Though these rules sometimes dictated generous treatment of the less fortunate and less powerful, their main focus was on protecting the interests of the elites. It also gave great emphasis on courtesy in the dealings between knights and women. The Knight's Code of Chivalry stated that all knights should protect those who cannot protect themselves, such as widows, children, and the elderly. The chivalric code along with military skills consisted of piety and other moral virtues promoted by religion at that time. The clergy keenly promoted chivalry with the code requiring knights to swear an oath to defend the church and defenceless people.Īt a time when military violence with massive civilian casualties was in practice, chivalry was an effort to set rules for merciful knightly behaviour to keep those thuggish knights in control. The term chivalry was derived from the Old French term “chevalerie”, meaning “horse soldiery”. Thus giving rise to a code of conduct meant for them, which later became known as chivalry. It was this violence that the church attempted to control. Over time violence became their primary profession. They were heavily armed, violent and rode horses. All knights needed to have the strength and skills to fight wars. They were essentially hired thugs of low social status. In the middle of the 11th century, the knights weren’t particularly honourable figures. But during the Middle Ages, the code was established for other reasons as well. In the 21st century, our assumption of the word chivalry echoes a kind of old-fashioned male courtesy towards women. It’s derived from the French word ‘Cheval’ which means horse. I was going through some of the words the other day and the word chivalry caught my attention. It’s very interesting to see the roots of a word and then see its transformation into the present-day world. It stirs up images of gallant, hooded knights in shining armour riding horses, rescuing princesses in the mediaeval ages-doesn’t it? ‘Chivalry’- the word itself sparks a kind of romanticism.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |