Essay On Chivalry

Chivalry is the foundation of the manors that we have today. Habits such as, holding doors open for people; pulling out woman’s chairs and being respectful all come from the middle ages. Although it is different today, the version of chivalry that was used back then has made a difference in the standards of a gentleman today. Along with courtly love, chivalry has also impacted the politics and military of the middle ages. Knights became a god-like figure and held more power than what could be controlled. This factor made a shift in power that led to a power struggle later on.
The term chivalry comes from the French word,” chevalier”, which means horseman. The original concept transformed into a complex code that changed the lives of many people in the middle ages. The code of chivalry was split into three sets of duties. The first of them being duties to woman, this involved, “a general graciousness and gentleness towards all women.” it is the foundation of courting today. Courtly love is a term that describes to the …show more content…
This discusses the faithfulness to god and the church this entails, “being generous and helpful,” along with other things. Lets say if a knight was on patrol and he saw a widow being beat up or ransacked it is his duty to help her. Unlike other militia styles in other time frames, this one is prohibitive against being ignorant to the helpless and was meant to be an example of behavior. The knights were a level above a typical merchant or commoner. They were closer to gods than most people in this era. Rituals that granted a squire to knighthood became seemingly complex. It went from being slapped in the face to being touched shoulders with a holy blade”. They also had,” a bath of chivalric purification.” , kind of like when we get baptized except they not only get closer to god they also gain status. Knights, in places like England, become