Notes on the Age of Chivalry

Primary Source: Bullfinch's Mythology

By 500 AD the power of the Roman Empire had declined leaving Northern Europe without any sort of centralized leadership. Local chieftains held sway and barbarism ruled.

The Church, though it had its own selfish motives, was pledged to protect the weak. From this desire sprang Chivalry which flourished in the 11th & 12th centuries.

Chivalry created the ideal of the heroic character who combined the epic virtues of invincible strength, valor, loyalty to superiors and courtesy to peers with more "modern" virtues of a desire for justice, modesty, compassion for weakness and devotedness to the Church. It was understood that these ideals were nearly impossible to attain, but they served as the highest model for emulation.

Ideally, a chivalric knight resided in his lord's castle refining his battle skills and his courtly manners. If he were traversing the countryside redressing injustice or fulfilling vows of love, he was called a knight-errant. Knights-errant were welcome guests in the castles of nobility because their presence enlivened what was generally a dull existence in the isolated countryside.

More realistically, however, in the name of redressing injustice, knights often inflicted their own injustices. The dungeons of the nobility were filled with oppressed knights and ladies waiting to be ransomed. And let us not forget the ubiquitous oppression of the poor. However, the emerging literature frequently downplayed the negative aspects of chivalry in order to emphasize the positive aspects as society became generally more "civilized."

A knight's training commenced when he was apprenticed at about the age of seven. His training consisted of learning proper manners, as well as learning the skills, strategies and tactics of war. Page's, as they were called, were encouraged at an early age to select a young lady of the castle as the mistress of his heart. She was to be his guiding light; he would refer all sentiments, words and actions to her. The mistress's smiles and affections of gratitude were held out as compensation for well-directed and executed valor. At the age of 21, the young men were initiated as knights. Three touches on the shoulders with the flat of the sword as the words: "In the name of God, St. Michael and St. George, I make thee a knight; be valiant, courteous and loyal!" He then received his sword, shield and spear and his apprenticeship was concluded.