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Submitted by brookchook332 on July 24, 2008
Category: English
Words: 1766 | Pages: 8
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Chivalry. It is an ardently admired characteristic, which is scarcely seen, in its pure form in today’s society. Chivalry is thought of today as a mythical medieval practice, which goes hand in hand with dragons, tumultuous quests and fair maidens. Having a chivalric nature is to have the sum of the ideal qualifications of a knight, including courtesy, generosity, valor, and dexterity in arms. Chivalry has been admired and respected consistently throughout the ages and audiences have responded well to representations of chivalry consistently throughout time. This discourse will further discuss these ideas and address how the concept of chivalry has been represented in literature from the time of Chaucer to the present day with reference to the texts Keats’s La Belle Dame Sans Merci, Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale, Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and the painting, The Accolade by Edmund Blair Leighton.
Chivalry is bred into people. Although it was custom in medieval times to be born into the opportunity to become a knight, chivalry itself is acquired only through the hearts and minds of individuals, not by rites of birth. It is what we do and believe which defines us and chivalric literature often involves a quest, which the protagonist endures and through which he overcomes his fundamental flaw, which aids in his inclination to attain chivalry.
This is reflected in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings through the characters Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee. Tolkien constructs Frodo and Sam as simpleton hobbits that know nothing of swords and battles, however after they endure a horrific quest, they prove to be two of the greatest chivalric characters throughout literature.
They commenced their quest to destroy the ring with insecurity and reluctance, however with each step they took, the two hobbits grew in strength of character and nobility and frequently passed down the opportunity to give up in the...
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