Nowadays, for many people, the Middle Ages, which lasted from the 5th to the 15th centuries, are associated mainly with a knighthood. Moreover, knighthood is often perceived one-sidedly: knights are thought of as noble, brave, and heroic individuals strictly adhering to the code of chivalry. This image is frequently reinforced in literature and cinema, for example, in Disney’s films. However, Barthélemy notes that such perceptions of chivalry, adopted not only by ordinary people but also by historians, can be considered myths because of their inconsistency with reality (249). Therefore, the research question will be as follows: to what extent are modern perceptions of chivalry historically accurate? Thesis: the modern perceptions of chivalry do not conform to reality since social ascents were not a commonality in medieval Europe.
The proposed topic is closely connected to medieval culture because it will explore the codes of conduct and religion of a particular group of people, namely, knights in medieval Europe. The reason is that many knights were already from high social classes with little to no ascensions from the poor (Orme 58). The work by Barthélemy will be taken as a basis for guiding future research. In particular, Barthélemy argues that modern perceptions are grounded in three major myths about chivalry: social ascent, the Christianization of war, and courtly conduct (250). It means that, nowadays, people believe that knights ascended from the lower class to nobility, adopted Christianity, and put women on a pedestal.
However, as Barthélemy shows, these beliefs at least partially do not conform to reality. For example, because social ascent was not common in medieval Europe and was not caused by chivalric exploits (252). Thus, based on these findings, the preliminary thesis statement can be formulated. The thesis is: Although modern perceptions of chivalry portray knights as noble, highly Christianized, and adhering to the code of chivalry, evidence shows that each of these perceptions is at least partially a myth.
Work Cited
Barthélemy, Dominique. “Modern Mythologies of Medieval Chivalry.” The Medieval World, edited by Peter Linehan, Janet L. Nelson, and Marios Costambeys, 2nd ed., Routledge, 2018, pp. 249-263.
Orme, Nicholas. From Childhood to Chivalry. Routledge, 2017.