Using fictional and 'factual' literature, the dissertation attempts to understand the multiplicity of masculinity and individual knightly motivations caused by competing factual and fictional depictions of chivalry. Overall, histories of chivalry and masculinity between c 1350-c 1410 in France have been treated singularly. The ideal qualities of chivalry have been treated as the reality for all-knights, when in fact chivalric ideologies were unique to individuals and overlapped in both factual and fictional literature of the period.
Chivalry in the Middle Ages has often been defined as ‘the religious and moral system of behavior that the perfect knight was expected to follow’. However, singular definitions of chivalry should be disregarded because displays of medieval masculinity and chivalry were a complicated mixture of social conditions, institutional influence, and individual motivation.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter One
Reforming Knighthood, Reconstructing Masculinity: Geoffroi de Charny’s Livre de Chevalerie (c.1350-6) and Christine de Pizan’s Cent Ballades d’amant et de dame (c.1405-10)
Chapter Two
The Power of Performance in Jean Froissart’s Méliador (c.1383-88) and Christine de Pizan’s The Book of the Body Politic (c.1407)
Chapter Three
Deconstructing Chivalric Memory: Song of Bertrand du Guesclin (1380-9) and Christine de Pizan’s The Book of Deeds and Arms of Chivalry (c.1410)
Conclusion
Research Objectives & Themes
The dissertation examines the multifaceted nature of medieval chivalry and masculinity in France between c.1350 and c.1410, challenging the traditional "all-knight" narrative by analyzing how both factual and fictional texts reflected shifting social contexts and individual knightly motivations.
- Critical analysis of the "ideal knight" construct versus individual knightly realities.
- The influence of the Hundred Years War on chivalric ideals and masculine performance.
- Comparative literary studies of Geoffroi de Charny, Jean Froissart, and Christine de Pizan.
- Application of post-structuralist theories and deconstruction to challenge singular historical discourses.
- Exploration of how chivalry functioned as a tool for institutional control and individual identity formation.
Excerpt from the Book
Reforming Knighthood, Reconstructing Masculinity: Geoffroi de Charny’s Livre de Chevalerie (c.1350-6) and Christine de Pizan’s Cent Ballades d’amant et de dame (c.1405-10)
“You are a good and bold knight, But you love your ease a little too much,” – Christine de Pizan, Sir Knight, You like Pretty Words, (1402)
The poem above reveals that throughout the fourteenth century knighthood faced sharp criticism, as knights failed to demonstrate the virtues and behaviours associated with French chivalry’s imagined former splendour. Whilst romances, poetry and knightly manuals called for vigorous knightly reform, some clerical writers thought chivalry a topic for satire; deeming the violent vocation of knighthood a practice of pleasure, pride and greed, rather than one that upheld Christian morals. Consequently, in the early phase of his kingship, Jean II of France (1319-1364) aimed to reform ideals of chivalry in order to control and guide knightly behaviours, whilst simultaneously restoring French chivalry to its previous grandeur. However, the reformation of knighthood was not a series of new ideas surrounding knightly conduct that appeared in society during the fourteenth century. The knightly reformation was an opportunity for literature to reflect upon, and implement, the masculine ideal of the pseudomme under a chivalric framework familiar to society and multiple, institutional habitus.
Summary of Chapters
Chapter One: This chapter analyzes how chivalry was utilized as a tool to control knightly conduct and explores the masculine ideal of the 'pseudomme' through the works of Geoffroi de Charny and Christine de Pizan.
Chapter Two: This chapter examines chivalry as a form of social performativity, investigating how courtly actions and speech acts shaped individual identities within the political climate of Charles V’s court.
Chapter Three: This chapter applies deconstruction theory to explore how literature regarding knighthood, specifically by Cuvelier and Pizan, reveals multiple realities and unintended meanings that contradict the monolithic chivalric ideal.
Keywords
Chivalry, Masculinity, Knighthood, Hundred Years War, Geoffroi de Charny, Christine de Pizan, Jean Froissart, Prowess, Performative Acts, Habitus, Post-structuralism, Deconstruction, Medieval France, Pseudomme, Courtly Love
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research explores the complex and often contradictory nature of medieval chivalry and masculinity in France (c.1350-1410), arguing that it was not a uniform system but a diverse set of ideals and practices.
What are the primary themes investigated?
The study centers on the intersection of martial and social contexts, the influence of literary depictions on knightly behavior, the role of gender in shaping knightly identity, and the deconstruction of traditional historiographical narratives.
What is the dissertation's central research objective?
The goal is to demonstrate that chivalry was a versatile tool used by both institutions and individuals, and that literature provides a "hall of mirrors" that reflects diverse, rather than singular, knightly realities.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The work utilizes a comparative analysis of factual and fictional texts, alongside theoretical frameworks such as post-structuralism, Bourdieu’s theory of habitus, and Derrida’s deconstruction to re-evaluate historical discourse.
What does the main body cover?
The main chapters provide close readings of specific texts (Charny’s Livre de Chevalerie, Froissart’s Méliador, and Pizan’s writings) to contrast idealized chivalric virtues with the lived experiences and social conditions of the period.
How would you characterize this work through keywords?
This work is characterized by terms such as Chivalry, Masculinity, Knighthood, Performativity, and Post-structuralism, emphasizing the shift toward individual, context-dependent identities.
How does the author view the role of 'fear' in knightly identity?
The author argues that fear was an inherent emotional reality for men-at-arms that was suppressed or mediated by chivalric ideology to maintain an ideal of masculine courage.
What is the significance of the Hundred Years War to the dissertation?
The war provides the critical social and political context, demonstrating how martial defeats and the subsequent societal pressures forced a "reformation" of knighthood to preserve the status and identity of the noble class.
- Quote paper
- Georgia Parkes-Russell (Author), 2020, 'Authentic' Knight Identities and 'Ideal' Depictions of Chivalry between c.1350- c.1410 in France, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1023135
