We will be viewing the A&E Biography of King Arthur. He set the story in the early Middle Ages and he was the one who made Arthur the father of chivalry.įrom King Arthur, His Knights, and Their Ladies by Johanna Johnston In 1470, Sir Thomas Malory wrote out the whole Arthurian story once again, changing it, rearranging it, and adding bits and pieces from all the versions he had heard. It was a hodgepodge of all the tales and legends that had grown up over the years around the name of Arthur. Through the years, and then through the centuries, people told each other stories about Arthur, giving him credit for all sorts of brave deeds, making him the focal figure of any exciting story of war or magic or romance, and changing the background details to make them contemporary and familiar.Ībout the beginning of the Middle Ages, in the 12th century, a man named Geoffrey on Monmouth wrote down what he called the history of Arthur. Whoever he was exactly, he was obviously the sort of leader around whom legends cluster. There are some scholars who suggest that this chieftain or king was not a Briton but a Roman, Cassius Arturus. Then, somewhere in the land, a strong chieftain appeared who managed to weld some of the little kingdoms together, repel the advances of Saxon invaders to the south, and make a larger kingdom called England. D., after the Romans vacated the British Isles because of their own troubles back home in Italy, Britain became an unstable mosaic of little kingdoms, each rules by its own despotic king or chieftain. Historians say yes, but not the one of the legends and stories. Le Morte d’Arthur, by Sir Thomas Malory (page 225) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, by the Gawain Poet (page 209) “ The Two Swords.” King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, by Roger Lancelyn Green Medieval romance stories focus not upon love and sentiment, but upon adventure and the hero’s struggle to achieve perfection-as defined by the Code of Chivalry. Exemplary work, such as the English Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory (c.1408–1471), recount the marvelous adventures of a chivalrous, heroic knight, often of super-human ability, who, abiding chivalry's strict codes of honor and demeanor, goes on a quest, and fights and defeats monsters and giants, thereby winning favor with a lady. M edieval Romances-In the late Medieval and Renaissance period, the important European literary trend was to write fantastic fictions in the mode of Romance. Our modern notion of knights is very much based in the ideas of chivalry, and it is the survival of medieval romantic writings that tend to show knights as the chivalrous ideal, that sways our view of medieval knighthood. However well-intended this "chivalric code" was, it rarely affected most knights, who plundered, slaughtered, and looted often when given the chance. This same code of conduct did not apply to non-knights (archers, peasants, foot-soldiers, etc.), who were often slaughtered after capture.
In combat when nobles and knights were taken prisoner, their lives were spared and were often held for ransom in somewhat comfortable surroundings. The protection of the poor, women and children, and defense of the church were just some of the chivalry codes that a knight was supposed to always obey. By bestowing the title of Christian warriors to the knights, the pope had begun the evolution of a code of conduct that all knights were supposed to follow. With the crusades as a "holy war" the pope needed the support of the nobles and knights of Europe to help him with his agenda of ridding Jerusalem of Islam, and returning the "land of Christ" to Christian sovereignty.
It was around the time of the preaching of the first crusade (1095 AD) that the Christianization of knights began in earnest. Never to refuse a challenge from an equal To persevere to the end in any enterprise begun To eschew unfairness, meanness and deceit To refrain from the wanton giving of offence To serve the liege lord in valor and faith As the Middle Ages progressed, the term "chivalry" began to take on new meanings. Chivalry-The word, "chivalry", comes from the French word, "chevalerie", which means "skills to handle a horse." The ability to handle a horse, especially in combat, was of utmost importance to a medieval knight.
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