page_title: Knight
section_title: Chivalric code
hierarchical_section_title: Knight / Knightly culture in the Middle Ages / Chivalric code
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Ein gewappneter Ritter steht hinter den sieben Tugenden („Kardinalstugenden“ septem virtutes) die sieben vom heiligen Geist in Form von Tauben gesandten Geschenken (septem dona spritus sancti) zugeordnet werden. Der Ritter und die sieben Tugenden stehen den sieben Hauptlastern (septem vitia capitalia: superbia "Hochmut", ira "Zorn", invidia "Neid", acedia "Faulheit", avaritia "Habgier", gula "Völlerei", luxuria "Wollust") entgegen, die hier als Teufel dargestellt sind, mit jeweils geringeren Unter-Lastern in Form von kleinen Dämonen in ihrem Gefolge. Die Rüstung und das Pferd des Ritters werden dabei mit weiteren Tugenden versinnbildlicht. Dies sind: Helm: spes futuri gaudii Schild: fides (als Schildwappen die „heilige Dreiheit“/scutum sancte trinitatis) Lanze: perseverantia Zügel: discretio Satteldecke: humilitas Sporen: discipline Hufeisen: delectatio, consensus, bonum opus, consuetudo Kettenpanzer: caritas Schwert: verbum Dei Banner: regni celestis desiderium Sattel: christiana religio Pferd: bona voluntas Steigbügel: propositum boni operis Der Engel krönt den Ritter und hält das Spruchband non coronabuntur nisi qui legitime certaverint sowie sieben Bänder mit den sieben Seligpreisungen (ipsorum est regnum caelorum; ipsi possidebunt regnum; ipsi consolabuntur; ipsi saturabuntur; ipsi misericordiam consequentur; ipsi Deum videbunt; quoniam filii Dei vocabuntur) Aus einem Manuskript der Summa de virtutibus et vitiis des Guilelmus Peraldus. British Library, Harleian MS 3244 f. 28 English: Detail of Harleian ms. 3244, folios 27-28, showing an allegorical knight preparing to battle the seven deadly sins with the "Scutum Fidei" diagram of the Trinity as his shield. This is part of a ca. 1255-1265 illustration to the Summa Vitiorum or "Treatise on the Vices" by William Peraldus. For detailed discussion of the manuscript, see the article "An Illustrated Fragment of Peraldus's Summa of Vice: Harleian MS 3244" by Michael Evans in Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, vol. 45 (1982), pp. 14-68. For the device on the knight's shield, see image description page File:Trinity knight shield.jpg.
context_page_description: A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity.
  The background of knighthood can be traced back to the Greek hippeis and Roman eques of classical antiquity.
  In the Early Middle Ages in Europe, knighthood was conferred upon mounted warriors. During the High Middle Ages, knighthood was considered a class of lower nobility. By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior. Often, a knight was a vassal who served as an elite fighter, a bodyguard or a mercenary for a lord, with payment in the form of land holdings. The lords trusted the knights, who were skilled in battle on horseback. Knighthood in the Middle Ages was closely linked with horsemanship from its origins in the 12th century until its final flowering as a fashion among the high nobility in the Duchy of Burgundy in the 15th century. This linkage is reflected in the etymology of chivalry, cavalier and related terms.
context_section_description: Knights were expected, above all, to fight bravely and to display military professionalism and courtesy. When knights were taken as prisoners of war, they were customarily held for ransom in somewhat comfortable surroundings. This same standard of conduct did not apply to non-knights (archers, peasants, foot-soldiers, etc.) who were often slaughtered after capture, and who were viewed during battle as mere impediments to knights' getting to other knights to fight them.
  Chivalry developed as an early standard of professional ethics for knights, who were relatively affluent horse owners and were expected to provide military services in exchange for landed property. Early notions of chivalry entailed loyalty to one's liege lord and bravery in battle, similar to the values of the Heroic Age. During the Middle Ages, this grew from simple military professionalism into a social code including the values of gentility, nobility and treating others reasonably. In The Song of Roland (c. 1100), Roland is portrayed as the ideal knight, demonstrating unwavering loyalty, military prowess and social fellowship. In Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival (c. 1205), chivalry had become a blend of religious duties, love and military service. Ramon Llull's Book of the Order of Chivalry (1275) demonstrates that by the end of the 13th century, chivalry entailed a litany of very specific duties, including riding warhorses, jousting, attending tournaments, holding Round Tables and hunting, as well as aspiring to the more æthereal virtues of "faith, hope, charity, justice, strength, moderation and loyalty."
  Knights of the late medieval era were expected by society to maintain all these skills and many more, as outlined in Baldassare Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier, though the book's protagonist, Count Ludovico, states the "first and true profession" of the ideal courtier "must be that of arms." Chivalry, derived from the French word chevalier ('cavalier'), simultaneously denoted skilled horsemanship and military service, and these remained the primary occupations of knighthood throughout the Middle Ages.
  Chivalry and religion were mutually influenced during the period of the Crusades. The early Crusades helped to clarify the moral code of chivalry as it related to religion. As a result, Christian armies began to devote their efforts to sacred purposes. As time passed, clergy instituted religious vows which required knights to use their weapons chiefly for the protection of the weak and defenseless, especially women and orphans, and of churches.
caption: The miles Christianus allegory (mid-13th century), showing a knight armed with virtues and facing the vices in mortal combat. The parts of his armour are identified with Christian virtues, thus correlating essential military equipment with the religious values of chivalry:  The helmet is spes futuri gaudii (hope of future bliss), the shield (here the shield of the Trinity) is fides (faith), the armour is caritas (charity), the lance is perseverantia (perseverance), the sword is verbum Dei (the word of God), the banner is regni celestis desiderium (desire for the kingdom of heaven), the horse is bona voluntas (good will), the saddle is Christiana religio (Christian religion), the saddlecloth is humilitas (humility), the reins are discretio (discretion), the spurs are disciplina (discipline), the stirrups are propositum boni operis (proposition of good work), and the horse's four hooves are delectatio, consensus, bonum opus, consuetudo (delight, consent, good work, and exercise).
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