In Ramon Lull’s “The Book of the Order of Chivalry,” he outlines many aspects of the chivalric code knights must follow. Throughout the semester, we have been reading tales of knights who supposedly follow this code. Using specific examples from Lull’s book and some romances we’ve read, how have the characters we have been following adhere to the “Order of Chivalry”?
King Arthur & His World
ENGL 361 | Spring 2019 | Dr. Myra Seaman
I was struck by how much attention Lull, in The Book of the Order of Chivalry, devoted to the technical/material aspects of being a knight, which we didn’t see as much in, for instance, Capellanus’s The Art of Courtly Love. Lull describes how the true knight needs to be served by “the most noble beast,” that being the horse (337), have “a servant who can care for his horse” (338), and routinely participate in hunts and jousting tournaments. These characteristics are all featured in the romances we’ve read, though perhaps we take them for granted as readers as part of the world/setting. Of course, Lull’s language also implies the gravity with which he is approaching knighthood and what constitutes a worthy knight; he refers to chivalry as a science (339) and also describes how crucial the study of Christian doctrine is to a knight’s training. In terms of knightly virtues, I think Lull’s emphasis on a knight being reasonable rather than foolish comes through in many of the narratives we’ve read this semester. Knights making possibly foolish decisions (Lancelot hesitating to, and then alighting the cart, for instance) have often been driving plot elements. The necessity that knights “uphold and defend women” is also central to texts we have read, and failure to is depicted as “folly” (341). (As a side note, I thought it was interesting how little Lull discussed honoring one’s king, because this is portrayed as possibly the most important trait of a knight in many of the narratives we’ve read.)
In Lull’s “The Book of the Order of Chivalry”’s intro, only the best of the best are chosen from a group of thousands. “And from each thousand was chosen one man who more than all the others was most loyal, most noble in courage, best instructed, and best mannered.” made me think of the superlatives we’ve read before about knights like Lancelot and Sir Gawain. They are described as the best of the best. They hold themselves to impossible standards. The Green Knight praises Gawain but Gawain only criticizes himself. One thing I found interesting in “The Book of the Order of Chivalry” is that Lull says a knight must be feared. Lull writes “And therefore the knight should be loved and feared by the people for his noble heart and his good behavior accord with the origin of chivalry” This is an interesting idea to me because I wouldn’t think knights who are noble are feared. Maybe some bad knights, like Kay, but I wouldn’t think noble knights who even give mercy when asked should be feared unless a person is doing something wrong. I think this goes back to the idea that knights are superior to the rest of the population- knights are loved but also should be feared to establish order/ the general population will do wrong.
In Lull’s “The Book of the Order of Chivalry”’s intro, only the best of the best are chosen from a group of thousands. “And from each thousand was chosen one man who more than all the others was most loyal, most noble in courage, best instructed, and best mannered.” made me think of the superlatives we’ve read before about knights like Lancelot and Sir Gawain. They are described as the best of the best. They hold themselves to impossible standards. The Green Knight praises Gawain but Gawain only criticizes himself. One thing I found interesting in “The Book of the Order of Chivalry” is that Lull says a knight must be feared. Lull writes “And therefore the knight should be loved and feared by the people for his noble heart and his good behavior accord with the origin of chivalry” This is an interesting idea to me because I wouldn’t think knights who are noble are feared. Maybe some bad knights, like Kay, but I wouldn’t think noble knights who even give mercy when asked should be feared unless a person is doing something wrong. I think this goes back to the idea that knights are superior to the rest of the population- knights are loved but also should be feared to establish order/ the general population will do wrong because they are not the best/ most perfect/ most chivalrous etc like knights are.
This is veering away from your question a bit, but one thing I found interesting about Lull’s “Order of Chivalry” is its inherent classism. Lull uses chivalry to justify why some men deserve to hold the title “knight/lord” over others. According to Lull, knights are inherently moral and “good,” and thus, have the right to rule over other people who must follow their good example. Serfs, on the other hand, are morally inferior and “bad,” thus they must till the fields and toil away so that the knight can live a life of luxury. So far in the texts we’ve read I haven’t really seen this piece of the code explicitly in action, has anyone else picked up on it?
When I was reading Ramon Lull’s text, the first character that popped into my head was Arthur. Especially in “Alliterative Morte Arthur,” but in many of the other texts we’ve read as well, Arthur is portrayed as wise, noble, and strong, which aligns neatly with Ramon’s idea of a how a knight should be. Ramon says “a knight should be loved and feared by the people,” because of his justness as well as his fierceness. In Alliterative Morte Arthur, Arthur stands his ground against Lucius and leads a loyal army to fight to remain in control of his land, even braving the battlefield himself. He is ruthless but also diplomatic and fair [at least in the first part of the narrative]. This balance between charity and firmness seems an essential trait of a knight in Ramon’s eyes, and to me, Arthur embodies those things well, and indeed, is revered in legend for his ability to balance these two ways of being.
In Ramon Lull’s “The Book of the Order of Chivalry,” he outlines many aspects of the chivalric code knights must follow. Throughout the semester, we have been reading tales of knights who supposedly follow this code. Using specific examples from Lull’s book and some romances we’ve read, how have the characters we have been following adhere to the “Order of Chivalry”?
As I read about chivalry, I couldn’t help but thinking it made knights sound a lot like medieval cops. The knights in the stories we’ve read are often approached by people who need help, often people who have been wronged in some way and seek justice. Lull writes, “Through love he should restore charity and learning, and through fear he should restore verity and justice.” A high value is placed on combat skill in these stories; all of the important knights, such as Gawain and Lancelot, are fierce warriors. However, generosity is also highly valued, as we see the reoccurring theme of good hospitality (such as in Gawain and the GK/the Turke). Several stories mention Arthur sharing spoils of war with his men.
Lull makes very much of knights being sworn to “defend the holy Catholic faith” “against unbelievers.” We see that the knights are very motivated by their Christian beliefs; however, we don’t see them fighting against unbelievers. Gawain, for example, embraces the Turke, and in Roman de Silence, no one is up at arms about any violations of Biblical scripture with regards to the cross-dressing. Instead, the knights in the stories uphold the faith by setting a good example: Sir Gawain always keeps his word, like when he goes to meet the GK even though he may die, just as Arthur does in Dame Ragnell. They also help people who are beset by evil-doers or people who are just greedy, such as the giant that Arthur slays in Le Morte d’Arthur–or when Arthur solves the inheritance dispute between the two sisters. They defend Christianity just by promoting justice throughout the kingdom.
Knights are also to “uphold and defend women.” We see both Lancelot and Tristan protecting their lady loves, both their bodies and their honor. SG treats Dame Ragnell with utmost respect, even though she is not attractive, and when he rejects the Green Knight’s wife, he is very careful to do it in a way that does not offend her and maintains friendship with her.
One passage I really enjoyed reads, “By this is it openly signified to you, O knight, that you have great love for the order of chivalry; just as chivalry y nobility of heart has endowed you with bravery, so that you fear no peril nor death because you wish to honor chivalry…” (341). This quote really reminded me of the “Alliterative Morte Arthur” due to the fact that it’s this idea of deeply loving and defending the cause of chivalry at all cost. We saw that King Arthur’s knights fought for him, but I also believe that they also fought for these ideas and value systems that were practiced in the court. I agree with Rae’s point because this type of dedication created extremely brave warriors who were willing to do most anything for the cause. In the “Alliterative Morte Arthur”, we saw instances in which great violence and killing occurred, but it was all done for Arthur and this idea of being dedicated and honoring chivalry