Chivalry: Then & Now

Photo: Man holding the door for a woman.

   This is the question this blog will ultimately try to answer in each post. The Western concept of chivalry was introduced, roughly, somewhere around the 10th century AD. When people hear this term, they often think of a moral idealistic code that knights of yore lived by. This is only partly true.

  

The Code of Chivalry was a flawed, at times contradictory, code by which the aristocracy modeled their lives. It applied to both men, and women. This code faded out of memory until the Victorian era when it saw a revival in literature, and then the culture.

   Here is where the idealistic, romanticized version of the code emerged. Knights on epic campaigns selflessly sacrificing for the ones they love, and the innocent featured heavily in such stories. However, in reality it was often much more problematic. The chivalry is based upon strict binary gender roles: hyper-masculine males, and submissive hyper-feminine women.  

   You may be asking yourself: why should I care about an ancient code, surely it doesn't affect me? Each blog post will begin by looking at how historically enriched customs deemed acts of 'chivalry' have transitioned into the modern day. It will also explore the impact they have on our lives. From this a judgement can be made: should we reintroduce, or encourage this behaviour or should we leave it by the wayside?

Click here for more on the history of chivalry.