An Attempt to Date
Chivalry
Apprentice Thomas
May 22, 2014
If we never get rid of Christianity, chivalry is to blame.
"The Happy Idol", Nietzsche
"The Happy Idol", Nietzsche
1
It is well known that Friedrich Nietzsche (Fred to his friends) disliked chivalry. We are tempted to state that this dislike is due to the reversal of the Natural Order, to wit, the knights are to expend their strength to defend weak women, choleric children and the demented elderly. Judging by the whole of Fred's work, this is a reasonable conclusion.
Although the philosopher kings may not be happy with their position, they are naturally gifted for their task. Therefore, Fred's issue with chivalry can not be the strong protecting the weak (the natural order), but the strong supporting the weak Roman Church and its questionable endeavors.
However, we believe that there is a philological reason, rather than a philosophical or ecclesiastical reason, for Fred's ire towards chivalry. We turn to the Oxford English dictionary for our research. Secondary sources are in red.
Although the philosopher kings may not be happy with their position, they are naturally gifted for their task. Therefore, Fred's issue with chivalry can not be the strong protecting the weak (the natural order), but the strong supporting the weak Roman Church and its questionable endeavors.
However, we believe that there is a philological reason, rather than a philosophical or ecclesiastical reason, for Fred's ire towards chivalry. We turn to the Oxford English dictionary for our research. Secondary sources are in red.
2
1. collectively- Knights or horsemen equipped for battle.
†a. The contemporary name for the ‘men-at-arms’, or mounted and fully armed fighting-men, of the Middle Ages. Obs. (In Old French chevalier translates miles, chevalerie =militia n. II.)
1300c K. Alis. 1495
He schipeth into Libie, With al his faire chivalrie.
1320c Sir Beues 2217
Þai wolde after vs..Wiþ wonder-gret cheualrie, And do vs schame and vileinie.
1393 Confessio Amantis III. 252
A parte of the chivalrie With him to suppe in compaignie Hath bede.
1400c Melayne 203
With fourty thowsande chevalry Of worthy men of Were.
1485 Malory Morte d'Arthur i. xiv. (Globe) 39/2
The eleven kings with their chivalry never turned back.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. ccxxvii. 302
Sir John Mountfort..had..taken all the cheualry of Bretayne.
The original meaning of "chivalry" was the knights or horsemen equipped for battle. This is supported through the Old French usage of the word "chevalerie".
†c. Applied by early translators to the horsemen (ἵππος, equitatus, equites) of ancient Greece and Rome, for which cavalry n. is the modern equivalent. Obs.
1530? J. Rastell Pastyme of People sig. Aiv,
Lucius Tarquinius..captayn of cheualry.
1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour l. 4030 in Wks. (1931)
I, Prince Tytus, with his Chewalrye.
1580c Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalmes David xx. vi,
Let trust of some men be In chariots, and some in chivalry ...
1581 J. Marbeck Bk. Notes & Common Places 651
Hermogenes master of the Chiualrie, was slaine.
1697 Archæologiæ Græcæ I. i. xxvi. 169
The Chivalry shall be detacht out of the ... wealthy Athenians.
For an unknown reason, the phrase "early translators" is used by the OED to describe translators in the 16th century. The translators anachronistically applied the word chivalry to the ancient Greeks and Romans. This usage is now, understandably, obsolete. As late as 1697, there was no modern sense of chivalry associated with virtue.
†a. The contemporary name for the ‘men-at-arms’, or mounted and fully armed fighting-men, of the Middle Ages. Obs. (In Old French chevalier translates miles, chevalerie =militia n. II.)
1300c K. Alis. 1495
He schipeth into Libie, With al his faire chivalrie.
1320c Sir Beues 2217
Þai wolde after vs..Wiþ wonder-gret cheualrie, And do vs schame and vileinie.
1393 Confessio Amantis III. 252
A parte of the chivalrie With him to suppe in compaignie Hath bede.
1400c Melayne 203
With fourty thowsande chevalry Of worthy men of Were.
1485 Malory Morte d'Arthur i. xiv. (Globe) 39/2
The eleven kings with their chivalry never turned back.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. ccxxvii. 302
Sir John Mountfort..had..taken all the cheualry of Bretayne.
The original meaning of "chivalry" was the knights or horsemen equipped for battle. This is supported through the Old French usage of the word "chevalerie".
†c. Applied by early translators to the horsemen (ἵππος, equitatus, equites) of ancient Greece and Rome, for which cavalry n. is the modern equivalent. Obs.
1530? J. Rastell Pastyme of People sig. Aiv,
Lucius Tarquinius..captayn of cheualry.
1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour l. 4030 in Wks. (1931)
I, Prince Tytus, with his Chewalrye.
1580c Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalmes David xx. vi,
Let trust of some men be In chariots, and some in chivalry ...
1581 J. Marbeck Bk. Notes & Common Places 651
Hermogenes master of the Chiualrie, was slaine.
1697 Archæologiæ Græcæ I. i. xxvi. 169
The Chivalry shall be detacht out of the ... wealthy Athenians.
For an unknown reason, the phrase "early translators" is used by the OED to describe translators in the 16th century. The translators anachronistically applied the word chivalry to the ancient Greeks and Romans. This usage is now, understandably, obsolete. As late as 1697, there was no modern sense of chivalry associated with virtue.
3
e. As a historical term for the mediæval men-at-arms. Occasionally applied poetically or idealistically to ‘cavalry’ or ‘horsemen’ in general, esp. when chivalrous gallantry is attributed.
1556 in J. G. Nichols Chron. Grey Friars (1852) 13
The lordes and chevaltre of France..wolde have stoppyd [Hen. V] the kynges waye, that he shulde not passe to Callys.
1570 B. Googe tr. T. Kirchmeyer Popish Kingdome i. f. 5,
Able..to decke the fieldes, with lustie cheualrie.
1600 Henry IV, Pt. 2 ii. iii. 20
And by his light Did all the Cheualry of England moue To do braue acts.
1667 Paradise Lost i. 307
The Red-Sea Coast, whose waves orethrew Busiris and his Memphian Chivalrie.
1667 Milton Paradise Lost i. 765
At the Soldans chair Defi'd the best of Panim chivalry To mortal combat.
1776 Decline & Fall I. xv. 518
A valorous knight, who charged at the head of the Spanish chivalry...
1802 T. Campbell Hohenlinden,
Wave, Munich! all thy banners wave, And charge with all thy chivalry!
1836 W. Irving Astoria II. 311
They met with some of the ‘chivalry’ of that noted pass.
1843 Hist. Conquest Mexico II. v. ii. 339
Cortéz and his chivalry rode down the ...great street.
It is as late as the year 1776 that the idea of "chivalrous gallantry" or "valorous knight" is introduced.
1556 in J. G. Nichols Chron. Grey Friars (1852) 13
The lordes and chevaltre of France..wolde have stoppyd [Hen. V] the kynges waye, that he shulde not passe to Callys.
1570 B. Googe tr. T. Kirchmeyer Popish Kingdome i. f. 5,
Able..to decke the fieldes, with lustie cheualrie.
1600 Henry IV, Pt. 2 ii. iii. 20
And by his light Did all the Cheualry of England moue To do braue acts.
1667 Paradise Lost i. 307
The Red-Sea Coast, whose waves orethrew Busiris and his Memphian Chivalrie.
1667 Milton Paradise Lost i. 765
At the Soldans chair Defi'd the best of Panim chivalry To mortal combat.
1776 Decline & Fall I. xv. 518
A valorous knight, who charged at the head of the Spanish chivalry...
1802 T. Campbell Hohenlinden,
Wave, Munich! all thy banners wave, And charge with all thy chivalry!
1836 W. Irving Astoria II. 311
They met with some of the ‘chivalry’ of that noted pass.
1843 Hist. Conquest Mexico II. v. ii. 339
Cortéz and his chivalry rode down the ...great street.
It is as late as the year 1776 that the idea of "chivalrous gallantry" or "valorous knight" is introduced.
4
5. The knightly system of feudal times with its attendant religious, moral, and social code, usages, and practices. age of chivalry: the period during which this prevailed.
1765 T. Percy Reliques Prelim. Ess., K.
Richard I..the great hero of Chivalry.
1774 Hist. Eng. Poetry I. Diss. i. sig. i,
The ideas of chivalry, the appendage and the subject of romance, subsisted among the Goths.
1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 113
The age of chivalry is gone... The unbought grace of life, the cheap defence of nations, the nurse of manly sentiment and heroic enterprize is gone!
1823 Byron Don Juan: Canto XIII xi. 60
Cervantes smiled Spain's Chivalry away.
1829 Arnold in Life & Corr. (1845) I. 255
If I were called upon to name what spirit of evil predominantly deserved the name of Antichrist, I should name the spirit of chivalry—the more detestable for the very guise of the ‘Archangel ruined’, which has made it so seductive to the most generous minds.
1841 Hist. in Ess. 1st Ser. 27
The student interprets the age of chivalry by his own age of chivalry.
1854 H. H. Milman Hist. Lat. Christianity III. vii. vi. 256
Chivalry..left upon European manners..a punctilious regard for honour, a generous reverence for justice, and a hatred..of injustice.
1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. ix. 579
In the eleventh century there arose the celebrated institution of chivalry, which was to manners what feudalism was to politics.
1876 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest V. xxiv. 482
Chivalry..is in morals very much what feudalism is in law; each substitutes..obligations devised in the interests of an exclusive class, for the more homely duties of an honest man and a good citizen.
The idea of chivalry associated with religious, moral and social codes appears only the latter half of the 18th century. In the year 1829, one commentator associates chivalry with the Antichrist. In the 19th century, the idea of chivalry is associated with "manners" (1857) and with honesty and being a "good citizen" (1876).
1765 T. Percy Reliques Prelim. Ess., K.
Richard I..the great hero of Chivalry.
1774 Hist. Eng. Poetry I. Diss. i. sig. i,
The ideas of chivalry, the appendage and the subject of romance, subsisted among the Goths.
1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 113
The age of chivalry is gone... The unbought grace of life, the cheap defence of nations, the nurse of manly sentiment and heroic enterprize is gone!
1823 Byron Don Juan: Canto XIII xi. 60
Cervantes smiled Spain's Chivalry away.
1829 Arnold in Life & Corr. (1845) I. 255
If I were called upon to name what spirit of evil predominantly deserved the name of Antichrist, I should name the spirit of chivalry—the more detestable for the very guise of the ‘Archangel ruined’, which has made it so seductive to the most generous minds.
1841 Hist. in Ess. 1st Ser. 27
The student interprets the age of chivalry by his own age of chivalry.
1854 H. H. Milman Hist. Lat. Christianity III. vii. vi. 256
Chivalry..left upon European manners..a punctilious regard for honour, a generous reverence for justice, and a hatred..of injustice.
1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. ix. 579
In the eleventh century there arose the celebrated institution of chivalry, which was to manners what feudalism was to politics.
1876 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest V. xxiv. 482
Chivalry..is in morals very much what feudalism is in law; each substitutes..obligations devised in the interests of an exclusive class, for the more homely duties of an honest man and a good citizen.
The idea of chivalry associated with religious, moral and social codes appears only the latter half of the 18th century. In the year 1829, one commentator associates chivalry with the Antichrist. In the 19th century, the idea of chivalry is associated with "manners" (1857) and with honesty and being a "good citizen" (1876).
5
f. In more extended and complimentary sense: Gallant gentlemen.
1816 Byron Childe Harold: Canto III iii. xxi. 13 There was a sound of revelry by night, And Belgium's capital had gathered then Her Beauty and her Chivalry, and bright The lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men.
1839a W. M. Praed Poems (1864) II. 408 When Loveliness and Chivalry Were met to feast together.
1883 W. H. Brewer in Daily Tel. 10 July 5/3 The galloping turf was for the chivalry of the South.
In the early 19th century, the modern idea of "gallant gentlemen" replaces the historically accurate description of mounted warriors.
1816 Byron Childe Harold: Canto III iii. xxi. 13 There was a sound of revelry by night, And Belgium's capital had gathered then Her Beauty and her Chivalry, and bright The lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men.
1839a W. M. Praed Poems (1864) II. 408 When Loveliness and Chivalry Were met to feast together.
1883 W. H. Brewer in Daily Tel. 10 July 5/3 The galloping turf was for the chivalry of the South.
In the early 19th century, the modern idea of "gallant gentlemen" replaces the historically accurate description of mounted warriors.
6
6. The brave, honourable, and courteous character attributed to the ideal knight; disinterested bravery, honour, and courtesy; chivalrousness.
1790 [see sense 5].
1829 K. H. Digby Broad Stone of Honour: Godefridus xiv. 89
Chivalry is only a name for that general spirit or state of mind which disposes men to heroic and generous actions.
1854 H. H. Milman Hist. Lat. Christianity III. vii. vi. 251
All the noble sentiments, which blended together are chivalry.
1861 Trollope Orley Farm (1862) I. xl. 316
He felt himself bound..to cling to her himself. Such was the special chivalry of the man.
1874 H. Sidgwick Methods of Ethics iii. viii. §2. 302
Generosity or Chivalry towards adversaries or competitors seems to consist in shewing as much kindness and regard for their well-being as is compatible with the ends and conditions of conflict.
1885 L. Stephen in Athenæum 28 Nov. 696/3
Chivalry of feeling, as I understand the word, means a refinement of the sense of justice—an instinctive capacity for sympathizing with every one who is the victim of oppression.
Only in the year 1885 does the modern sense of chivalry reaches its culmination with the sentiment of "sympathizing with every one who is the victim of oppression."
1790 [see sense 5].
1829 K. H. Digby Broad Stone of Honour: Godefridus xiv. 89
Chivalry is only a name for that general spirit or state of mind which disposes men to heroic and generous actions.
1854 H. H. Milman Hist. Lat. Christianity III. vii. vi. 251
All the noble sentiments, which blended together are chivalry.
1861 Trollope Orley Farm (1862) I. xl. 316
He felt himself bound..to cling to her himself. Such was the special chivalry of the man.
1874 H. Sidgwick Methods of Ethics iii. viii. §2. 302
Generosity or Chivalry towards adversaries or competitors seems to consist in shewing as much kindness and regard for their well-being as is compatible with the ends and conditions of conflict.
1885 L. Stephen in Athenæum 28 Nov. 696/3
Chivalry of feeling, as I understand the word, means a refinement of the sense of justice—an instinctive capacity for sympathizing with every one who is the victim of oppression.
Only in the year 1885 does the modern sense of chivalry reaches its culmination with the sentiment of "sympathizing with every one who is the victim of oppression."
conclusion
All the necessary elements for the ideas that are currently associated with chivalry were not present until the 19th century. Only through the application of philology can we understand Fred's dislike of chivalry. The ideals associated with chivalry are found, not in the distant historically accurate past as one would expect, but during Fred's lifetime where chivalry is romanticized and changed into what a philologist could describe as a "literary fraud".
Therefore, Gentle Reader, chivalry is modern, all too, modern for Fred's taste.
Therefore, Gentle Reader, chivalry is modern, all too, modern for Fred's taste.