Students at one of San Diego's middle schools cheer on the knights in Chivalry Today's Deed of Arms.

As always, we have a variety of educational resources for teachers, students, and parents – from the research materials and class project ideas you’ll find on this website, to the many classroom presentations we offer – but this year we invite you to consider what has become our most popular educational presentation by far: The Medieval Festival Day!

We know budgets are tight, and one of the places schools are cutting back is in off-campus excursions and activities. That’s why the Medieval Festival Day was designed as a way of bringing the field trip to you, to fit into any school facility or budget. Chivalry Today’s team of outstanding historical interpreters can come to your campus, multi-purpose room, or athletic field for a fraction of the price of taking your whole class to the Renaissance Faire or history museum – and with far less time taken out of classroom and away from other studies.

With Chivalry Today’s Medieval Festival Day, we make all the arrangements for you. At your request, Chivalry Today can provide any, or all of the following educational presentations:

• A display of authentic sword combat in the style of a medieval “deed of arms”;
• An encounter with a live bird of prey and a presentation of medieval falconry;
• A demonstration of the power of medieval siege engines with a full-size catapult;
• A 50-minute performance of one of the works of Shakespeare, such as Macbeth or Romeo & Juliet;
• A performance of medieval-style music on authentic historical instruments;
• A medieval fashion show, with displays of clothing from medieval culture;
• An exciting display of mounted games and real jousting on horseback;
• A captivating telling of a selection of tales of King Arthur and his Knights.

Students get to see medieval engineering in action in this display of a full-size catapult at a recent Medieval Festival Day put on by Chivalry Today.

Whether you have just an hour-long period in a single classroom, or you’re planning an outdoor History Faire that will be the highlight of your school year activities, Chivalry Today can bring your historical studies to life – literally! In addition, all of our presentations and interpretations feature a focus on the ideals of chivalry, honor and the knightly virtues – a great way to tie in with lessons in ethics, peace-building, “pillars of character,” or any sort of campus-wide focus on citizenship and good behavior.

Although we welcome all inquiries, Chivalry Today’s calender of Medieval Festival Days is quite limited, so if you are interested in scheduling this as part of your classroom activities in the coming year, contact us quickly.

Chivalry Today offers early-booking discounts through August, 2011 – and, if you book before the school year starts, you’ll get one of our Chivalry Today T-shirts to wear as a show of our appreciation.

Give your students a look into history they won’t forget with Chivalry Today’s Medieval Festival Day! Contact Chivalry Today to book your event now.

Related posts:

1. Chivalry Days Are A Medieval Hit!
2. Chivalry Today: You Made This Possible!
3. Join The “50 By 50″ Drive – Don’t Let Chivalry Today Die

The interpreters from Chivalry Today let students get up-close-and-personal with some medieval armor at a campus Renaissance Faire in La Mesa.

During the course of the past year, we’ve put out several calls to Chivalry Today’s Facebook fans, website visitors, and podcast listeners to support our program with contributions and financial donations. And, while many of our loyal supporters have stepped up and answered the call, you might be wondering, “Just what are these donations being used for? How much money is required to simply keep up a website?”

Well, as you undoubtedly know, there’s a lot more to Chivalry Today than our ever-growing website. And although our podcast has more than 5,000 listeners worldwide, that’s not all there is to our program either.

In fact, each year Chivalry Today provides dozens of educational lectures, displays, and interpretative activities at schools, libraries, and camps throughout Southern California. But, as you can certainly imagine, in today’s economy, not every school has the budget to bring in a crew of trained interpreters, craftspeople, and historians to give their students the sort of experience that can make medieval history come to life – and highlight the values of chivalry and honor in a way that makes them relevant and applicable in the world of the 21st century.

Scott Farrell shows students the workings of a 15th century helmet called a sallet.

That’s where our donors come in. Everyone who has made a contribution to Chivalry Today through our website in the past year has helped make it possible for our program to provide our award-winning educational presentations to several school districts serving low-income students for no cost, or for a reduced fee schedule.

Yesterday, June 1, Chivalry Today provided it’s final interpretative demonstration of the 2010/11 school year at a middle school in La Mesa, California, as part of the all-campus Renaissance Faire. You, our generous donors, made it possible for Chivalry Today to provide that school with a display of medieval arms and armor, and our exciting Deed Of Arms presentation, even though the school’s social studies department was operating on a severely reduced budget.

So – take a look at all the smiling faces in the accompanying photographs, which appeared in the local news website The La Mesa Patch. Those grins and joyful looks are the result of your generosity – and they’re our way of saying thanks to those of you who have been generous enough to support Chivalry Today with a financial contribution.

Even a 12th century knight's helmet can't hide a student's smile!

Although this school year is winding down, Chivalry Today is already scheduling presentations and demonstrations for the fall season! If you are (or know) a teacher who’d like to bring one of Chivalry Today’s engaging presentations to your classroom or campus, please contact us soon! And if you’d like to support our educational outreach program in an effort to bring an appreciation of historical studies and the values of chivalry, please take a moment to make a contribution of any size to support Chivalry Today.

We know quite a few students who’ll be very glad that you did!

All images copyright 2011 Ken Stone and The La Mesa Patch

Related posts:

1. School History Festival & Chivalry Today
2. Chivalry Days Are A Medieval Hit!
3. Swing A Sword With Chivalry (Today!)

Kids love to watch Chivalry Today's full-size catapults fire stones and spears - just one of the demonstrations that can be part of a Medieval Day Out.

For more than 10 years now, Chivalry Today has been providing educational talks, demonstrations, and displays for schools, camps, libraries, and youth groups, focusing on knights, castles, armor, and (of course) the values of chivalry. But with budgets tightening, more and more teachers, parents, and organizers have had to give up their field trips to Renaissance Faires and historical interpretation sites – and Chivalry Today has been getting a lot of requests for educational experiences that go beyond our classroom talks and live demonstrations of armored sword-fighting.

That’s why, for the 2010/11 school year, we created our Medieval Day Out – a full-scale historical experience that comes right to your campus or camp, and has a menu of items that can be scaled up or down to accommodate your facility, educational focus, and (most importantly) budget. Working with some of the most respected historical interpreters, performers, and educators in Southern California, we’ve brought the Medieval Day Out to a variety of groups and schools – and every one of them has given the experience an unqualified “thumbs up.”

So, with this year’s school experience winding down, we’d like to salute all of the teachers who’ve worked with us on our inaugural year of the Medieval Day Out – giving us suggestions, requests, and feedback. Below are some of the memorable moments from just a few of our Medieval Days we’d like to share.

And if you’d like to learn more about the ever-expanding list of educational offerings Chivalry Today can provide as part of the Medieval Day Out, check out the slide show below for some of this year’s highlight moments and activities. If you’d like to schedule one of these great experiences for the upcoming 2011/12 school year (or for a day camp, after-school activity, or summer reading program – it’s not too late for that!) please contact us as soon as you can.

Call or e-mail Chivalry Today’s program office to find out about organizing a Medieval Day Out for your school, church, camp, library, or just about any organization with an interest in historical education through interpretation and hands-on experiences.

Related posts:

1. School History Festival & Chivalry Today
2. Chivalry Today: You Made This Possible!
3. Wearing Chivalry On Your Sleeve

At Chivalry Today's Swords Of Chivalry Historical Fencing workshop, students of all ages get to try their hand at medieval sword-fighting techniques.

Let’s face it – chivalry is a fascinating topic, but a big part of the lure and lore of the ideals of chivalry is imagining yourself as a gallant knight of old. Now all of Chivalry Today’s fans and followers are invited to come and make that fanciful image a reality (at least for 90 minutes!) at our Swords of Chivalry Historical Combat workshop.

Swords of Chivalry Historical Combat is a weekly training session and workshop held at San Diego’s acclaimed Team Touche Fencing Center, centrally located in Sorrento Valley. Held from 5 to 6:30 pm every Friday evening, the goal of these workshops is to allow attendees to experience the authentic style of the knightly “art of defense” – a surprisingly complex and dynamic skill!

Swords of Chivalry Historical Combat is great for children who aren’t “into” traditional competitive sports; re-enactors and LARP gamers; actors and stage combat coordinators; parents and children who want a mutual bonding activity; athletes seeking a challenging cross-training activity; and anyone who wants an enjoyable exercise activity that emphasizes balance, coordination and range-of-motion (like yoga, but with a sword!).

Most importantly (from our point of view, at least) the focus at the Swords of Chivalry Historical Combat workshop is not just on learning and mastering a physical skill, but also on celebrating and sharing the ideals of the code of chivalry – respect, trust, sportsmanship, discipline, focus, gratitude, and honor. Every Swords of Chivalry Historical Combat session is conducted in a safe, supportive atmosphere that brings out the best in everyone, regardless of their age, gender, or physical aptitude. This class isn’t about bashing, smashing, and then proudly comparing bruises – this is a chance for everyone who values the ideals of chivalry to put those principles to practice, as well as to foster the concept of chivalry in our younger sword-combat practitioners.

Chivalry Today is delighted to partner with Team Touche for our weekly Swords of Chivalry Historical Combat workshop, and we deeply appreciate Team Touche’s support and hospitality.

To learn more about the Swords of Chivalry Historical Combat program, or to make arrangements to attend the workshop, contact Team Touche’s registration desk (phone: 858.622.9696). Drop-in students are always welcome – Team Touche Fencing Center is located at 10373 Roselle St., #120; San Diego, CA 92121. (Mention Chivalry Today’s website promotion and your first session of Knight School will be free – a $25 value!)

We’ll have a sword waiting for you at the next Swords of Chivalry Historical Combat workshop – we hope you’ll come and join us!

Related posts:

1. Podcast 48: Chivalry And Swordsmen
2. School History Festival & Chivalry Today
3. Wearing Chivalry On Your Sleeve

• Buy Swords And Swordsmen by Mike Loades;
• View the History for Music Lovers music video series on YouTube!;
• Sign up for Chivalry Today’s Knight School historical combat workshops at the Team Touche Fencing Center

Help support the Chivalry Today podcast

Your contribution of any amount makes the Chivalry Today Podcast possible, and helps make Chivalry Today presentations available to schools, libraries and youth groups as part of our ongoing educational outreach program.

If you enjoy our podcast offerings, please take a moment to help keep them coming.

Segment 1: Swords, Swordsmen and Chivalry

Scott interviews noted historical interpreter and fight arranger Mike Loades about his new book, Swords And Swordsmen. Mike shares his thoughts on the design, construction and use of swords in the medieval world (and throughout history) as well as how the sword is a unique reflection of the noble (if sometimes distorted) image of the chivalrous warrior.
Visit Mike Loades’ website to learn more about his work in “hands on” study of historical warriors and their arms and practices.

Below: Watch as Mike Loades hosts the acclaimed television show Weapons That Made Britain, and examines swords and their use in medieval battles.

Weapons That Made Britain: The Sword (45 Minutes)

Music Videos for Chivalry Lovers

Scott is joined by Amy Burvall, co-creator of the on-line music video series History For Music Lovers. Her music videos parody the early stylings of MTV, and some of the most popular videos have been viewed by nearly 200,000 history students (and music buffs) all over the world. She talks about her project to use pop tunes to create toe-tapping lessons about historical personalities, events and literature, like King Arthur, the Crusades, Charlemagne – and the ideals of chivalry.
Below: Watch I’m A Knight and King Arthur from the YouTube! History For Music Lovers series.

I’m A Knight

Click here to view the embedded video.

King Arthur

Click here to view the embedded video.

Segment 3: Join Chivalry Today’s Historical Combat Program

Calling knights in shining armor … of all shapes, ages and genders! We invite you to come to the Chivalry Today Knight School and have a clashing good time learning the historical art of medieval sword combat (sometimes called “Western martial arts”) under the guidance of program director Scott Farrell. Courses are open to adults and children alike (ages 10 and up, please) and are held at San Diego’s marvelous Team Touche Fencing Center in Sorrento Valley (that’s just south of Del Mar – “freeway close” from nearly anywhere in Southern California).
Classes are held weekly – check the Team Touche website for times, costs and other details. Register in advance – or just pay at the door!

Next Month: Scott will be joined by Peggy Orenstein, author of Cinderella Ate My Daughter, to talk about the pervasive “princess culture” and its effects on our perception of chivalry.

Related posts:

1. Book Review: Swords And Swordsmen
2. Podcast 47: Chivalry And A Modern Morte Darthur
3. Episode 31: Chivalry Goes To Gaul With Amadis

Students gather to watch knights in armor ride and discover the ideals of chivalry in the First Knight program.

Trying to instill the qualities of chivalry in modern society sometimes seems a bit like shouting in the wilderness – which is why it’s always heartening to discover a group that is working on a similar quest. A recent article in the San Marcos (Texas) Daily Record brought my attention to another group who sees the ideals of the code of chivalry as a worthy template for ethics in today’s world: the Rotary Club of San Marcos.

According to the article (and the Club’s chapter website) the Rotarians of San Marcos sponsor a project called “First Knight/Early Act.” The goal of the program (prepare for some familiar concepts here) is to use the imagery and history of chivalry to inspire first through fifth graders at local schools to take the concepts of ethics and honor to heart. The program uses short, daily homework assignments to get students to understand the practicalities of living by the ideals of chivalry.

Their methodology (based on the principles of the Rotarians) is to give students a four-point checklist to monitor their own behavior and motivation:

1. Is it the truth?
2. Is it fair to all?
3. Will it build good will and friendship?
4. Will it be beneficial to all?

Wouldn’t it be nice if more organizations today applied these standards to their actions, rather than simply asking questions like: “Is it profitable?” or “Will our stockholders benefit?”

Rotary Club Past President David Brady said: “All kids everywhere are in desperate need of ethics training and learning right from wrong.” A noble and knightly goal indeed! I’m sure I speak for all Chivalry Today fans when I say we salute the First Knight program and the work of the Rotary Club of San Marcos.

Learn more: Read the story Chivalry Is Alive and Well in the San Marcos Daily Record.

Related posts:

1. Chivalry Prevents Business Meltdowns
2. Knight Vision
3. Come Join Us Live!

Frequently when I am contacted by a school, library or other educational organization, the teachers and parents want to know what books I can recommend to introduce young readers to the stories of King Arthur, the legends of Camelot, and the history of knights and chivalry in medieval culture.

Unfortunately, today many young readers (many readers of all ages, in fact) have never heard the name “King Arthur” and don’t have any idea that a “round table” has anything to do with something other than a business meeting. This is unfortunate because on the shelves of today’s bookstores there are dozens, if not hundreds of wonderful books that explore the old tales with new vigor and imagination. These are not the images of Knights of the Round Table of generations past (romatic as those might be), but rather stories of heroic adventures based on current research into medieval culture and the lore of Arthurian legend and history. Readers who might be put off by the thought of knightly legends full of “thees” and “thous” will be surprised to see just how contemporary, complex and engaging these tales are in the hands of today’s authors. And readers and teachers alike who may think these books perpetuate stereotypes about the superiority of boys (who have all the adventures, while the girls sit and watch out of the castle windows) will surely be surprised to see that female characters have very active, dynamic roles to play – some books even feature girls as the sword-swinging heroes!

Additionally, there are some great books that take advantage of the wealth of knowledge made available through the best of today’s living history groups and historical interpretation resources. Pictures of real castles, armor and jousting really bring historical studies to life.

Follow this link for a complete listing of books about King Arthur, Camelot and medieval knights at the Chivalry Today On-Line Bookshop. (Books are arranged by age category – scroll down for mid-grade and teen readers.)

Scott’s Selection of Books On King Arthur, Knights And The Code Of Chivalry

All of my live presentations include an age-appropriate reading list for attendees, and these are just some of the more commonly recommended books about knights and King Arthur. If your students are reading, or are interested in reading more about knights, medieval history and Arthurian legend, I encourage you to contact us about coming to your classroom to explore Chivalry Today!

The preceding reading list was compiled with assistance from Alida Allison, professor at the Center for the Study of Children’s Literature at the Department of Comparative Literature of San Diego State University, and Chivalry Today thanks her for her advice. Parents, teachers and students who are looking for stories of medieval knights and chivalry, or for tales of honor and heroism from other cultures might want to check out the recommended reading list at the Parents’ Choice website, which features a variety of book reviews, including several written by Prof. Allison.

Related posts:

1. King Arthur By The Book
2. Zen in the Art of Chivalry
3. Episode 9: Finding Camelot With Chivalry Today

Chivalry-Based Student Projects

If you are a teacher, perhaps you are looking for a class-project idea that brings together a variety of lessons in a multi-discipline learning experience for your students.

If you are a student, maybe you’re looking for a project idea that will allow you to take a fresh look at favorite subject.

In either case, the Code of Chivalry may provide some answers. Below you’ll find a selection of class projects based on the principles of chivalry and the Seven Knightly Virtues. Each of these projects has the benefit of combining the lessons of history/social studies, English literature and character development. In addition, these lessons can incorporate a variety of educational elements, including expositional writing, on-line researching, public speaking, and graphic design.

We hope you (or your students) find these project suggestions helpful, and we hope you will contact us with descriptions and pictures of the final products. We enjoy sharing pictures of students discovering chivalry on our website.

Plus: Schedule Scott Farrell’s presentation on Chivalry Today as part of your academic section on medieval history or Arthurian literature.

Projects

A Motto for Every Student»

Who Is Your “Knight in Shining Armor”?»

Knightly Heroes Essay»

Make Your Own Coat of Arms»

Sports Knights»

Scott Farrell is available for presentations and lectures regarding medieval history and Chivalry Today at schools in the Southern California region. To request this program for your school, write to SAFarrell@ChivalryToday.com.

An extended video version of Scott Farrell’s seminar Chivalry Today for Students will be available to educators in the near future. Contact us for more details on how you can integrate this video into your lesson plan.

Thank you for sharing Chivalry Today with your students!

Related posts:

1. School History Festival & Chivalry Today
2. Motto Project
3. Episode 30: Reclaiming The Sword and The Code of Chivalry

Thanks again!

Every knight in shining armor has a coat of arms. Part of this coat of arms is the knight’s motto, a few meaningful words which express the value of the Code of Chivalry simply and efficiently. In some cases, the motto is a statement a knight makes to future generations; in others, it is a source of self-inspiration in times of doubt or temptation.

Unlike lengthy stories or essays, a motto captures a great deal of meaning in just a few words, and those words must be chosen very carefully. Consider these mottos from authentic knightly coats of arms — what do these sentiments say about those who espouse them?

He that envies is inferior
- Cadogan family

Let us be viewed by our actions
- Mott family

Observe the laws and ordinances
- Sir William Herne

Rather by skill than by force
- Young family

Faith lost, honor is lost
- Lewis family

I live in hope
- Stephens family

To be rather than seem to be
- St. Paul family

A wonderful way to expand your own understanding of Chivalry Today is to create a motto for yourself. What statement about integrity, virtue or strength do you want to be reminded of when you look in the mirror each morning? What words do you want to come to the minds of your friends or children when they think of you? Which of the Seven Knightly Virtues would you encapsulate in your own motto?

As part of our ongoing effort to further the understanding and application of the Code of Chivalry in the modern world, we invite you to share your motto with Chivalry Today visitors. Please, compose a motto that’s unique to you (i.e., not your family motto) and send it to us using the form below. If we post it on this page, you’ll receive a free Chivalry Today travel mug as our way of saying, “Thanks for sharing!” (Which might not be a bad motto for our website!)

Then, come back to Chivalry Today and read the list of mottos (below) to discover how others express their thoughts on chivalry through their unique and creative knightly mottos.

Fortitude, Grace, Wit
- Scott Farrell, California

The joy is in the doing. (Guadium est in factione.)
- William J. Knight, New Mexico

Life is worth more than gold, but honor more than life.
- Craig E. Cheney, Indiana

In hope I trust, in faith I persevere.
- Alex Nuutinen

One who ceases to learn is one already half dead
- Joe Felter

Ready for all things
- R. Slusher

In service to others we save ourselves
- William Elliott, Maryland

Strong in faith, lives long
- Steven Hyman, Texas

For Love, Life, and Honor
- Darin Calhoun, California

Respect all men; love your brothers; fear God; honor the law
- Mikal C Johnson, Idaho

Live that you might live
- M. Chad Johnson, Colorado

Never forget the humor
- Randy Ullon, California

Learn and teach
- J. Hortman, Colorado

Tant qu’espoir (Translation: As long as hope)
- Christophe Bachmann, France

Above all, honor thy family
- Steven R. Clements

Vigilance and Fidelity
- Kevin Rhodes, California

My heart is ready
- F. Valentine, Oregon

Happiness is both a gift and a treasure
- Caterine St. Loe, North Carolina

Faith, Honor, Love
- Steve Montgomery, California

Learning ever
- Wendy Rae Kiernan, Arizona

Truth above all
- R.C. DeVors, South Carolina

Pride in humility, wealth in generosity
- Adam Crawley, Nevada

Rank does not confer privilege, it imposes responsibility
- JeNell Hays, California

Pass knowledge on
- Terry Irene Blain

A custom of nobility
- Jan Chennault, California

Above all else: Faith, Hope, Kindness and Inspiration
- Lis Gelatt

Cowards never conquer
- Ray Ford, California

They who make may find
- Robert W. Franson, California

Fail not the king
- G. Robin Smith, Washington

Submit Your Own Knightly Motto:»

Related posts:

1. Class Projects and the Code of Chivalry
2. Generosity, Over Easy
3. My Approach to Chivalry Today

I’m often asked for recommendations of books about chivalry and the epic adventures of King Arthur and his knights. While I enjoy talking about my favorite King Arthur books, when I saw that acclaimed librarian Nancy Pearl provided just such a list in her bibliophile’s compendium, Book Lust,» I knew I had to share her recommendations with Chivalry Today readers. (After all, when a librarian has her own action figure – complete with “amazing push-button shushing action,” — she definitely commands respect!) It’s the perfect summer reading list for chivalry fans.

Note: See all the titles mentioned in this article at the Chivalry Today Bookshop»

Summer Reading for the Round Table

Ever since Thomas Malory wrote his 14th century epic Le Morte d’Arthur,» the legend of King Arthur has been a powerful draw for readers of all ages, so it’s no surprise that writers, too, have found it to be a rich lode of inspiration and subject matter. Authors have taken a wide variety of approaches to the legend, from the traditional view of Arthur and his (Knights) of the Round Table as exemplars of medieval life and chivalric customs, to interpretations of the historical Arthur, to fantastical novels of witchcraft and white and black magic. In other words, there’s an Arthur for every age and taste.

Once you read Rosemary Sutcliff’s romantic and well-researched Sword at Sunset» (one of my very favorite novels), in which an all-too-human Arthur leads his fellow Britons in a fight to the death against the invading Saxon armies, knowing full well that a loss will mean the coming of the dark and the end of civilization, you’ll never be able to picture Arthur in any other way.

T.H. White’s quartet of Arthurian novels, collective entitled The Once and Future King,» inspired the Broadway musical Camelot. The Sword in the Stone — aimed at young readers and filled with sly humor — opens the series. It introduces the young orphan Wart, who innocently pulls the famous sword Excalibur from the stone in a churchyard and becomes the High King. In The Queen of Air and Darkness, The Ill-Made Knight, and The Candle In The Wind, the tone grows darker, as White depicts a world in which even the most chivalrous knights and powerful wizards are unable to change their fates.

The Arthur legend is also the basis for other historical series, such as Jack Whyte’s Camulod Chronicles, including The Skystone» ; The Fort at River’s Bend» ; Uther» ; and others; Sharan Newman’s Guinevere» ; The Chessboard Quee» ; and others; and Rosalind Mile’s Guenevere: Queen of the Summer Country» ; and Bernard Conrwell’s darkly realistic series of men at war during the Dark Ages, The Warlord Chronicles, including The Winter King» ; Enemy of God» ; and Excalibur» .

The Mists of Avalon» by Marion Zimmer Bradley is one of the most enduringly popular novels about King Arthur. Bradley retells the legend from the viewpoint of the major female characters: Arthur’s mother Igraine and his half-sister Morgaine, his wife Gwenhwyfer, and the Lady of the Lake, Vivian. The central conflict here is religious — between the matriarchal Druidic beliefs and the more patriarchal, newly influential Christianity.

Although Stephen R. Lawhead’s Pendragon Cycle was set in Camelot during the Middle Ages, his Avalon: The Return of King Arthur» posits a rebirth and return of Arthur in the modern world.

©2007 Nancy Pearl

See all the titles mentioned in this article at the Chivalry Today Bookshop»

About the Author: The New York Times calls Nancy Pearl “the talk of librarian circles.” Readers can’t get enough of her recommendations while bookstores and libraries offer standing room only whenever she visits. Since the release of the best-selling Book Lust,» in 2003 and the Librarian Action Figure modeled in her likeness, Nancy Pearl has become a rock star among readers and the tastemaker people turn to when deciding what to read next. In 2004, Pearl became the 50th winner of the Women’s National Book Association Award for her extraordinary contribution to the world of books.

Related posts:

1. Episode 22: Zombies, Time Travelers and King Arthur
2. Recommended Knight Reading: Books about Chivalry for the Younger Set
3. Episode 9: Finding Camelot With Chivalry Today

Last semester a high school teacher asked her English composition students to write a paper nominating someone for a “knight in shining armor award.” Students had to establish the criteria for this fictitious award, and tell what it was that their nominee had done to make them eligible for this honor. Her students returned many wonderful stories of parents, friends and sibilings who inspired them with outstanding loyalty, honesty, strength and compassion. The following statements and stories, taken from the students’ “knight in shining armor award” essays, are a testament to the enduring value of chivalry, and are a reminder that you don’t need a medal or a trophy to be someone’s hero.

Students find chivalry all around

A knight in shining armor is someone you trust, somebody you can talk to, and somebody that is always there for you. My friend Amanda wins my knight in shining armor award because she is a trusting person, she never lies to you and you can talk to her about anything.
- Megan Taylor

I think (my friend) Yessenia is a knight in shining armor because she will listen to you when nobody else listens. When something is wrong she always says, “Do you want to talk about it?”
- Pascual Gonzale

To me a knight in shining armor is a person who is loyal, trustworthy and honest, a person who sticks by your side whenever you are going through something, no matter what it is. My friend Stanley is a knight in shining armor because he is the most loyal and trustworthy person I know. You can always count on him to be there for you whenever you need him to be there.
- Shantta Adams

Every person has someone who protects, helps and cares for him or her. This person is called a knight in shining armor. This person has all of the characteristics of a good person. A knight in shining armor is generous and fair. My knight in shining armor is a woman, my mom …
- Cynthia Quevedo

A knight in shining armor is a person who has courage, generosity, and has nobility. My knight in shining armor is my grandmother … she helps out anyone that needs it, and she isn’t afraid of anything.
- Shannon Howard

A knight in shining armor is a hero of some kind no matter what they do. My mother Pamela is a knight in shining armor because she takes care of me, and she teaches me the importance of being an adult … She provides information that will help in the long run in the real world on my own. That’s why she says education is important.
- Eric Shaw

A knight in shining armor means someone who is there any time or day. I would pick my baby sister Tiffany as my knight in shining armor … she taught me not to be so naïve, but to have hope, strength, faith and courage.
- Cierra Jimenez

A knight in shining armor is a person who has manners, helps out others, and gives someone good advice when they are down … My knight in shining armor is my mother. She supports me in life; she is always there for me when I need to be protected or guided.
- Dana Rivera

My father should win the knight in shining armor award because he is brave and daring, kind and caring. He knows how to keep everything under control. When I need him he is always there. He is a large man with a large heart … Just recently, I accompanied him to the local pharmacy, where we needed to fill a prescription for his newly diagnosed diabetes. The pharmacist had just told him that there was only enough to fill one prescription when a woman came in with a little girl who needed the same medication. My father let the girl have the prescription, even though he was there first and there wasn’t another pharmacy open at that time of night.
- Jilian Bonilla

My knight in shining armor is my best friend that has always been there for me. She always has been there in every good and bad situation. She has always been honest with me. My knight in shining armor is my best friend, who I consider my sister, Carolina. She always gives me a smile whenever we talk. She always tells me the truth, even if I don’t want to hear it.
- Juju Gonzalez

© 2006 attributed authors

Related posts:

1. A Humble Knight
2. The Seven Knightly Virtues
3. Knight Vision

Robert Badon-Powell (usually known simply as “B-P”) founded the Scouting movement in 1908 as a means of giving young people a love of outdoor activities and instilling a sense of honor and dignity in young minds. Scouting is, sadly, scoffed at in many circles these days: To be called a “boy scout” is to be labeled trusting, naïve and virtuous to an absurd degree. Also, many consider Scouting to be inherently chauvinistic, not realizing that B-P’s original vision for Scouting included both Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. (He said “girls must be partners and comrades rather than dolls,” — a remarkably progressive attitude in the days before women’s lib.)

Ironically, when drafting his Scout Laws, B-P looked to the Knights of the Round Table as models for his scouting ideals, and claimed that the Code of Chivalry was reflected in the moral expectations of a Scout.

The following article is not meant as any sort of “endorsement” of Scouting per se, but I do think it gives us an opportunity to reflect on the value of working to achieve something — too often these days youngsters see rewards and merits as things that are given rather than earned. It also reminds us that boys and girls begin building the framework for their ethical and moral understanding of the world at a very young age. We do our young people a great disservice when we fail to set good examples for them with the excuse, “They’re too young to appreciate that kind of thing.” Your child or student may not be interested in becoming a Scout, but what are you doing to inspire them to want to become a knight?

From Scout to knight

How long has it been since a real knight was trained? You still hear all the time about the Queen of England knighting someone, or about an order of Knighthood doing this or that. But do these “knights” really practice chivalry? A pity that these days children can’t be brought up as knights the way they might have back then …brought in as a page, then a squire, then eventually knighted when they’ve learned enough. But such practices are obsolete now days … right?

I’m changing one word in the below motto. I want to know if anyone recognizes it:

A Knight is…
Trustworthy
Loyal
Helpful
Friendly
Courteous
Kind
Obedient
Cheerful
Thrifty
Brave
Clean
Reverent

Anyone recognize it? It’s the Boy Scout law. For years young men in various countries have been brought up as Boy Scouts looking to achieve the highest rank, Eagle Scout. If you really stop to think about it, what is the Boy Scouts but an order of Knighthood? These young men are being brought up to believe and act on these laws, to learn outdoor skills useful to survive and eventually when they have passed all their ordeals, they are “knighted” to become an Eagle Scout. They learn to be courteous to others, to always help those in need, to respect the world they live in. They are taught that there is a time to be courageous and a time to be humble.

They don’t wear amour and don’t fight with weapons. But the ideals and morals of knighthood and chivalry live on in this forgotten order of knighthood. While I never achieved Eagle Scout, I can say I am proud to have been in this order and hope one day to become a Scoutmaster so I can have a hand in raising future knights to one day take their place in the world.

© 2006 Aric Wilisch

Related posts:

1. Podcast 40: Scouting With Chivalry
2. Chivalry & The Arrow of Light
3. Two Young Knights

When I talk about exploring the Code of Chivalry as a warrior’s code of honor in the modern world, I’m usually using the term warrior symbolically to conjure up a sense of self-respect and strength in a competitive environment. But in East Los Angeles, there’s a man who is confronting a different type of “warrior culture,” one based on real violence and brutality. For him the word warrior is no colorful metaphor.

The man is Father Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit priest and the director of Homeboy Industries, a foundation created in 1992 to give at-risk inner city youths an alternative to drugs and gangs. Father Boyle’s mission is a simple one: Provide young men and women with productive, legitimate means of making a living. Gang members looking for a way out of the cycle of crime and violence come to Father Boyle as they begin their quest for a new way of life; Father Boyle, in essence, offers a labor pool of reformed gang members to local businesses and enterprises that need workers. Former members of rival gangs work side-by-side in these endeavors, putting aside their hostilities for the sake of a better future and a safer community.

If this exchange of life-in-the-’hood for a steady paycheck seems a “no brainer,” think again. Drugs and prostitution offer tantalizingly quick profits; silk screening T-shirts or doing landscaping work are slow, hard ways to make a living. For a young man or woman with an abusive family history and little or no education, stepping away from gang life is anything but an easy choice.

I first learned of Father Boyle’s efforts with Homeboy Industries when I heard him interviewed on NPR’s mid-day talk show, Fresh Air. When the host asked why a gang member would forego street life in favor of a 9-to-5 job, Father Boyle spoke of an “inner nobility” that steered these young people away from easy money when given an opportunity to pursue an honest vocation. When Father Boyle invoked one of the Seven Knightly Virtues as a means of turning adolescents away from crime, I knew I had to learn more about his program.

Father Boyle was generous enough to share his views with me in a recent interview, and I think everyone with an interest in Chivalry Today will be intrigued by what he had to say.

In my seminars, I describe European culture at the dawn of the Age of Chivalry as a period of “government by street gang.” In the 6th and 7th centuries, barbarian tribes led by men who were hardly more than teen-agers ruled a world where preying upon the weak and helpless was accepted and even glorified. The “barbarian way of life” has been romanticized through a variety of colorful characters such as Conan and Xena, but the fact of the matter is, the tribal warriors of the Goths, Huns and Lombards made their living on theft, terror and slavery.

Jump ahead 1,500 years or so and you’ll find a striking parallel between the barbarians of the “dark age” and the gangs on the streets of East Los Angeles, for whom robbery, turf wars and prostitution rings are de rigueur. You’ll also find a striking parallel between the method used by medieval reformers who sought to incorporate the barbarian warriors into a stable, productive society and the method used by Father Boyle to get young men and women out of gangs and into stable, productive family lives.

“The truth is, no gang member ever seeks to join a gang,” Father Boyle says. “All that talk of honor and loyalty just makes (gang membership) palatable.” He explains that most gang members join their gang because they are running from something — they are fleeing from a life that’s even more painful and destructive than an existence on the streets. Father Boyle’s approach is to give them something rewarding to work toward rather than trying to solve the problem by prosecution or preaching.

To help young people put gang culture behind them, Father Boyle turns their focus inward, allowing them to discover and explore their own sense of dignity and self-worth. “Nobility means finding your own personal value rather than measuring yourself up against an outside image,” he says. “What I do is to get them to see the truth of who they really are and then guide them toward becoming that truth.”

Father Boyle’s notion of nobility is fully consistent with the definition of that knightly virtue within the Code of Chivalry. Nobility is a sense of purpose and inner strength that we feel when we are clear in our goals and values. It’s the recognition that our character doesn’t change based on who is watching or who we’re trying to please. It is, to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, the ability to “stand like a rock” on matters of principle; Father Boyle’s work helps these young men and women find bedrock to stand on.

The Dilemma of Chivalry

In trying to consider Father Boyle’s message from the viewpoint of a “gang warrior,” however, I can see a potential dilemma — the same dilemma that the ancient barbarians must have faced when presented with the choice of a life of chivalry versus a life of war and plunder. On one hand you’re telling me that I’m noble and dignified, on the other hand you’re telling me to submit to someone else’s rules. Isn’t submission a sign of weakness?

Father Boyle defuses this potential dilemma with a message that is distinctly chivalrous: Living a civil life requires far more strength than living a savage one. He points out that allowing a conflict or rivalry to escalate into violence shows a lack of control, and that is a lack of strength.

“In the gangs they’re used to dealing with every confrontation aggressively,” Father Boyle says. “They call it going ‘head up.’ We talk about these encounters with them and point out that there’s another way to handle themselves.” Through discussion and social reinforcement, Father Boyle helps these young people recognize that walking away from a fight is the greatest show of strength there is. Refusing to go “head up” shows the strength of their own commitments to the spouses and children who depend upon them to earn a living rather than winding up dead or incarcerated.

This message is a wonderful echo from the days of chivalry — when real warriors had to make the choice to use their weapons to kill and plunder for their own gain, or to be inspired by those who loved them to serve a greater good and build a brighter future. As the 13th century Spanish author and knight Ramon Lull observed:

Additionally, Father Boyle points out that stepping away from the gang culture must be a choice that comes from within, which is one of the elements of a true warrior’s code. “I don’t go out on the street and beg people to leave the gangs,” he said. “All I can do is be here for them when they’re ready.” Yet his patient approach conceals an underlying sense of purpose and vision — through his work at Homeboy Industries, Father Boyle is creating a community for these men and women to belong to, allowing them to see the value of being respected and admired. As Father Boyle says, “You can’t scare people straight, but you can care them straight.”

Creating safe, caring, supportive communities is what the Code of Chivalry is all about — it is, after all, the catalyst that transformed the predatory ideals of a savage, barbaric culture by establishing the image of the honorable, noble knight. Searching for that sense of inner nobility, and using it to create trust and stability where once there was brutality and discord, is what Homeboy Industries is all about.

Father Boyle’s chivalrous message is not limited to the streets of East Los Angeles, however. Whether you are a former gang member or a successful corporate CEO, living by the honorable, respectable principles of the true “way of the warrior” isn’t something you can be coerced into. You must choose that path, and you must guard your choice with strength and determination, because every day that choice will be challenged by vanity, expedience and desire. Being a knight means having the strength to walk away from those temptations rather than going “head up” and indulging in selfish, destructive behavior. Father Boyle and his friends at Homeboy Industries provide noble examples of chivalry at work in the modern world that we can all aspire to.

Learn more about Homeboy Industries and its sister organization, Jobs For A Future, by visiting their website. Father Boyle is eager to partner with local businesses interested in exploring creative business ventures and growth opportunities.

Listen to the on-line broadcast of Father Boyle’s interview with Fresh Air host Terry Gross at the NPR website. Or, read the story of Father Boyle and Homeboy Industries in the book, PG-Dog and the Homeboys,» by Celeste Fremon.

Related posts:

1. A Knight in the Water Tower
2. Episode 7: Honor and Influential Characters
3. Shocks and Chivalry

Take the Pledge

Today in America, surveys indicate that as many as two-thirds of children between the ages of 6 and 18 are involved in athletic activities— from team sports like soccer, football, softball, tee-ball, water polo and basketball, to individual sports such as ice skating, wrestling, gymnastics, swimming, track and golf. More than 60,000 parks, schools and neighborhood recreation centers in this country sponsor youth sports of some kind.

Athletic activities provide a wide range of benefits to kids, from improved physical health to “quality time” spent with parents and friends. But there’s a basic dilemma that goes along with introducing children to organized sports: How do you teach a child to enjoy competition without instilling an unhealthy “win at all costs” attitude that may lead to professional or interpersonal problems later in life?

That quandary goes back to the days of knights in shining armor; it was, in fact, the very reason why the Code of Chivalry was developed in the Middle Ages. In those days the line between ethical competition and ruthless self-interest was as thin as the edge of a sword.

In today’s world, we’ve seen many examples of how easily disregard for the rules in sports translates into disrespect for authority in other areas of life — in the workplace, in the political arena and in society in general. (How many news stories have you heard about the multi-million-dollar “bad boy” athletes selling drugs, abusing women, or vandalizing property?)

To combat the poor examples set by sports stars who lie, cheat and steal, many youth leagues and athletic associations are adopting codes of conduct and ethical statutes to help young players internalize the concepts of respect, fair play and sportsmanship. These codes emphasize graciousness, self-restraint, integrity and dedication — concepts that would have been very familiar to the armored knights of the Middle Ages.

Knights in shining armor were the greatest athletes of their time. They were admired as both warriors and competitors, but it was their dedication to the ideals of upstanding and ethical conduct that made them heroes for many generations to come — just as sports stars who combine personal values and athletic excellence in today’s world continue to be held in high regard long after they’ve retired from the public eye.

By emphasizing the connection between integrity, sports and the chivalrous knightly champions of old, parents and coaches allow today’s kids to learn more about the importance of ethical conduct on today’s “fields of battle.” To help with this, we’ve created The Athlete’s Code of Chivalry — a simple but effective pledge that incorporates the Seven Knightly Virtues. We hope that athletes, coaches and parents alike accept the challenge of committing themselves to training, playing and living by the Code of Chivalry as they pursue their athletic endeavors in the 21st century.

The Athlete’s Code of Chivalry

As an athlete, I set an example of integrity, honor and strength. I come from the competitive tradition of knights in shining armor, and whenever I participate in my sport, I pledge to follow these guidelines:

• I will have the courage to prepare myself mentally and physically for my sport, to use all my strength and skills in every game, and to never make excuses for my performance on the field.
• I will know and understand the rules of my sport, and I will play by those rules in all situations and circumstances so that every game is a fair and just competition.
• I will share my enthusiastic spirit generously with coaches, teammates, teachers, officials and everyone who works to make my sport possible, because I know that I cannot excel without the support of others.
• I will be gracious in both victory and defeat, recognizing that every test of my athletic skills gives me an opportunity to improve myself.
• I will be honest, truthful and responsible when participating in my sport, because the bonds of trust that exist between athletes, coaches and officials create a safe environment on the field.
• I will conduct myself with dignity and honor at all times, remembering that I represent the noble image of athletic excellence in every aspect of my life.
• I will possess a positive, hopeful attitude before, during and after competition, because participating in my sport is a privilege, and I want to look back on my experiences with joy and happiness.
• I will live by the Athlete’s Code of Chivalry, and I will do my best to always be an honorable example of sporting excellence for others to follow and admire.

Scott Farrell has more than 25 years of experience in armored, full-contact martial arts in tournament societies and Renaissance Faires. He teaches courses in Western martial arts through the Team Touché Fencing Center in Del Mar, California.

Related posts:

1. Class Projects and the Code of Chivalry
2. Chivalry Rounds the Bases
3. Introduction to Chivalry Today

More and more teachers today are realizing the value of bringing chivalry into the classroom as part of their units on medieval history and Arthurian literature. Images of knights in armor and tales of heroic adventure are ideal methods of getting students interested in learning and reading (especially kids who don’t respond to traditional assignments). In an outstanding article published in the August, 1995 edition of The History Teacher magazine, Christopher M. Bellitto offered teachers some advice on teaching with the Code of Chivalry.

In the first part of his article, Professor Bellitto explains that:

• Studying the Middle Ages helps students understand the continuum of history, seeing the Age of Chivalry as the launching point for modern politics, art and philosophy.
• Medieval studies allow teachers to reach students through colorful imagery and interesting personalities, and provide material for non-traditional, active lesson plans.
• Examining the social, political, artistic and religious exchanges of the Middle Ages provides a means of introducing multicultural and interdisciplinary studies.

An era of history sadly overlooked in high school and introductory college courses is the European Middle Ages. Despite a century of careful academic research and rising popular interest in the medieval period, the Middle Ages are still in the main lost between courses in ancient civilization and modern surveys which deal with the medieval period only as a dreary and mislabeled Dark Age rescued by the bright lights of the Renaissance. It is the intent of this paper to provide an apology for a syllabus unit on medieval chivalry to introduce survey courses in modern European history. Alternately, the ideas presented here could be used as a stand-alone section in a longer western civilization course or as an ending point for the first half of a two-part survey of world history. Some modest examples of classroom exercises and teaching resources are included but are meant only as suggestions neither authoritative nor exhaustive. The hope is that teachers will be able to use this case study of chivalry as a starting point to incorporating the Middle Ages into their curricula.

Oration on the Digmity of Man» Overlooking the Middle Ages is particularly lamentable for several reasons. First, much recent research indicates the continuity of the Middle Ages with the Renaissance/Reformation period and the contributions in political, social and cultural spheres which medieval men and women made to the modern world¹. Study of the medieval/Renaissance/modern continuum would help students understand from whence their world came. A good way to begin a modern European survey might be to ask the questions, “What was medieval?” and “What is modern?” While students will probably draw stark contrasts between the eras from their textbooks, two readings may help them see a more evolutionary transformation. Giovanni Pico della Mirandola’s late 15th-century Oration on the Digmity of Man» illustrates the empowered individuals of humanism while also dispelling the myth that the Renaissance was radically secular². For courses more focused on government than culture, particularly the modern battle between constitutional and absolutist forces, teachers may wish to assign Joseph R. Strayers’s On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State.³ In both cases, the links between the medieval and modern worlds can easily be stressed as teachers introduce the major themes of their individual courses.

Armored knights compete at a living history tournament - Photos © 2001 Ray Ford

Second, the medieval era abounded in rich visual symbolism, colorful personalities and vivid literature, all of which would surely capture students’ attention. Consequently, study of the Middle Ages provides much material for innovative projects that allow teachers to take advantage of currently-popular assessment techniques, such as portfolios and verbal demonstrations. These might include research for short and long papers, oral presentations, library exercises, museum visits and hunts (describing unicorns in tapestries, for instance, or comparing two representations of the same queen), copying of medieval artistic styles, touring a local Gothic-style church, viewing movies (serious or kitschy) with medieval themes, or attending nearby medieval/Renaissance fairs. The Middle Ages, therefore, represents an especially fertile opportunity to tap into students’ imaginations and creativity, turning them into active learners early in the semester and setting the tone for the rest of the term or year.

Third, the very nature of the Middle Ages demands multicultural and interdisciplinary study, approaches at the top of the agendas of educators, legislators and parents. Though many teachers are faced with the worry of “covering the material” in a modern survey, examining the Middle Ages will allow them to do this better by helping to introduce the study of history per se. Emphasizing the historical context for the end of antiquity or the beginning of modernity challenges students to try out historians’ tasks such as comparative analysis, periodization questions and dealing with primary source material. Using the Middle Ages with its crucible of Eastern and Western religion, culture, politics and the arts to accomplish this fundamental task is sure to engage students from a broad spectrum of backgrounds and interests.

© 2003 Christopher Bellitto, Ph.D.

About the author: Christopher M. Bellitto, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of History at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, and the Academic Editor at Large of Paulist Press. He is a church historian, teacher, and lecturer whose work is both academic and popular. His most recent books are Ten Ways the Church Has Changed (Pauline Books and Media, 2006), The General Councils: A History of the Twenty-One Church Councils from Nicaea to Vatican II (Mahwah NJ: Paulist Press, 2002) and Renewing Christianity: A History of Church Reform from Day One to Vatican II (Mahwah NJ: Paulist Press, 2001). “Chivalry: A Door to Teaching the Middle Ages” originally appeared in the August 1995 edition of The History Teacher magazine.

1. Religious scholar Heiko Oberman, for instance, argues that the Protestant Reformation had deep roots in Catholic attempts to revitalize the institutional Church beset by greed and spiritual malaise: Masters of the Reformation: The Emergence of a New Intellectual Climate in Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University press, 1981). Likewise, historian Charles Trinkaus has shown that Renaissance humanism did not repudiate medieval religious society and government but built a new alliance between humanity and divinity that empowered individuals to fulfill their missions in religious and civil affairs. In Our Image and Likeness: Humanity and Divinity in Italian Humanist Thought, 2 vols. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1970).
2. The best translation is available in The Renaissance Philosophy of Man, eds. Ernst Cassirer, Paul Oskar Kristeller, and John Herman Randall, Jr. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1948), pp. 223-54.
3. Joseph R. Strayer On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1970), especially pp. 3-12 and 89-111.

Related posts:

1. Teaching With Chivalry Part II: Students and Chivalry
2. Teaching With Chivalry Part III: Ethics, Tactics and Literature
3. School History Festival & Chivalry Today

In this segment, Professor Bellitto discusses:

• Resources to help students understand what chivalry is, and consider how it was used in medieval society in both an idealistic and a practical sense.
• Different methods of exploring the ideals of chivalry and knighthood, including oral presentations, debates and an introduction to selected primary source material.

Perhaps the best way to get at the comprehensive nature of the Middle Ages without taking too much time from the rest of a longer course would be to focus on one of the most captivating aspects of the medieval period for students: chivalry. The teacher should begin with the excellent volume, The Study of Chivalry: Resources and Approaches,» edited by Howell Chickering and Thomas H. Seiler¹. This text is geared for teaching and contains an historiographical review of the modern study of chivalry, surveys of courses that treat chivalry, bibliographies of primary and secondary sources, and a particularly valuable section on medieval visual imagery. Teachers should also become acquainted with the publications of TEAMS (the Consortium for the Teaching of the Middle Ages) which provide highly useful and lively introductions, guides, references and curricular materials for teachers interested in bringing medieval history, literature and related subjects to their students². The student’s starting point, however, should without question be Trevor Cairns’ well-illustrated Medieval Knights,» a slim, inexpensive volume of discrete, easy-to-understand chapters on essential aspects of knighthood³.

Chivalry can be approached from a variety of angles, depending on a teacher’s goals on student proclivities and on classroom resources. A unit on chivalry could begin with a few students going to the library to look up key ideas or people for a five-minute oral presentation; if possible, students should be directed to Bradford Broughton’s two-volume Dictionary of Medieval Knighthood and Chivalry.» ⁴ A pair of studies by Maurice Keen» and Richard Barber» are good sources of research for teachers or selected readings for students⁵. Because historians disagree on what chivalry meant and who precisely knights were, the unit could continue with issues for discussion which introduce students to historical debate and conflicting evidence. One of the main questions students may wish to debate is the role the Church played in forming knights into a distinct layer of medieval society (“those who fought”), especially with respect to the frequently sacramental rituals of “dubbing.”⁶ Students should also be encouraged to read primary sources. Selections from medieval manuals by Ramon Llull and Christine de Pisan give a flavor of the period while mixing the military and spiritual sides of knighthood⁷.

© 2003 Christopher Bellitto, Ph.D.

About the author: Christopher M. Bellitto, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of History at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, and the Academic Editor at Large of Paulist Press. He is a church historian, teacher, and lecturer whose work is both academic and popular. His most recent books are Ten Ways the Church Has Changed (Pauline Books and Media, 2006), The General Councils: A History of the Twenty-One Church Councils from Nicaea to Vatican II (Mahwah NJ: Paulist Press, 2002) and Renewing Christianity: A History of Church Reform from Day One to Vatican II (Mahwah NJ: Paulist Press, 2001). “Chivalry: A Door to Teaching the Middle Ages” originally appeared in the August 1995 edition of The History Teacher magazine.

1. Howell Chickering and Thomas H. Seiler, eds. The Study of Chivalry: Resources and Approaches (Kalamazoo, MI: Medieval Institute Publications, 1988). A number of ideas for the present article grew from The Study of Chivalry; the present author acknowledges his great debt to its editors and authors.— Introductory sources for the European Middle Ages are George Holmes, ed., The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988) and Donald Matthew, Atlas of Medieval Europe (New York: Facts on File, 1983). Rich anthologies of primary sources are offered by John Revell Reinhard, ed., Medieval Pageant (London: Haskell House, 1970) and Patrick J. Geary, ed., Readings in Medieval History (Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press, 1989).
2. For more information on TEAMS materials, which are reasonably priced, contact the Consortium at Medieval Institute Publications, Western Michigan University, 103 Walwood Hall, Kalamazoo, MI 49008.
3. Trevor Cairns, Medieval Knights (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992). Another general, chronological approach is offered by Frances Gies, The Knight in History (New York: Harper & Row, 1984).
4. Bradford Broughton, Dictionary of Medieval Knighthood and Chivalry, vol. 1, Concepts and Terms (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1986) and vol. 2, People, Places and Events (1988). In general, see also Joseph R. Strayer, ed., Dictionary of the Middle Ages (New York: Scribner, 1982—).
5. Maurice Keen, Chivalry (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984), is the recognized leader in scholarly work on the topic. A popular book, and therefore more readily accessible to the student reader, is offered by Richard W. Barber, The Knight and Chivalry (New York: Scribner, 1970); see especially his detailed introduction into the major components of chivalry. For a more academic resource and broader perspective, consult Georges Duby, Chivalrous Society, trans. Cynthia Postan (Berkeley: University of Calif. Press, 1977).
6. Students should see Cairns, Medieval Knights, pp. 42-47. Teachers can consult Colin Morris, “Equestris Ordo: Chivalry as a Vocation in the Twelfth Century,” Studies in Church History 15 (1978), pp. 87-96.
7. Ramon Lull, The Book of the Order of Chivalry, trans. William Caxton (London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1926). Christine de Pisan, The Books of Fayttes of Arms and of Chivalry, trans. William Caxton, ed. A.T.P. Boyles (London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1932). Note that teachers may have to retype their selections since these editions reprint Caxton’s 15th-century spelling and style.

Related posts:

1. Teaching With Chivalry Part I: Lessons of Medieval History
2. Teaching With Chivalry Part III: Ethics, Tactics and Literature
3. Recommended Knight Reading: Books about Chivalry for the Younger Set

In this portion, Professor Bellitto presents suggestions on how to achieve the following goals in the classroom:

• Extending students’ understanding of chivalry through discussions of ethics, greed, honor and the concept of “just war.”
• Understanding the applications of chivalry as a military doctrine by examining battles, castles and tournaments.
• Introducing the personal ideals of chivalry through selected readings of Arthurian legends from the Middle Ages to the modern day.

Another question for discussion is the decline of chivalry¹. The actual codes of conduct can be gathered from an important study by Keen². How practice inevitably fell short of myths and ideals can be raised, leading to some interesting exchanges on ethics and honor³. These can be combined with the notion of a just war related to the Crusades and, in an attempt to make links with the modern world, with the rise of fundamentalist Islamic jihads in the Mideast today⁴. Also, a good debate may be engendered by raising the matters of honor and conduct that existed between a knight held captive by a fellow knight for the greedy motive of ransom. This could be addressed specifically as it related to the slaughter of French knights ordered by the supposed paragon of English chivalry, Henry V, during the 1415 battle of Agincourt.⁵

The military aspects of chivalry also interest students. Cavalry charges, armor, the crossbow and the longbow’s triumph at Agincourt can be studied in museums and art books⁶. Malcolm Vale has addressed how artillery and siege engines changed medieval warfare; students can discuss specifically the manner in which long-range battle, as opposed to face-to-face contact, affected chivalrous conduct⁷. Those interested in castles may trace how artillery affected architecture and could be encouraged to produce models or drawings as a research project⁸. The use of tournaments as pomp as well as training can also lead to interdisciplinary research projects, especially among students interested in technology, art, costumes and heraldry⁹. In addition, two films of Shakespeare’s Henry V could illuminate and inform a comprehensive debate on honor, tactics and just war through a comparison of Laurence Olivier’s» World War II-era version and the more recent interpretation by Kenneth Branagh.» The value of literature as an historical source can at the same time be addressed.

The Quest of the Holy Grail» Chivalry comes to life in literature as well, of course, offering the history teacher another ideal opportunity to break down the walls which too often separate these fields of the humanities in faculty curricula and student minds. Students can assess the gap between the ideals of chivalry in literature and what history shows about human failing¹⁰. One way to do this would be to turn the unit on chivalry into, in part, a seminar on honor that combines history, literature and ethics using a variety of sources. The failure of honor in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight» and The Quest of the Holy Grail» (both available in Penguin paperback editions) can be tested against other, more optimistic Arthurian stories. The description of the Knight in the “Prologue” to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales» can be used as one more case study for the ideals and realities of chivalry. For a more visual, thoughtful treatment of honor, the class may view the film Becket » (Richard Burton as Becket, Peter O’Toole as Henry II), which has the added attractions of portraying the Church/state conflicts so central to the study of the Middle Ages and showing scenes which attempt to depict the daily life of the medieval rich and poor¹¹.

An excellent resource for the use of literature in a unit on chivalry in history courses is provided by the medieval installments in the Modern Language Association’s series, Approaches to Teaching World Literature. The volumes gather long lists of primary and secondary readings, articles on diverse teaching methods and a catalogue of films and recordings. A recent collection in the series on Arthurian romances contains brief sections on the literary, historical and archaeological contexts; treatment of specific works, including those by Tennyson,» Malory» and T.H. White;» and suggestions for tailoring Arthurian texts to various student and teacher audiences¹².

As this survey attempted to demonstrate, the very comprehensive nature of the Middle Ages is what makes studying the period so rewarding and challenging for both teacher and student. Simply put, we ignore the medieval chapters in European history upon peril of wasting a prime opportunity to turn our students onto history.

© 2003 Christopher Bellitto, Ph.D.

About the author: Christopher M. Bellitto, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of History at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, and the Academic Editor at Large of Paulist Press. He is a church historian, teacher, and lecturer whose work is both academic and popular. His most recent books are Ten Ways the Church Has Changed (Pauline Books and Media, 2006), The General Councils: A History of the Twenty-One Church Councils from Nicaea to Vatican II (Mahwah NJ: Paulist Press, 2002) and Renewing Christianity: A History of Church Reform from Day One to Vatican II (Mahwah NJ: Paulist Press, 2001). “Chivalry: A Door to Teaching the Middle Ages” originally appeared in the August 1995 edition of The History Teacher magazine.

1. Although dated, Raymond Kilgour’s study offers a classic statement: The Decline of Chivalry as Shown in the French Literature of the Late Middle Ages (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1937). A more recent and concise discussion is found in Arno Borst, “Knighthood in the High Middle Ages: Ideal and Reality,” in Lordship and Community in Medieval Europe, ed. Fredric L. Cheyette (Huntington, NY: Robert E. Krieger Publishing Co., 1975), pp. 180-91.
2. Keen, The Laws of War in the Late Middle Ages (London: Routledge and K. Paul, 1965).
3. See, for example, Diane Bornstein, Mirrors of Courtesy (Hamden, CT: Archon Books, 1975).
4. For the Crusades, students should read Cairns, Medieval Knights, pp. 21-29. There are two good one-volume studies of the Crusades: Jonathan Riley-Smith, The Crusades: A Short History (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1987) and Hans Eberhard Mayer, The Crusades, trans. John Gillingham (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1972). Students and teachers may also consult Jonathan Riley-Smith, Atlas of the Crusades (New York: Facts on File 1990), with illustrations, maps and comprehensive treatment of the Crusades’ many elements. An academic treatment of just war is found in Frederick H. Russell, The Just War in the Middle Ages (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1975). Because just war is a highly complex topic, however, the subject may be too ambitious for a brief unit on chivalry.
5. John Keegan, The Face of Battle (New York: Viking, 1976), pp. 107-112. See also John Barnie, War in Medieval English Society: Social Values in the Hundred Years War 1337-99 (Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press, 1974), pp 58-75.
6. Cairns provides good diagrams and illustrations of changes in armor and warfare throughout Medieval Knights. See also Lynn White, Jr., Medieval Technology and Society Change ( Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1962), pp. 14-28 and Keen, Chivalry, pp. 23-27. The use of the crossbow is discussed by Quentin Hughes, “Medieval Firepower,” Fortress 8 (1991), pp. 31-43. Keegan gives a complete military analysis of Agincourt in The Face of Battle, pp. 79-116.
7. Malcolm Vale, “New Techniques and Old Ideals: Impact of Artillery on War and Chivalry at the End of the Hundred Years’ War,” in War, Literature and Politics in the Late Middle Ages, ed. C.T. Allmand (Liverpool: Liverpool Univ. Press, 1976), pp. 57-72. See also Vale, War and Chivalry: Warfare and Aristocratic Culture in England, France and Burgundy at the End of the Middle Ages (Athens: Univ. of Georgia Press, 1981).
8. Conrad Cairns, Medieval Castles (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1987) is a 48-pg., very comprehensible explanation full of illustrations and diagrams of castles, moats, drawbridges, battlements, even arrowslits. Another good volume, one with many illustrations, is Sheila Sancha, The Castle Story (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1979). A more comprehensive picture can be drawn from Joseph and Frances Gies, Life in a Medieval Castle (New York: Harper & Row, 1974).
9. For tournaments, heralds and coats of arms, see Cairns, Medieval Knights, pp. 35-41. Juliet Vale addresses tournaments in a very thought-provoking way in Edward III and Chivalry: Chivalric Society and its Context, 1270-1350 (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1982). A more general, richly illustrated approach is found in Richard Barber and Juliet Barker, Tournaments: Jousts, Chivalry and Pagents in the Middle Ages (New York: Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1989).
10. Cairns, Medieval Knights, pp. 53-60.
11. For another representation of life in the Middle Ages, screen The Lion in Winter, with Peter O’Toole again playing Henry II, this time as an older but still taciturn king, and Katharine Hepburn as Eleanor of Aquitaine.
12. Marueen Fries and Jeanie Watson, eds., Approaches to Teaching the Arthurian Tradition (New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 1992). Other volumes in the series relevant to the Middle Ages treat Dante’s Divine Comedy (Carole Slade, ed., 1982), Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Miriam Youngerman Miller and Jane Chance, eds., 1986), medieval English drama (Richard K. Emmerson, ed., 1990), Beowulf (Jess B. Bessinger, Jr., and Robert F. Yeager, eds., 1984), and Canterbury Tales (Joseph Gibaldi, ed., 1980).

Related posts:

1. Teaching With Chivalry Part II: Students and Chivalry
2. Teaching With Chivalry Part I: Lessons of Medieval History
3. Podcast Episode 8 Rebroadcast