Thou shalt believe all that the Church teaches, and shalt observe all its directions.
#The chivalry code code#
The Ten Commandments of the Medieval Code of Chivalry: We may reduce the ancient code of chivalry into ten "Commandments". These elements intimately connected with pride of birth will generate that frame of character which is expressed by honor and loyalty. Governed by the Medieval Code of Chivalry with its three main elements: religion, military duty, and love. The principle of service to God, his lord, and his lady underlay everything. The whole duty of a gentleman was included in the idea ofĬhivalry, which regulated his life from his early childhood. However, it is clear that the tale shows a much more violent world than Sir Gawain and the Green Knight‘s – being Palamon and Arcite a much more destructive and old-fashioned version of a medieval chivalric knight.Its three principal factors are religion, war, and love of ladies, and its merits and faults are a result of these factors. In conclusion, the worlds of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Knight’s Tale are governed by well-defined codes of behaviour this code of chivalry is represented by the actions of the characters of Sir Gawain and Chaucer’s Knight in the General Prologue. Ultimately, the chivalric values derived from the Christian ethics, encouraging spiritual principles in a sinner world. “Chivalry was in Chaucer’s day on the decline, and it is possible that The Knight’s Tale was intended to show its flaws” (Wikipedia, 2013). The Knight’s Tale shows how the two sworn-blood knights brotherhood turns into a violent action due to the presence of a woman, with both knights fighting each other to death in order to claim her. jousts and tournaments, which at times ended in the death of the loser.
Regarding Palamon and Arcite, the general purpose of chivalry was to noble action, although reguarly conflicting values degenerated into violence – e.g. Although Sir Gawain does not know it, what is being measured is the moral and Christian ideal of chivalry (Greenblatt, 2012, p. The games and tests in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight will try to test the knights’ virtues, and especially those of Sir Gawain (Universitat de València, 2012). In addition, the inner side of Gawain’s shield bears an image of the Virgin (Borroff, 2011, p. This ideal symbolizes the moral and spiritual perfection of its possessor, including such specifically Christian elements as reliance on the five joys of the virgin Mary for fortitude in battle, and trust in the five wounds suffered by Christ on the cross. Its emblem is a five-pointed star drawn in one continuous line, called by the poet the “Pentangle” and the “endless knot”. (.) though the poem does not tell a specifically Christian story, its hero embodies a complex moral ideal defined only partly in Christian terms. Hence, originally medieval knights were prepared and lived for warfare, nonetheless, the system acquired other demanours and attitudes according to the ‘new’ Christian values. Hovewever, through time its meaning and qualities have been “refined to emphasise more ideals such as the knightly virtues of honour, courtly love, courtesy, and less martial aspects of the tradition” (Wikipedia, 2013). Chivalry arose from an idealized German Warrior Code – as seen in Beowulf and it was originally conceived of as an aristocratic society: Sir Gawain is part of the court, Palamon and Arcite are members of the Thebes royal family, and lastly Chaucer’s Knight is high ranked in society as well.Īll knights were supposed to follow the chivalric code: generosity, chastity, courtesy, brotherhood and piety (Universitat de València, 2012). The Chivalric code is the traditional code of conduct associated with the medieval institution of knighthood (Wikipedia, 2013).
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