The Book of Chivalry of Geoffroi de Charny: Text, Context, and Translation (The Middle Ages Series) [Paperback]

Richard W. Kaeuper (Editor), Elspeth Kennedy (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0812215796 | ISBN-13: 978-0812215793 | Publication Date: November 1, 1996

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is a pleasure: its matter is essential. . . . The Livre de chevalerie will now assume its rightful, central place in studies of fourteenth-century history and literature and in the history of chivalry."—Speculum

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation)
Original Language: French --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (November 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812215796
• ISBN-13: 978-0812215793
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #407,950 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Knighthood explained, if you're Middle Age French..., June 9, 2000

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David Stabler "dwivian" (Marietta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Book of Chivalry of Geoffroi de Charny: Text, Context, and Translation (The Middle Ages Series) (Paperback)

A very good dual-text copy of the writings of Geoffroi De Charny (the Knight that kept the oriflamme, a symbol of France, and the first famous possessor of the Shroud of Turin) into what Chivalry is, and what Knighthood should be, and the differences between that and what it really seemed to be.

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!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Apologetic for Knighthood, September 12, 2009

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Rosanne Lortz "Rose" (Oregon City, OR, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Book of Chivalry of Geoffroi de Charny: Text, Context, and Translation (The Middle Ages Series) (Paperback)

This book is a quintessential must-read for those interested in knights, chivalry, and the culture of the Middle Ages. The translators provide an excellent introduction illuminating the life of Geoffroi de Charny. As one of the premier knights of France during the Hundred Years' War, Charny was in a good position to know the ins-and-outs of knighthood. He was captured by the English during his unsuccessful attempt to retake the city of Calais; his captors ferried him across the English Channel and held him for ransom for over a year. This period of imprisonment gave him ample exposure to the English brand of chivalry, and some think that it was during this time that he composed the Book of Chivalry. When Charny was ransomed, he returned to France to fight in one of the greatest set pieces of the Middle Ages, the Battle of Poitiers. He had the distinguished honor of carrying the Oriflamme, the royal standard of France. Sadly, the battle went against the French, and Charny perished on the field. One interesting side note to Charny's biography: he is the first recorded owner of the Shroud of Turin, a relic which many venerate as the actual shroud in which Jesus Christ's body was wrapped before his resurrection.

The text of the work itself appears in both the original Medieval French and in an English translation. The translators have done a superb job of keeping the feel of Charny's long, polished prose and making it accessible to a modern audience. In the first part of the book, Charny deals with what kinds of knights there are, comparing and contrasting the lower men-at-arms with those of higher quality. In the middle part of the book, he states what duties are most honorable for a knight to undertake and identifies the greatest knight who ever lived as Judas Maccabee. In the concluding sections, Charny shows that knights can serve God just as well as men of the cloth can, claiming that the practice of knighthood, "which can well be performed according to God's will, is very dangerous and perilous, and its practice makes greater physical and spiritual demands than those required of any of the men who are ordained to serve Our Lord in the Holy Church." This last section is especially interesting. In a world where the clergy saw their own calling as a better path to God, Charny speaks out and says that God can be served through every calling, even and especially in the pursuit of arms.

--Review by Rosanne Lortz, author of "I Serve: A Novel of the Black Prince"

5.0 out of 5 stars great read, February 8, 2010

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John Nunnelee "Johnny" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Book of Chivalry of Geoffroi de Charny: Text, Context, and Translation (The Middle Ages Series) (Paperback)

exactly what I was looking for really, this book is full of what one would expect from the proverbial knight of our childhood fantasies. Well worth the read, just to take a brief look into the philosophies that men have all but forgotten.