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Durham E-Theses Young Knights of the Empire: The Impact of Chivalry on Literature and Propaganda of the First World War SOMOGYI, ASHLEY,CLARA,GABRIELLE How to cite: SOMOGYI, ASHLEY,CLARA,GABRIELLE (2018) Young Knights of the Empire: The Impact of Chivalry on Literature and Propaganda of the First World War , Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12603/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Young Knights of the Empire: The Impact of Chivalry on Literature and Propaganda of the First World War Ashley Somogyi Submitted in Requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of English Studies Durham University 2018 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the author's prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. 1 Table of Contents LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 3 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 5 DEDICATION 6 ABSTRACT 7 INTRODUCTION 8 CENTRAL TENETS OF CHIVALRY 14 Honour 17 Loyalty 20 Brotherhood 23 Bravery, Sacrifice and Mercy 26 Courtesy and Women 28 CHAPTER ONE: THE REDISCOVERY OF CHIVALRY 35 TRANSMISSION OF CHIVALRY 35 SIR WALTER SCOTT AND THE REVIVAL OF CHIVALRY 42 CHAPTER TWO: CHIVALRY ON THE EVE OF WAR 53 EDUCATING A GENTLEMAN 57 CHIVALRY AND THE BOY SCOUTS MOVEMENT 71 CHIVALRY IN POPULAR LITERATURE 83 PUBLIC SCHOOL RECORDS 92 CHAPTER THREE: LITERATURE OF THE WAR PROPAGANDA BUREAU 104 THE WAR PROPAGANDA BUREAU 112 MASCULINE DUTY AND ENLISTMENT: FROM BOY SCOUT TO SOLDIER 117 WOMEN’S DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITY ON THE HOME FRONT 137 THE ENEMY 162 CHAPTER FOUR: DEFENCE, BROTHERHOOD AND SACRIFICE 187 THE CALL TO ARMS 196 DEFENCE 201 BROTHERHOOD IN ARMS 210 SACRIFICE 223 CHAPTER FIVE: CHIVALRY AFTER THE WAR 241 SCHOOL LITERATURE REVISITED 246 BOY SCOUTS IN THE INTERWAR PERIOD 258 POST-WAR MANLINESS 264 THE POST-WAR BOY’S NOVEL: TELL ENGLAND 269 FORD MADOX FORD’S PARADE’S END 275 CONCLUSION 287 BIBLIOGRAPHY 298 2 List of Illustrations ‘Come on, Boys! Do Your Duty!’………………………………………………………………79 ‘Knight on horseback’ …………………………………………………………………………96 ‘Lord Kitchener’s New Army’ ……………………………………………………………….105 ‘Famous British Authors Defend England’s War’ …………………………………………113 ‘Everyone Should Do His Bit’ ………………………………………………………………..122 ‘Remember Scarborough!’ …………………………………………………………………..139 ‘Men of Britain!’ ……………………………………………………………………………...140 ‘To the Women of Britain’ …………………………………………………………………...151 ‘Take up the Sword of Justice’ ………………………………………………………………162 ‘Russian Propaganda Postcard’ ……………………………………………………………..177 ‘Destroy this Mad Brute’……………………………………………………………………...179 ‘Edith Cavell’………………………………………………………………………………….181 ‘Lord Tennyson’s Poem’ …………………………………………………………………......255 ‘Robinite War Memorial’ …………………………………………………………………….256 ‘Greyfriars’ ……………………………………………………………………………………263 3 List of Abbreviations BHW – The Book of the Happy Warrior by Sir Henry Newbolt BOC – Book of Chivalry by Geoffroi de Charny BOOC – The Book of the Order of Chivalry by Ramon Llull BST – Mr. Britling Sees it Through by H. G. Wells EGW – ‘The Evil and the Good of War’ by Gilbert Murray EW – Echoes of War by J. M. Barrie FHT – The First Hundred Thousand by Ian Hay GM – Greenmantle by John Buchan HWBR – ‘How Can War Ever Be Right’ by Gilbert Murray KS – Khaki Soldiers and Other Poems for Children by Muriel Kenny LD – Le Morte Darthur by Sir Thomas Malory NW – ‘The New Word’ by J. M. Barrie OLM – ‘Old Lady Shows Her Medals’ by J. M. Barrie PE – Parade’s End by Ford Maddox Ford RC – The Roll Call by Arnold Bennett SC – Stalky & CO. by Rudyard Kipling SFB – Scouting for Boys by Lord Robert Baden-Powell TBS – Tom Brown’s Schooldays by Thomas Hughes TE – Tell England by Ernest Raymond TOW – ‘The Turmoil of War’ by Gilbert Murray WPB – War Propaganda Bureau WRV – ‘A Well-Remembered Voice’ by J. M. Barrie 4 Acknowledgements I would like to firstly express my sincere gratitude to my supervisors Dr. Jason Harding and Professor Elizabeth Archibald for their continuous support throughout writing this thesis. Were it not for their rigorous efforts and positive criticism, this work would not have gained the level of clarity and depth that it ultimately achieved. Jason’s expert knowledge of modern British literature and Elizabeth’s tremendous insight into medieval literary culture have been absolutely invaluable in shaping this thesis and made the task of linking together aspects of nearly 900 years of literary history as surmountable as it was enjoyable. I would also like to thank the other academics who offered me guidance at various stages of my doctorate and encouraged me to be undaunted by its challenges: the late Professor Jon Stallworthy (Oxford), Dr. Kate Kennedy (Cambridge), Dr. Giles Gasper (Durham), and Professor Dennis Showalter (Colorado College). Additionally, I am grateful to the late Professor James Paxson (Uni. of Florida), without whose encouragement during my undergraduate degree, I doubt I would have ever gained a true passion for English literary studies. Beyond my studies, the constant support of my family and friends throughout my academic career has given me the strength to persevere and the determination to undertake and complete my thesis. 5 Dedication In loving memory of my father and the continued love of my family. 6 Abstract The re-emergence of chivalry in the mid-eighteenth century fundamentally altered Britain’s perception of etiquette, duty, masculinity and the ideology surrounding war. This thesis demonstrates the importance and influence of chivalry’s persistence before, during and after World War One. By examining the formative role of chivalry in education and literature in the nineteenth century, we see how it becomes encoded in British culture, contributing not simply to a romanticised idea of war, but becoming an inextricable part of British identity. While many scholars would argue against the continued use or popularity of chivalry during WWI, condemning its role in glamourising conflict, this work demonstrates how organisations such as the War Propaganda Bureau, the Boy Scouts and the public school system strove to encourage the citizens of war-time Britain to adopt the central tenets of chivalry (honour, bravery and self- sacrifice), declaring them crucial to morale and victory. This work evidences how chivalry did not simply survive WWI but by altering the vocabulary and images associated with it, adapted to the demands of Britain’s wartime and post-war environment. Through critical analysis of literature ranging from poetry and plays to pamphlets and meeting minutes, this thesis demonstrates how the central tenets of chivalry are not only ingrained in the British response to war, but helped to provide moral justification of violence, created brotherhood between soldiers, engendered solidarity on the Home Front, and provided an ethical framework through which combatants and non-combatants could understand the need for war. World War One did not destroy chivalry; rather it was refashioned to make a historicizing connection to a legacy of heroism which continues in modern British nationalism, duty and morality. 7 Introduction World War One created a twentieth-century, cultural template that established the images, rituals, and social and political functions of war commemoration. The First World War touched all aspects of life, not the least of which was the literary world. For a war that has been recognized as producing more poetry than any other modern conflict, a relatively small contingent of authors has become synonymous with the First World War experience. These poets are household names in Britain; their works are taught in schools, their poetry or prose recited at memorial services and their lives extensively researched and scrutinised. The experience of war as rendered by men such as Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen has in many ways been taken as the authoritative and definitive interpretation of conflict experience in public commemoration and remembrance. As Santanu Das points out, ‘War poetry, as represented by a small group of “anti-war” soldier-poets, has come to dominate First World War memory.’1 These authors espouse a disillusioned view of war, one that lambasts notions of honour and bravery and instead offers harrowingly raw and violent insight into the trauma of life at the Front. Yet why, after roughly a century of remembrance, research and discussion does this relatively small group of writers continue to dominate the public perception of the war? For several decades academics have worked to broaden scholarly perceptions of the diversity of literary responses to war but, as of yet, have not had a substantial impact on the public. In response to this, Aaron J. Cohen notes that ‘[m]odern memory is not what people remember; it consists of the public icons and symbols of the past that focus today’s collective identity: the people and events […] concepts or books 1 Santanu Das, ‘Reframing First World War Poetry: An Introduction’, in The Cambridge Companion to: The Poetry of the First World War (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2014) 3-34, at p. 4. 8 and works of art that represent the past in everyday social, cultural, and political life.’2 These ‘icons’ are such powerful figures of memory in part because of their position and capacity to garner attention and influence among their own contemporaries.

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