Chivalry code to live by glory and honour

Chivalry code to live by glory and honour series#

The order still exists today and current members include Queen Elizabeth II. Known as the Order of the Golden Fleece, this order was founded in Bruges by the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Isabella.

A Roman Catholic order of chivalry was founded in 1430 This sense of religious duty inspired knights to fight in wars deemed вЂњholyвЂќ, such as the Crusades, but their piety was characterized as distinct from that of the clergy. This term refers to the religious motivations held by some knights in the Middle Ages вЂ“ motivations that were so strong that their plunder was often donated to churches and monasteries. This influence led to the emergence of a concept known as вЂњknightly pietyвЂќ The Catholic Church had traditionally had an uneasy relationship with war and so this religious aspect of chivalry can be seen as an attempt at reconciling the warring tendencies of the noble class with the ethical requirements of the church. Those taking part in the Crusades were seen as epitomizing the image of a noble and righteous warrior and a knightвЂ™s servitude to God and church became a central part of the concept of chivalry.

Chivalry code to live by glory and honour series#

This was in large part thanks to the Crusades, a series of military expeditions beginning in the late 11th century that were organised by western European Christians in an effort to counter the spread of Islam. The chivalric code was strongly influenced by Christianity

In it Marshal is described as вЂthe best knight in the worldвЂ™. William MarshalвЂ™s incredible story is chronicled in the Histoire de Guillaume le MarГ©chal, the only known written biography of a non-royal to survive from the Middle Ages. Nearly thirty years later in 1217, a 70-year-old William Marshall defeated an invading French army at Lincoln. Despite this, when Richard ascended the English throne later that year, William became one of his most dependable generals and was left to govern England when Richard departed for the Holy Land. In 1189, William even unseated Richard, soon to beВ Richard I, in battle when Richard was leading a rebellion against his father, King Henry II. He was considered the greatest tournament knight of his age and also spent some years fighting in the Holy Land. The biggest hero of his day, William MarshalвЂ™s name sits alongside King Arthur and Richard the Lionheart as one of EnglandвЂ™s most famous knights. William Marshal was one of EnglandвЂ™s greatest knights Roland dies in battle a martyr and his act of valor is seen as exemplifying the courage and selflessness of a true knight and vassal to the king. Rather than alert Charlemagne to the ambush by blowing a horn, Roland and his men face the ambush alone, so as not to risk the lives of the king and his troops. The titular Roland is leading the rear guard when his men are ambushed while crossing the Pyrenees Mountains. The Song of RolandВ tells the story of CharlemagneвЂ™s victory over the final Saracen army in Spain (a campaign that began in 778). Meaning вЂњsongs of great deedsвЂќ, chansons de geste were French heroic poems written in the Middle Ages. The Song of RolandВ was the first вЂњchanson de gesteвЂќ

Always and everywhere be right and good against evil and injusticeДЈ.

Perform all your feudal duties as long as they do not conflict with the laws of God.

Show no mercy and do not hesitate to make war with the infidel.

Believe the ChurchвЂ™s teachings and observe all the ChurchвЂ™s directions.

In his 1882 book La Chevalerie, GautierВ outlines these commandments as follows: According to French literary historianВ LГ©on Gautier, there were вЂњTen Commandments of ChivalryвЂќ

Serve the liege Lord in valor and faithДў.

However, according to the Song of Roland, an epic poem dating back to the 12th century, chivalry included the following vows: In other words, there was no set list of chivalrous rules recognized by all knights. The average knight may not have lived up to such flawless standards, but the heroic archetype was popularized by medieval literature and folklore, with aВ code of proper knightly conduct known as вЂњchivalryвЂќВ developed towards the end of the 12th century.В Here are six facts about medieval knights and chivalry. All characteristics that came to be associated with an idealized conception of the knight in the Middle Ages.