Sorely missed in today's world is the true chivalry shown by Knights around the fifth and sixth century. Imagine a society where men were brave, kind and loyal. In the literature we studied Knights were faithful to God, loyal to their king, and courageous in the face of an enemy. In the stories of King Arthur and the Round Table, the Knights exhibited these and many more qualities: bravery, courtesy, morality, and good manners. Medieval literature promotes the code of chivalry by representing positive examples in various works.
Knights have many different vows they must honor to have chivalry. Being faithful to God is a very important vow for Knights. In the story of “Lancelot and Elaine,” Elaine falls in love with Lancelot, who is already married, and tries to win him over. She is heartbroken and becomes very sick so she tells her father to find the holy man she can confess her sins to so she can die peacefully. A holy man is a priest that has divine spirit of the Holy Ghost or God. Elaine says, “For if I could believe the things you say I should but die the sooner; wherefore cease, Sweet father, and bid call the ghostly man Hither, and let me shrive me clean, and die” (Lancelot and Elaine page 521). Another way faithfulness to God is demonstrated is in the story of “The Sword and the Stone.” Arthur is told to go back to the inn they are staying at and get Sir Kay’s sword, but when Arthur goes back to the inn everyone has already left for the tournament so he is locked out. Arthur has one idea that he assumes will not work, but he thinks it is worth a try. He goes to a stone with a sword stuck in it that only a descendant of a previous king can pull out. Arthur prays to God to help him pull the sword out, and he tugged it out. A...
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...o the castle gate with his sword drawn” (The Tale of Sir Gareth page 492). Earlier in the story, Sir Gareth is on his way to go save Lady Lynet’s sister and on his way to the castle he meets up with the Red Knight and joust. Sir Gareth is not scared or frightened by the Red Knight, Sir Gareth gives it his all and wins. In “Lancelot and Elaine” Lancelot goes to the joust and disguises himself so no one knows it is him. Later in the tournament, he goes up against the stronger knights and gets afraid, but then comes back to his senses and wins the joust! “And Lancelot bode a little, till he was which were the weaker; then he hurl’d into it Against the stronger: little need to speak of Lancelot in his glory!” (Lancelot and Elaine page 507).
The examples of chivalry in Medieval Literature shows the lifestyle of Knights and what they do to please others before themselves.
One link between the Legends of Arthur and the Catholic Church was Chivalry (the oaths of a knight). Arthur made all his knights take these oaths, which for the most part had to do with the teachings of the church. They were to remain loyal to the church and always obey its teachings and direction. A knight had a strong belief in Christ and other biblical figures. Some knight were even ordered to do a specific job for the church such as defend the church.
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.
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.
One of Sir Lancelot’s first adventures was going to save some knights from a dungeon. He fought to save them, and that took a tremendous act of courage to do that. Although he was a great knight, sometimes his love for Guinevere clouded his judgement. In the book, The Death of Arthur, King Arthur had Queen Guinevere sent off to be executed. Right before execution, Sir Lancelot came in and saved her. Sir Thomas Mallory uses Sir Lancelot to show what a true brave knight is.
Many forms of chivalrous code can be found today, from The Cowboy’s Code to the Rules of Courtly Love. These codes are stated with the hope that people will try and follow them to some degree; yet only the perfect could adhere to them all. Considering the fact that such perfection is impossible, the authors merely set out a guideline for honorable behavior. In the context of medieval times, a knight was expected to have faith in his beliefs; for faith was considered to give hope against the despair that human failings create.
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.
During the Medieval Times, knights hold high status and are seen as sovereign, yet their actions are contradicting. Knights stand for loyalty, justice, and chivalry; however, most are liars, cheaters, and foolish. Throughout medieval literature, authors create characters that contain both attributes and utilize literary elements to highlight this medieval crisis. Many Knights maintain a loyal and noble character because chivalry outlasts hypocrisy.
Broughton, Bradford B. Dictionary of Medieval Knighthood and Chivalry: Concepts and Terms. New York: Greenwood Press, 1986.
The knight from The Wife of Bath Tale is the least moral of all the knights, because of his unbelievable actions towards women. “He saw a girl...alone as she was born, and, despite her resistance, he ravished her” (Chaucer, “The Wife of Bath Tale” 184). He clearly didn’t care about being chivalrous or having any morals when he molested this girl. Even though he is considered a knight, or squire, by King Arthur’s court “..King Arthur had in his court a lusty squire..” (Chaucer, “The Wife of Bath Tale” 184). The knight still had the nerves to undertake such a disgraceful and despicable action towards someone whom he was suppose to have courtesy for. His actions have not only dishonored King Arthur but every knight of the court as well. Although the knight is hopelessly adulterated in his own selfish desires, he does show a scant amount of chivalry when he says to the old lady“You have my word” (Chaucer, “The Wife of Bath Tale” 187). By saying this the knight shows that he possesses honor, a virtue of chivalry, the virtue of being able to keep one’s word. But after being saved by what the old lady taught the knight, he tries to bail on his word when she requested him...
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
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 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. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain shows qualities
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...
The Canterbury Tales, written by Chaucer, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written by an anonymous author, are both sophisticated fourteenth-century examples of medieval romance. Medieval romances captured the heart of their audiences as narratives and stories that featured a protagonist, often a knight, and dealt with religious allegories, chivalry, courtly love, and heroic epics. The concept of the knight emerged from the remnants of the Anglo-saxon literature and ideals and influence of the Christian religion and church. There is a distinct difference between the famous pagan heroic like Beowulf and the romantic medieval tales like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight of the Canterbury Tale. The Anglo-Saxon hero Beowulf exemplified qualities expected of warriors who could attain kingship by their heroism and battle deeds. They possessed the qualities of valor, military prowess, generosity, and honor. The hero fights for the survival of their tribe and nation, and it is in battle that the mettle of the epic hero is ultimately tested. The romantic conventions , influenced by Christianity and French ideals, created a new chivalric knight who sets out on a trial or adventure. They possessed similar qualities to their epic hero counterparts – valor, loyalty, honor, and skill in battle – but differed in knowing temperance, courtesy towards women, and courtly skills. The hero is no longer fighting for his people but for his ideals. By the 14th century, The Tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Canterbury Tales have began to criticize the notion of chivalry which had become old and obsolete in their society; the idealization of chivalry practiced by knights could longer withstand the complexities and indeterminateness of situa...
Do you remember as a kid you dressing up as a knight, imagining saving someone from a castle from a dragon? Haven’t you always been fascinated by the image of the "Knight in shining armor?" Who hasn't wondered what it was really like to live the life of a knight? Sadly real knights from the Middle Ages aren’t about rescuing people from dragons. This guide will teach you all about how to be a successful knight in European history, the Middle Ages, or Medieval period, lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. A knight was a male warrior during Medieval Times that served a lord under the code of chivalry, much like samurai with their code of bushido. This code made knights follow a set a rules, and described qualities they should possess. (Hopkins, Knights) For example he is to be fearless and valiant while having qualities such as being loyal, generous, and polite. Women couldn’t become knights because the only purpose they had at that time was: to marry well, be loyal to their husband, and to have sons. (Edge, Arms & Armor of the Medieval Knight) stated that