chivalry Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 26

Nov. 2016.

Cohen, Michèle. “‘Manners’ Make the Man: Politeness, Chivalry, and the Construction

of Masculinity, 1750–1830.” Journal of British Studies, vol. 44, no. 2, 2005, pp. 312–

329.

Mallin, Eric S. “Emulous Factions and the Collapse of Chivalry: Troilus and Cressida.”

Representations, no. 29, 1990, pp. 145–179.

Marshall, Alfred. “The Social Possibilities of Economic Chivalry.” The Economic

Journal, vol. 17, no. 65, 1907, pp. 7–29.

"Knights Code of Chivalry." Knights Code of Chivalry. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2016.

"Rules of Courtly Love." Rules of Courtly Love. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

Shannon Ty Bontrager. “The Imagined Crusade: The Church of England and the

Mythology of Nationalism and Christianity during the Great War.” Church History,

vol. 71, no. 4, 2002, pp. 774–798.

Sir Gawains Code Of Chivalry English Literature Essay." UKEssays. N.p., n.d. Web. 26

Nov. 2016.

"The Code of Chivalry." The Code of Chivalry. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
Griffen Riley

Annotated Bibliography

Cohen, Michèle. “‘Manners’ Make the Man: Politeness, Chivalry, and the Construction
of Masculinity, 1750–1830.” Journal of British Studies, vol. 44, no. 2, 2005, pp. 312–
329. www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/427127.

Historians of masculinity agree that the early nineteenth century saw a change in

the definition of the gentleman and that this change had consequences for the

definition of masculinity. There is, however, less agreement about why this shift

occurred and what was meant by the new gentleman and by masculinity. In part,

this is because different historians refer to different versions of eighteenth‐century

gentlemanly masculinity and, therefore, to what it was that changed.

Marshall, Alfred. “The Social Possibilities of Economic Chivalry.” The Economic

Journal, vol. 17, no. 65, 1907, pp. 7–29. www.jstor.org/stable/2220775.

This source talks about the changing importance of economics. Chivalry in this

example refers to economic chivalry, which can be defined as the unwritten rules or

“politeness” between two different business entities.

Mallin, Eric S. “Emulous Factions and the Collapse of Chivalry: Troilus and Cressida.”
Representations, no. 29, 1990, pp. 145–179. www.jstor.org/stable/2928422.

This article talks about the collapse of chivalry in a real-world sense.

Shannon Ty Bontrager. “The Imagined Crusade: The Church of England and the
Mythology of Nationalism and Christianity during the Great War.” Church History,
vol. 71, no. 4, 2002, pp. 774–798. www.jstor.org/stable/4146192.

This article shows the collapse of the faith in Britain, a major influence on the spread

of the concept of chivalry. Also bring a more modern take on chivalry.

"Sir Gawains Code Of Chivalry English Literature Essay." UKEssays. N.p., n.d. Web.
26 Nov. 2016.

Sir Gawain took the Green Knight's challenge as this was part of the chivalry code of

honor of all knights. He asked to take the challenge himself as King Arthur was being

mocked by the Green Knight. Gawain does his moral duty by standing up for his

uncle King Arthur and showing him his loyalty by saying that his life would be less

missed.

“Chivalry Today - Don't Just Talk Chivalry. Live It." Chivalry Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 26
Nov. 2016.

“From the Ten Commandments of the Bible, to The Eightfold Path of Zen, to All I

Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten, people throughout history have

searched for a way to define and quantify admirable behavior. The code of chivalry

is, at its heart, simply a handbook for good conduct. But chivalry was not a mandate

from the powerful to the downtrodden, nor a directive from the chosen unto the

masses. It was a set of limitations which the strong and mighty placed upon

themselves with the realization that setting a good example sends a message which

is far more powerful than any words on paper.” This can be used as a naïve or true

view, depending on the way I go with my paper.

"Knights Code of Chivalry." Knights Code of Chivalry. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2016.

The Knights Code of Chivalry and the vows of Knighthood

The Knights Code of Chivalry described in the Song of Roland and an excellent

representation of the Knights Codes of Chivalry are as follows:

▪ To fear God and maintain His Church

▪ To serve the liege lord in valour and faith

▪ To protect the weak and defenceless

▪ To give succour to widows and orphans

▪ To refrain from the wanton giving of offence

▪ To live by honour and for glory

▪ To despise pecuniary reward

▪ To fight for the welfare of all

▪ To obey those placed in authority

▪ To guard the honour of fellow knights

▪ To eschew unfairness, meanness and deceit

▪ To keep faith

▪ At all times to speak the truth

▪ To persevere to the end in any enterprise begun

▪ To respect the honour of women

▪ Never to refuse a challenge from an equal

▪ Never to turn the back upon a foe

This is from the website and can be used for many different purposes.