Chivalry and the Ideals of Knighthood in France during the Hundred Years War
Chivalry and the Ideals of Knighthood in France during the Hundred Years War
Craig Taylor's study examines the wide-ranging French debates on the martial ideals of chivalry and knighthood during the period of the Hundred Years War (1337–1453). Faced by stunning military disasters and the collapse of public order, writers and intellectuals carefully scrutinized the martial qualities expected of knights and soldiers. They questioned when knights and men-at-arms could legitimately resort to violence, the true nature of courage, the importance of mercy, and the role of books and scholarly learning in the very practical world of military men. Contributors to these discussions included some of the most famous French medieval writers, led by Jean Froissart, Geoffroi de Charny, Philippe de Mézières, Honorat Bovet, Christine de Pizan, Alain Chartier and Antoine de La Sale. This interdisciplinary study sets their discussions in context, challenging modern, romantic assumptions about chivalry and investigating the historical reality of debates about knighthood and warfare in late medieval France.
- A major contribution to debates about the impact of culture on warfare
- Offers a new approach to the study of chivalry, challenging traditional assumptions
- An interdisciplinary study that places literary and intellectual ideas within the context of military and social history
Reviews & endorsements
"Debates about medieval chivalry will continue, but Taylor’s book will take its place among the essential contributions to the field."
Rory Cox, English Historical Review
Product details
October 2016Paperback
9781316631126
362 pages
230 × 153 × 20 mm
0.55kg
1 b/w illus.
Available
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Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Texts and contexts
- 2. Honour
- 3. Prowess and loyalty
- 4. Courage
- 5. Mercy (part 1)
- 6. Mercy (part 2)
- 7. Wisdom and prudence
- Conclusion.
