The Moral Code of Chivalry
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Youth Sections
"The Braves Arise " |
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 he Moral Code of Chivalry not only helped shape the identity of the Middle Ages era, but also transcended time and had a considerable impact subsequently, as exemplified by Spanish Literatur, English Literature and the tale of King Arthur. Dedication to Chivalry was a dedication to a life of honesty, loyalty, and romance. A code that is meant to not dictate who you are, but who others think you are. The seemingly basic, almost innately understood sets of scruples are quite complexly interwoven into the literature of the succeeding years. Although eventually, the times began to change and the Knights who held the Code dear began to disappear, its essence endured through the written word.The shift not only in writing style, but in global language as well, dictated the rise of English Literature in the 1500s and onwards. Up until then, Latin had dominated the literature landscape due to its common usage in the Roman Catholic Church. As England broke away from the Church, its Bibles began to be printed in English and scholars began to use English as their language of choice. English emerged as a dominant language around the 1530s and soon united itself with the English Church, thereby cementing its place in English Literature. As more works were written in English, stories of Knights, crimes and romances were a very common theme for authors. The adventurous aspects of these stories were very novel to readers, and these types of books were traditionally well received. Two different advances, lead to a more accessible audience. During the mid-1500s, the literacy rates in England increased sharply and new publishing techniques allowed a great number of books to be published. Not all of the authors were pleased with this. They believed that these new innovations diminished the quality of their product and trade. The fact that common folk could read their works was upsetting to them. Yet the fiscal advantages of this new technique were very enticing and it soon became the preferred method of sharing a work, overcoming the oral tradition of relaying stories. Authors such as Robert Greene brought about this change. The stories of Knights kept growing, reaching their pinnacle with the assembling of the King Arthur Legends which had previously been very popular oral folklore. Many historians attribute the fascination with knights to Netherland’s influence on England through trade. Stories were rapidly being translated into Spanish, and one of the most popular of those works was Don Quixote, which inspired a whole number of imitations and interpretations in English. Chivalrous romances were plentiful and usually quite artistic. Author Sir Phillip Sidney once said that he believed romance had a military connection. The tie between the romantic aspects and knight aspects of the writing was extremely prevalent. This association is probably due to the dignity with which the Knights treated their ladies. No English author captured the aspect of lovers as equals better than William Shakespeare. He was greatly inspired by Chivalry, in fact it is said that he would mock being a knight and embarking on adventures with his own homemade armor modeled after Don Quixote’s. The themes of Chivalry are found throughout his work. Romeo and Juliet has been well documented as a love story but it also showed “a story of family vengeance that tears a city apart and creates unnecessary strife.” There is a great deal of loyalty that Chivalry is involved with. You must be loyal to your lord, your lady, your people. Loyalty to your family is another continuation from that. Another recurring theme in Shakespeare’s work, which appeared in the likes of Henry V and the Merry Wives of Winsdor was disguise. How clothing defines a person was truly expressed during this time as “Social deviants were forced to wear distinctive articles of clothing that served as “signs” that publicized their presence to the accepted members of society, warning them of possible contamination.” This relates to the ultimate concept of Chivalry, which is that others define your status. Chivalry allows little uniqueness between people. There is a unified manor in which everyone is to act in. The fact that you can change your character simply by changing some aspects of you, like your clothing, is an idea that is chivalrous to the core. Chivalry can be portrayed as unauthentic and conceited in nature to the individual, as it seems everyone has the same core qualities and the basis for which they strive to have these qualities is for others to respect and admire them. Chivalry was revolutionary in the fact that it was the beginning of enforcing norms of society. Whether the outcome good or bad, our unity as a people and a culture has in a sense stemmed from the concept of Chivalry. This definitely has had a quantifiable impact on culture today. And most certainly has had an impact on English Literature. |
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*Arman Koul is a 15 years old, 9th grade student from Andover, MA. He enjoys reading, music and sports, not necessarily in that order.. |
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