Codes of Chivalry

There have been a variety of chivalric codes set down throughout the centuries. Here are just a few:

Charlemagne's Code of Chivalry

8th century C.E.

 To fear God and maintain His Church To serve the liege lord in valour and faith To protect the weak and defenceless To give succour to widows and orphans To refrain from the wanton giving of offence To live by honour and for glory To despise pecuniary reward To fight for the welfare of all To obey those placed in authority To guard the honour of fellow knights To eschew unfairness, meanness and deceit To keep faith At all times to speak the truth To persevere to the end in any enterprise begun To respect the honour of women Never to refuse a challenge from an equal Never to turn the back upon a foe.

The Code of Chivalry

[From the Rifts: England Supplement]

Live to serve King and Country. Live to defend Crown and Country and all it holds dear. Live one's life so that it is worthy of respect and honor. Live for freedom, justice and all that is good. Never attack an unarmed foe. Never use a weapon on an opponent not equal to the attack. Never attack from behind. Avoid lying to your fellow man. Avoid cheating. Avoid torture. Obey the law of king, country, and chivalry. Administer justice. Protect the innocent. Exhibit self control. Show respect to authority. Respect women. Exhibit Courage in word and deed. Defend the weak and innocent. Destroy evil in all of its monstrous forms. Crush the monsters that steal our land and rob our people. Fight with honor. Avenge the wronged. Never abandon a friend, ally, or noble cause. Fight for the ideals of king, country, and chivalry. Die with valor. Always keep one's word of honor. Always maintain one's principles. Never betray a confidence or comrade. Avoid deception. Respect life and freedom. Die with honor. Exhibit manners. Be polite and attentive. Be respectful of host, women, and honor. Loyalty to country, King, honor, freedom, and the code of chivalry. Loyalty to one's friends and those who lay their trust in thee.

( http://www.alia.org.au/~rhorton/story/arthur.html (accessed January 31, 2006).)

Caveat from McInerney: This is another version of Leon Gautier's Chivalry poem; he was a nineteenth century medievalist, not an actual medieval. In other words, his version of chivalry reflects the nostalgia of the century of queen Victoria more than it may any actual chivalric code.

The Duke of Burgundy  In the 14th century, in the Order of the Golden Fleece, the Duke of Burgundy defined these as a knight's 12 chivalric virtues: Faith, Charity, Justice, Sagacity, Prudence, Temperance, Resolution, Truth, Liberality, Diligence, Hope and Valour.

The Ten Commandments of the Code of Chivalry  Leon Gautier was a historian of French Literature. He was a scholar on Medieval literature and especially Chivalric literature. Until his death he worked in the historical section in the National Archives of France. His love of the literary ideal of Chivalry led him to compose his own code in 1891:

I. Thou shalt believe all that the Church teaches, and shalt observe all its directions.

II. Thou shalt defend the Church.

III. Thou shalt repect all weaknesses, and shalt constitute thyself the defender of them.

IV. Thou shalt love the country in the which thou wast born.

V. Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy. VI. Thou shalt make war against the Infidel without cessation, and without mercy.

VII. Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of God.

VIII. Thou shalt never lie, and shall remain faithful to thy pledged word.

IX. Thou shalt be generous, and give largess to everyone.

X. Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion of the Right and the Good against Injustice and Evil.

These examples of codes give a basic outline of the responsibilities and expectations of the chivalric ethics. How these men truly lived did not necessarily correspond with the virtues set before you. What literature has done to the image of the knight is, however, important when reading Chaucer.

Addition by McInerney: Here is another MEDIEVAL code of chivalry, this one from Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur (1469); it's a literary representation, but a resonant one:

Then the king stablished all his knights, and them that were of lands not rich he gave them lands, and charged them never to do outrageosity nor murder, and always to flee treason; also, by no means to be cruel, but to give mercy unto him that asketh mercy, upon pain of forfeiture of their worship and lordship of King Arthur for evermore; and always to do ladies, damosels, and gentlewomen succour, upon pain of death. Also, that no man take no battles in a wrongful quarrel for no law, nor for no world's goods. Unto this were all the knights sworn of the Table Round, both old and yng. And every year were they sworn at the high feast of Pentecost.

Sir Thomas Malory, Morte Darthur, ed. Elizabeth J. Bryan (New York: Modern Library, 1999). last edited 2006-02-07 17:54:18 by s111

The Rules of Love 1. Marriage is no excuse for not loving. 2. He who is not jealous can not love. 3. No one can be bound by two loves. 4. Love is always growing or diminishing. 5. It is not good for one lover to take anything against the will of the other. 6. A male cannot love until he has fully reached puberty. 7. Two years of mourning for a dead lover are prescribed for surviving lovers. 8. No one should be deprived of love without a valid reason. 9. No one can love who is not driven to do so by the power of love. 10.Love always departs from the dwelling place of avarice. 11.It is not proper to love one whom one would be ashamed to marry. 12.The true lover never desires the embraces of any save his lover. 13.Love rarely lasts when it is revealed. 14.An easy attainment makes love contemptible; a difficult one makes it more dear. 15.Every lover turns pale in the presence of his beloved. 16.When a lover suddenly has sight of his beloved, his heart beats wildly. 17.A new love expells an old one. 18.Moral integrity alone makes one worthy of love. 19.If love diminishes, it quickly leaves and rarely revives. 20.A lover is always fearful. 21.True jealousy always increases the effects of love. 22.If a lover suspects another, jealousy and the efects of love increase. 23.He who is vexed by the thoughts of love eats little and seldom sleeps. 24.Every action of a lover ends in the thought of his beloved. 25.The true lover believes only that which he thinks will please his beloved. 26.Love can deny nothing to love. 27.A lover can never have enough of the embraces of his beloved. 28.The slightest suspicion incites the lover to suspect the worse of his beloved. 29.He who suffers from an excess of passion is not suited to love. 30.The true lover is continuously obsessed with the image of his beloved. 31.Nothing prevents a woman from being loved by two men, or a man from being loved by two women.