Book of Chivalry

The Book of Chivalry (French: Livre de chevalerie) was written by the knight Geoffroi de Charny (c.1306-1356) sometime around the early 1350s. The treatise is intended to explain the appropriate qualities for a knight, reform the behavior of the fighting classes, and defend the chivalric ethos against its critics, mainly in clerical circles.

Geoffroi de Charny was intensely involved in the first phase of the Anglo-French conflict known as the Hundred Years' War. The first record of his campaigns against the English appear in 1337, and despite being captured twice, Charny grew in prestige from a minor member of the nobility to one of the most respected knights in France, especially under the kingship of Jean II of France. Jean created the Company of the Star in 1352, intending the chivalric order to outshine that of his rival, Edward III of England, who had shortly before created the Order of the Garter. Charny was promptly made a member of the Company of the Star, and it is believed that he wrote his Book of Chivalry in this context. However, the Company began to lose members immediately due to losses on the battlefield, both in civil wars and against the English. In 1356, Jean II was captured during the Battle of Poitiers, leading to the complete breakdown of the order. It was in this same battle that Charny, along with many other French knights, died exemplifying the chivalric ethos that he described in his treatise.

Charny’s book is unique in its focus. Unlike earlier works such as Vegetius' De Re Militari, or later ones such as Christine de Pizan's The Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry, Charny’s Book of Chivalry is not intended as a manual for how to conduct military operations. He approaches his subject from a conceptual basis, explaining the qualities associated with worthy knights. Moreover, although he does touch upon issues of courtliness, he is more preoccupied with the maintenance of knightly hardiness and war-readiness. For Charny, the essence of knighthood is prowess, and all of his various themes solidify the importance of this concept.

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