![]() The knight is probably the first character most people call to mind when they think about the Middle Ages. And those codes? Well, they differed too. They didn’t even agree it was necessary to be chivalrous. But wait, not all knights were chivalrous, nor did they have a universally agreed upon idea of what chivalry meant. ![]() Jennifer Wollock does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.The chivalry of a Medieval knight is indisputable, right? I mean, they had a Code of Chivalry and everything. When religion sided with science: Medieval lessons for surviving COVID-19įor the birds? Hardly! Valentine’s Day was reimagined by chivalrous medieval poets for all to enjoy, respectfully It was written by: Jennifer Wollock, Texas A&M University. ![]() This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. I believe men and women of today need the chivalric values of mercy, justice and humility more than ever before. Inequities and prejudices have not disappeared since the days of King Arthur. They joined clerics of different faiths in opposing cruelty when law and bigotry gave victims little recourse. The principled medieval knight – and principled men and women of whatever rank – valued self control. Just as toxic masculinity and aggressive misogyny persist, so does the original chivalric ideal of the warrior defending human life and freedom against tyranny and its thugs. “We have come together as, if you will, knights at the Round Table, and our King Arthur is justice,” said a young protester in Fort Worth, Texas, after the police killing of George Floyd. Suffragists in the 19th and early 20th centuries – as well as Black Lives Matter protesters today – have identified with medieval knights destroying evil customs. Their inspiration has fired up a long series of activists who carry chivalric ideals of social justice into the present day. One of the most famous, the peasant girl Joan of Arc, was 18 when she led her countrymen against the English and saved French independence. Protesters in New York City demonstrate against immigrant detention camps Chivalry todayĪs in ancient times, chivalrous medieval women themselves led armies and defended castles. Western chivalry rapidly became a liberating force for both men and women as knights intervened to protect civilians. In Malory’s version of the story, King Arthur’s knights take an oath that decries brutality toward women and demands they both aid women and “ strengthen them in their rights.” In their most famous works, “ The Canterbury Tales” and “ Le Morte d'Arthur,” respectively, they wrote about women sentencing rapist knights to death or reeducation. Such popular tales of chivalry pressured aristocrats to adopt the chivalric code – to some extent.īy the later 14th and mid-15th centuries, English writers like Geoffrey Chaucer and Sir Thomas Malory depict the court of King Arthur as a bastion of justice for women, well beyond the norms of that day. A few decades later, the French poet Chrétien de Troyes portrays Sir Lancelot casting aside reputation, glory and treasured warhorses to save the kidnapped Queen Guinevere. In Geoffrey of Monmouth’s “ History of the Kings of Britain” of 1138, King Arthur kills the rapist giant of Mont-Saint-Michel. Enkidu defeats Gilgamesh in hand-to-hand combat to end his custom of sleeping with every bride in his city on her wedding night, and wins that king’s friendship.Įuropean literature soon featured knights and kings as protectors of women. In it, the wild man Enkidu, civilized by a woman, confronts the sexually abusive king Gilgamesh. in “Gilgamesh,” perhaps the oldest surviving epic poem. The earliest chivalric incident I teach appears around 2100 B.C. Across many cultures it arises to protect society’s most vulnerable. Rather than fostering misogynistic attitudes or overprotective behaviors that insult women, chivalry has been a liberating force from ancient times onward. Others see it as necessary and desirable to protect groups under attack.Īs a historian of literature who studies chivalry, I stand with the latter group. Some see it as the mindset of elite warriors, glorifying violence and demeaning women. Chivalry originally referred to the medieval knight’s code of honor but today references a range of – usually male – behaviors, from courtesy to overprotectiveness. Modern society is in dispute over the value of chivalry. ![]() The chivalrous peasant teenager Joan of Arc is a hero of French independence.
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