Define Chivalry



chivalry

Another word for chivalry. Find more ways to say chivalry, along with related words, antonyms and example phrases at Thesaurus.com, the world's most trusted free thesaurus. Courtesy, politeness, gallantry, courtliness, gentlemanliness He always treated women with old-fashioned chivalry. Knight-errantry, knighthood, gallantry, courtliness Our story is set in.

Holding the door for you. The other day, I was headed inside a building when a dark-haired guy with. Noun, plural chivalries for 6. The sum of the ideal qualifications of a knight, including courtesy, generosity, valor, and dexterity in arms. The rules and customs of medieval knighthood. The medieval system or institution of knighthood.

(shĭv`əlrē), system of ethical ideals that arose from feudalismfeudalism
, form of political and social organization typical of Western Europe from the dissolution of Charlemagne's empire to the rise of the absolute monarchies. The term feudalism is derived from the Latin feodum,
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and had its highest development in the 12th and 13th cent.

Chivalric ethics originated chiefly in France and Spain and spread rapidly to the rest of the Continent and to England. They represented a fusion of Christian and military concepts of morality and still form the basis of gentlemanly conduct. Noble youths became pages in the castles of other nobles at the age of 7; at 14 they trained as squires in the service of knights, learning horsemanship and military techniques, and were themselves knighted, usually at 21.

The chief chivalric virtues were piety, honor, valor, courtesy, chastity, and loyalty. The knight's loyalty was due to the spiritual master, God; to the temporal master, the suzerain; and to the mistress of the heart, his sworn love. Love, in the chivalrous sense, was largely platonic; as a rule, only a virgin or another man's wife could be the chosen object of chivalrous love. With the cult of the Virgin Mary, the relegation of noblewomen to a pedestal reached its highest expression.

The ideal of militant knighthood was greatly enhanced by the CrusadesCrusades
, series of wars undertaken by European Christians between the 11th and 14th cent. to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims. First Crusade
Origins
In the 7th cent., Jerusalem was taken by the caliph Umar.
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. The monastic orders of knighthood, the Knights TemplarsKnights Templars
, in medieval history, members of the military and religious order of the Poor Knights of Christ, called the Knights of the Temple of Solomon from their house in Jerusalem.
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and the Knights HospitalersKnights Hospitalers,
members of the military and religious Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, sometimes called the Knights of St. John and the Knights of Jerusalem. The symbol of the Order of St.
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, produced soldiers sworn to uphold the Christian ideal. Besides the battlefield, the tournamenttournament
or tourney,
in the Middle Ages, public contest between armed horsemen in simulation of real battle. In this military game, which flourished from the 12th to the 16th cent., combatants were frequently divided into opposing factions, each led by a champion.
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was the chief arena in which the virtues of chivalry could be proved. The code of chivalrous conduct was worked out with great subtlety in the courts of love that flourished in France and in Flanders. There the most arduous questions of love and honor were argued before the noble ladies who presided (see courtly lovecourtly love,
philosophy of love and code of lovemaking that flourished in France and England during the Middle Ages. Although its origins are obscure, it probably derived from the works of Ovid, various Middle Eastern ideas popular at the time, and the songs of the troubadours.
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). The French military hero Pierre Terrail, seigneur de BayardBayard, Pierre Terrail, seigneur de
, c.1474–1524, French military hero, called le chevalier sans peur et sans reproche [the knight without fear or reproach].
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, was said to be the last embodiment of the ideals of chivalry.

In practice, chivalric conduct was never free from corruption, increasingly evident in the later Middle Ages. Courtly love often deteriorated into promiscuity and adultery and pious militance into barbarous warfare. Moreover, the chivalric duties were not owed to those outside the bounds of feudal obligation. The outward trappings of chivalry and knighthood declined in the 15th cent., by which time wars were fought for victory and individual valor was irrelevant. Artificial orders of chivalry, such as the Order of the Golden Fleece (1423), were created by rulers to promote loyalty; tournaments became ritualized, costly, and comparatively bloodless; the traditions of knighthood became obsolete.

Medieval secular literature was primarily concerned with knighthood and chivalry. Two masterpieces of this literature are the Chanson de Roland (c.1098; see RolandRoland
, the great French hero of the medieval Charlemagne cycle of chansons de geste, immortalized in the Chanson de Roland (11th or 12th cent.). Existence of an early Roland poem is indicated by the historian Wace's statement that Taillefer sang of Roland's deeds
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) and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (see Pearl, ThePearl, The,
one of four Middle English alliterative poems, all contained in a manuscript of c.1400, composed in the West Midland dialect, almost certainly by the same anonymous author, who flourished c.1370–1390.
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). Arthurian legendArthurian legend,
the mass of legend, popular in medieval lore, concerning King Arthur of Britain and his knights. Medieval Sources
The battle of Mt. Badon—in which, according to the Annales Cambriae (c.
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and the chansons de gestechansons de geste
[Fr.,=songs of deeds], a group of epic poems of medieval France written from the 11th through the 13th cent. Varying in length from 1,000 to 20,000 lines, assonanced or (in the 13th cent.
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furnished bases for many later romances and epics. The work of Chrétien de TroyesChrétien de Troyes
or Chrestien de Troyes
, fl. 1170, French poet, author of the first great literary treatments of the Arthurian legend. His narrative romances, composed c.1170–c.
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and the Roman de la RoseRoman de la Rose, Le
, French poem of 22,000 lines in eight-syllable couplets. It is in two parts. The first (4,058 lines) was written (c.1237) by Guillaume de Lorris and was left unfinished. It is an elaborate allegory on the psychology of love, often subtle and charming.
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also had tremendous influence on European literature. The endless chivalrous and pastoral romances, still widely read in the 16th cent., were satirized by Cervantes in Don Quixote. In the 19th cent., however, the romantic movement brought about a revival of chivalrous ideals and literature.

For the lyric poetry of the age of chivalry, see troubadourstroubadours
, aristocratic poet-musicians of S France (Provence) who flourished from the end of the 11th cent. through the 13th cent. Many troubadours were noblemen and crusader knights; some were kings, e.g.
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; trouvèrestrouvères
, medieval poet-musicians of central and N France, fl. during the later 12th and the 13th cent. The trouvères imitated the troubadours of the south.
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; minnesingerminnesinger
, a medieval German knight, poet, and singer of Minne, or courtly love. Originally imitators of Provençal troubadours, minnesingers developed their own style in the 13th and 14th cent.
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.

Bibliography

See B. E. Broughton, Dictionary of Medieval Knighthood and Chivalry (1986); M. Keen, Chivalry (1984); H. Chickering and T. H. Seiler, ed., The Study of Chivalry (1988).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia™ Copyright © 2013, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/

Chivalry might be dead, but “modern chivalry” doesn’t need to be. You might not need a guy to throw his jacket over puddles for you to walk over, but these 20 acts of modern chivalry are definitely worth your time.

He calls when he says he will.
A study by dating site Match.com surveyed over 500 women of all ages and found what types of modern chivalry they want. A whopping 84 percent of women said a man who calls when he says he will is the most important thing.

Define Chivalry

He checks you got home safe.
This is a common courtesy but why is it so rare? When you go home after a date, you want a man who shows he cares about you by checking that you arrived safely. Plus, it’s the perfect excuse to tell you that he had an amazing time.

He texts during the day.
He doesn’t have to be texting you all the time, especially because you’re busy AF, but it’s nice if he drops you a message to say he was thinking about you. It makes you feel special. In the same study mentioned above, four in five women said they wanted attentive texts during the day.

He turns his phone off or puts it away when he’s with you.
There’s nothing more disrespectful than a man who takes calls and keeps looking at his phone during a date. If he can switch it off or put it out of sight, he’s a chivalrous guy worthy of your time.

He’s open about his intentions.
He’s not afraid to tell you what he really thinks and feels about you so you know where you stand. He should respect your feelings instead of leading you on, like a true gentleman would.

He plans dates.
A guy who texts you in the early hours to tell you to go over to his house is lazy AF. You need a man who’ll put in more effort. The ideal scenario is that he makes an effort to plan romantic dates you’ll love. This sets him apart from other suitors by miles!

He calls instead of texts.
Texting is fast and convenient but it’s not the same thing as hearing the guy’s voice. When he calls to invite you out to a date instead of just shooting off a text, he’s showing you that he’s really interested.

He cleans up nicely.
Men used to take care of their appearance and make a real effort to look good on dates. Now they just rock up looking like they haven’t shaved or slept in days. Screw that. A man who’s chivalrous will want to make a good impression by being neat and looking like he spent at least five minutes choosing an outfit in colors that match.

He pays the bill.
He doesn’t have to pay the bill after a first date, but it’s a really nice gesture if he does. It’s his way of thanking you for meeting with him. You can totally pay your own way or even be the one doing the treating, but it is the thought that counts.

He walks you to your front door.
If he picked you up for the date (chivalrous bonus points!), he should have the decency to walk you to your front door. There’s nothing chivalrous about being dropped off outside your gate like a DHL package.

He kisses you on the forehead.
Anyone can make out after a first date, but that’s become a tad predictable. It feels so much more special when a guy kisses you on the forehead. It’s so romantic!

He cooks you dinner.
He takes note of what foods you’re allergic to and what your favorite pasta dish is, so he can whip up a delicious dinner instead of just inviting you over for Netflix and chill.

He brings you thoughtful gifts.
He doesn’t have to bring you expensive gifts (that can actually be a bit unsettling, like he’s trying too hard). But it shows he’s making an effort to impress you and that he’s really interested if he brings you something he knows you’ll love. It doesn’t even have to cost anything. A pretty flower in your favorite color that he picked from his garden shows you that he pays attention to what you say.

He walks closest to the road.
When you’re walking around town together after dinner, he’ll walk closest to the road so that you’re protected from cars zooming past. This simple gesture actually means so much—he’s willing to protect you. Yes, you can look after yourself, but who doesn’t want to feel cared for?

He doesn’t eye out other women.
Just because he noticed the hot blonde who walked into the restaurant, he’s respectful enough not to stare her down. He should treat you like you’re the only woman in the room who matters.

Define Chivalry In Feminism

He’s nice to your parents.
As in, genuinely nice. He gets out of the car to greet them, has a friendly conversation with them, and shows that he’s a sweetheart. If he can be respectful to your loved ones, he’s really treating you with respect.

He gives you real compliments.
Forget calling you sexy and beautiful—the modern chivalrous guy pays you unique compliments that make you feel good, not just flatter you so he can score points. So, he might compliment your beautiful view of the world or the poetic way you speak. He’s really saying, “I notice you.”

He lets you order first.
He doesn’t jump in and order dessert for you—that’s not chivalrous, that’s annoying AF! But he will let you order before he does. It’s such a simple act of respect, but it’s scary how few men actually do it.

Define Courtly Love

He introduces you.
You might not be an official couple, but he still introduces you to everyone he meets, even if they’re just acquaintances. This is a way to show you that you matter and he’s proud to have you on his arm.

What Does Chivalry Mean

He makes sure you’re having a great time.
During the date, he’ll ask that you’re enjoying the music or the dinner so he knows you’re having fun. This shows that he values your opinions and wants to make a good impression on you. The result is that you feel special, which is exactly what you should feel on every single date.

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Define Chivalry In The Middle Ages

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