Chivalry, Is It Really Dead?

Getty medievalist Larisa Grollemond discusses the chivalric code of the Middle Ages

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Art & Architecture

A painting of a lady leaning over a railing to speak with a knight on horseback — God Speed, 1900, Edmund Blair Leighton. Oil on canvas, 62.9 x 45.6 in.

May 17, 2023

Is chivalry dead?

First, let's take a look at chivalry's origins. The code of conduct that we call chivalry today involved much more than just opening doors for ladies.

An illuminated page. The main image features men talking above three men on horses against a gilt background — *Initial E: An Equestrian Duel Between a Creditor and a Debtor*, about 1290-1310, Spanish. Tempera colors, gold leaf, and ink, 14 3/8 × 9 7/16 in. Getty Museum, Ms. Ludwig XIV 6 (83.MQ.165), fol. 169v

Chivalry first developed in Western Europe as a code of honor that emphasized bravery, loyalty, and generosity for Christian knights at war in the 11th and 12th centuries.

Manuscript of a knight escorting a queen on a horse with three other knights riding behind them — Tristan Departs with Iseult (detail), about 1320–1340, French. Tempera colors, gold paint, and silver and gold leaf on parchment, 15 1/2 × 11 3/4 in. Getty Museum, Ms. Ludwig XV 5 (83.MR.175), fol. 71v

The code was very much based in medieval literature, and illuminated manuscripts in particular helped establish chivalry as a system of values that permeated almost every aspect of aristocratic culture.

An etching of a well-dressed man and woman walking in a field — *The Knight and the Lady by Durer*, 1852–1864, Bisson Frères. Albumen silver print, 7 1/2 × 4 3/4 in. Getty Museum, 84.XM.507.2

It included the treatment of women, but it wasn't limited to relations with the fairer sex the way we might think of chivalry today.

A richly-illuminated page with a floral border. The central image featuring men on horseback fighting on a battlefield — Gillion Defeating King Fabur during the Siege of Cairo, 1464, Lieven van Lathem and David Aubert. Tempera colors, gold, and ink, 14 9/16 × 10 1/16 in. Getty Museum, Ms. 111 (2013.46), fol. 177

The chivalric code also had a darker side. For one, it helped to keep knights—essentially heavily-armed warriors prone to violence—in check.

An illuminated page. The central image features two men on horseback fighting beneath a tower. A woman looks out of the tower — Sword Fight between Tristan and Brunor, about 1320–1340, French. Tempera colors, gold paint, and silver and gold leaf, 15 1/2 × 11 3/4 in. Getty Museum, Ms. Ludwig XV 5 (83.MR.175), fol. 77v

And as for the treatment of women, at best chivalry cast them as desperately helpless and in need of constant protection. It also held them to a Biblical standard of virtuous and pious behavior.