King Arthur
The legends of King Arthur of Britain and his Knights of the Round Table, among the most popular and beloved of all time, originated in the Middle Ages. As they do today, medieval people listened to the accounts of Arthur with fascination and awe. It is certain that popular folktales were told about a hero named Arthur throughout the Celtic parts of the British Isles and France, especially in Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany (Lunt 76). Other stories of chivalry that did not include Arthur existed in this time period as well. Although these stories were not recorded at first, they were known as far away as Italy, where mosaics and carvings depict Arthurian characters. The tales are often mentioned by early writers including William of Malmesbury, who distrusted them as "lying fables" (Bishop 32). Today literary critics believe that such folktales are sometimes based on real characters, but the stories about them change greatly as they are passed from one generation to the next. This art of storytelling became an oral tradition among these people and their ancestors, so the question of King Arthur's actual existence still remains a mystery (Bishop 34). Nevertheless, the medieval world viewed much of the Arthurian le
gend as a part of history, and writers of the time built into the legend many of their highest ideals-deeds of chivalry, courtly love, and the contribution of the Arthurian legends and romances to literature. Chivalry was a code of honor that developed for armed knights on horseback, the most powerful fighters in medieval warfare. The word is related to cavalry and to the French word chevalier, which means horseman, and gained its meaning during the Middle Ages (Evans 205). To the knight's basic role as a warrior, chivalry added ideas about social rank, manners, Christian virtues, courage, and honor. Knights began to pursue high standards of chivalrous behavior in their own lives. Religious groups of knights called chivalric orders were formed to fight during the crusades. Later, national monarchs began to honor notable subjects by granting them knighthood in reward for valor and loyalty (Bishop 104, 105). Throughout the Middle Ages, knights were closely associated with warfare and power (Jordan 55). Power meant wealth; wealth enabled people to own horsed and heavy armor; and these provided the ability to gain greater power and wealth. Knights trained themselves to fight in full armor and to excel in battle. They could cause brutal damage to opposing forces. In the later Middle Ages, when not on the battlefield, knights practiced their skills in hunts and tournaments. These tournaments provided an opportunity to practice and display military skill, an important contribution to the art of chivalry (Grant 24, 25). As the concept of chivalry continued to develop, a moral, religious, and social code arose- one based on values of fidelity, piety, and service to God. Knights who adopted these Christian values were known as knights of Christ (Mathew 126,127). The church created purification rights for knights and ceremonies to bless their swords. The concept of religious chivalry was most significant during the crusades. Crusading provided an outlet for both military valor and devotion to a religious cause. Large numbers of knights now went into battle to defend the church, leading to the development of chivalric codes and orders (Uden 73,74,75). During the 1000s and 1100s, several groups of crusading knights founded military orders to protect Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land. These new founded orders embraced the ideals of Christian chivalry. Members also took vows of poverty and obedience, like Christian monks of the time (Mathew 41). The first chivalric order was the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, also known as the Knights Hospitalers. The order was founded in 1070 by a group of Italian knights to protect a pilgrims' hospital in Jerusalem (Jordan 94). When the Muslims drove the crusaders from the Holy Land in 1921, the order moved to island fortresses in the Mediterranean Sea. There they fought Turkish pirates, becoming known as Knights of Rhodes and Knights of Malta (Jordan 95). The second great chivalric order was the Knights Templars. The Templars were mostly French. The order was founded in 1119 to defend the Holy Sepulcher (Christ's tomb) in Jerusalem, protect pilgrims, and fight the Muslims (Jordan 99). The order grew rapidly and became extremely rich and powerful. In 1307, the Templars moved to France, where their wealth and power aroused envy among the people of the country (Jordan 101). When King Phillip IV ordered the Templars to be arrested, their estates were confiscated, and many were put to death. A few years afterward, the Pope abolished the order (Evans78). The third great chivalric order was know as the Teutonic Knights (Jordan 105). This group of German Knights, also originally formed to protect a pilgrims' hospital in Jerusalem, became a major power in northeast Europe, helping to convert pagan tribes in the Baltic countries to Christianity (Jordan 105). Besides these three major orders, there were many other chivalric orders that existed worldwide, with their main purpose to serve as defenders of Christia
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3796
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)
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