Chivalry was considered to be the code of behavior expected of a knight. It was the conduct, ideas, and ideals of the knightly class of the Middle Ages. It became standardized and referred to as chivalry, a term derived from the French word chevalier, meaning knight. The code urged the knight to be brave, courageous, honorable, true to his word, and loyal to his feudal overlord, and to defend his Church. A knight was truthful, honest, capable, educated, physically fit, noble, sincere, and subservient to the king. A serious violation of these vows could result in a knight being classed as an undignified knight, which was the ultimate insult because of all the hard work that was put into becoming a knight. It made it seem as if all of work was done for nothing.
The knights of the middle ages were known for their dedication and devotion in carrying out their duties. Once a knight was given a task of some sort, they were known for unwillingness to quit until the job was done. Most knights were willing to devote their entire lives to the job at hand. Most all knights had a quest in life, and they showed an obsession to accomplish their quest. The quest may be self thought of, or obtained from someone else, but either way the knight took honor and pride in being able to accomplish the quest.
In “Arthurian Romances,” by Chrétien de Troyes, all knights had a duty to protect their country. When a knight approached a situation, he did not attack the other party until he had warned them. His place in the feudalist system involved other workers, known as vassals, to do his bidding. They suited him up in his armor and readied his horse and weapons. Knighthood was only developed for the man because women are only seen as maidservants. Authority felt that a woman could not possess all the qualities of a knight, so they were put to work as maids. The only women who had high ranks in the feudalist system were those who were married to the noble ranks
In “The Story of the Grail,” de Troyes looks at knighthood from the naive perspective of a young boy, Perceval, who had a dream of becoming a knight. In his own way, he became one. He learned the techniques and attitudes of a knight that greatly influenced his performance. Perceval wanted to obtain all the qualities of a good knight, also ...
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...ry because of how he allowed a love for this unfeasible woman to blind him. The queen was so nasty to Lancelot, yet he took it and dealt with it assuming that his love for her was reciprocal.
Chrétien de Troyes and Marie de France both had unique ways of showing what knighthood and courtly love were about. De Troyes was a little harder on courtly love than de France had been, but both had specific ideals that they wanted to be brought to the pages in order to teach others about chivalry. All in all, the love that was portrayed between Guigemar and the queen was one that seemed to be full of hope and joy. The love de Troyes portrayed between Lancelot and Guinevere was a love that seemed to not even exist except in Lancelot’s mind. Courtly love was an important aspect in the time of knighthood and chivalry. Courtly love made all the battles and heartaches seem worth it in the end, as long as it worked out for the two lovers it included.
Works Cited
de Troyes, Chretien. "The Story of the Grail." Arthurian Romances. Ed. William W. Kibler. London: Penguin Books, 1991. 381-494.
de France, Marie. “Guigemar.” The Lais of Marie de France. 30-59.
Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’arthur, T.H. White’s Once and Future King, and George Romero’s Knightriders encompass the evolution of the Arthurian tale from Malory’s time to the 1980s. Through this time many things have changed and these changes can be seen within the differences between each work. While there are many prominent differences chivalry or the knightly code is one of the main forces that tie these tales together. Malory reworks many of his sources to bring attention to the grand fellowship of Arthur’s Round Table and the chivalry that holds the knights together. Malory idealizes the power of chivalry and gives a great importance to it throughout his text. Unlike Malory, White does not idealize chivalry, but he does see the good and honorable aspects of chivalry. From Sprague Kurth’s article, “Conclusion,” it is clear to see that White gives his text an anti-war stance and shows chivalry and the controlling moral compass of Arthur’s knights. Chivalry is once again idealized in George Romero’s Knightriders the situations within the film are modernized but the emotions and illusions remain the same. T.H. White is directly referenced within the film and Malory’s idealization of the glory of chivalry can once again be seen. In my essay, I will show how chivalry is used in all the texts above as a bonding agent between all Arthurian knights. As Arthur’s knights honor and respect chivalry they remain as one cohesive group, but once they begin to abandon chivalry the Round Table begins to crumble and chaos ensues.
Barron, W.R.J., trans. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.. New York: Manchester University Press, 1974.
The Art of Courtly Love, Consolation of Philosophy, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
During the Medieval time period, a woman would generally be forced to depend upon a man for her livelihood. However, in the world of courtly love, some could say that this was the first idea of goddess worship. Where the man is unable to survive without his beloved. As a result of this, her love causes him to achieve noble deeds, and become obedient to her in hopes of winning her affection. In The Lais of Marie de France, specifically Chevrefoil and Yonec, the author does not follow all of the rules of courtly love, yet she does illustrate to the reader the relationship between the man and his woman. She describes the beauty, intelligence, and wisdom of her female characters, giving them power over the men who love them. While Marie de France often confines women to the oppressive realities of the Middle Ages, she allows her characters to rebel against society, and uses the courtly love relationship as a way of empowering women in her lais. In the twelfth century, the majority of marriages were arranged. Men were often the ones given the privilege of choosing a spouse. Many times women were forced to marry men that they barely knew, and did not love. Through allowing the women in her lais to escape from their husbands and be with men who they have power over, Marie de France elevates women up onto pedestals.
Lancelot is also known for his many relationships with women. He is widely remembered for his adulterous love affair with Queen Guinevere. Lancelot becomes the model of chivalry due to his unrelenting love for Guinevere. Malory focuses on Lancelot’s relationships with women.
The athletic training profession has evolved from minimal responsibilities to what it is today. The role of an athletic trainer is to help prevent, diagnose, and treat injuries for people of all ages. In sports, work environments, military and any environment that people are active in. Some of the duties of an athletic trainer during a typical day are as follows: recognize and evaluate an injury, apply tape or braces, provide emergency care, help with rehabilitation programs, produce treatment plans and along with other tests
When Lancelot joined King Arthur’s court he immediately fell in love with Queen Guinevere, King Arthur’s wife. Lancelot performed many deeds and rescues to honour and rescue her. At first Arthur took no notice of the growing relationship between Lancelot and the Queen. The King was later forced to accuse his wife and Lancelot of
Marx’s idea of the estrangement of man from the product of his labor described the suffering of countless hours or work by the laborer, contributing to the production of a product that he could not afford with the wages he made. He helped to produce a product that only those wealthier than he could afford. As the society around him became more object-oriented, he became increasingly more alienated. In the lager, one factor that distanced the laborer from his product was that he no longer worked for a wage, but for survival. In a description of his fellow worker, Levi wrote, “He seems to think that his present situation is like outside, where it is honest and logical to work, as well as being of advantage, because according to what everyone says, the more one works the more one earns and eats.” Levi pitied his fellow worker for his naivety, as the Lager was not a place of labor for prosperity, but strictly a place of labor by force. One worked in order to live, focusing more on the uncertainty of their next meal, day, or even breath than the product of their l...
Romance can be defined as a medieval form of narrative which relates tales of chivalry and courtly love. Its heroes, usually knights, are idealized and the plot often contains miraculous or superatural elements. According to Tony Davenport the central medieval sense of romance is ' of narratives of chivalry, in which knights fight for honour and love.' The term amour coutois ( courtly love) was coined by the French critic Gaston Paris in 1883 to categorise what medieval French lyricists or troubadours referred to as ' fin armors'. Romances and lyrics began to develop in the late fourteenth century England, author like Chaucer or Hoccleve produced some of the first english medieval narratives. But how does medieval literature present the expericence of romantic love. In order to answer this question this essay will focus on two tales from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales: the Knight's Tales and the Franklin's Tales. It will show that medieval romance can be used as a vehicle to promote chivalric behaviour as well as exploring a range of philosophical, political, and literary question.
The whole plot of the tale revolves around Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere’s extramarital affair. However, when the Sir Agravain exposes and catches the couple red-handed, King Arthur is enraged more towards Guinevere, rather than Sir Lancelot. In fact, King Arthur is hesitant to punish Sir Lancelot even though he is also guilty. However, Arthur doesn’t think twice about punishing Guinevere--his own wife--to a death sentence. Not only does this show the relationship between Sir Lancelot
Despite the fact that this lady was supposedly untouchable due to her status as “taken” this man or rather knight made it his mission to win her over or it was his mission to please her. This Knight would go to great lengths sometimes setting into long journeys, battling other knights and going into chivalric adventures in what is known as the other world. This knight or the courtly lover is like a slave to this passionate, romantic love for example in the tale “Le Chevalier de la charrette”, a courtly romance whose hero obeys every imperious and unreasonable demand of the heroine. A slave willing to put his own life at risk in order to show his love and passion for this one woman. For example, In “Lancelot, the Knight of Cart” Lancelot first part is a physical quest though driven by love, the knight tries to rescue Guinevere. However, once he finds her, he does not stop, he continued to quest in order to deserve her love. Even after they consummate their relationship in the tower, he must continue to do her bidding, suggesting that the quest for love never ceases. We see this untouchable love through his love and adulterous feelings for the queen, Lady Guinevere, this lady made untouchable through her marriage to King
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a poem which tells the tale of a knight who undergoes trials-testing the attributes of knighthood-in order to prove the strength and courage of himself, while representing the Knights of the Round Table. One of King Arthurs most noblest and bravest of knights, Sir Gawain, is taken on an adventure when he steps up to behead a mysterious green visitor on Christmas Day-with the green mans’ permission of course. Many would state that this tale of valor would be within the romance genre. To the modern person this would be a strange category to place the poem in due to the question of ‘where is the actual romance, where is the love and woe?’ However, unlike most romances nowadays, within medieval literature there are many defining features and characteristics of a romance-them rarely ever really involving love itself. Within medieval literature the elements of a romance are usually enshrouded in magic, the fantastic and an adventure. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight follows Sir Gawain over the course of one year, from one New Years to the next, as was the deal he and Bertilak, the green knight, struck.
Karl Marx had very strong viewpoints in regards to capitalism, making him a great candidate for this assignment. People constantly debate over whether his ideologies held any grain of truth to them. I believe that although not everything Marx predicted in his writings has come true (yet), he was definitely right on about a lot of issues. As a matter of fact, his teachings can definitely be applied to today’s society. This paper will give a summary of Marx’s political philosophy. It will also discuss a contemporary issue: the current economic crisis— and how Marx believed racism played a crucial a role in it. Finally, through the lens he has developed, I will explain how Marx would analyze this issue and how one can argue that it spurred the current movement known as Occupy Wall Street.
This book contains a basic yet earnest truth. This world requires Marx now like never before. This thin volume ought to help to arm another era of socialists with the thoughts important to win the fights ahead. At exactly that point will we all be able to appreciate an all-around progressive
Karl Marx sought to understand how our capitalist society works, by concentrating on the social and economic relations in which people earn their living. Marx established that the capitalist system forces people into two classes; the bourgeoisie (the upper- class capitalists who own the means of production), and the proletariat (the working class). Marx’s analysis, otherwise known as “Marxism” is focused on developing the relations between these two classes. According to his theory, Marx believed that the law does not treat the two classes equally, supports the unequal treatment, and ignores the substantive inequalities between both. Marx is not concerned with the ideas of individual workers, but about their position in society. He sought to explain how the law operates as a means of repression, while promoting the interests of certain classes, most likely the bourgeoisie, at the expense of the rest of society, the proletariat.