This book by Geoffry de Charny has left its mark on history. Indeed, shortly after writing it, de Charny showed his own chivalry, sacrificing himself for country and king in the Battle of Poitiers, when he fell slain while fighting with his king's standard in his hands. This book, written by the French knight during the Hundred Years' War, covers what it was to be chivalrous at the time, and elaborates on the beliefs of a knight of the era.
The reality is that the Hundred Years' War was not a time of knights in shining armor doing great deeds. It was a time of pillaging the countryside, English archers killing en masse and being tortured when they were caught, French raiders defiling the English coasts, and the survivors being raped, robbed, and ruined. In such a time as this, the idea of a code of goodness seems nigh impossible to grasp, and in the words of Geoffry's own king, Jean the Good, "The Christian faith has withered and commerce has perished and so many other wickednesses and horrid things have followed from these wars that they cannot be spoken, numbered, or written down."
Yet, de Charny speaks of a form of goodness all its own, the pursuit of greatness. As he explains, the pursuit of greatness is the pursuit of goodness, and so the pursuit of men-at-arms is the pursuit goodness, because one is attempting great feats in battle. Simply put, but trying to do great things in combat, one proves their greatness in the eyes of God.
de Charny then goes on to try and categorize these different forms of greatness which a knight might pursue, in the ascending scale. Eventually, things become broken into different types and it ceases to notably rise, but in the words of this knight who gave his life for his country, one gathers that he speaks with earnesty and passion, and I at least felt compelled to believe in this greatness and goodness of knights, even though as a scholar I remember the fighting of men in the Hundred Years War as a bloody and wicked mess where women were dishonored and men left to cry like babes.
And de Charny does not shy away from these realities, mentioning plunder, or murder, or hostage-taking. Yet, he also has a way of making everything seem good on some level, save death, which clearly is un-chivalrous as one has no chance to ever gain honor again if they're killed. He also has some statements which might pass for tongue-in-cheek humor, such as when he says how men who are wounded in battle perform a great act of chivalry by sacrificing for their country and cause, whether they mean to do this or not.
Yet, knights serving their ladies, valorous crusades, local feuding, tournament jousts, and even the different ways to die or survive in defeat are accounted for. This text is excellent for anyone interested in chivalry of the ideals (if not reality) of kngiths during the Hundred Years War.
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Top reviews from other countries
JayOTee
Straight from the horse's mouth.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 17, 2017
Grumpy Historian
The reality of Chivalry
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 24, 2015Aaron Lamontagne
Well laid out, and a fine reference on chivalry
Reviewed in Canada on August 12, 2018
