It was this social structure that gave rise to the institution of knighthood, including special orders of knighthood such as the Knights Hospitallers and Knights Templars. And it is impossible to understand either without first looking at the social structure of medieval Europe.
"Knighthood" and "chivalry" are not one and the same, but it is impossible to speak of one without addressing the other.
#Medieval europe knights chivalry code
A man who politely holds open a door for a woman or who defends her from danger is still said to be acting "chivalrously." The word reflects, as it did hundreds of years ago, a code of behavior that places value on the protection of others. Most often the word crops up in relationships between men and women. Today, people are likely to use the word chivalry to refer to high standards of good manners, protectiveness, and helpfulness. But the underlying concept of service to the realm has defined knighthood since the Middle Ages.Ĭlosely connected with knighthood is the concept of chivalry. Knighthood for these and other citizens is granted to recognize cultural achievement or service to Great Britain, typically for charitable work. It is equally unlikely that Sir Paul, Sir Mick, or any of the other prominent artists and citizens of Great Britain who have been knighted in modern times will put on a suit of armor, mount a horse, and set out to conquer new realms for his queen. The queen then tapped them on each shoulder with the flat side of a bared sword as she "invested" them with (gave them) the title "knight." From that time on, as a member of the nobility, each knight became entitled to attach the word "sir" to his name, though it is unlikely that either of these rock-and-roll icons will actually do so. Like their forebears hundreds of years ago, these modern knights, in a solemn and formal ceremony, knelt before the queen. Another rock legend, Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, received a similar honor in 2004. In 1997 rock star Paul McCartney, one of the original Beatles of the 1960s, was knighted by England's Queen Elizabeth II during a ceremony in London. While knights are usually thought of in connection with medieval life, the tradition of conferring knighthood has not died, at least in England. The "knight in shining armor" occupies an honored, permanent place in the cultural heritage of the West and is a fixture in legends, fairy tales, and epic adventure stories (see Chapter 11 on the literature of the Crusades). In the twenty-first century the image of these knights is often romanticized. Noble, courageous, and skilled, the knights of Europe, from the viewpoint of the Christian nations, carried out God's work in trying to drive the Muslims (followers of the religion of Islam) out of God's holy places. Carrying the banners of that cause, though, was Europe's warrior class: its knights. Numerous foot soldiers gave their lives to the cause of reclaiming the Holy Land during the Crusades.
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