关键词：骑士，骑士精神，起源，发展，影响
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments.i
Abstractii
摘要.iii
1 Introduction.2
2 Situations in Medieval Europe.4
2.1 The Politics in Medieval Europe.4
2.2 The Economy in Medieval Europe6
2.3 The Religion in Medieval Europe.7
3 Knight7
3.1 The Emergence of Knight.8
3.2 The Development of Knight.9
3.3 The Decline of Knight11
4 Chivalry12
4.1 The Definition of Chivalry.12
4.2 The Development of Chivalry13
4.3 The Change of Chivalry.13
5 Influences on Today’s World Aroused by the Medieval European Chivalry14
5.1 Influences of the Chivalry on Literature15
5.2 Influences of the Chivalry on Daily Life.17
5.3 Influences of the Chivalry on Marriage.18
6 Conclusion19
Bibliography.... 22
1 Introduction
In the western culture, knights were important morals worshiped in the European medieval schools and gradually became the standard of the modern “gentlemen”. They always have a strong belief in the mind. They are the ones who are passionate and kindhearted, have violent hatred towards evil and limited love to the good. Moreover, they show their honorable regard to women, and are civil enough to answer the questions. Most important, they are ready to fight for their love and faith.
So when people talk about the Medieval Europe, they often talk about chivalry, because it has had great influence upon literature and human society in the later time for many centuries. People like to associate romantic love with the knight, and endow the knight with ideal qualities, such as courage, honor, courtesy and concern for the weak and helpless, etc.
Actually, the chivalry in Europe has been existent for nearly two thousand years, during this long period, it not only includes a great number of legendary stories, epic heroes and everlasting historical events, but also covers plenty of mortal virtues. What is more, this grand spirit has influenced aspects of life of human beings. For example, western men love to dress themselves like courteous and handsome gentlemen, and behave quite politely in the presence of women.
However, people do not know very well about chivalry nowadays, some of them even know nothing about this long history, so in order to make people have a good understanding of chivalry, the author will give a brief introduction to the great chivalry, and lay much stress on the realistic development and influence of chivalry upon the modern society.
To analyze the chivalry deeply, we must have a broad understanding of its creators—knights. Li Dongmei, a famous Chinese writer, introduced the story of King Arthur and his knights of the round table in The Story of King Arthur and His Chivalry. In her opinion, King Arthur was the ancestor of all knights. It was said that King Arthur, who lived in Cornwall, might be a king of Celt in the fifth or sixth century. He owned one great dream—put his hometown from chaos and poverty to prosperity and peace. To make it come true, he shouldered a sacred responsibility to protect, to defend, to value his life, to live his life gloriously in honor of this unforgettable memory. “The world is not a perfect place, but perhaps people like Arthur and Knights of the Round Table can make it so.” (2005:74) At that time, southern England was under the control of Roman Empire, and King Arthur served in Roman army and longed to leave England for Rome. But soon the city of Rome was finally conquered by Germanic people in 476 AD, and Saxons from European mainland seized the chance and invaded Britain. “It is natural for any man to want to live free in their own country. For Arthur, Roman Empire was dead, he believed that he belonged to this freedom of land—England. This place, this land, is the last outpost of freedom, of everything you hold dear, let every man, woman, child witness that from that day all Britons will be united in one common cause.” (2005:74) Finally, King Arthur defeated wicked invaders, drove off them from England, and united the whole Britain. 浅析欧洲中世纪骑士精神(2):http://www.youerw.com/yingyu/lunwen_12420.html