Is (Medieval) Chivalry Dead?

'tis but a scratch: fact and fiction about the Middle Ages

In this episode Richard distinguishes between the popular modern conception of chivalry, which originated in the romantic movement of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and became the code of the gentleman, and medieval chivalry. Richard and his co-host, his wife Ellen, explore what medieval chivalry entailed, the role it played in protecting the social status of knights in a time of economic change, and the relationship between courtly love and martial prowess. Richard uses Ulrich von Liechtenstein’s The Service of Ladies as a window on chivalry as conceived by at least one knight in the first half of the thirteenth century. We should warn you in advance that The Service of Ladies is a truly weird book. It takes the form of a memoir in which the German nobleman, knight, and author of love poetry Ulrich von Liechtenstein relates how he dressed in women’s clothing to assume the persona of Lady Venus and traveled with an entourage from Venice to Vienna and beyond challenging all knights to joust with him to demonstrate his love for his lady, an older married noblewoman whom he had served as a page and whom he had only glimpsed from afar since.

Our next episode will explore some less eccentric elements of chivalry through the person of the late twelfth and early thirteenth-century English knight William Marshal, who was praised after his death as the “greatest knight in the world.”

Listen on Podurama https://podurama.com

Intro and exit music are by Alexander Nakarada
If you have questions, feel free to contact me at [e-mail]