FROM HORSEMEN TO HEROES
THE KNIGHT’S CODE
Where chivalry came from — and where it went
ONLY THE YOUNG · PART FOUR
CHIVALRYEnglish
◀
CHEVALERIEFrench: “horsemanship”
◀
CHEVAL“horse”
At first, “chivalry” just meant men who fought on horseback.
Some historians say Charles Martel helped create them, granting land so men could afford a horse and armor. Others debate it.
BISHOP
KNIGHT
Real knights were often bullies — raiding farms, robbing travelers, even attacking churches.
BISHOPFrom now on: no attacking churches, farmers, merchants, or the poor!
KNIGHTThen who can I fight?
BISHOPOther knights. But not on Sundays. Or holy days. Or during Lent…
KNIGHT…I’ll need a calendar.
989 · The Peace of God
1027 · The Truce of God

THE KNIGHT’S CODE

What a knight was supposed to be
  1. IBe loyal to your lord
  2. IIBe brave in battle
  3. IIIProtect the weak and the poor
  4. IVDefend the Church
  5. VKeep your word
  6. VIBe generous and humble
  7. VIIHonor and serve ladies

THE POETS ADD ROMANCE

c. 1100

The Song of Roland

The model knight: loyal to his king and brave to the end.

1100s

Troubadours

Poet-singers of southern France invent courtly love: a knight serves his lady. Eleanor of Aquitaine makes it fashionable.

c. 1180

Chrétien’s Lancelot

Sir Lancelot rides to rescue the captured Queen Guinevere — the first great rescue romance.

The tower, the lady, the rescue — the poets wrote the dream.

THE IDEAL

  • Protect the weak
  • Keep your word
  • Honor ladies

THE REAL KNIGHT

  • A horse and armor cost a fortune, so knights came from rich, noble families
  • Many still raided and bullied peasants
  • The code was mostly about how nobles treated other nobles
Chivalry was a goal to reach for, not a description of how knights really behaved.

FOUR RESCUERS, FOUR TIMES

ROLAND
778 · poem c. 1100
Duty to his king and his faith
L
LANCELOT
c. 1180
Courtly love: he serves his lady
WESTLEY
1987
“As you wish”: devotion that crosses class lines
EDWARD
1990
The white-limo knight, and she rescues him right back
MOVIE CLIP · 1987

The Princess Bride

“As you wish.”

WATCH FOR: how a farm boy shows love by serving, a promise to always come back, and a hero who leaves to make his fortune.

THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987)
ROLAND
WESTLEY
ROLANDYou were a farm boy? In my day you’d be in the fields, not on a quest.
WESTLEYAs you wish.
ROLAND…That’s all you say?
WESTLEYIt’s all I ever need to say.
Real farm boys almost never became knights. Knighthood was for nobles, which is what makes Westley a fairy tale.
MOVIE CLIP · 1990

Pretty Woman

The knight on the white horse

WATCH FOR: the girl locked away in a tower, the knight charging up on a white horse, and the rescue. Which medieval poets does that sound like?

PRETTY WOMAN (1990)
ROLAND
VIVIAN
ROLANDA knight climbing a tower for a lady? We never did that. We were too busy fighting.
VIVIANThen where did the dream come from?
ROLANDFrom poets, a few hundred years after me. Real knights smelled like horses.
At the film’s end, Edward pulls up in a white limo and climbs the fire escape, and Vivian “rescues him right back.”
Is chivalry dead,
or did it just change costumes?
Roland served a king. Lancelot served a lady. Westley served a farm girl. Edward climbed a fire escape.

SORT THE KNIGHTS

Sorted 0/12 · Tries 0
Drag each card to the right hero, or click a card and then click a hero.

ALL SORTED!

ONLY THE YOUNG · PART FOUR

THE KNIGHT’S CODE

Chivalry, from Charles Martel to The Princess Bride and Pretty Woman

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