chivalry

Week 8

LECTURE

CHIVALRY

INTRODUCTION

Chivalry derives from the French word chevalier meaning knights

mounted warriors used throughout history
BUT expense of horses, equipment >> rise of miles ['knight'] c.1000
professional warriors who not focus on producing from land
depend on lord (nobles) for equipment and training
miles risen on the social scale
kudos of military life
Church influence >> Three Orders
romances and court culture
result = by C12, nobles and knights coalesce
boundary line against rest of society? (i.e. an exclusive caste?)
dubbing ceremony
BUT by 1250, many ‘squires’ not bother to be dubbed
English armies of 100 Years War, 25 per cent of men-at-arms were knights in C14, 10 per cent in C15

1. THE CHIVALRIC CODE

1.1 A warrior code

core elements of knightly code apply across the ages to warriors
Romans, Franks, Vikings, Samurai etc
honour and glory
military skill, prowess and courage
heroism

1.2 A moral code

BUT chivalry is also (supposedly) a moral code: knights are meant to be:
courteous
loyalty
generous
pious etc.
BUT these are very fluid concepts and there is no simple statement of this code
eg story of Lancelot and Guinevere ~ loyalty v. love;

1.3 Where does this moral dimension come from?

literary culture of chivalry: C12 and C13, French courts produce epics and romances about Arthur and Roland, Charlemagne, Alexander, Trojan wars
authors were clerics:
Parisian education and training in Stoic philosophy and classical Roman virtues
applied to their vision of chivalry and knighthood
Purpose?
stimulate debate amongst audience?
self-justification of class in their supposedly higher moral purpose?
good stories that simply encourage bravery before battle?
what did knights themselves think? Very few sources …

2. CHIVALRY AND WARFARE

2.1 The role of cavalry in battle

common modern idea = knights like tanks on the battlefield, and that cavalry were the key to medieval battles
BUT remember that:
sources have an aristocratic bias
cavalry (offensive) combine with infantry (defensive)
pitched battles were rare: the defenders take refuge in castles
late medieval armies
use infantry and particularly archers
English armies in France dismount and fight on foot
increasing danger for the knight / squire
BUT French and Burgundian armies still depend on cavalry

1. technology: armour for man and horse
2. shock value need for extreme discipline amongst infantry

2.2 The conduct of war

Romantic ideal of chivalry v. reality of war
Examples of apparently horrific behaviour

            1. Black Prince at Limoges (1370)
            2. Henry V at Agincourt (1415): ‘murder’ of prisoners
            3. Henry V at Rouen (1418-9)

These actions were regarded as justified (explain)
Problems:

            1. They paid little attention to civilians
            2. The majority of the armies were not the knightly classes or were mercenaries
            3. Increasing use of mortal war with no rules and no prisoners

Contemporary writers solution was to persuade kings that it was in their interest to control their soldiers: Richard II and Henry V issued military ordinances
BUT core issue = without regular payment of soldiers they will rob and pillage
Solution >> regular army and wages; reforms by Charles VII and Louis XI.

3. CHIVALRY IN PEACETIME

3.1 Tournaments

Develop in the C11-C12 from earlier mock wars and martial training

            1. Melée during tournoi stage
            2. jousts and hand to hand combat
            3. pas d’armes

Criticisms of tournaments
Church opposition due to violence
Secular authorities feared public order & covert resistance
Measures to increase safety
Bated weapons and tilt / barrier,
weapons à plaisance,
shields, different helmets
BUT were they useful training for war in the late middle ages? Or just entertainment?
‘Storming of the castle of love’
Jacques de Lalaing, pas d’armes (1449-50): weeping damsel, three shields hanging from unicorn, joust by weapon of choice
BUT number of fatal injuries & the famous soldiers of the era were also stars of tournaments
+ introduce notion of rules of war >> provide basis for public authority and attempt to control the conduct of soldiers

3.2 Knightly orders

Late middle ages, development of knightly orders
Edward III >> Knights of the Garter;
Philip the Good’s Golden Fleece
Not like crusading orders >> playing again?
Garter and Smithfield tournament
religious function, like confraternity
BUT ‘military value’ too
military incentive, reward for service >> Prussia
patronage for nobles >> loyalty
prestige for king > warrior king

CONCLUSION: CHIVALRY IN CRISIS?

Huizinga thesis

façade of chivalry v. reality of brutal and bloody warfare
BUT was chivalry ever real?
adopted playful elements of chivalric romance >> clear influence

Reaction of aristocrats themselves?

few sources were written by the chivalric classes
motives for being chivalrous?
military class >> self-justification in activity
family honour
religion
what did they think that being chivalrous meant?