The Code of Chivalry

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“The motto of chivalry is also the motto of wisdom to serve all, but love only one” (Balzac 1). During the Medieval Age, there once existed a moral system that introduced a set of conducts such as, virtues, honor, and courtly love. This was known as the Code of Chivalry. These codes where available and practiced in knight's daily life. The idea of chivalry is extremely valuable to the people, that even everything a knight wore symbolized something valuable or unique. In other words, chivalry was no game. Authors during the chivalric period were influenced by the concept of chivalry and romance that the authors wrote about it in their work. During the Medieval Age and the Renaissance period chivalry, courtly love, and romance played a dramatic role in literature and in society along with the influence of Chaucer, Malory, and Shakespeare's work.
Chivalry and romance are two words and ideas that are used in literature quite often. They are important to understand and to be aware of which leads to the question. What is chivalry? An exact definition of chivalry form the dictionary quotes, "the sum of the ideal qualifications of a knight, including courtesy, generosity, valor, and dexterity in arms" (dictionary). Meaning chivalry is a way to behave in the most ideal and formal way with certain qualifications such as: respect, generosity, courage, and skill. Although the term chivalry has numerous amount of similar definitions; to an extent this definition by far is most precise, yet there is more to it.
The term chivalry has its own historical context. The word chivalry was not automatically chosen or made up, but it was taken from other words. To begin with, chivalry came from France. It comes from the French word "chevalier" which mea...

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...ery knight needed to show their leadership because they were the ideal example of how people should act. When knights went to battle or wars they had a token or insignia that identified the knight (). Those knights who held banners during the war represented faith in their lord and land (). Their shields resembles the knights objective which is to protect his people and be a leader (). The plate legs that knights wore did not only protect their feet, but most certainly it represented that the knight will face hardship in his journey (). A knight was give a piece of land as a reward from their lord (). A hauberk that the knights wore resembles a castle or fortress (). The spear represented the truth that came before falseness and the tip signified strength (). Knights were very idealized and had high values which is the reason why people back then looked up to them.

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