Code of Chivalry – 15 Interesting Facts

The word Chivalry itself comes from the French word chevalier (‘cavalier’).
Non-knights (archers, peasants, foot soldiers, etc.) did not follow the rules of Chivalry.
A rule in the chivalric code included taking an oath of loyalty to an overlord.
Chivalry code rules include never striking a defenseless opponent in battle.

Chivalry started in Northern France
Chivalry started around the 12th century in the time period between 1101 – 1200
Chivalry was a kind of early set of standards ‘ethics and rules for the ‘warrior class
There is a famous medieval song called ‘Song of Roland’ which describes ‘the perfect knight’

The Song of Rowland *Famous Medieval Song

Captured knights were never harmed or killed but exchanged for a ransom which was usually a very reasonable negotiation.
It appears that knights totally respected one another, a respect that they did not hold for other lower warrior classes.
Lower level foot-soldier would simply be killed and not taken captive by knights regardless of the Chivalry code.
Queen Elizabeth, I ended the tradition that any knight could create another and made it exclusively the preserve of the monarch.

Historians consider ‘Sir Edward Woodville’ who died in 1488 in Brittany to be one of the ‘Last Knights in history
The fall of the ‘Age of Chivalry’ and the rise of modern European warfare is around the end of the 15th century
As the Middle Ages ended so did the ‘Age of Chivalry’.