THE CHIVALRIC CODE

We are very used to talking about the ‘chivalric code’ as if it was some uniform regulation, agreed upon internationally, unchanging across the centuries, and followed religiously by all good and virtuous knights. The truth is that there was no single definition of what it meant to be chivalrous (or, indeed what it took to be a knight).

Robert Jones

Although there was a common culture of knighthood and chivalry broadly recognisable across Europe and the Latin East in the Middle Ages, it varied in detail depending on place and time. Furthermore, much ink was spilled discussing how knights should behave and what the true duties of a knight were, with different emphases depending on the author. In addition, chivalry was culture, spanning everything from behaviour on the battlefield and at the court, to clothing, speech, literature, and landscape. The virtues of chivalry There were, however, some common traits that made up what David Crouch has called the chivalric habitus — or the behavioural norms of medieval aristocratic society. The three key virtues of chivalry were prouesse, largesse, and courtoisie. Of these, prowess came first, as the knight (chevalier, ritter,…

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Medieval World Culture & Conflict (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 16 - 2025

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