CHIVALRY: A Knight’s simplified take on it, and how to apply it to Real Life and RPG’s
Hi all, Knight is back to bring you another personal scrawling on a chivalric topic, and what is more chivalric than chivalry itself, amirite?
Let’s begin...
---
An important question; what exactly IS chivalry?
Well, I decided to look for it as a tag on tumblr a little time ago, and I can safely say that, apart from 60% of it being stuff I post on tumblr, it also appears to be a huge major debate on sexism on tumblr as well.
Well, I’m going to gloss over that right away, and tell you what Chivalry ISN’T, so we can discuss what it IS.
So first, Chivalry is NOT
- Treating a woman nicely. This is simply called being a decent human being.
- Holding doors open for people. This is politeness.
- Sexist. In it’s original form, this was sexist by modern standards, but the past is a different country and they do things differently there. Originally, it was very progressive, and put into a modern context, is sexless.
- An iron-clad set of rules. It’s not as simple as that; there is no universal form of Chivalry, and it is flexible based upon situation. To steadfastly and stubbornly adhere to a single aspect when it is unreasonable is NOT chivalric; it is suicidal. Honour and reason go together, not one before the other.
- Lawful Stupid. See the above, but it should go without saying; Chivalry demands you use your head, play a pragmatic game, but without falling into outright cruelty, or into overly dishonourable methods.
Now we’ve got that out of the way, what IS Chivalry?
The answer is, unfortunately, not so simple.
It’d be nice to simplify it as “A code of honour set in stone for any REAL knight”, but it’s really not.
Chivalry, like Bushido, is a philosophy. It is flexible and vaguely drawn out through means of stories, poems, songs, art, and personal application. Even the direct writings on the topic have different approaches as to HOW chivalry is practiced, and this changes through time as well as place.
Chivalry is, however, comprised of some traits that are universally acknowledged by authors on the subject matter, Primary and Secondary, whether named or merely referenced.
Those traits can be put down to, at a glance, the following things:
- Compassion
- Politeness
- Honour
- Courage
- Skill at arms
- Religious devotion
- Patience
- Wisdom
- Justice
There are far more things to it than this, however, and indeed, Leon Gautier in “La Chavalerie” emphasised other points such as patriotism, feudal devotion, the utter decimation of infidels, utter dedication to the clergy...
But the answer is actually a bit more straight forward than all these things.
See, Chivalry as a concept is, and always has been, open to interpretation.
Like Bushido, there was no universally accepted, set-in-stone version. Only variations upon an idea based in high-standing and morality.
Chivalry, therefore, is a loose set of moral, social, and religious coding, the actual definition of which is very open to interpretation.
So, Chivalry itself is an open-interpretation, what does this mean?
Well, firstly, it means you have a lot of space to work it into a game, or apply it in a realistic fashion.
Lets say you are playing a chivalrous hero (not just a knight or paladin), what would they be like? What if you play a mage or rogue that is chivalrous?
Well, lets take what is universally accepted as being chivalry and add them up:
- Honour. Be it among thieves as a code toward other fellows, a strong sense of law or justice, or simply a personal code of ethics, this is essential, and a character should be caught dead before violating this.
- Honesty. Harder for rogues, but a word given should be serious and honest, truthful.
- Merciful. Even villains grant mercy when it suits them. A character of a chivalrous background should know when to spare someone, even if for their own ends.
- Courage. A chivalrous type is the one who stands up against something, usually on behalf of others.
- Justice. Be it good or ill, a chivalrous hero pursues justice for the sake of either righting wrongs...or bringing retribution toward old grudges.
- Loyalty. Your character should be able to be trusted by their fellows, even to some extent, their enemies. Even a villainous chivalry character can be trusted to some extent, though in true Lawful Evil fashion, they will likely do this to suit themselves.
Chivalry is very much down to interpretation and setting however. High Middle Age period settings will see characters with strong sense of fuedal fealty and loyalty to their Lords. Later periods will see a focus on more romantic aspects such as personal honour, defence of the people, compassion in war, etc. Crusade periods will see a focus on religious devotion.
Think about your setting and what suits you, and apply Chivalry to it as you think fits. it is very open to interpretation, so always consult a GM.
Tweaked Chivalry for a modern gamer
So, what should we take Chivalry in a modern context to mean? After all, it’s no good for us to suggest that in a modern mindset (which is apparent even in fantasy gaming, or historic base settings), should be entrenched in Victorian emphasis upon courtship and treating the “weaker” sex nicely.
What we can take from this, and what chivalry should and can mean in your games (and in reality):
- Chivalry is genderless and sexless. Anyone can stand up and be a Knight. What matters is not who you outside or how you imagine yourself. What matters is your intentions and devotion to your cause.
- Chivalry is courteous to everyone. Manners are extremely important, but not toward any one group. You should respect everyone.
- Weakness or rather, fragility, in anything and anyone, is worth defending. Not simply for the sake of protecting it, but to inspire greatness in others, and to encourage others to take up your cause because it is right, not because weakness is itself admirable, or because of any sense of pity. Someone, somewhere, must fight monsters.
- Honour and justice matter to the character or person. You hold your moral ground and while not forcing it upon others, do not allow others to commit moral sins. This does not mean preventing them from doing things that are otherwise useful or productive, but means that truly morally dark acts should be opposed. It also means that you have to be a figure others can trust to make the right choice, in troubled times.
- Mercy is something you must exhibit. Even if only for personal reasons, knowing when to stay the blade is important. Sometimes there is more to be gained from an act of mercy than an act of battle.
- Skill at arms is important. Even if your character is not an expert combatant, they should be willing to stand and fight for something. True knightly figures will almost certainly fight for their beliefs.
- Religious devotion is usually important here, but not always as much as a Cleric or Paladin. Even so, your character will have some religious inspiration, even if only as a personal hero. Atheistic characters will often draw inspiration from religious figures anyway, but more usually from a sense of right and wrong, or mundane people that exhibit the traits they find desirable.
- Nobility, both social and moral. Always be the one to demonstrate morality to the others. Inspire them toward greatness. Do not drag them to it; show them your way, and why it is better. Let them develop their own chivalry based upon your own.
Here endeth the lesson...for now.
