Chivalry Essay, Research Paper
When Chivalry first began, many citizens felt this was mostly for the courtship of women. However, this also included such things as proper etiquette at the dinner table, generosity toward females, and the aspect of religion to the church.
Becoming a knight was not an easy task at all. The whole process was more of an apprenticeship program like in today’s society. First, at about the age of seven, you were to go to the house of a noble and be their squire. Throughout this period, the young man would gain wisdom as well as skills he would need to develop in battle to become a successful knight. The boy would continue being a squire until he had mastered the use of weaponry and horsemanship and was then recognized by a knight. Then the young man would be “dubbed” a knight. Later in the Thirteenth Century, the process of becoming a knight became more ceremonialized, as we know of in our society from movies and such. The same process used in Medieval times was adopted and “modernized” for today’s workplace. For instance, the new employee is hired, then he learns his/her job. Once he/she is recognized for good work he/she is promoted to a higher level job.
Another expectation the knights had to perform was to protect and uphold justice. This meant protecting the poor and innocent people of the land while proclaiming the ideals of Christianity at the same time. This concept originated in France and Spain, and spread throughout Europe very rapidly. The chief chivalric virtues were piety, honor, valor, courtesy, chastity, and loyalty. The knight was to be loyal to god, who was the main love of his life. Their idea of love in this case was different then ours. Their love to God was strictly platonic. In our society today, there aren’t any knights sworn to uphold justice for all, but we do have police, who are supposed to protect those in need. However, there is no religious tie to the police forces’ of the world. In Medieval times laws were much stricter than today’s. If someone was caught stealing, their hand would be chopped off, but now you’ll go to jail if the offense is severe enough.