Welcome to the

wonderful world of
Chivalry.

We shall be your
guides for
understanding and
implementing
chivalry into your
every day life.

Let us first look at

the origin of the
word Chivalry.

The word

CHIVALRY is
derived from either
the French word
chevalier which
means knight, or
cheval which means
horse.

In Europe, most knights

were wealthy and owned
at least one horse; this is
why the word chivalry
could have originated from
the French word cheval.

There was never any

official code of chivalry;
however, the church
founded principals that
governed the behavior
of knights.
The churchs
power was near
absolute in the
Middle Ages, and
could impose any
rule it saw fit.
A rule the church
imposed named the
Truce of God is an
example of the
churches power. This
rule forbade knights
from fighting on
Sundays and holy
days.

Even though the

church made rules to
prevent the knights
from fighting, the
church slowly began
to accept war.

The churchs
implementing of
morals and ethics
into the knights was
just the beginning
of the Code
Once war was tolerated by the
church, the clergy began
involving itself with the
knights. As the church took
more interest in the knights'
activities , it helped input
morals and ethics into the
knights character.

of
Chivalry.

Another advocate for

creating the Code of
Chivalry was King

Charlemagne,
born in 742 AD.

Once King Charlemagne became a

Christian, he enforced Christian
values onto all his knights and
nobles. Even after Charlemagnes
death, Christian values stuck with
his knights. Along with the
church, Charlemagne helped
create the Code of Chivalry.

During the 8th century, King

Charlemagne was one of the
first people to give knights a
positive image.

Previously, knights had been

regarded as heartless, bloody
mercenaries, but with
Charlemagnes new
Christian rules, knights were
forced to behave more justly
and honorable.

The Song of Roland

is a book written in
the 8th century by
one of King
Charlemagne's
knights.

This book highlights many

of Charlemagnes views
on chivalry and the proper
behavior of a knight.

To fear God and maintain His Church

To serve the liege lord in valor and faith
To protect the weak and defenseless
To give succor to widows and orphans
To refrain from the wanton giving of offence
To live by honor and for glory
To despise pecuniary reward
To fight for the welfare of all
To obey those placed in authority
To guard the honor 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 honor of women
Never to refuse a challenge from an equal
Never to turn the back upon a foe

These are some of

Charlemagnes
views on chivalry.
In many ways, his
principals are very
similar to the
Bibles.

The Song of
Roland is not the
only record of
knightly chivalry.

Many other Medieval

books also speak of
chivalry. However,
The Song of Roland is
the most well known.

Did you know its

against the code of
chivalry to be a

glutton?

The crusades also

played an
important role in
the forming of the
Code of Chivalry.

Because of the crusades,

many knights were
brought together under
the banner of Christianity.
In addition many knights
implemented Christian
morals into their lives.

Once the crusades

were over, many
knights brought their
new Christian ethics
back to Europe.

Because of the
Crusades, Christian
ethics were instilled into
the knights, and after
the knights returned to
Europe there was less
conflict between them.

And during the

14th century, the
code of chivalry
experienced its
peak.

Throughout the
Middle Ages, the
principals of chivalry
were recorded in
poems, ballads, and
other forms of
writing.

Traveling minstrels and

jesters memorized the
poems and ballads of
valiant knights, and
shared the stories with
many other people
throughout Europe.

This is one of
the ways people
learned of the
Code of Chivalry
in the Dark
Ages.

By the 16th century,

the knights had almost
completely Died off,
but their code still
endured.

During the 15th and 16th

century, chivalry had spread
from the knights to the nobles.
People of nobility now lived
with Godly principals, and
were considered gentlemen in
the eyes of the common
person.

From the 17th century and

on, the term code of
chivalry has been
abandoned, and the phrase
good manners has taken
its place.
But why
is the code
of chivalry
important
today?

Its important because

proper etiquette and polite
behavior can trace its roots
back to the Code of
Chivalry. Thanks to chivalry,
the world is a better place.

Thank you
for joining
us on this
marvelous
journey!

Good bye,
See you later!

 http://www.castles.me.uk/medieval-code-

chivalry.htm
http://www.essortment.com/all/chivalricco

de_rxnf.htm
http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/knights-

code-of-chivalry.htm