The Chivalric Code (TCG)

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The chivalric code is the set of ideals which all knights are expected to follow to the letter. However, this code of honor and truth often causes a lot of conflict for both the knight and those he travels with.
While these guidelines have been presented in many ways in previous AD&D rules books, and they have also been reprised in the AD&D 2nd Edition Complete Fighter's Handbook, space has prevented a detailed accounting of the reasons that such a code is followed, and what the many conse quences of failure might be. Herein, the code of chivalry is detailed with an eye to playability in a feudal campaign.
==Medieval Code of Chivalry==
A knight must cheerfully perform any noble service or quest asked of him. If any person or item is placed in his care, a knight must defend, to the death if necessary, his charge. Naturally, any task incompletely accomplished is a sign of physical weakness and spiritual failure.
A knight must perform military service to his lord whenever asked and must show courage and enterprise when obeying his lord. This is the very heart of the feudal ideal, and forms the backbone of medi⚫eval military organization.
A knight regards war as the "flowering of chivalry" and, therefore, a noble enterprise. For the knight, battle is the test of manhood, and combat is glorious. A knight's first goal as a warrior, therefore, is the personal achievement of glory in battle. Without glorious deeds in times of war, a knight is considered to be nothing more than a fancy mercenary, having wasted years of his life training for ultimate failure.
A knight must defeat all those who oppose his cause in battle. Note that slaying your enemy is not always the best way to make your point. Driving off an invader with a great show of force allows tales to be told, rumors to be spread, and keeps someone alive to warn against further invasions.
A knight must choose death before dishonor. Why live if one must live in disgrace? Much like bushido, the samurai's code of honor, the knight is supposed to die before surrendering his charge. However, while a knight who blindly charges the barbarian horde may seem ludicrous, the ultimate result is the same, honor is served.
A knight must show respect for all peers and equals, honor all those above his station (social class or rank), and scorn those who are lowly and ignoble. A knight does not aid the ill-man-nered, the coarse, the crude. This applies to goods and services as well. A knight does not use equipment which is badly-made or inferior, as he chooses to fight on foot before riding a nag.
A knight must show courtesy to all ladies (also see "Maid to Fit"). Women are frail things to be protected. They are to be cherished and honored, watched from afar and never handled roughly.
==A Modern Code of Chivalry==
Some of the positions held by classic knights make it difficult to play a fantasy knight correctly. After all, much like the samurai warrior, a true knight would only just get out on his own before he had already headed off in search of the evil high king across the sea. This makes for very one-sided adventures (annoying the other players immensely) and very short life 
spans. Rolling up a new knight every level is nobody's idea of fun. Here is a modified code which might be more functional in the typical AD&D game.
===Faithfulness===
A knight must be true to his god. Any lack of faith is a sign of spiritual weakness and immoral character. In the event of an area of uncertainty, the knight should seek out a priest of his faith and request guidance. In the case of minor transgressions, the knight might be assigned a task to show his desire to make amends for his misdeeds.
===Loyalty===
A knight must be true to his country and his king. The entire kingdom would collapse should the oaths of fealty be dissolved. Be loyal to your lord, and your vassals will learn from your example. Be disloyal, and beware every time you turn your back.
===Respect===
A knight must be true to women or those who are less fortunate than himself, and honor those who have achieved greater glory for their god and country. Those who lie, cheat, and steal are beneath contempt as they are honorless cowards.
===Honor===
A knight must be true to one's self. Only your god and you know if you have been truly honorable, and lying to one's self can only lead to the further corruption of lying to others. All lies, no matter for what cause they are told, are dishonorable. It is better to not provide an answer at all than it is to deceive anyone for any reason. This includes shading the truth or lies based on the omission of facts. Any intent to deceive is considered a lie.
===Valor===
A knight must be true to his profession. A warrior who is a coward is not a warrior at all, but a worthless retch in armor, preaching lies to all around him. You cannot earn respect in such a manner, and you cannot keep a clear conscious by retreating from glory. It is better to die for your cause than to surrender it. If a cause is not worth fighting for, then war is to no avail. A challenge, especially to single combat, is always the best way to achieve valor and glory for your cause.
==Maid to Fit==
A short note is needed here to discuss the role of women as knights. Women, especially these days, play in a lot of AD&D game campaigns. Now, in a classic medieval setting, women got to oversee the knitting, or the temporary command of the castle while the lord was away-hardly a great role-playing experience. However, with a little work describing a female knight, we can get an idea of some ways around the rather sexist codes of chivalry.
Since you are unlikely to be playing with major chauvinists in your game, once the female knight has "proven herself" in the eyes of her fellow warriors things should go rather smoothly and the problem is solved. Otherwise, chauvinism will be a constant campaign problem.
Instead of seeing all women as things to be put upon a pedestal and admired, a female knight sees all women as allies, and has a firm grasp on the real behind-thes-cenes working of a kingdom and a castle. Female knights get to use cunning and diplomacy to greater effect in such a campaign.
However, if there are enough women to support a guild, they can either have big chips on their shoulders (as a result of overcoming outright prejudice) or they might just have earned a fair measure of respect from the general populace. Female archers are particularly formidable for they tend to spend more time perfecting subtle movements than raw physical power.
As seen in heroic fantasy, female warriors are just as powerful as the men, but stress different things about combat. While a male barbarian lord is capable of splitting a skull with his axe, a female knight might prefer removing that head. in a more surgical fashion, by passing her blade through the throat.