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The code of chivalry was the set of ideals that governed the behavior of medieval knights, and it was one of the most influential cultural products of the High Middle Ages. The code prescribed how a knight should behave toward his lord, his peers, his enemies, his lady, and God, and it shaped the self-understanding of the aristocratic class for centuries. The code was never a single, formal document, but it was a real and powerful influence on the behavior of the medieval aristocracy, and it has been the subject of much literary, historical, and cultural study. The code of chivalry has shaped the Western imagination of knighthood, honor, and virtue, and it continues to be a major subject of popular and academic interest in the modern era.
Maurice Keen, “Chivalry” (Yale, 1984), is the standard English-language history. The Ordene de chevalerie (the early-twelfth-century French verse text) and the biographies of William Marshal (the Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal, c. 1220) are the primary sources. The page below treats the knightly code, the courtesy books, the gap between the ideal and the practice, and the afterlife of the code in the early modern courtesy tradition.
The Origins of the Code of Chivalry
The origins of the code of chivalry are rooted in the early medieval practice of the warrior class, and they developed gradually over the course of the High Middle Ages. The word chivalry (from the Old French chevalerie, from cheval, horse) originally referred to the body of mounted warriors who served the king or the great lords, and it gradually came to refer to the code of conduct that governed the behavior of these warriors.
The early form of chivalry emphasized the warrior virtues of courage, loyalty, and honor. The knight was expected to be brave in battle, loyal to his lord, and honorable in his dealings with his peers. The early chivalric ideal was closely tied to the feudal system, and it emphasized the mutual obligations of lord and vassal. The chivalric virtues were typically expressed in the literature of the period, especially in the chansons de geste of northern France and the romances of Chrétien de Troyes and his successors.
The later form of chivalry added the Christian virtues to the warrior virtues. The knight was expected to be pious and devout, to protect the Church and the weak, and to defend the Christian faith against its enemies. The later chivalric ideal was closely tied to the Crusades and to the military religious orders (the Templars, the Hospitallers, and the Teutonic Knights), and it was elaborated in the literature of the period, especially in the romances of the Holy Grail and the Order of the Garter. The later chivalric ideal also added the virtue of courtly love to the warrior and Christian virtues, and it emphasized the importance of the relationship between the knight and his lady.
The Virtues of Chivalry
The code of chivalry was a complex set of ideals and obligations that governed the behavior of the knight. The code was elaborated in the literature of the period, especially in the romances of Chrétien de Troyes and his successors, in the chansons de geste, in the courtesy books of the late medieval period, and in the writings of the Church Fathers and the scholastic theologians. The code was never a single, formal document, but it was a real and powerful influence on the self-understanding of the aristocratic class.
The chivalric virtues included the following:
Courage: The knight was expected to be brave in battle, to face danger without flinching, and to defend his lord, his faith, and his honor. The chivalric courage was a physical and moral virtue, and it was a major component of the chivalric ideal.
Loyalty: The knight was expected to be loyal to his lord, to his peers, and to his lady. The chivalric loyalty was a fundamental obligation of the knight, and failure to meet the obligation was considered a serious breach of honor.
Honor: The knight was expected to maintain his honor in all his dealings, to defend his reputation, and to uphold the standards of the aristocratic class. The chivalric honor was a public reputation that was maintained through deeds of valor, generosity, and courtesy.
Generosity: The knight was expected to be generous to the poor and the weak, to support his household and his retainers, and to share his resources with those in need. The chivalric generosity was a major component of the aristocratic ideal, and it was a public display of the knight’s wealth and status.
Courtesy: The knight was expected to be courteous to his peers, to his lady, and to those in his service. The chivalric courtesy was a refined social behavior that was expected of the aristocratic class, and it was a major component of the courtly ideal.
Piety: The knight was expected to be pious and devout, to attend Mass and the sacraments, to support the Church, and to defend the Christian faith. The chivalric piety was a major component of the later chivalric ideal, and it was closely tied to the Crusades and the military religious orders.
Service: The knight was expected to serve his lady with devotion and respect, to defend her honor, and to perform deeds of valor in her name. The chivalric service was a major component of the courtly ideal, and it was closely tied to the ideology of courtly love.
The Code of Chivalry in Practice
The code of chivalry was a literary and cultural construct that bore little relation to the actual behavior of the medieval aristocracy. The knights of the Middle Ages were often brutal, violent, and oppressive, and the chivalric ideal was rarely realized in practice. The knights of the period routinely engaged in private feuds, plundered travelers and merchants, and oppressed the peasantry of their territories. The chivalric ideal was an aspiration that was rarely met in reality.
Yet the code of chivalry was a real influence on the self-understanding of the aristocratic class, and the literature of chivalry has shaped the Western imagination of knighthood, honor, and virtue for centuries. The chivalric ideal provided a standard of behavior that knights aspired to meet, and it provided a framework for the moral and social order of the aristocratic world. The chivalric ideal was a real influence on the behavior of the medieval aristocracy, even if it was rarely fully realized in practice.
The code of chivalry was enforced by a variety of means. The public ceremonies of dubbing to knighthood, the oaths of fealty and homage, and the rituals of the tournament and the chase all reinforced the chivalric ideal. The public opinion of the aristocratic class was a major enforcement mechanism, and the knight who failed to meet the standards of chivalric behavior was subject to the ridicule and shame of his peers. The tournaments were a major arena for the display and enforcement of the chivalric ideal, and the tournament judges enforced the rules of chivalric combat.
The Code of Chivalry and the Crusades
Tournaments were a major expression of the chivalric ideal in the medieval period, and the Crusading movement gave the chivalric ideal a religious and universal dimension. The Crusaders were knights who took up arms in defense of the Christian faith and the Holy Land, and they saw themselves as the defenders of Christendom against the infidels. The Crusades gave the chivalric ideal a religious and universal mission that transcended the local and feudal obligations of the knight, and they became a major expression of the chivalric ideal in the medieval world.
The Crusades were closely tied to the development of the military religious orders — the Templars, the Hospitallers, and the Teutonic Knights — which combined the military and religious aspects of the chivalric ideal. The military religious orders played a major role in the defense of the Holy Land and in the defense of the Crusader States, and they became major expressions of the chivalric ideal in the medieval world.
The Crusades were also closely tied to the development of the chivalric ideal of the defense of women and the weak. The Crusaders were expected to defend the honor of women and the safety of the weak, and the defense of women and the weak was a major component of the chivalric ideal. The Crusades provided a context in which the chivalric ideal of the defense of the weak could be expressed in practice, and they contributed to the development of the chivalric ideal in the medieval world.
The Code of Chivalry and Courtly Love
The code of chivalry was closely tied to the ideology of courtly love that was developed in the troubadour poetry of southern France and elaborated in the romances of northern France. The ideology of courtly love prescribed a complex set of rules and emotions governing the relationship between the knight and his lady, and it was a major influence on the literature, the art, and the social practices of the medieval world.
The courtly love tradition was closely tied to the cult of the Virgin Mary, and the lady of the courtly love tradition was often associated with the Madonna of Christian devotion. The ideal of the knight who serves his lady with devotion and respect was a secular version of the religious ideal of the soul who serves the Virgin Mary with devotion and respect. The cult of the Virgin Mary gave the courtly love tradition a religious dimension, and the courtly love tradition gave the cult of the Virgin Mary a secular dimension.
The courtly love tradition was complex and sometimes contradictory. The tradition emphasized the spiritual nature of the love relationship and the ennobling effect of love on the lover, but it also recognized the physical dimension of love and the possibility of physical fulfillment. The tradition placed the lady in a position of superior dignity, but it also required the lover to be active in the pursuit of his lady. The tradition was often criticized by the Church as a dangerous secularization of Christian love, but it also inspired some of the most remarkable literary and artistic works of the period.
The Legacy of the Code of Chivalry
The legacy of the code of chivalry is complex and enduring. On the one hand, the code of chivalry was a literary and cultural construct that bore little relation to the actual behavior of the medieval aristocracy. The knights of the Middle Ages were often brutal, violent, and oppressive, and the chivalric ideal was rarely realized in practice. On the other hand, the chivalric ideal was a real influence on the self-understanding of the aristocratic class, and the literature of chivalry has shaped the Western imagination of knighthood, honor, and virtue for centuries.
The legacy of the code of chivalry can be seen in the modern concepts of honor, courage, loyalty, courtesy, and service that are still part of the Western moral vocabulary. The legacy of the courtly love tradition can be seen in the modern concepts of romantic love, chivalry toward women, and the idealization of the beloved that are still part of the Western literary and cultural tradition. The legacy of the tournament can be seen in the modern concepts of sporting competition, fair play, and the award of prizes for excellence that are still part of the Western tradition of sport.
The code of chivalry and the courtly love tradition continue to shape the Western imagination of knighthood, honor, and romantic love in the modern era. The chivalric ideal is a major subject of modern literary, historical, and cultural study, and it continues to inspire artists, writers, and filmmakers in the modern era. The code of chivalry and the courtly love tradition are major symbols of the medieval world, and they continue to shape the cultural life of the Western world in the modern era.
Sources
Principal sources used in this article:
- Maurice Keen, Chivalry (Yale, 1984).
Further reading:
- Georges Duby, The Knight, the Lady and the Priest (Allen Lane, 1983).
For a recent single-volume synthesis with full scholarly apparatus, see the relevant chapter of Barbara H. Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages (University of Toronto Press, 2014).