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ChrisShonte Wellington
Ms. Tierce
English IV
11 April 2015

The word Chivalry comes from the French word chevalier which means a knight, a
young man, and horseman. The chivalric code was documented in a poem called The song of
Roland. It described the betrayal of Roland on Ganelon. Roland described his idea of his code
of conduct and meaning of chivalry which became known as the Chivalric code.
To fear God and maintain His Church; To serve the liege lord in valour and
faith;To protect the weak and defenceless; To give succour to widows and orphans; To refrain
from the wanton giving of offence; To live by honour and for glory; To despise pecuniary
reward; To fight for the welfare of all; To obey those placed in authority; To guard the honour of
fellow knights; To eschew unfairness, meanness and deceit; To keep faith; At all times to speak
the truth; To persevere to the end in any enterprise begun; To respect the honour of women;
Never to refuse a challenge from an equal; Never to turn the back upon a foe
This code went beyond just combat; it introduced the concept of chivalrous conduct. To be a
well-respected knight during the Middle Ages did not mean that you could only be brave and
strong but you had to honor the chivalric code. The chivalric code was honored by everyone. It
was a code of respect and curtesy, faithfulness to the church, and respect to women.
Paris stated Chivalry turned the act of killing into an exciting game, played according to
a well-defined code of noble behavior. (xvii) Some felt that the Chivalric code soften the
brutality of warfare. The men took the Chivalric code out onto the battlefield which hurt them in

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the end. Knights were expected to treat each other and inferiors with respect and good will; the
same treatment was to be delivered to their enemies. Knights were forbidden from attacking
unarmed opponents and was stressed that the good knight fought for glory and Christian
purposes. War may arouse every brutal passion in our nature, but it is the province of chivalry to
save the true man, to soften force by manners (Ann Curthoys, 82). The word war had
changed with the concept of the Chivalric code. It wasnt a time of blood, unfair fights, and cruel
punishment. It now had a certain manner that as a knight you must follow, you must value your
foes.
Knights were expected to be active Christians during the Medieval Period. This was a
part of the Chivalric code. Knights must be faithful to God, to protect the innocent, to be faithful
to the Church, to be the champion of good against evil, to be generous, and to obey God.
"It is this truth that motivates the Knight of the Holy Eucharist to spend himself for
others. He places himself at the service of the Lord. He has made the interests of the King his
own, and all that is dear to His Lord he himself esteems. Commissioned to go forth in his
Masters Name, the Knight carries on the work of Jesus Christ in the modern world. For the
apostolic life of a Knight is the life of Jesus, lived here, lived now, and lived in you." -- K.H.E.
Customs
The Chivalric code and loyalty to the church went hand and hand. To honor the code and
be chivalrous you must put all faith and fear in God. It was believed that he had all power and if
you took that into acknowledgement he will always love and watch over you. Crusades were a
medieval military expedition made by Europeans to recover the Holy Land from the Muslim.
Many knights recruited in search of money, glory, and religious reasons. The religious reason
lead to the finding of the military religious orders-the Knights, the Teutonic Knights. The

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members of this group took religious vows and shared vision of take back the Holy Land. They
had strong faith a good will. These orders helped infuse chivalry with religious ideas.
Women originated in the Chivalric code through Mother Mary. She, being the women of
earth, was to be respected and praise. Through her came her children, the daughters were the
prize possessions. Chivalry towards women included honoring one woman before all others, and
showing graciousness and gentleness towards all women. The love women gotten from knights
was staring to be known as courtly love chivalry.

Marriage is no real excuse for not loving, He who is not jealous cannot love, It is well
known that love is always increasing or decreasing, Boys do not love until they arrive at the age
of maturity, When made public love rarely endures, Real jealousy always increases the feeling of
love When a lover suddenly catches sight of his beloved his heart palpitates, He whom the
thought of love vexes eats and sleeps very little
These were the rules that the men and women of the middle ages followed. Women who
werent a member of the nobility was considered worthless and love worked by rank. It were
times where a knight could love a poor women but they couldnt show it. The code of chivalry
degraded women. It made them seem less than what they were and introduced a love that wasnt
based on love at all.

Overall the medieval period was a time that everyone respected and honored the
Chivalric code. Not all may agree with every part of it but all followed it. This code started out as
just combat code but broaden its idea from warfare, religious believes and the treatment of
women.

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Works Cited

"Knights Code of Chivalry." <i>Knights Code of Chivalry</i>. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.

&lt;http://www.lordsandladies.org/knights-code-of-chivalry.htm&gt;.

"Knights and the Traditions of Chivalry." The Crusades Reference Library. Ed. Neil Schlager, et
al. Vol. 1: Almanac. Detroit: UXL, 2005. 134-156. World History in Context. Web. 23
Feb. 2015

Shaw, David Gary. "Chivalry in Medieval England." The Historian 75.1 (2013): 214+. Academic
OneFile. Web. 5 Feb. 2015.

Shaw, David Gary. "Chivalry in Medieval England." The Historian 75.1 (2013): 214+. Academic
OneFile. Web. 5 Feb. 2015.

"Medieval Code of Chivalry." <i>Medieval Code of Chivalry</i>. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.

&lt;http://www.ancientfortresses.org/medieval-code-chivalry.htm&gt;.