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  • Essay / Code of Chivalry: The Bridles of Medieval Europe

    Although the chivalric code rarely took the form of a formal code of conduct, its effects can be seen in the way medieval life was shaped, from the way wars were fought to the way the nobility behaved. The original meaning of the word "chivalry" was derived from the Old French "chevalerie" and referred to a specific class of chivalry, particularly "soldiers on horseback", but later expanded to encompass all chivalric ideals. These ideals were partly assimilated by the aristocracy of medieval Europe, thereby redefining the virtues that nobles stood for at the time. By the end of the Middle Ages, the term had evolved to circumscribe a moral system primarily composed of three pillars – the military ethos, chivalric piety, and courtesy – which sequentially dictated the noble life. However, chivalry was not always sanctioned within the clerical circles of Christianity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Due to the warlike aspects of chivalry, Christian societies found it difficult to adopt the chivalric way of life and were mostly opposed to it, as war and murder, in general, were considered a sin by the Catholic Church. It is only with the conception of the Christian interpretation of just war (Ronald), a theory according to which war can be justified in the eyes of God if it constitutes the last resort to resolve a conflict (Jérémy), that the City of God began to grow. reconsider the ethical values ​​of chivalry. This bore fruit on chivalric piety, a religious denomination of Christianity adopted by knights and clerics alike because of its fair and catholic nature. Chivalrous piety played a central role in the knights' participation in the Roman Catholic Church's crusades, endearing them by justifying their participation in war as a holy cause. Indeed, chivalric piety dictated an individual's religiosity and how Christianity and war could coexist. While chivalric piety described the relationship between Christ and warriors, the military ethos extends far beyond and embodies the ethical character of all kinds of warriors and fighters. . This ideology was influenced by earlier philosophies of war, such as Chinese Confucian philosophy, and attempted to conform to theories of just war to formulate a de facto code of conduct that can logically be deduced by people from all walks of life . The aim of the ethos of war was, and still is, to adopt a principle according to which soldiers will act with ethics in mind, protecting themselves against the immoral exploitation of the conquered population and against nefarious use of power given to soldiers, such as using a weapon to strike a country. unarmed fighter (Ronald). Its primary principle is to protect those who demonstrate weakness rather than cause them injustice and, therefore, the essence of the military ethos can be applied to other perspectives of life. An example of such an application is that of military courtesy. Military courtesy, which is usually described between military personnel regardless of force, is the recognition of the chain of command within an armed force and the respectful interaction between officers based on their rank. Although military courtesy is limited among military personnel, chivalrous courtesy disregards this subset and uses social status as a. 2019