Chivalry and Violence in Medieval Europe

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Binding: Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number: 940.10088355 EAN: 9780198207306 ISBN: 0198207301 Label: Oxford University Press, USA Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 352 Publication Date: 1999-12-23 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA Studio: Oxford University Press, USA
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Editorial Reviews: 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.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Some things never change Comment: In Chivalry and Violence in Medieval Europe, Richard Kaeuper explores the concept of chivalry in an attempt to understand its true nature and place in medieval society. He takes into consideration the tendency of early writers and more modern historians to take a romantic view or a cynical view of chivalry based on prejudices. In his book, Kaeuper disputes a modern romanticized belief that chivalry was a positive and uncomplicated factor that helped to restrain men and that the problems with order in medieval society brought about by war and violence were not inherent in chivalry, but rather a lack of properly dispersed chivalric ideals. He argues that, "in the problem of public order the knights themselves played and ambivalent problematic role and that the guides to their conduct that chivalry provided were in themselves complex and problematic."(3) To support his thesis, Kaeuper draws on a variety of medieval literature and histories, as well as some modern interpretation. He seeks to explain, through these sources, the concept of violence in medieval society, and to explain how that violence figured in the medieval social structure and in the minds of the knights who practiced it. Keauper recognizes, as do many of the medieval sources he quotes, that during the medieval period there was both licit and illicit violence. Licit violence was used to bring about order. He first turns to the Norman monk Orderic Vitalis who believed that violence for the right cause was acceptable. He quotes Vitalis who said, "Wrong must be done to put an end to a wrong thing."(13) He also refers to the French abbot Suger, who praised the royal use of force in the interest of order. Kaeuper also used chivalric literature as a source of information about the use of violence in medieval society. He claims that, "Almost without failure these works give prominence to acts of disruptive violence and problems of control."(22) Regarding the effects of illicit violence, Kaeuper refers to the literary images of unusual power such as the black knights who fight each other and attack others. These knights are demonic in nature, and in some cases are the souls of knights being punished for sins. These knights are found in the story of Arthur, Lancelot and Gawain on the grail pilgrimage as well as others. Kaeuper brings up the question of whether knights read romances, which is important to understanding how or if knights and chivalric literature interacted. Kaeuper states that there is evidence to believe knights did read such literature since Geoffrey de Charny referred to Lancelot do Lac, and Raymond Llull "drew heavily on thirteenth century romances."(31) Kaeuper next looks at the idea of knights as pious people. Examples of this are again found by Kaeuper in literature as Galahad in The Quest for the Holy Grail and Lancelot in Mort Artu both regularly hear mass and take pains to do so. William Martel's biographer, according to Kaeuper, "recorded William's belief that all his knightly achievement was the personal gift of God."(47) Further, according to Kaeuper, both William Marshall and Geoffrey de Charny were crusaders, who also founded religious houses. Despite their piety, there can be no doubt that knights were violent men. This is again supported through medieval literature. Kaeuper finds reference in Lancelot do Lac where upon hearing there would be a war with Arthur, "The good and bold knights were happy and joyful at this, for they felt there had been peace too long."(162-163) He also looks to the Chanson Gaydon where he finds that knights, "have no desire to make peace, they have always heard the war-cry."(163) He also finds such reference in biography such as the Chandos Herald's portrayal of the Black Prince, "There they made many a widowed lady and many a poor child orphan."(182) Kaeuper arranges his book topically. Within each topic, he draws on various sources to make his point. This book is easily read, and supplies enough literary reference and narrative of events to be entertaining. Kaeuper has attempted to write a balanced description of the realities of a life dedicated to chivalry, and he succeeds. He consistently points out the good and bad associated with chivalry and knightly violence. Michael E. Watson and Dr. Carl Edwin Lindgren Customer Rating: Summary: the full monty Comment: I've taken a couple of Prof. Kaeuper's courses, and I got what I expected in this book. I can't speak for professional historians, but I can say that his style accomodates those less familiar with the time period. Indeed, you might find it to be kind of a grind at first, because the emphsais is on strict historical evidence rather than on any prevailing romantic notions about chivalry. This often dissapoints beginning students in this area, but I gurantee that the energy put in leaves one far more gratified. The reader can get a clear sense that the "Dark Ages" were immensely complex and active, and that this thing we call "chivalry" is essential to Western history -even the Western present- and is by no means something people did just so we can watch nifty movies. Customer Rating: Summary: How knights thought about knighthood Comment: Readers who enjoyed Maurice Keen's fine book Chivalry may well want to read this book, which approaches the same question, "What is chivalry?" from a somewhat different angle. Kaeuper, who has long been interested in the question of public order in the later Middle Ages, argues in this book that it is a mistake to look at chivalry as an ideal which had only a positive impact. Yes, indeed, knights often fought to uphold law and religion, and believed it was their duty to do so; at the same time, knights believed they had an inherent right to exercise violence in whatever cause they chose, and sometimes for no other reason than to defend their own prickly honor. In other words, chivalry was a troublesome and ambiguous ideal, as much problem as solution. To illustrate this, Kaeuper takes the reader on a fascinating tour of all kinds of medieval chivalric literature. All of it, he says, was reformist in nature, even the romances which were primarily meant to entertain. But reform could mean many things: knights should control their violence; or, knights should remember that they are fighters first. The best part of this book is the masterly way Kaeuper allows us to see all the different ways medieval writers and their audiences thought about knighthood. It is quite an achievement. More Reviews