The Peace and Truce of God in the 10th century was one such example, with limits placed on knights to protect and honor the weaker members of society and also help the church maintain peace. The skills of the knight carried over to peacetime activities such as the hunt and tournament.Ĭhristianity had a modifying influence on the classical concept of heroism and virtue, nowadays identified with the virtues of chivalry. When not fighting, chivalric knights typically resided in a castle or fortified house, while some knights lived in the courts of kings, dukes and other great lords. Related to chivalry was the practice of heraldry and its elaborate rules of displaying coats of arms. Knights were taught to excel in the arms, to show courage, to be gallant and loyal and to swear off cowardice and baseness. Regardless of the diverse written definitions of chivalry, the medieval knightly class was adept at the art of war, trained in fighting in armor, with horses, lances, swords and shields. "Stitching the Standard" by Edmund Blair Leighton: the lady prepares for a knight to go to war. Historyįurther information: Knight and Orders of knighthood Origins in military ethos Always and everywhere be right and good against evil and injustice. Perform all your feudal duties as long as they do not conflict with the laws of God.ġ0. Believe the Church's teachings and observe all the Church's directions.Ħ. the military ethos of the crusades which would evolve into the late medieval notion of chivalry. Gautier tries to give a "popular summary" of what he proposes was the "ancient code of chivalry" of the 11th and 12th centuries, viz. Léon Gautier in his La Chevalerie of 1883 bemoaned the "invasion of Breton romans" which replaced the pure military ethos of the crusades with Arthurian fiction and courtly adventures. The "code of chivalry" is thus a product of the Late Middle Ages, evolving after the end of the crusades partly from an idealization of the historical knights fighting in the Holy Land, partly from ideals of courtly love. The meaning of the term evolved over time, from the original concrete military meaning "status or fee associated with military follower owning a war horse" or "a group of mounted knights" to the ideal of the Christian warrior ethos propagated in the Romance genre which was becoming popular during the 12th century, and the ideal of courtly love propagated in the contemporary Minnesang and related genres. The term chivalry in origin has the meaning "horsemanship", formed in Old French in the 11th century from chevalier "horseman knight", from Medieval Latin caballārius In English, the term appears from 1292 (note that cavalry is from the Italian form of the same word) Konrad von Limpurg as a knight being armed by his lady in the Codex Manesse (early 14th century) Historian Johan Huizinga remarks in his book The Waning of the Middle Ages, "the source of the chivalrous idea, is pride aspiring to beauty, and formalized pride gives rise to a conception of honour, which is the pole of noble life." They persevered to the end in any enterprise begun. Knights always kept their faith and never turned their back on a foe. Knights were to fear God and maintain His Church. They always had to obey those who were placed in authority and were never allowed to refuse a challenge from an equal. Knights not only vowed to protect the weak but also vowed to guard the honor of all fellow knights. Knights were required to tell the truth at all times and always respect the honour of women. Knights vowed to be loyal, generous, and "of noble bearing". All knights needed to have the strength and skills to fight wars in the Middle Ages they not only had to be strong but they were also extremely disciplined and were expected to use their power to protect the weak and defenseless. The Knight's Code of Chivalry was a moral system that stated all knights should protect others who can not protect themselves, such as widows, children, and elders. Over time its meaning has been refined to emphasise more ideals such as the knightly virtues of honour, courtly love, courtesy, and less martial aspects of the tradition. It was originally conceived of as an aristocratic warrior code - the term derives from the French term chevalerie, meaning horse soldiery - involving, gallantry, and individual training and service to others. Chivalry arose from an idealized German custom. For other uses, see Chivalry (disambiguation).Ĭhivalry, or the chivalric code, is the traditional code of conduct associated with the medieval institution of knighthood.
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