The Lifestyle and Rules of a Knight

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The knight was the rock star of the middle ages. He took up diffucult challages and faced them with no fear. The knight fought for God, as did all knights. The knight also fought for love, courtly love that is. The knight aslo lived by a code called the code of chivalry. In the knights tale, Geoffrey Chaucer proves how the knights in the middle ages are modest and show chivalric ways of life.

?Courtly love? is a relationship between a knight and his liege lord. A knight would serve his loved one as he would his king. Although, courtly love was not typically between a husband and wife, because it was an idealized sort of realionship that could not exist. Courtly love could also served as a social purpose for a class of young unmarried men. In other words men used courtly love as a guideline. In courtly love the behavior of the knight and lady in ?love? was drawn partly from poetry, stories of how a knight and a lady should act came from mostly poetry from the mid evil times.The knight also followed the code of chivalry which were made up by the church. The code of chivalry ten commandments went as follow, ?I. Thou shalt believe al that the church teaches, and shalt observe all its directions II. Thou shalt defend the church III. Thou shalt respect all weakness, and shalt constitute thyself the defender of them IV. Thou shalt lore the country in which thou was born V. Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy VI. Thou shalt make war against the infidel without mercy VII. Thou shalt never lie, and thou shalt remain faithful to thy pledged word VIII. Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of thy God IX. Thou shalt be generous, and give largess to everyone. X. Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion of the right and the God against injustice and evil.?

The code of chivalry went as followed,

? Live to serve the king and the country

? Live to defend the crown and the country and all that country holds dear

? Live ones life so that it is worthy of respect and honor to God

? Live freedom, justice, and all that is good to man

? Never attack an unarmed foe

? Never use a weapon on an opponent not equal to your weapon or attack

? Never attack anyone from behind

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