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The Medieval Knight Peace, Holy War, and the Medieval Knight By Daniel P. Dunn A thesis submitted to Sonoma State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in History Judith Abbott, Ph.D., Chair Brantley Bryant, Ph.D. ~t\ \~' 2C I~ Date Copyright 2015 By Daniel P. Dunn 11 Authorization for Reproduction of Master's Thesis I grant permission for the print and digital reproduction of this thesis in its entirety, without further authorization from me, on condition that the person or agency requesting reproduction absorb the cost and provide proper acknowledgment of authorship. Date: ·J - f 5 - IS- Signature Street Address' City, State, Zip Code iii Peace, Holy War, and the Medieval Knight Thesis.by Daniel P. Dunn Abstract Purpose of Study: The Peace of God movement of the eleventh century was originally meant to limit knightly violence away from Church lands. The first edicts of the peace movement - no stealing of livestock, no sacking of the Church's lands, and no harming unarmed clergymen - demonstrated this. Throughout the century more edicts were added to it, extending protections to the peasantry and merchants along with creating days of peace that must observed and no man could bear arms on those days. The purpose of this study is to prove that these edicts led to the development of chivalry as they intertwined with ecclesiastical power and knightly literature between the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Procedure: To show that the edicts of the peace movement led to the development of chivalry, a large variety of sources were studied from decrees of the Peace of God/Truce of God to papal letters and other ecclesiastical documents. It was also important to include the crusades because it was the first sanctioning of knightly violence on a wide scale and it gave birth to the Christian knight. In order to gather support for each crusade and the development of the Christian knight further, the Chansons de Gestes were also studied. However, as the twelfth century progressed knightly values began to change, which were shown in the Arthurian romances and gave birth to the chivalrous knight. Findings: The tenets of self-defense being permitted, protection of non-combatants, and all knights must serve a penance from the Peace of God/Truce of God were evident in nearly every source I studied. These tenets combined with the increased piety that came about from the popular piety movements of the eleventh century that allowed a gradual spread of the Cluniac and Gregorian reforms made the concept of crusade a reality. The crusader preaching utilized these tenets to sanction knightly violence so that knights were given the opportunity to acquire absolution as warriors of God. The Chansons de Gestes reflected the same sentiments of fighting and dying for God. However, this changed after Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae in 1136, which introduced the knightly values of individuality, tournament, and courtly conduct. This gave birth of the chivalrous knight that allowed knights to no longer fight for God but instead fight for these new values. Conclusion: The tenets of the peace movement influenced and evolved knightly values over the span of eleventh and twelfth centuries. It defined whom to attack and whom to defend. The lV knightly literature demonstrated this so that knights would emulate fighting for God and eventually for their individual beliefs. All of these factors led to the development of chivalry from an ecclesiastical and secular standpoint, not one or the other as other c MA Program: History Dare: \3eo6 Sonoma State University v Acknowledgments Many people have helped me accomplish the task the writing this thesis and I would like to thank them for their support. I would first like to thank my committee chair, Professor Judith Abbott, for all of her support and guidance through the web of sources that I used to create this thesis as well as her advice in the writing and editing process of my work. It was a real pleasure to have taken as many of her classes as I did because it taught me not only medieval history but also the research and writing skills necessary for graduate school. I would also like to thank the rest of my committee, Professors Kathleen Noonan and Brantley Bryant, for the same support and guidance throughout the editing and research process of my thesis. It was a real pleasure to have taken classes with each of them and to have gained the same knowledge in other fields of history as well as writing skills. Next, I would like to thank Professor Michelle Jolly and those in the History 597 thesis writing seminar class, Jocoya Fox-Jones, Kevin Braadfladt, Kristian Mullins, and Alexander Porter. I could not have developed the thesis to its present form without your compliments and criticisms. It was a pleasure to have worked with all of you in one of the best classes I have ever had at Sonoma State University. Lastly, I would like to thank my family and friends for their support throughout my entire graduate school career. I could not have accomplished this feat without the support of my mother and father along with their patience throughout this endeavor. I also cannot show the gratitude that I feel to my partner, Crystal Myers, whom I am dedicating this work to, for helping me in the thesis editing process as well as her support VI throughout my graduate school career. I would also like to thank my friend, Ruz.anna Gasparyan, for her criticisms and compliments in the editing process as well. If it was not for my time here at Sonoma State University, I could not have developed the skills necessary for higher education as well as have worked with all of people that I met here. I want to pursue my studies further in medieval history to answer more questions along with posing new ones. I hope to share the same experiences that I have had at Sonoma State with my future students so that they too can be inspired to pursue a higher education. vu Table of Contents Acknowledgments ...................................................................................vi Introduction: The Origins of Chivalry and the Peace Movement, 1000-1200 ............... 1 Chapters I. Tue Peace Movement and its Subtle Legacy, 1000-1095 ............................. 13 II. Crusade, Chivalry, and the Peace movement, 1095-1192 ............................27 m. Tue Christian Knight, Chansons de Gestes, and the Peace Movement, l 100-1200.................................................................... .39 IV. Tue Chivalric Knight, Arthurian Romances, and the Peace Movement, l 136-1200 ................................................... .50 Conclusion........................................................................................... 61 Appendix I: Tue Primary Sources .................................................................64 Bibliography .........................................................................................68 Vlll Introduction The Origins of Chivalry and the Peace Movement, 1000-1200 Knights evolved over the span of two centuries from servile thugs to Christian knights to chivalrous knights. The German word Knecht, which means boy or servant, was originally used to describe mounted warriors before they became what we now call knights. The "servants," at the behest of a lord or king acted more like bandits than knights when they ravaged lands or attacked some person who had displeased their lord. The peace movement tried to limit the violence in the eleventh century, but it led to knights developing their code of chivalry in the following century. The change began when crusade was preached in 1095. Knights for the first time fought for a cause that was deemed worthy by all of Europe and gave birth to the idea of the Christian knight. Knightly literature, such as The Song ofRoland, composed in the late eleventh century, echoed the notion of fighting for God. The tournaments of the twelfth century allowed knights to train for war and developed their individuality amongst their peers. The Arthurian legends demonstrated this and created another concept, the chivalrous knight. The chivalrous knight's fusion of prowess and wealth resulted from the ever increasing popularity of tournaments amongst the aristocracy and allowed knights to be more a part of the high laity than they once were. 1 The meaning of chivalry changed over time, but how did it change? In this thesis I will examine how chivalry emerged, between the eleventh and twelfth centuries, as a result of the intertwining of the Peace of God movement with ecclesiastical power and knightly literature, creating a new social class in Europe. It can 1 I use the term high laity here because knights were not considered to be a part of the aristocracy in the eleventh and early twelfth centuries; instead they were peasants with military training. 2 be seen in papal letters and church policies, knightly literature, crusader chronicles, and other sources. By looking at these questions - Who are the knights fighting against? What do they gain through fighting these opponents? Moreover, what are their reasons for fighting?-we can examine how knightly values of honor, prowess, and prestige were shaped by the Peace of God/Truce of God. Scholars do not give the Peace/Truce enough credit in its shaping of chivalry because it was hard to regulate its irrational restrictions or it had little to no affect on the laity. However, it is important to note that the peace movement in no way lessened knightly violence in Western Europe but instead sanctioned its use on others. The primary sources that I use for this thesis are all translated and accessible in source collections and secondary works, many of them online. Many sources, especially the crusader chronicles, Chansons de Geste, and Arthurian romances, are cited in scholarly works described below. My purpose in using those same sources is to illustrate that the tenets of the peace movement are shown in each one of them in the development and evolution of chivalry between the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
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