欧洲文化入门之骑士与绅士

The chivalry and gentility

Abstract: The paper mainly talks about the relationship between knighthood and gentleman. The gentility is come from chivalry. As we all known that the English man are famous for gentle. Gentle men are become more and more welcomed. We study the chivalry and gentility so that we can better understand the knighthood.

Key word: chivalry gentility relationship

1.the introduction of chivalry

Chivalry, as known as knighthood, can be defined as the general collection of organizations, regulations, morals and norms owned particularly by the knight class in west Europe in the middle ages. Almost all nobles were knights in the medieval days. But no one was born a knight----knighthood had to be earned. The training was both long and hard.

1.1the origin of the knight

Chivalry, as a military regime built on the fief system, primitively originated in Frankish kingdom in the 8th century. Then it was passed to the north, to the west of Reich across Flanders, Burgundy and so on. It is safe to say that chivalry is a kind of mechanism on the whole European continent.

1.2the decline of the knights

After the crusades, the knight was become less and less important. with the development of the commodity economy, the Manor was suffer great challenges. So the knight was not adapting to the society gradually.

1.3The spirit of the knight

The spirit of the knight includes eight virtues and the declaration of knight.

1.31the declaration of knight

I will be kind to the weak. I will be brave and against the strong. I will fight the all that do wrong. I will fight for those who cannot fight. I will help those who call for help. I will harm no woman. I will help my brother knight. I will be true to my friends.

I will be faithful in love.

1.32 Eight virtues

First is humility. Second is honor. Third is sacrifice. Forth is valor. Fifth is compassion. Sixth is spirituality. Seventh is honesty. Eighth is justice.

2.Gentility

Gentleman stems from 17th century middle of Western Europe, it’s based on the knight. A gentleman’s manners are always impeccable. He dresses appropriately for any occasion, knows instinctively how to treat women, acts his age and is always fun to be around. Someone wants to be a gentleman is not easy. He always is polite. He must do as fellows: first, do not curse. Second, do not speak loudly. Third, do not lose your temper. Fourth, do not stare. Fifth, do not interrupt. Sixth, do not spit. Seventh, respect your elders. Eighth, do not laugh at others’ mistakes. Ninth, remove your hat indoors. Tenth, wait for seating before eating. Eleventh, always open doors. Twelfth, put on her coat. Thirteenth, help with her seat. Fourteenth, give her arm.

3.The relationship between knight and gentility

As we all knows, the gentility is stem from the spirit of knight. Absolutely, the similarity and the difference is coexist. After all, the gentility absorbs the good aspect

of knight and other wonderful cultures. There is no doubt that the gentility is a new social culture.

3.1 The similarity

Maybe the great similarity is knight and gentlemen all respect to women. The knight’s love is courtly love. This love is based on the inequality states. Knights are always loyalty to noblewomen. Obviously, the noblewomen positions are higher than knights. This kind of love regards as platonic love. The knight must carry out the noblewomen’order and protect the noblewomen even if lost his life. We can know that it’s not easy to be a knight because he should risk death to save his elegant lover. There is no doubt that the knight is willing to do every thing for his noblewoman. This kind of love is absolutely admirable. The movie first knight is about courtly love. Lancelot loved the queen consort and saved the queen life several times and protected queen’ reputation. The gentlemen are obeying the rule----- lady first. They often polite and have good manners. They respect all the women. They are willing to help all the women who need help. They always open the door for women. Do not forget that they speak in a polite way. The gentlemen are not trouble others. There is an aphorism says do not trouble trouble until trouble troubles you. They may believe the thought. The gentlemen are also this kind of men and they always help others save problems.

3.2 The difference between knight and gentleman

Knight and gentleman belong to different ages. They have different aims. They adapt to different society.

3.21 The different position

All knights were come from noble in the medieval days. But no one was born a knight------knighthood had to be earned. The training was both long and hard. A noble began his education as a page at the age of seven. He was taught to say his prayers, learned good manners and ran errands for the ladies. At about fourteen, the page became a squire or assistant to a knight who became his master. He was taught the duties of a knight and practiced using a sword, lance and shield.

Every kind of men can be gentlemen. There is no identity restriction. They are always polite. It does not matter that you are poor or in bad occupation. You also have chance to be gentlemen. You may be gentlemen as long as you can not trouble others. The most obviously characters is respect women and in a polite way.

3.22 The different aims

The knight was trained for war. The knight must protect a grant of land. He went into battle with his master. If the squire proved to be a good fighter, he would be made a knight at a special ceremony known as dubbing. As a knight, he was pledged to protect the weak, to fight for the church, to be loyal to his lord and to respect women of noble birth. Knight trained for war by fighting each other in mock battles called tournaments. The contestants and their horses often got killed and injured. The knight was brave and faced injury and death. It took promoting the martial sprit as the core. The gentleman is just adapting to the civilization society. There is no war and it is a peace society. There are no needs the knight but need so many gentlemen. The gentlemen are welcomed all over the world.

4.Chivalric literature

There are a lot of works talk about the knight. Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon epic, in alliterative verse, originating from the collective efforts of oral literature. The story is set in Denmark or Sweden and tells how the hero, Beowulf, defeats the monster Grendel and Grendel’s mother, a sea monster, but eventually receives his own death in fighting with a fire. Beowulf was the first national epic. Cervantes’s don Quixote is also introduced the knight story. Ivanhoe written by Walter Scott and criticized the capitalism. The most of story were talked about the knight and courtly love and the history about knight. This works had good effect on the gentility.

In the seventeenth century, England begins to come into effect the gentleman education. The English man is a typical gentleman.

5. Conclusion

The chivalry has a close relationship with gentility. The gentility stems from chivalry. They are in different ages. They have some similarity and difference. They all respect to women. The gentleman is spread all over the world.

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