– Perform all Your Feudal Duties, Provided They Do Not Offend God’s Law – Never Entertain a Non-religious Person. – Believe in all teachings of the church, and also observe them
The list of chivalric commandments is as follows: The codes of chivalry can be summarized in a way similar to the 10 biblical commandments. Protect the Honor of Other Knights : Knights were expected to be each other’s keepers, guarding the dignity of their colleagues. It would be cowardice for a knight to turn down a challenge from an equal Truth must always be told unconditionally.ĭon’t Run Away from Any Challenge : Knights were supposed to be fearless. Respect for People in Authority : Knights were expected to be obedient to their superiors.īeing Truthful : The Chivalry codes of the knights asked all members to desist from lies. Giving Assistance to Orphans & widows : Courtesy demands that, aid should be given to the widowed and the orphaned.ĭesist from Rudely Offending Other People : The Chivalry codes frowned on soldiers who carelessly threw their weight on others, without any good reason. Knights should be willing to go all lengths in order to maintain God’s churches.Įxhibit Valor and Serve the Lords (Kings) with Faith : Knights were expected to be courageous and be in a position to confront danger with vigor.Ĭare for the Weak (Less Strong Ones) : The Chivalry codes emphasized the need for the stronger ones to offer helping hands to weaker ones (especially women). Love for God and Fear of God : An ideal knight is one who is devoted to God, loving him and fearing him at all time. The Knights of King Arthur’s Round Table also obeyed the chivalric codes: Truth, loyalty, courage and honor. Members of the knighthood were expected to show certain ethical values when on war grounds or at home. Interesting, isn’t it? The Chivalry Codes of the Knights For example, a soldier must be brave and at the same God-fearing. Because of influences from the European Christian Crusades, the chivalric codes combined religious virtues with war qualities.
#CHIVALRY CODE PRESENTATION SERIES#
The Crusades were a series of military actions undertaken by 11th-13th century Christians, to fight and put a lid on Islamic expansion. It should never be forgotten that chivalry (as a virtues of the knights) was highly motivated by what Christian historians call “the Crusade”. Examples of such good behaviors expected of knights include: bravery, loyalty, truthfulness and helping the weak. During the Middle Ages, the code of chivalry was refined to stand as a moral system of good knightly behavior. The meaning of chivalry continued to evolve in Europe. From there, Chivalry later became associated with the English knighthood. Consequently, Chivalry (originating from the French word “cheval”) was initially used when referring to horse-riding soldiers. Now you may want to fully understand this by looking up the fact that, “cheval” is a word in French which refers to “a horse”.
In the same way, “chivalry” came from an old-fashioned French word “chevalerie” which literally means “horse-riding soldiers”. Cavalry takes it roots from the French word “cavalerie”. At that time, cavalrymen was a branch of the military that used horses to fight. The earlier known usage of the chivalry codes arose from the Holy Roman Empire in Europe. Before we delve into the chivalric codes and the modern era concept of chivalry, let’s look at its origin. If the Middle Age generation had a second chance to come and hear us define chivalry today, they are most likely going to disagree with us. It’s important to realize that the “meaning of chivalry” has greatly evolved with time. To further elaborate this, chivalric codes were just some accepted moral standards which viewed an ideal knight as one who exhibits nobility in the battlefield and also presents himself well to other people (especially the weaker ones). It’s very far from a formality: the interesting thing about chivalry is that, it was an informal social norm which was popular during the 11th and 12th centuries. What then is chivalry? And what are some of the codes of chivalry? The Meaning of Chivalry That being said, it should not trick you into thinking that chivalry was a formal law written down for knights to observe. In other words, chivalry was a specified code of conduct which spelled out the virtues of real warriors. Chivalry was a medieval era ethical concept which summarized the ideal behavior expected of Middle Age warriors (knights).
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