Chivalry

Chivalry refers to the lifestyle and moral code followed by medieval* knights. It takes its name from chevalier, the French word for knight. Chivalry included the values of honor, valor, courtesy, and purity, as well as loyalty to a lord, a cause, or a noblewoman. Its basis was a blend of military, social, and Christian ethics*. Although chivalry began as a code of conduct for medieval warriors, it adapted to the changing social conditions of the Renaissance.

The Tradition of Chivalry. In the feudal* system of the Middle Ages, knights pledged their loyalty and service to their lords. This relationship became part of the code of chivalry. Literary works also contributed to ideas about "knightly" behavior. They portrayed knights as both courageous warriors and refined men. Knights drew on books to develop standards for etiquette, style, and even the proper way to conduct a love affair. Handbooks from the 1200s laid out the rules of behavior for knights, and pageants and tournaments celebrated chivalric honor. Because knights were part of the culture of feudal courts, their behavior inspired terms such as courtly, courtship, and courtesy.

The culture of chivalry remained popular in the late Middle Ages and well into the Renaissance. Wealthy Renaissance nobles continued to promote military traditions and to show off their strength in tournaments and in war. However, unlike knights of the Middle Ages, who often acted on their own, they tended to form knightly orders and brotherhoods supported by the ruling government. By 1469 such orders had formed in almost every major court in Europe.

During the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the definition of nobility came to depend on family history, rather than military might. For a would-be noble, an ancestor who had worked in a trade or done manual labor was an embarrassment. One way to straighten a crooked limb on an otherwise noble family tree was to adopt the symbols and manners of chivalry. Men who had never spent a day in battle sought the title of knight and created their own coats of arms*.

Early Chivalric Literature. The literary concept of chivalry dates back to the romances of the Middle Ages. Early romances were not love stories but tales of war. Most were French translations and adaptations of ancient Latin works. Chivalry was the code of behavior that the knights in these medieval romances followed.

The first—and greatest—of the French romances was The Song of Roland (1098), which tells the story of Roland, a brave warrior who died protecting the French army. However, the most influential chivalric romance was the story of the Welsh king Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. This legend developed from the writings of the French author Chrétien de Troyes. It includes such familiar characters as Lancelot, Guinevere, Percival, and Sir Gawain.

The tales of Arthur's knights provided a pattern of action that appears in most romances. First, a knight sets out on a quest: he must save a lady, right a wrong, complete a task, slay a dragon, break a spell, or find the way to heaven. Along the way he has adventures that test his strength, and he must behave according to a code of conduct. Sometimes he is strong enough, but his luck (or Fortune) may be bad. Good knights try to do the right thing, but they often find themselves in difficult situations. The plots of chivalric romances include many common elements, such as jousts, tournaments, strange customs, giants, enchantments, and flying horses. Some critics argue that readers can interpret these elements as symbols that have moral meanings.

Chivalry in Renaissance Literature. During the 1300s and 1400s, medieval French romances were expanded, altered, and translated into English, Spanish, and Italian. Many included elements that Chrétien created. Their heroes are completely good and their villains are completely evil. These works also echo the rigid pride and codes of honor of military elites*.

Italy was home to the most popular romances during the Renaissance. There, writers combined the romance of chivalry with the epic*. Italian poet Ludovico ARIOSTO's Orlando Furioso (Mad Roland, 1516) is particularly notable because its narrator is both self-conscious and mocking. Orlando Furioso had enormous influence on Renaissance literature and literary criticism. The story was so popular that it touched off an explosion of romances based on its minor characters. Jerusalem Delivered (1580), by poet Torquato TASSO, is the other Italian masterpiece of the 1500s.

During the years of discovery and conquest in North America in the late 1500s, Spain saw a vast outpouring of chivalric romances. By 1575, more romances were translated from Spanish than from French. Spain's Miguel de CERVANTES wrote one of the most enduring works inspired by the code of chivalry, Don Quixote (1605). It tells the story of a gentleman from La Mancha whose mind has been seriously affected by reading romances.

In England, chivalric romances were the most popular form of fiction after the introduction of printing. In 1485 William Caxton, the first English printer, printed Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur (The Death of Arthur), a version of the King Arthur legend. English poets of the late 1500s, such as Philip SIDNEY and Edmund SPENSER, created works inspired by the romance tradition.

Influence on Renaissance Culture. The legend of King Arthur became an important source of inspiration in England. Like Arthur, the ruling Tudor family was Welsh. In the 1490s, Henry VII named his first-born son Arthur and created the title "Prince of Wales" for him. Elizabeth I used Arthur's Knights of the Round Table as a model for her Order of the Garter (a knightly order).

The chivalric legends also appeared in Renaissance art, especially in decorations. Images of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table appeared on such personal items as small boxes, combs, mirror cases, writing tablets, and decks of cards. Arthurian legends and other romance stories also inspired tapestries and frescoes* on the walls of Renaissance castles and manor houses.

The tradition of chivalry did not survive the changing political climate of Europe following the Renaissance. Materialism and self-interest soon replaced the knightly code of honor. The values of old nobility gave way to the democracies of France and America and to the Industrial Revolution.

Chivalry

Dueling for Honor