The Book of Chivalry is the most pragmatic of all surviving chivalric manuals. Written at the height of the Hundred Years War, it includes the essential commonplaces of knighthood in the mid-fourteenth century and gives a close-up view of what one knight in particular absorbed of the medieval world of ideas around him, what he rejected or ignored, and what he added from his experience in camp, court, and campaign.Geoffroi de Charny was one of the quintessential figures of his age, with honors and praise bestowed upon him from both sides of the English Channel. He prepared the Book of Chivalry as a guide for members of the Company of the Star, a new but short-lived order of knights created by Jean II of France in 1352 to rival the English Order of the Garter.Elspeth Kennedy here edits the original French text of Charny and provides a facing-page translation for the modern reader. Richard. W. Kaeuper's historical study places both man and his work in full context. In the formal themes that give Charny's book structure, and in his many tangential comments and asides, this work proves a rich source for investigating questions about the political, military, religious, and social history of the later Middle Ages. With this translation, the prowess and piety of knights, their capacity to express themselves, their common assumptions, their views on masculine virtue, women, and love once more come vividly to life.
The prose is well done, giving good insight into the mind of the Knight of that era. Examples of the problems of lust versus courtly love, the appropriateness of staying just a little hungry, and a comparison of the Orders of Grace (priesthood) with the Orders of Knighthood all work together to give the reader a sense of the noble and knightly duties in the pre Republic days of Europe. This is a good starting point (along with Ramon Lull's _The Book of the Order of Chivalry_) for the novice to learn how social Chivalry developed from the military form to the current socio-political. The parallels in current day knighthood can easily be seen once an understanding is gained of the past, and this book brings the past into focus in an amazing way.
Do be advised -- the French and English are interleaved, so you'll either be reading on the right (english) or left (french) once you get past the introduction!
