Jamie Ingram Nov. 27 th
, 2009 1
Jamie Ingram
Professor David Speicher
Nov. 27 th
, 2009
History 101- History of Europe to 1648
Medieval Code of Chivalry
Too often in today’s world, especially in our great United States of America, people tend to fall under the belief that the culture and customs of their own modern society have been the only ways to exist, but more importantly, the only ways to be
“normal.” People always trick themselves into classifying everything that they are personally accustomed to to be normal and usual for everyone else on this planet, or people who lived far before or after us. This false belief just isn’t true. It couldn’t be farther from being true. Historians in the future will probably stumble across tapes of
American NFL games and most likely draw the conclusion that our whole society was a bit barbaric and violent. That, along with the rap music that those same historians will probably hear, will portray our world to be a drug and sex-addicted, angry society. Most normal, modern-day Americans would look at the code of chivalry that developed in
Western Europe during the Middle Ages and probably comment on how strange and unusual it must have been having a world full of “courteous knights”. I would have to agree that it is almost unbelievable that such a time did in fact exist. But it did. The average American would actually be surprised at how much this understood code helped to shape and influence America as we know it.

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, 2009 2
The medieval code of chivalry that blossomed in Western Europe can’t exactly be explained as an exact definition because the authenticity of this code is a little misunderstood. There was never a set code for men to follow. It was never written down on paper with exact directions and guidelines. This allows the interpretation of this code to be broadened shortly, but its message is pretty understandable and straight forward.
The code of chivalry has always been a set of ideals and duties that have changed and progressed with our world. But, if I was going to define the code of chivalry it would be the moral and social law of the noble class in Western Europe during the Middle Ages.
The code was a set of ethical behavior rules promoted to create a world of proper, gentlemanly knights. What I’m going to do is explain why this code was created in the first place, and I’m also going to relate it to our everyday lives in the 21 st
century.
In Western Europe in the eleventh century, a series of “Holy Wars” called the
Crusades were taking place. The Crusades all began to restore Christian control and domination in the Holy Land which had been taken over and occupied by the Muslims (at the time the Muslims were called Saracens). All the Christian nations banded together after Pope Claremont addressed the people at the Council of Claremont in 1095, calling for all Christian warriors to take arms and go out and destroy the Saracen rule in the name of God. The warriors and knights immediately took the Pope’s words to heart, starting a period of fighting that actually lasted 200 years. This fighting caused territorial battles to be a very common thing, and all the European citizens’ daily lives were consumed with the fear of attack from all borders. They feared these attacks from
Vikings and brigands the most, as they proved to be the most dangerous warriors. A brigand is a bandit who usually lives in a gang and lives by pillage and

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, 2009 3 robbery.(Encyclopedia Britannica) This constant fear of violence and death caused nothing but chaos in the daily life of these people. Imagine living in fear of attack at all times of the day. The need for someway to control the people and to make lives more civilized became apparent. This uncertainty and chaos was the sole purpose and reasoning behind the promotion of the Code of Chivalry.(“The Crusades”) The three sole factors of the code are religion, war, and the love of women. Historians have reduced the understood ancient code into The Ten Commandments of the Medieval Code of Chivalry:
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Thou shall believe all the Church teaches, and shall observe all its directions.
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Thou shall defend the Church.
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Thou shall respect all weaknesses, and shall constitute thyself the defender of them.
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Thou shall love the country in which thou were born.
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Thou shall not recoil before the enemy.
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Thou shall not make war against the Infidel without cessation, and without mercy.
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Thou shall perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of God.
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Thou shall never lie, and shall remain faithful to thy pledged word.
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Thou shall be generous, and give largesse to everyone.
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Thou shall be everywhere and always the champion of the Right and the Good against Injustice and Evil.(“The Medieval Code of Chivalry”)
It was obvious that in order to control a population in a whirlwind there would have to be a very powerful institution or leader to give out the rules and guidelines of this new code. The church turned out to be the institution that was in charge of promoting

Jamie Ingram Nov. 27 th
, 2009 4 this belief. But how did they have the power to do this? It’s actually all very simple. The church capitalized on the power of God to control its wild population, and this strategy proved to be extremely successful. In order to understand how all these people converted to this new policy of life and morality, it has to be understood that the people of this day and age were much more religious and faithful than the people of today. Also, because of the Crusades hearts were already filled in devotion to God, and all Christians were on a
“religious high.” Just look at the very first of the commandments listed previously.
“Thou shall believe all that the church teaches, and shall observe all its directions.” This is exactly what all gentlemen of the time were obliged to do, considering the fact that all men interested in being respected as a “chivalrous man” were brought up in the church since the time they were born. Knights were expected to be extremely educated on the
Christian faith, and they were active in its practices from early childhood on. It was understood that the most important factor in being a knight was the vow to protect and serve the church in everything they did. To be initiated into knighthood, these knights would vow allegiance and promise to defend the Holy Church for the rest of their lives.
So it’s very easy to see why this Code of Chivalry stuck in the hearts and minds of these
European citizens, and succeeded in actually forming a way of life for all the people of the time. Since the church was advertising and pushing for this code so openly, the people must have believed that it was almost a calling from God.(“Medieval Code of
Chivalry Provided A Guide In Uncertain Times)
Although the knights were very morally just and gentlemanly from the beginning under the Code of Chivalry, they were also very well trained in combat and rather violent beings whenever a time came to fight. This all changed when the introduction of love

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, 2009 5 became enormously essential in the medieval Code of Chivalry. Knighthood went from being all about war and skill in battle to becoming romantic. The knights were consumed with the idea of love, and it was expressed in all the literature of the time. Many knights actually picked up the habit of writing romantic poetry. One might ask how the idea of love had anything to do with these people’s chivalrous code, but the truth of the matter is that the acceptance of love into the knightly belief system actually finalized and perfected this belief. The knights were consumed with love for the ladies, and the laws of gallantry became more important than the laws set for military honor. I think this was the major turn in what we call the Code of Chivalry today. Along with this new acceptance of the doctrine of love, chivalrous knighthood now became accepted throughout the land as the
“ideal” gentleman. With that being said the medieval code were now the rules and regulations of behavior for all the “civilized” people of the time, while the rest of Europe was still in chaos due to the territorial attacks and the Crusades. The funny thing is that all the rules that applied to the knight’s as gentlemanly behavior still apply to men in modern-day America. Of course most of us don’t know or have any skill in battle with swords, but the standard set by the Code of Chivalry is the reason for the men of today’s set social guidelines. Also, the Code of Chivalry was the essential factor in developing rules of war. It’s affects can still be seen in the rules of conduct and fair play that the
League of Nations have decided on to dictate modern day wars. These rules apply to wars between any nations, not just European nations or the United States of
America.(“The Medieval Code of Chivalry”)
After hearing the history of the Code of Chivalry, it isn’t all that “strange” to me anymore. It was actually a very wise plan whose affects and rules have lasted hundreds

Jamie Ingram Nov. 27 th
, 2009 of years and still affect daily life today. As long as there are civilized people in this world, the medieval Code of Chivalry will continue to affect societies all around the globe, and its impact, although very subtle, will never be forgotten.
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Bibliography
"The Crusades." The Crusades History through Arab Eyes . 1984. Web. 23 Nov. 2009.
<http://crusades.org/>.
Encyclopedia Britannica . 1967 ed. 1967. Print.
"The Medieval Code of Chivalry." Medieval Spell . 2006-2009. Web. 25 Nov. 2009.
<http://www.medieval-spell.com/Medieval-Code-of-Chivalry>.
"Medieval Code Of Chivalry Provided A Guide In Uncertain Times." Medieval-castlesiege-weapons.com
. 2004-2009. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. <http://www.medievalcastle-siege-weapons.com/medieval-code-of-chivalry.html>.
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