CHIVALRY IS DEAD.

The Medieval AgeA Period Defined by

ChivalryThe Return of Arthur’s Legend

~Sir Gawain and The Green Knight

and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, though we’ll cover these later.

The Middle Ages: 1066 – 1500

The Medieval Period

Rise of the Middle Ages

Decline of the Roman Empire and Anglo-

Saxon Age

Feudalism

Think of a chess set

Feudalism

Based on mutual obligation

Military protection

Provide knights in times of war

service

Fiefs – land grants

Fiefs – land grants

protection

FeudalismManors

The lords estate –

The lord provided the serfs with housing, farmland and protection

Serfs tended the lands, cared for the animals, maintained the estate

FeudalismManors

Peasants rarely traveled more than 25 miles from the manor

Was home to 15 – 30 families

Self-Sufficient community

Peasants heavily taxed, including a tithe – a church tax of 1/10 their income

A violent society

Nobles constantly fought to:

Defend estates

Seize new territories

Increase wealth

Kept Europe fragmented

Glorification of warriors

The Age of Chivalry

Chivalry – a complex set of ideals, demanded that a knight fight bravely in defense of three masters

1. His feudal lord

2. His Heavenly Lord

3. His Lady

Meant to protect the weak and the poor

The Age of Chivalry

Arthur and his Knights practiced the Code of Chivalry…

1. Courage

2. Justice

3. Mercy

4. Generosity

5. Faith

6. Nobility

7. Hope

The Age of Chivalry

Sons of nobles began training at an early age for knighthood

Page – at about 7 they were sent to another lord to be trained

Squire – at about 14 they act as a servant to a knight

Knight- at about 21 they become a knight and gain experience in local wars and tournaments

King Arthur and His Knights

Facts, Fiction, Folktale• It is a crucial part of both French and English folklore. Folktales are intended to teach a moral lesson and to entertain.

• Linked to a historical king from the 5th and 6th centuries. Many sources have no mention of him.

• One Latin source, Historia Brittonum from the 9th century, claims Arthur was real and killed 960 men in a battle called The Battle of Mons Badonicus.

Others Disagree.

Historian David Dumville belives “we can dispose of him [Arthur] quite briefly. He owes his place in our history books to a 'no smoke without fire' school of thought ... The fact of the matter is that there is no historical evidence about Arthur; we must reject him from our histories and, above all, from the titles of our books."

The Legend Begins…•Arthur is the son of King Uther

Pendragon and Igrayne, wife of Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall.

•Merlin the Magician forced the King to “swear a solemn oath” to allow Merlin to bring up Arthur as he chose.

•Merlin delivered the newborn unchristened child to Sir Ector.

•Sir Ector christened the child and raised him as his own, not knowing he was the future king.

“Whoso pulleth this sword out of this stone and anvil is rightly King of all England”

•King Uther died two years after Arthur’s birth, leaving England in turmoil – a country without a king

•Several years passed, until all the lords of the realm gathered on Christmas Day looking for a miracle to show them who should rightly be King.

•The “Sword in the Stone” appeared in the church courtyard, bearing the famous inscription.

Who would be King?•It was decided that a tournament

would be held to determine who would win the right to pull the sword out of the stone.

•Sir Ector and his son, Sir Kay, traveled to the tournament.

•Sir Kay forgot his sword and asked his younger brother, Arthur to retrieve it.

•Arthur decided to get the sword that was in the stone and give it to Sir Kay.

Arthur becomes King•Sir Ector and Sir Kay both

knelt down to Arthur and told him of his true identity.

•The Lords were upset because they did not want a boy who was not of “high blood” to govern their country.

•The commoners finally cried out that Arthur was the rightful King and should be crowned.

•Arthur swore to his Lords and Commoners to be a true King, and to govern with “true justice.”

The Land Called CamelotArthur ruled in

peace for many years…

•Guinevere married Arthur

• Sir Lancelot, son of the Lady of the Lake, Arthur’s “First Knight”

•Merlin, wizard and advisor to the King

•Other Knights of the Round Table: Sir Gawain, Sir Galahad, Sir Percivale, Sir Bedivere

The Tales of King Arthur

•Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

•Le Morte D’Arthur – Sir Thomas Malory

•The Once and Future King & The Sword in the Stone – T.H. White

•Camelot, a musical – Alan J. Lerner & Frederick Loewe

•King Arthur-The Marvel of the Sword – Mary Macleod

SourcesHaskell, Merrie. “People in Arthurian Legend.” Merrie

Haskell’s King Arthur Page. November 2002. http://www.personal.umich.edu/>8 June 2004.

Farrell, Scott. “The Seven Knightly Virtues.” Chivalry Today. 2002 Shining Armor Enterprises.

www.chivalrytoday. 10 June 2004.

Prentice Hall. Literature. Bronze ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:Prentice Hall, 2000.

Price, Brian. “A Code of Chivarly.” The Knighthood, Chivalry, and Tournaments Resource Library. 2003. <http:// www. Chronique.com>. 8 June 2004.