A Historical Approach to Chivalry

A Historical Approach to Chivalry

Gallant, honorable, dauntless, or according to Constance Bouchard; “Strong of body, brave and noble.” There are many key words that come to mind when one imagines the “Chivalrous Knight.” But how accurate are they as a historical description of what these people were? Would valiant really be a fair adjective to use when describing the typical medieval knight? Or perhaps savage, brutal, and bloodthirsty may provide more precise depictions of the reality that was knightly conduct in the Middle Ages. Current research holds the knight in high esteem and they are described by scholars as “potentially the finest of fellows their society could produce…. [Knights] used their weapons in the name of God and in aid of the weak and oppressed.” Furthermore, the code of chivalry itself lends knighthood an air of valor; it states that knights must be courteous, well-spoken, generous, and enumerates many other attributes of knightly behavior that seem like valuable virtues to strive toward. Upon further investigation, however, one can illustrate the fallacy with this notion. Despite the Chivalric Code, and the misdirected veneration on the part of many historians as well as the almost ubiquitous dilettante opinion, the Knights were a brutal, warlike group of people, more deserving of fear, than admiration.

The knight had three main purposes. He was a soldier by trade, and it was this occupation that became his primary function. Economically the knight was distinguished by his status as a free landowner, as bequeathed by a vassal. And socially, the knight was set apart due to his possession of expensive equipment.

Chivalry, on the other hand, is significantly more difficult to define. Throughout romanticized and fanatical literature, chivalry seems to be the concept of protection, and courtesy towards women. According to Danielle Williamson; today, a “chivalrous” man may open the door for a woman, or pull out a chair for her to sit. Historically, when viewed with the aforementioned romanticism, chivalry could include saving a woman from a dangerous situation, or simply protecting her. It can vary from clergy, to simple peasants. Anyone too weak to protect themselves was under the auspices of chivalric protection. Although Gies proves, via narrative, that devotion to God was considered far more important than protection of the weak, with the implication that if the two presented a crossroads (I.E. subscribe to one at the cost of the other), devotion takes precedence.

Although there is no concrete historical documentation for a specific code of chivalry, one can strip it down to its bare essentials as laid by Gautier, in ten concise commandments (one should take careful note of commandments III, VI, and X):

I. Thou shalt believe all that the Church teaches, and shalt observe all its directions. II. Thou shalt defend the