Chivalry
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"In the time of this good king that famous order of chivalry of the Knights of the Round Table was instituted, and the amour of Don Lancelot of the Lake with the Queen Guinevere occurred, precisely as is there related, the go-between and confidante therein being the highly honourable dame Quintañona."--Don Quixote (1605) by Miguel de Cervantes "The memory of these devastations, for Abderame did not spare the country or the people, was long preserved by tradition; and the invasion of France by the Moors or Mahometans affords the ground-work of those fables which have been so wildly disfigured in the romances of chivalry and so elegantly adorned by the Italian muse."--The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776-89) by Edward Gibbon |
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Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. It is usually associated with ideals of knightly virtues, honor and courtly love: "the source of the chivalrous idea," remarked Johan Huizinga, who devoted several chapters of The Waning of the Middle Ages to chivalry and its effects on the medieval character, "is pride aspiring to beauty, and formalized pride gives rise to a conception of honour, which is the pole of noble life."
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Knightly virtues
Knightly Virtues (or the Virtues of a Knight) were part of a medieval chivalric code of honor. The virtues were a set of 'standards' that Knights of the High Middle Ages tried to adhere to in their daily living and interactions with others. Today, this term still carries similar meanings.
Some organizations attempt to continue this tradition. The Emblem of the Order of St. John, (an organization that can be traced back to the Knights Hospitaller) does have a meaning behind it.
- The emblem of the Order is a white eight-pointed cross embellished in the four principal angles alternately with a lion passant guardant and a unicorn passant. The four arms of the cross signify the cardinal virtues: Prudence, Temperance, Justice and Fortitude. The eight points signify the beatitudes: Humility, Compassion, Courtesy, Devotion, Mercy, Purity, Peace and Endurance.
There is no definitive list of virtues, and other proposed virtues include:[1]
- Courage
- Justice
- Mercy
- Generosity/Charity/Liberality
- Faith
- Nobility/Valour
- Hope
- Diligence/Strength
- Chastity/Integrity/Truth
- Humility/Prudence
- Will/Determination/Resolve
The list of virtues has changed over time. In the Middle Ages, skills like Horsemanship were also considered one amongst these ideals.
See also
See also
- Bors
- Bushido
- Chivalric order
- Chivalric romance
- Courtly love
- Court of Chivalry
- Domnei
- Don Quixote
- Feliciano de Silva
- Furusiyya
- Jomsvikings
- Nine Worthies
- Pas d'Armes
- Sir Lionel
- Warrior code
- Chinese knight-errant
See also
