| The Eight "Knightly Virtues": Chivalry is... |
The institution of knighthood presented medieval culture with something of a problem: young men of the noble
classes were trained from an early age, usually seven, to be professional soldiers. If these young men didn't have
enough to do, they could pose a violent problem if unsupervised for any length of time. The way this problem
was dealt with in those days was multi-faceted, but one important aspect of the solution was to make sure that
each young knight was indoctrinated with a rigorous education in ethics, consisting of a set of core principles that
each knight was expected to adhere to. The essence of what these values represented was called "chivalry."
Many lists were drawn up at various times throughout the Middle Ages to try to define what made a good knight,
and they varied in number of qualities from as few as three to as many as one hundred different virtues! Our
school has our own set of these chivalric virtues, culled from many historical sources, and adapted for the needs of
the twenty-first century student. They are arranged in four pairs, both to show their relationship to one another,
and to make them easier to remember:
classes were trained from an early age, usually seven, to be professional soldiers. If these young men didn't have
enough to do, they could pose a violent problem if unsupervised for any length of time. The way this problem
was dealt with in those days was multi-faceted, but one important aspect of the solution was to make sure that
each young knight was indoctrinated with a rigorous education in ethics, consisting of a set of core principles that
each knight was expected to adhere to. The essence of what these values represented was called "chivalry."
Many lists were drawn up at various times throughout the Middle Ages to try to define what made a good knight,
and they varied in number of qualities from as few as three to as many as one hundred different virtues! Our
school has our own set of these chivalric virtues, culled from many historical sources, and adapted for the needs of
the twenty-first century student. They are arranged in four pairs, both to show their relationship to one another,
and to make them easier to remember:
PROWESS means "Be as good as you can be at what you do." It doesn't mean "Be better than other people." VALOR means "Do as well as you can, as often as you can." It doesn't mean "Be a decorated hero." COURAGE means "Feel and respect the fear, and do it anyway." It doesn't mean "Be fearless." HONESTY doesn't mean "Try to hurt people's feelings." It means "Tell the truth, to others and yourself." ... and four Virtues of Peace. HUMILITY means "It's not about you; it never was, & it never will be." It doesn't mean "Put yourself down." COURTESY means "Be polite to everyone, no matter who they are." It doesn't mean "Be sickeningly sweet." FIDELITY means "Be true to what and who you believe in." It doesn't mean "My way, right or wrong." LARGESSE means "Be generous with what you have." It doesn't mean "Give everything away." We will make an effort to talk about at least one of our Knightly Virtues at each class session, and how the particular Virtue applies both to our martial art as well as to everyday life. "... remember that all honor and success in this world are transitory, but the glory which you may acquire by your virtues will be eternal." --Robert du Guesclin, on his deathbed to his son Bertrand du Guesclin. |
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