![]() ![]() Due to the changing ideas, across space and time, there is no true correct representation of chivalry. What both of these ignores however is that chivalry itself was a loose collection of ideals of how aristocratic military men should behaviour, on and off the field of battle. Some do also think of the glorifying of violence but also being demeaning towards women. Many people just think of knights in shinning armour, rescuing princesses, and tournaments when they hear the word chivalry. This is largely due to the nineteenth century’s interest in the medieval period but focusing on stories with knights rescuing noble women and stories which heavily romanticised history. Forgetting chivalry’s roots in aggression and violence, towards each other and those they saw as ‘other’. Many historians blame the romanticised view of chivalry on how people remember and represent it. ![]() Nobles saw it to show off their ability outside of the battlefield and a way to represent their linage. Churchmen often wrote about how they belived knights should conduct themselves as defenders of the church and obey the clerical order. Finally came the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries where chivalry expanded and became more about knighthood and nobility. Then the mid eleventh to thirteenth centuries came the Classic Age of Chivalry with the interweaving of status and ideology. Pre-eleventh century was the start of an idea of chivalry, with the ideology forming and military prowess exceeding status. Don Pero Niño is said to have sent his lover a blood-stained sword, as a sign of his love to her. Chivalric literature tended to emphasis the might, courage, and skill and belived that women were moved to love when hearing about a knight’s prowess. The values were more of ideals than actual rules. However, individual knights followed some of the values and rejected others. The main values of chivalry were courage, courtesy, franchise (being open and honest), honour, largesse (fidelity and commitment to secular lords and God), loyalty, mercy, prowess (skill and expertise), and truth. Chivalry was the knights code of conduct, how they were expected to behave towards each other, their kings, the Church, and noble women. An integral part of chivalry was the connection between the martial, aristocratic and Christian values and ideas. Knights being nobles, but there are some expectations, who if needed could use a warhorse and had undergone certain rituals. It was also however, aimed at a specific class of people, the nobility and knights in particular. Some say that chivalry was more of an idea of behaviour rather than truly how people behaved.Ĭhivalry was based around the idea of being respectful and being ‘good’. The word chivalry has no real definition, it can be used to mean an order of mounted warriors, a warrior social class, a set of rules and guidelines or a collective of heavily armed horsemen. Where chivalry had a changing meaning and idea across the eleventh to sixteenth centuries. This is not however the whole story of what chivalry was and how it was used in practice in Medieval Europe. The word ‘chivalry’ makes us think of knights, honour, and holding doors open for people. ![]()
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