Knighthood and Courtly Love in the Time of King Arthur Essay -- essays

Chivalry was considered to be the code of behavior expected of a knight. It was the conduct, ideas, and ideals of the lofty class of the Middle Ages. It became standardized and referred to as chivalry, a term derived from the French word chevalier, meaning knight. The code urged the knight to be brave, courageous, honor equal to(p), true to his word, and loyal to his feudalistic overlord, and to defend his Church. A knight was truthful, honest, capable, educated, physically fit, noble, sincere, and subservient to the king. A serious violation of these vows could result in a knight being classed as an ridiculous knight, which was the ultimate insult because of all the hard work that was put into becoming a knight. It made it seem as if all of work was done for nothing.     The knights of the sum ages were known for their dedication and devotion in carrying reveal their duties. Once a knight was given a task of some sort, they were known for unwillingness to withdraw from until the job was done. Most knights were willing to devote their entire lives to the job at hand. Most all knights had a necessitate in life, and they showed an obsession to accomplish their quest. The quest may be self thought of, or beated from someone else, but either way the knight took honor and pride in being able to accomplish the quest.     In Arthurian Romances, by Chrtien de Troyes, all knights had a duty to protect their country. When a knight approached a situation, he did not attack the different party until he had warned them. His place in the feudalist system involved other workers, known as vassals, to do his bidding. They suited him up in his armor and readied his dollar and weapons. Knighthood was only developed for the man because women are only seen as maidservants. Authority felt that a woman could not possess all the qualities of a knight, so they were put to work as maids. The only women who had high ranks in the feudalis t system were those who were married to the noble ranks     In The Story of the Grail, de Troyes looks at knighthood from the naive perspective of a young boy, Perceval, who had a dream of becoming a knight. In his own way, he became one. He learned the techniques and attitudes of a knight that greatly influenced his performance. Perceval wanted to obtain all the qualities of a good knight, also ... ...ry because of how he allowed a go to sleep for this unfeasible woman to blind him. The queen was so nasty to Lancelot, yet he took it and dealt with it assuming that his love for her was reciprocal.      Chrtien de Troyes and Marie de France both had unique ways of showing what knighthood and courtly love were about. De Troyes was a little harder on courtly love than de France had been, but both had specific ideals that they wanted to be brought to the pages in order to teach others about chivalry. All in all, the love that was portrayed betwe en Guigemar and the queen was one that seemed to be full of hope and joy. The love de Troyes portrayed between Lancelot and Guinevere was a love that seemed to not even exist except in Lancelots mind. Courtly love was an important aspect in the time of knighthood and chivalry. Courtly love made all the battles and heartaches seem worth it in the end, as long as it worked out for the two lovers it included.Works Citedde Troyes, Chretien. "The Story of the Grail." Arthurian Romances. Ed. William W. Kibler. London Penguin Books, 1991. 381-494.de France, Marie. Guigemar. The Lais of Marie de France. 30-59.