Examples Of Chivalry Code In The Canterbury Tales

In two stories there is a code that knights follow. Chivalry is the code that they follow. The code says that a knight should be a brave warrior, a good christian, and selflessly fighting for justice. The knights are supposed to fight for their king and queen. In the stories Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and from Morte d’Arthur they show the idea about chivalry.

Chivalry can be considered the code of the medieval warrior, that was based on a set of rules that include honor, valor, courtesy, and, at the center of it all, loyalty. Throughout Njal’s Saga, Njal and his wife are consistently showing chivalry especially when Njal helps Gunnar at the Althing, when he warns Gunnar about the Halberd, and when Bergthora says she will die in the fire with Njal. Similarly to the Nilsson, another character, from Beowulf, who is both a king and warrior consistently shows his chivalry throughout his poem; this warrior is called Beowulf. He shows his chivalry in different ways than that of Njal and his family; he shows his chivalry when he makes an oath to the king, affirms his promise my killing Grendel, and when he protects his men from Grendel. Njal, Bergthora, and Beowulf are both examples of chivalry, and they prove it through their actions that take place in their books.

In The Canterbury Tales, the knight is a modern type of knight. Although the description of this character’s personality is vague, it is not hard for modern day people to visualize him. In the prologue, it mentions that the knight follows the five basic ideals that a good knight should possess: “chivalry, Truth, honour, generousness, and courtesy” (Chaucer 4). The knight fought in the Crusades, wars in which Europeans traveled by sea to non-Christian places and tried to convert people’s culture by brute force, which was considered noble and brave hearted. From his love of the five basics ideals previously mentioned to his impressive military career, the knight is a perfect example of how a knight should be represented. Indirectly, the tale is discussing both the knight and the idea of how a knight should be. The tale does not describe much about the knight as in physical appearances and characteristics of this knight but as the tale comes to an end, the book starts to unfold how this story connects with this character. The tale itself is not important yet it’s what the tale represents that is important, such as pursuing courtly love, risking death, and respecting women. All of the previously mentioned attributes are ones that knights should possess to achieve expected standards.

     An act of chivalry is described as the qualifications or character of the ideal knight. Knights were expected to uphold this code of conduct. In the English literature Le Morte d?Arthur, French for ?The Death of Arthur?, by Sir Thomas Malory, the characters display acts of chivalry from beginning to end. Though the code of chivalry contains many qualities or acts, nevertheless bravery, loyalty, and courtly love are demonstrated more throughout this literature.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a classic example of the behaviors of a medieval knight and how the code of chivalry works within the courts and towards women. When Sir Gawain visits Bertiak’s castle, he respectfully treats the elderly woman and Bertiak’s beautiful young wife with the same level of dignity. “To the elder in homage he humbly bows; the lovelier he salutes with a light embrace. They welcome him warmly, and straightaway he asks to be received as their servant, if they so desire” (lines 973-976). The treatment of women is an essential part of the code of chivalry. If Sir Gawain had only given attention to the pretty young woman, then he would not have been abiding by the knight’s code of honor. He also keeps the code of chivalry intact when he says “Lover have I none, nor will have, yet awhile” (line 1790). Sir Gawain says this to Bertiak’s attractive wife, when she tries seducing him in the bedroom, which proved Sir Gawain’s loyalty to Bertiak, upholding his chivalric code. Honorable Sir Gawain demonstrates the knightly code of chivalry throughout the poem.

In Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem, The Knight’s Tale, the author encapsulates chivalrous characteristics in his telling of a battle for love. In its fundamental form, chivalry idealizes a knight’s conduct, both on and off the battlefield (Gregory-Abbott). Chaucer employs this “heroic code [of] bravery, loyalty, and service to one's lord” to illustrate the idillic knight throughout the narrative (Rossignol). Chaucer’s poem, The Knight’s Tale, exhibits the ideals of chivalry in the form of two knights, desperately in love with the same woman, and a wise Duke who embodies the voice of reason. Each knight upholds honor through compassion, troths, and heroism on the battlefield, despite their afflictions with each other.

A common belief is that a big part in the code of chivalry is courtly love. This is false. The documentary says the code of chivalry bound the aristocratic fighting class and protected the aristocracy families. This doesn’t have and didn’t have much to do with romance. Courtly love is more of the term to use for the code the knights followed in regards to romance. Chivalry was mostly a knights’ duties, roles, and behaviors he was to follow in order to remain honorable. It relates to the knights’ relationship with one another. Courtly love focused on how a knight treated his women. In The Knight’s Tale these two codes are at war with one another.

“The Knights Tale” is the first tale in Geoffrey Chaucers “The Canterbury Tales”. The story introduces various typical aspects of the knighthood such as chivalry, ethical dilemmas, and courtly love. Knights all have this characteristic which they call the code that they portray through out the tale. In Geoffrey Chaucers “The Knights Tale” is an effort on the knight’s part to preserve a virtuous code.

In years of King Arthur and the round table, the knights lived by a code. This code was called the Code of Chivalry. Knights abided by these rules and were punished both physically but socially if they broke one. Today, this code can be translated into modern day unspoken rules.

Just as she lands her perfect beam routine and wins the gold medal in the 2012 Summer Olympics she reflects back on her dedication to get there, “I had to face a lot coming through this journey, a lot of sacrifices, difficulties, challenges, and injuries.” Although, she is known to be a perfect gymnast Gabby Douglas is not the first to achieve perfection. Sir Gawain, a knight from King Arthur's court Camelot, is proclaimed a perfect knight. In the well-known Sir Gawain and the Green Knight this acclaimed knight’s was tested his commitment to following the Code of Chivalry for a whole year. Remarkably, Sir Gawain proves himself to be a perfect knight through his loyalty to the Code of Chivalry.

When asked to think of the word “chivalry” and the chivalric code, what is the first thing which comes to mind? Many would visualize the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Most people overlook that chivalry was a code of conduct, designed specifically for the hierarchical order of society and difficult lifestyle during medieval times. The code of conduct included many ideals such as courage, honor, and protecting the weak and was followed by the knights; it also helped control the warrior class by imposing such strict expectations, ensuring they won’t violently turn on those they are assigned to protect. Chivalry played a very important role in the medieval time period.

Each different aspect of the code of chivalry held a separate role in society. Whether it be religious or barbaric, chivalry tended to hold a moral guideline among those who followed it. This moral guideline held them true to their duties to man, God, and women (Sex, Society, and Medieval Women). All of which are reflected in the three themes of Chivalry: Warrior chivalry, religious chivalry, and courtly love chivalry (Sex, Society, and Medieval Women). These three hold their individual roles, all stimulating a different part of the mind and creating a code held by all areas of life in those who hold it. The underlying question posed in this intense pledge is whether those who took the oath lived it out accordingly. To live out Chivalry is

In the days of knights, kings, and jousts, there existed the knightly code of chivalry. This code is seen throughout medieval texts and is described as,“a moral system which went beyond rules of combat and introduced the concept of Chivalrous conduct - qualities idealized by the Medieval knights such as bravery, courtesy, honor and great gallantry toward women...The Code of Chivalry was the honor code of the knight. The Code of Chivalry was an important part of the society and lives of people who lived during the Medieval times and was understood by all.”(Alchin). The respected knight not only followed these rules, but also lived to serve a king. In the two tales of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Morte D’Arthur, three of the chivalrous rules are clear to see. In these two tales, the three rules of the nights that are prevalent in the stories are, courage, honesty, and strength.

During the medieval times corruption in the Catholic Church was prevalent. As corruption was prevalent during Chaucer’s time so was a Pardoner’s practice of selling indulgences, becoming one of deception and greed. Similar to the upper class focusing their time on becoming the richest and most powerful. In many of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer would use satire to criticize different social classes. For example, the middle class, those people who worked for their possessions. He satirizes religious hypocrisy in such tales as the Pardoner, in which a middle class man, showing the corruption of the Pardoner’s job. Through his description of the Pardoner as being a man who is disitful, greedy, and hypocritical, Chaucer uses

Written in 1392, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, satirizes the corruption within the church. In the Medieval ages, which took place from 1066-1485, the English society was divided into three classes: the feudal class, the church class, and the town class. Throughout “The Prologue”, Chaucer describes the pilgrims based upon their profession, class, and apparel. While some of the party that travels with him goes for religious purposes, others go simply for a vacation. Geoffrey Chaucer uses the Monk and the Parson, two Medieval religious authorities, to reveal the corruption within the church, and to also show that not all members are unethical.