Is Chivalry Dead? On Knights, Horses, & Cultural Victory

Chivalry—Inspiration for Our Time

Given the age of immorality and compromise in which we live, it is refreshing to remember Christian success from previous days. Chivalry, initially meaning ‘horsemanship’ provides one of those inspiring looks into an ancient success. Even 600 years later it is hard to think of anything more inspiring than a heavy galloping phalanx of steel plated men and horses bringing justice to civilization’s oppressors. To the armies of the Middle Ages they were as the tank is to modern warfare. They were the first into battle.

The word chivalry was derived from a French word meaning horseman. Histories from the early Middle Ages talk of the charge of the chivalry, meaning the knights of noble office. Other armored horsemen were called men at arms. The chivalry had to be marked by extreme bravery, courage at breath’s edge of death, commanding strength, and magnificent skill for battle. A knight had to master the art of horsemanship such that he could direct his horse using only his knees and heels. This left both hands available to handle weapons, including a lance, sword, battle axe, and dagger. A knight was worth ten men in a hard fight.

During the Middle Ages standing armies were not typical. Even kings had limited funds to train and keep an army in the field. Armies were assembled bodies of fighters serving under nobles, dukes, or barons, who paid the men to fight based on contracts. Knights were typically derived from the upper classes who could afford the substantial expense. So, the charge of the chivalry was the charge of the nobles. These were the educated men of means. They could read. Maybe more importantly, they could read maps. They naturally became viewed as not only military leaders but the foremost men in society. To be a knight was to garner respect. They were the defenders in the breach. They were noble. They were men of honor. They were of the chivalry, hence chivalrous, to behave in a noble manner.

Full armored knights began to take the field sometime in the ninth or tenth centuries. By 930 AD the first recorded Christian defense of the chivalric vocation was promoted by Odo, abbot of Cluny, which argued that the sanctity of Christ and Christian doctrine can be demonstrated through the legitimate unsheathing of the sword against the enemy. It was the beginning of the Crusades however, that spurred the church to more openly develop its theology regarding warfare and knights. As Europe came under increasing terror of war from advancing Muslim armies, the church, or more largely Christendom, was forced to address the realities of war and warfare. No longer was war just the outcome of local quarrels. Now, the whole of Christendom was under attack. New realities had to be addressed.

Codes of Christian Behavior

As a result of these events the church began to develop from Scripture, ideals for knights in both warfare and peace. Christian men started to address what it meant to be a Christian and a warrior. Biblical morality began to be specifically applied to the methods of war and also to the character of the men, or of the man fighting. Chivalric codes were written based on principled morals taken from the Christian religion. Leon Gautier writing about the chivalric code of the 11^th and 12^th centuries says that it included these nine elements:

1. Believe the church’s teachings and observe all the Church’s directions.
2. Defend the Church.
3. Respect and defend all weaknesses.
4. Love your country.
5. Show no mercy to the Infidel. Do not hesitate to make war with them.
6. Perform your feudal duties as long as they do not conflict with the laws of God.
7. Never lie or go back on your word.
8. Be generous to everyone.
9. Always and everywhere defend right and good against evil and injustice.

While the chivalric codes varied from place to place and time to time they shared the common elements demanding Christian courage, honesty, a generous spirit, pursuit of justice, and almost always, the protection of women and of the innocent and weak. These Christian virtues became understood as the proper behavior of nobles and knights. To act nobly meant to act honorably. Chivalry became a code for living not just a military art. The chivalry became chivalrous in a moral sense. To be chivalrous meant to stand or to fight for justice and to defend widows and orphans as Scripture demands. These rough, these coarsened men, who were the best trained killers of their time became examples of righteous strength. There were many exceptions yet the Christian influence on chivalry became so prominent that it is still admired.

The Christian church invested the Chivalry with noble causes and high morals. Typically, the upcoming knight had to swear an oath to the church promising, essentially, to be an example of Christian character and only fight for righteous causes. Thus, the boundaries of Christendom were pushed forward. A part of the initiation ceremony often included the blessing of the knight’s sword on the church altar, confirming the teaching that it was rightly Christian for men to defend the defenseless. It was recognition that the martial arts have a proper place in Christian society. No longer was the church separated from real-world concerns. The famous dubbing ceremony came out of church ritual. Often, the knight was dubbed in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost with the tip of his own sword, accenting the idea that the knight’s sword was to be used in the service of the Christian society that blessed his going out.

Knights & Gentlemen

The Chivalry of the early Middle Ages became chivalrous through the influence of the church. This compelling example shows the kind of long-term change that can be brought about by Biblical teaching. A knight was revered almost as much as a monk in medieval society. This influence extended eventually throughout the upper classes in Europe being exhibited as a code of gentlemanly behavior. Though imperfect, the concept of the gentleman was taken from the example of the chivalrous man. It came out of the warrior ranks who had absorbed it from the teachings of the church. The gentleman was to be gentle instead of coarse or unforgiving. When we read of knights and their treatment of captives we are sometimes amazed at their sense of correct treatment or fair play. Enemy troops who would have murdered the Christian soldiers without hesitation were regularly given quarter and sent away being required only to take an oath not to fight for a short period of years. That kind of high character was admired by leading men and became the basis for the concept of the gentleman.

Non-Christian religions never produced a concept equal to this. It is a unique identifying mark that screams that there is a vast and good difference between Christianity and everything else. Chivalry then, becomes an inspiration for our own time. It shows that it is possible to see culture changed long-term toward Christian righteousness. The kingdom of Christ can have victories in current culture just as it did so many hundreds of years ago.