Chivalry in Arthurian Legend

Merriam-Webster's on-line dictionary defines chivalry as "the system, spirit, or customs of medieval knighthood." As Leon Gautier, author of Chivalry, defines this "system" and "spirit" of knighthood by identifying rules of chivalry, two of which are well illustrated in Lanval, "TheWife of Bath's Tale," and "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnel:" "Thou shalt never lie, and shall remain faithful to thy pledged word," and "Thou shalt be generous, and give largess to everyone"(qtd. in Chivalry). All three stories seem to suggest the predominant theme of a knight living up to his word. This is shown by the fact that, in each story, the knight's oath is taken very seriously, is treated as a contract, and is trusted implicitly. The generosity of the knight is also portrayed in these works. It is not difficult to see, given the moral overtone of these rules, that the Church had a great deal to do with defining the values of knighthood.

"The Wife of Bath's Tale" and "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell" both follow the story of a knight who makes a "rash promise" on which his life depends. Even under the most difficult of circumstances, these promises are kept. In the story of Dame Ragnell and Sir Gawain, King Arthur is described by the author as a knight who "bare away the honour, Where-so-evere he went"(9). Surely he must be held to any code of honor imposed on a knight! While on a hunting expedition, King Arthur is confronted by a fully armed knight, named Gromer Somer Joure. Arthur is alone, scarcely armed and unable to defend himself against Gromer, who is ready to take Arthur's life. In order to avoid instant death, Arthur is forced to swear to return, alone and "in this same arraye"(87), one year later to tell the knight "whate wemen love best in feld and town"(91). Without the correct answer, Arthur will be beheaded. It is interesting to note that King Arthur's life depends on two things: his remaining faithful to his word, and Sir Gromer, also a knight bound by the code of chivalry, remaining true to his word. If Arthur does not trust that Sir Gromer will honor the code and spare his life, it would seem unreasonable for him to agree to such a deal. In the end, we find that both men remain honorable, thus upholding this aspect of the code of knighthood.

Similarly, the knight, in the story told by the Wife of Bath, is faced with the punishment of death for the crime of rape. To save his life, he swears to the queen that he shall return within a year and a day with the correct answer to her question: "What thing [is it] that women most desiren"(911). Again, it is difficult to believe that the queen would have allowed this knight to run off, unpunished for his crime, unless she believed he would remain true to his word. It seems that it would have been very easy for this knight to save his life simply by disappearing. Yet he lived up to his oath.

In "Lanval," the knight is asked to make a promise to his "ami" not to let anyone know of their affair. Although Lanval does not remain true to his word, the importance of the oath is made clear in the simple fact that his love trusts his word implicitly. It is important to note that, were it not for the implied oath of a knight to remain loyal at all costs to his king, Lanval would have kept his promise to his lover. "Never for love, and not for you, Would I be to my lord untrue"(267), declares Lanval when propositioned by the queen. Unlike Sir Lancelot in other stories, Lanval refuses to dishonor King Arthur by having an affair with his wife.

The generosity expected of a knight is illustrated best in Lanval when he uses riches given to him by his love to give expensive presents, buy new dresses for the women, and help those who need somewhere to stay, among other things. "There's no stranger nor private friend On whom Lanval does not spend"(131), says the poet. Certainly Sir Gawain displays incredible generosity, in the story of Dame Ragnell, by agreeing to marry the atrociously ugly hag with whom King Arthur makes a pact. As Brian Rice tells us in his essay "On Knighthood," the knight was expected to "dispense of his wealth with largesse, showing the generosity that thwarted greed and thus helped the knight to ennoble himself in deed as well as blood" (Knighthood). Generosity, on the part of the knight, set a good example to all who looked up to him. Here we see the influence of the Church; greed is one of the deadly sins.

Knights were looked upon as noble and honorable men. They were portrayed as being honorable, loyal and noble gentlemen. They were expected to uphold the values of the Church, defend the king, his land and his people, and be courteous to the ladies. They were honest, distinguished gentlemen. When they gave their word, it was trusted without doubt. They were the epitome of chivalry.

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