The Quest for
Chivalry
Welcome to the quest for chivalry.
You will assume the identity of one
of the famous knights in medieval
Britain: The legendary King
Arthur, Sir Gawain the Great, Sir
Bedivere the Bold.
It is your quest (or mission)
to find out if your character
demonstrates chivalry.
How can you judge if a
character or person is
chivalrous?
The Quest
Your Quest is to find examples
of true chivalry. You will
become a famous knight of
the round table and you will
search to find examples of
true chivalry in your
character.
You will have 8 lessons to
complete your quest.
In order to complete your quest you will complete the
following 3 steps:

1. Preparation for the Journey.
Step One:
o
(two lessons, in
pairs)
o
o
Step Two:

2. The Journey: A Quest for Chivalry
o
o
(four lessons, in
pairs)
o
Step Three:
(two lessons,
individually)

Learn the Historical Background of Knights and
the Feudal System in England
Choose a famous knight to be your identity for the
Quest.
Do Internet research into your character and write
a report.
Find the elements of true chivalry on the Internet
Read Morte D'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory and
complete the study questions (in class)
Read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and
complete the study questions (in class)
3. Present Your Findings to the Table Round
o
Write an analysis of your character which gives
examples of how your character showed chivalry
or fell short of the ideals of chivalry.
1. Preparation for the Journey:
First, you need to learn a little about the historical background of knights
and the Feudal System in England. Read the following information. Look up
all the words you don't know.
Knights and the Feudal System
This text is also the text for your first Alquin test of this term.
In 1066 the people from Normandy (in France) conquered England.
They defeated the Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of Hastings. The Normans
really changed English life. That’s because they introduced a social,
economic, and political system - called feudalism. The system had been
used in France by the Normans from the time they first settled there in
about 900AD. It was a simple, but effective system, where all land was
owned by the King. One quarter was kept by the King as his personal
property, some was given to the church and the rest was leased out
under strict controls.
The King
The King was in complete control under the Feudal System. He
owned all the land in the country and decided who he would lease
land to. He therefore only allowed those men he could trust to lease
land from him. However, before they were given any land they had to
swear an oath to remain faithful to the King at all times. The men
who leased land from the King were known as Barons, they were
wealthy, powerful and had complete control of the land they leased
from the King.
Barons
Barons leased land from the King. This land was known as a manor.
Barons were known as the Lord of the Manor and were in complete
control of this land. They established their own system of justice,
minted their own money and set their own taxes. In return for the
land they had been given by the King, the Barons had to serve on the
royal council, pay rent and provide the King with Knights for military
service when he demanded it. They also had to provide lodging and
food for the King and his court when they travelled around the
country. The Barons kept as much of their land as they wished for
their own use, then divided the rest among their Knights. Barons
were very rich.
Knights
Knights were given land by a Baron in return for military service
when demanded by the King. They also had to protect the Baron and
his family, as well as the Manor, from attack. The Knights kept as
much of the land as they wished for their own personal use and
distributed the rest to villeins (serfs). The knights tried to live
according to the code of chivalry. Although not as rich as the Barons,
Knights were quite wealthy.
Villeins
Villeins, sometimes known as serfs, were given land by Knights. They
had to provide the Knight with free labour, food and service
whenever it was demanded. Villeins had no rights. They were not
allowed to leave the Manor and had to ask their Lord's permission
before they could marry. Villeins were poor.
Chivalry
The idea of chivalry played an important role in the literature of the
Medieval Period. Mix chivalry with such magical elements as giants,
wizards, sorcerers, and dragons, and you get a form of literature
called the romance. Filled with fantasy, adventure, and courtly love,
romances were one of the most popular literary forms of the period.
Assignment 1
Answer these questions in English (copy the questions in a Word document and add your
answers):
1.
Find out who was the Norman leader of the French invasion in 1066. What was his
name and how was he called after 1066?
2.
On what condition did the King lease land to the Barons?
3.
Mention 3 things the Barons had to do in return for the land.
4.
What was the main task of the knights?
5.
Give an English definition of Chivalry.
6.
How did the serfs manage to make a living?
7.
What is a Romance?
Next, you must choose one of the famous knights to be your identity for the Quest.
You will be doing research on this knight and looking at his actions in the stories you
read. Choose one of the following three knights:
King Arthur
(Artur)
Gawain
(Gawayne)
Bedivere
(Beldivire)
Assignment 2
Now that you have chosen a character it is time to do Internet research to write a
short report about your character. Your report will be a summary of your
character (3 paragraphs/100 words each). You will gather the information for this
report from at least three different sources on the Internet. Do not copy - paste,
but make your own text!
Character Report Directions
Your report will be a summary of your character (3 paragraphs/65 words each). You will
gather the information for this report from at least three different sources on the
Internet.
Follow these directions closely and look at the example below.
1. Go to a web search engine such as http://www.google.com to do your
initial search. Remember that there are alternate spellings for most of the
characters so you can do more than one search.
2. When you find information on the internet you will need to be able to
present the exact URL. The URL is the complete web address and looks
something like this: http://www.yahoo.com/chivalry.html
3. You may find it easiest to highlight the information you would like to
use in your report and then copy and paste it into a Word Document. Don't
forget to also paste the URL address as well.
4. Now that you have the information researched it is time to write your
report. You need to read through the information and put it into
your own words.
5. Immediately after you have rewritten something you got off of a
particular website you paste the URL in parenthesis like this:
(http://www.glastonburyabbey.org/karthur.htm)
6. Example: (This is an example of how I applied the above steps
to find some information for a report on Sir Gareth and rewrite it in my
own words)
Here is the information I copied and pasted off of the Internet into the Microsoft Word
document:
Sir Gareth is one of the most gentle, good knights of the Round Table. Malory is very
fond of him, and gives him one of the happiest, most complete and neatly ended tales
in the Morte Darthur. He spends much time elaborating on how gentle, modest and
patient a knight he turns out to be, but also how valorous and strong.
Gareth represents the youthful ideals of the Round Table--strength, uprightness,
devotedness, gentleness, courtesy. Everyone in the Arthurian legend loves Gareth
(except, of course, Mordred and Kay). Gareth comes to Camelot pretending to be weak,
leaning on two men, asking for food and work. His great white hands hint at a noble
birth--"his disguise only renders his aristocratic qualities more shining," says Vida
Scudder (219). Arthur's court is always amazed at Gareth's deeds and at the many
strong knights that continuously show up at the Round Table with tales of
Here is the URL where I got the information on the Internet and pasted in the Microsoft
Word document:
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/1567/gareth.html
Here is how I will rewrite the information for one paragraph of my report. I will include
the URL in parenthesis: (the blue text is the hyperlink)
Note: I changed the information above from present tense (ott) to past tense (ovt).
Sir Gareth was well-known in Camelot as one of the most gentle knights, and he
represented the ideals of the Round Table- strength , uprightness, devotedness,
gentleness, and courtesy. When he first came to Camelot he disguised himself as
a weak man in search of food and work. He was known for his modesty and
patience as well as his bravery and strength.
(http://www.geocities.com/Area51/1567/gareth.html)
7. When you are finished with your three paragraphs and have included the
URL's names: save your document someplace where you can find it easily.
8. Print it out and hand it to your teacher.
2a. The Journey: A Quest for Chivalry
Assignment 3
The first step in your journey is to research the
Internet to find the elements of true chivalry. You
will find that there are many definitions of chivalry
in your research. You will need to come up with 7
principles of chivalry that you think are most
important. Once you have selected these seven
principles you will write down these seven
principles, print them out and hand them to your
teacher.
Directions for Researching a Definition of Chivalry
Follow these steps:
1. Use the following links to do your research. You don't have to use every
one of these links, but you need to look long enough that you are able to
find at least 7 principles of chivalry that you think are important and occur
in more than one definition of chivalry.
Note: You will find many other sites on the Internet related to the term
chivalry but most of them will be the context of Medieval Reenactment
Societies and Fantasy Games.
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CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA Chivalry
The Code of Chivalry and Courtly Love
Chivalry
Dictionary.com-chivalry
EncycloZine Chivalry
Orders of Chivalry
Knighthood and Chivalry
The Code of Chivalry
Chivalry2
Chivalry-meaning
Medieval Chivalry-Introduction
Chivalry3
Code of Chivalry
What is Chivalry
A Code of Chivalry
2. Open up a Microsoft Word Document and list at least 7 principles of
chivalry which you think are important. You can organize your information
in a numbered list like the one below.
Seven Principles of the Code of Chivalry
1. A knight must show mercy towards anyone who asks him for mercy.
2. .........
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
3. Name and save your document someplace where you can find it easily.
4. Print this document and hand it in with your teacher.
2b. The Journey: Reading
Now it is time to read some real tales of knights and
chivalry. You will read the fragments in class. You
will start by reading a selection from Morte D'Arthur
by Sir Thomas Malory and answering some
questions about chivalry from the story. You can
find this portion of the story on the following link:
Morte d'Arthur
Assignment 4
Questions for Morte D'Arthur
You must answer these questions in complete sentences. Copy the questions and add
your answers in a Word document.
1. What was the warning that King Arthur received in a dream? Why do you think he
chooses to not heed the warning?
2. Who are the ladies that are with Sir Gawain and why are they there?
3. What does the evil Mordred do once his father, Arthur, has thrust a spear through his
body? How does this show chivalry?
4. Explain how Sir Lucan dies and what principle of chivalry he demonstrates in his
death.
5. Why do you think it took Sir Bedivere three times to finally obey King Arthur's
command to throw the sword in the lake?
6. List at least three magical events that happened in this story.
7. How does Sir Bedivere show his devotion to King Arthur?
8. Did King Arthur die? What happened to him at the end of the story?
Now it is time to read Sir Gawain and the
Green Knight and answer some questions
about chivalry in this story. You will read
this text in class. You can find this portion
of the story on the following links:
Text 1 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Text 2 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Assignment 5
Questions for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
You must answer these questions in complete sentences. Copy the questions and add
your answers in a Word document.
1. Why is it that Sir Gawain takes the challenge of the Green Knight instead of King
Arthur or one of the other famous knights?
2. What are the two parts of the "game" the Green Knight proposes?
3. Why does Gawain endure such a difficult journey to try to find the Green Chapel?
4. What do Sir Gawain and the Lord of the Castle agree to exchange? Does Sir Gawain
keep his promise?
5. How is the lady tempting Sir Gawain? How does he resist the temptation without being
rude?
6. What does Sir Gawain do that causes the Green Knight to question his bravery?
7. Why does the Green Knight only scratch Sir Gawain with his ax? What do the three
swings of the ax symbolize?
8. Why is Sir Gawain upset with himself at the end of the story?
Essay
3. Report Your Findings to the Table Round:
You are now ready to write an
essay about the question whether
or not your character showed
chivalry in the stories you've
read. This was the purpose of
your entire quest.
Writing an Analysis of Your Character
1. Brainstorm examples of when your character showed or did not show specific
principles of chivalry.
2 Now choose three specific examples of your character demonstrating or not
demonstrating chivalry. You will have to write five paragraphs: an introduction, three
example paragraphs, and a conclusion.
3. Fill in the following outline to organize the information for your essay (Print this
scheme and write down your notes):
This is
your 1st
paragraph

Write a background/definition of chivalry:

Write a brief background/description of your character:

Tell whether you will be proving if your character does or
does not demonstrate chivalry:

State one of the principles of chivalry your character does/doesn't
have:

Give a specific example of your character's actions in one of the
two stories you've read:
Introduction
Example
1
This is
your 2nd
paragraph
o
Example
2
Tell which story your example comes from:

Explain how the character's actions do/do not demonstrate this
specific principle:

State one of the principles of chivalry your character does/doesn't
have:
This is
your 3rd
paragraph

Give a specific example of your character's actions in one of the
two stories you've read:
o
Tell which story your example comes from:
Explain how the character's actions do/do not demonstrate this specific
principle:
This is
your 4th
paragraph

State one of the principles of chivalry your character does/doesn't
have:

Give a specific example of your character's actions in one of the
two stories you've read:
Example
3
This is
Conclusion
your 5th
paragraph
o
Tell which story your example comes from:

Explain how the character's actions do/do not demonstrate this
specific principle:

Summarize why your character does or does not
demonstrate chivalry:
4. Now start typing your essay and think of the following:
5. Make sure that you only use examples from the stories we've read in class.
6. Make sure your three examples are clear and easy to understand.
7. Make sure your introduction and conclusion both clearly state whether your character
has chivalry or not.
8. Type up a first draft of your paper using Microsoft Word. Don't forget to save it often
so that you don't lose anything you've typed.
9. Proofread your paper (you might show it to your classmate as well) for errors and
revise it to make it clearer and more interesting.
10. Type the corrections to your paper. Don't forget to save it often so that you don't
lose anything you've typed.
11. Now you're ready you print your essay and hand it in with your teacher.