The Law of Chevalrie Courtly Love Essay - 1240 Words

Introduction: In an era of frequent violence between knights and kingdoms, there had to be an order for which the sword-wielders could follow so that there would not be uncontrollable bloodshed. In order for there to be a set of laws established for the knights of the Anglo-Saxon era, the law of chevalrie was created. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has some insight into the rules of chivalry concerning one specifically: courtly love. The rules of â€Å"courtly love† require wit and deceit with an intention of good behind it. The chivalric rules in this aspect require a good and clever battle with words rather than swords. Key Passage: Smiling gently and courteously they made playful speech, So that all that passed between them was†¦show more content†¦Cortaysye, or corteisie, is what the knight is worrying about how to apply to his awkward situation. This is a word to describe the essence of courtliness: courtly ceremony, refinement, and courtesy. His struggle is to apply this courtesy, while turning down a lady of â€Å"high worth†, which would be considered disrespectful. He knows that what the lady is requesting of him is wrong, and he fears that he would â€Å"shame himself† by committing this crime. The word that they used to translate into this is meschef. This word, which happens to be similar to our modern word, â€Å"mischief†, means a number of things that could be used to apply to this situation. Not only would he bring â€Å"ill-fortune, hardship; suffering, woe† upon himself, but also ironically, the definition according to chess is â€Å"trouble, difficulty (of facing a possible check-mate)†. And even worse, in accordance to law, â€Å"offence, wrong (in breach of the law, a statute etc.).† Chivalry was an established set of laws to first and foremost protect the people and the land from and overdose of bloodshed and mayhem that the knights could cause. Even though they were frequently violent with each other, they could experience and practice the courtesies of the court when they were not in battle because of the laws of chivalry (Keen 103). Medieval England had violentShow MoreRelatedChivalry Essay1802 Words   |  8 PagesHow important was chivalry in molding the cultural world of the upper classes? The word chivalry comes from the French term â€Å"chevalrie† which when literally described meant the warrior attributes of armed knights on horseback. When the word was first used it did not have many, if any, of the moral or social aspects with which were later attributed to it. Reaching the later periods of the Middle Ages there begins to be a consensus opinion on the definition of a chivalrous knight. This knight would