Book of Knighthood & Chivalry (and the anonymous Ordene de Chevalerie) [Hardcover]

Ramon Llul (Author), Brian Price (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2001

Undoubtedly the most influential chivalric handbook of the middle ages, this work articulates the ideals expressed both in medieval romance and in the crucible of the medieval battlefield - this is a work written by an accomplished knight for a knightly audience. Rendered from the Caxton 1484 translation into modern English, it is accompanied by the anonymous Ordene de Chevalerie, another important and lively medieval account of the knighting ceremony.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Brian R. Price has updated this text and presented it in a beautifully crafted presentation that supports the text's value as a contemplative work.

Having sold several thousand of the translations in monograph format, this hardcover edition is perfect for reenactors, students, and medieval enthusiasts.

About the Author

Brian R. Price is a well-known essayist and author of books on Arms & Armour ("Techniques of Medieval Armour Reproduction"--Paladin Press, 1999), knighthood, chivalric philosophy, the conduct of medieval tournaments and the medieval martial arts.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 136 pages
• Publisher: Chivalry Bookshelf (July 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 189144803X
• ISBN-13: 978-1891448034
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,355,408 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book, July 25, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Book of Knighthood & Chivalry (and the anonymous Ordene de Chevalerie) (Hardcover)

Whether you're a medievalist, historian, martial artist, or an escapist role player who pretends that you're a knight, this book will teach you what REAL chivalry was. Anyone interested in european martial history, or in becoming a better person should read this. My thanks to mr. Price for making it available once again.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A moral guide for the Christian warrior...past and present, January 16, 2007

By 

ThorBjorn "Norseman" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ramon Lull's Book of Knighthood & Chivalry: & the Anonymous Ordene de Chevalerie (Paperback)

Ramon Lull spent his youthful years as a knight in his native land of Catalonia (northeast Spain). During that time, his life very much resembled that of an Arthurian champion, experiencing adventures of both martial and amorous nature. In his later years, he experienced a religious enlightenment, and retired to the forest, to live as a hermit in meditation. He left all his wealth and lands to his children and became a hermit. Being an educated man, he devoted his time to writing a large quantity of books, in multiple languages.
One of his most important books, is this one, a moral guide-line for the ideals of Chivalry. This is a treatise on the highest idealized standards of behavior for the Christian warrior. Within, Ramon Lull described the virtues a knight should aspire to, and the vices he should avoid. He describes the test a candidate for knighthood should undergo, the duties a knight owes to his liege and those he would protect, the ceremony of knighting, and the symbolism of a knight's weapons, armor,and equipment.
There was no precisely defined and unified Code of Chivalry, but it was a general concept of right versus wrong, and what we know of it comes from other such books and Medieval lore passed down through the ages. Some Orders of knighthood did establish their own particular versions of the code, but they all largely emphasized the same noble virtues.
Not all knights lived up to this ideology, some, in fact ignored it completely. However, there were some knights who did indeed live up to this code as closely as a mortal man can.
In our increasingly cynical secularist age, with its concept of "moral relativism", the Code of Chivalry is needed now, more than ever.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Seriously dissapointing for academic use., May 8, 2008

By 

P. B. Sturtevant - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ramon Lull's Book of Knighthood & Chivalry: & the Anonymous Ordene de Chevalerie (Paperback)

I ordered this book with great anticipation, since this text isn't readily available and hasn't had a proper academic treatment since the translation into Middle-English in 1484 (by William Caxton) and Victorian edition (in 1915 by William Morris). Unfortunately, though I was expecting a good new translated edition of the originals with all the expected academic material (footnotes and a helpful introduction), rather I was greeted by William Caxton's (at points, lamentably poor) translation, "rendered into Modern English" and given a flouncy pseudo-medieval "Olde Englishe" font.

The text is, perhaps, fine for someone just getting familiarized with the material, but really isn't suitable for use in academic writing, and should, in my opinion, be avoided. The Caxton translation is pretty widely available online and for free.