Chivalry and Violence in Medieval Europe

by Kaeuper, Richard W.

• ISBN13: 9780199244584
• ISBN10: 0199244588
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-06-21
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This original and authoritative text reveals how chivalry was part of the problem of violence in medieval Europe, not merely its solution. The ideal was to internalize restraint in knights, but a close reading of chivalric literature shows chivalry also praised heroic violence by knights. This fascinating book lays bare the conflicts and paradoxes surrounding the concept of chivalry in medieval Europe.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	vii
Prologue	1	(4)
PART I. ISSUES AND APPROACHES	5	(36)
The Problem of Public Order and the Knights	11	(19)
The High Middle Ages and Order	11	(1)
Three Witnesses	12	(7)
Context: Socio-Economic and Institutional Change	19	(3)
Evidence from Chivalric Literature	22	(6)
Conclusion	28	(2)
Evidence on Chivalry and its Interpretation	30	(11)
Did Knights Read Romance?	30	(3)
Is Chivalric Literature Hopelessly Romantic?	33	(3)
The Framework of Institutions and Ideas	36	(5)
PART II. THE LINK WITH CLERGIE	41	(48)
Knights and Piety	45	(18)
Lay Piety, Lay Independence	45	(8)
Chivalric Mythology	53	(4)
Knights and Hermits	57	(6)
Clergie, Chevalerie, and Reform	63	(26)
Clerical Praise for Knightly Militia	64	(9)
Clerical Strictures on Knightly Malitia	73	(8)
The Church and Governing Power	81	(3)
The Force of Ideas	84	(5)
PART III. THE LINK WITH ROYAUTE	89	(32)
Chevalerie and Royaute	93	(14)
Royal Stance on War and Violence	93	(5)
Capetian Kingship and Chivalry	98	(4)
The Balance Sheet	102	(5)
English Kingship, Chivalry, and Literature	107	(14)
Royal Ideology and Enforcement	107	(4)
The Evidence of Literature	111	(10)
PART IV. THE AMBIVALENT FORCE OF CHIVALRY	121	(177)
The Privileged Practice of Violence: Worship of the Demi-god Prowess	129	(32)
Identification of Chivalry with Prowess	135	(14)
Competition	149	(6)
Conclusion	155	(6)
Knighthood in Action	161	(28)
A Delight in War and Tournament	161	(4)
The Fact of Fear? Voices for Peace?	165	(4)
Conduct of War	169	(7)
Looting and Destruction	176	(9)
Loyalty	185	(4)
Social Dominance of Knights	189	(20)
Chivalry and Nobility	189	(4)
The Role of Largesse	193	(6)
The Role of Chivalric Mythology (Revisited)	199	(6)
The Role of Formal Manners	205	(4)
Knights, Ladies, and Love	209	(22)
The Variety of Voices	210	(5)
Male Bonding	215	(4)
The Link with Prowess	219	(6)
Sexual Violence	225	(6)
Chanson de Geste and Reform	231	(22)
The Song of Aspremont	232	(5)
The Crowning of Louis	237	(7)
Raoul de Cambrai	244	(9)
Quest and Questioning in Romance	253	(20)
The Quest of the Holy Grail	253	(8)
The Death of King Arthur	261	(4)
Robert the Devil/Sir Gowther	265	(8)
Chivalric Self-Criticism and Reform	273	(25)
The Romance of the Wings	273	(2)
The Book of the Order of Chivalry	275	(5)
L'Histoire de Guillaume le Marechal	280	(4)
Geoffroi de Charny, Livre de chevalerie	284	(4)
Thomas Malory, Morte Darthur	288	(10)
EPILOGUE	298	(13)
The Essex Rebellion and the Bouteville Affair	299	(3)
Dissolving the Fusion of Chivalric Elements	302	(2)
Prowess and Honour	304	(3)
Prowess and Piety	307	(1)
Prowess and Status	308	(3)
Bibliography	311	(20)
Index	331