![]() Jousting gave knights the necessary practice to become skilled fighting on horseback and the training necessary for jousting competitions, kept them in supreme physical shape. The cult of chivalry and the jousting tournament ![]() Overall they must live by honour and for glory. The knight must protect the weak and defenseless and respect the honour of women. Service to someone other than yourself was key, service to your Lord could bring material gains, so important to get it right. They should then serve the liege Lord in valour and faith. Knights going on crusade would visit their church and receive blessings before they left. The link between Christianity and the chivalric knights is closely bound. In summary they are, that a knight should fear his God and his church. The Song sets out the basis for the code of chivalry or things that the knights should live their life by. Illustration of The Song of Roland The Chivalric Code It harks back to a great battle, the Battle of Roncevaux fought by Charlemagne in 778. It was written sometime between 10 and is 4,000 lines long. One of the most well known songs, a song of the knightly deeds, was the Song of Roland. The poem is the first of the great French heroic poems known as “chansons de geste.” It has been translated from the French but because it was written in a rhyme called assonance it is a tricky thing to deal with. Courtly love emerged first in France Troubadours spread the word across Europe through poems, verse and song. He may be sent on quests which tests his loyalty and obedience. He is not undone by such rejection and remains faithful to her and follows her commands obediently. The knight shows his admiration for the lady, who in turn shuns him. It evokes a sort of pseudo- religious female adoration. A kind of game may be played out and indeed, may have at its core the ideal of service to the mother of Christ, Mary the Virgin. ![]() A knight may do service to a lady of the court. The idea of courtly manners began to evolve into a more romantic concept. Sports clubs, schools, professional institutions, universities, the military, the practice of certain moral codes to be maintain order and discipline, still exists. ![]() It is the idea of honour among men, that still prevails in many of our prestigious establishments today. It was a way of controlling the actions of these often powerful and wealthy young men, a way of instilling order indirectly. Not only did the knights engage in this unique style of combat, they also followed a common code that extolled loyalty and prowess in battle, strength and endurance, a sense of honour, Christian virtues and ‘courtoisie’, manners that were fitting to the royal court. This jousting, as the technique was called, required great skill and strength on the part of the fighter. They fought on horseback and practised the art of fighting atop a galloping, galloping horse with a lance tucked up under the arm. Others were part of the ruling elite, the younger princes, dukes or lords. Some gave service expecting pay or to rewarded with land. Many different kinds of men became knights. ![]()
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