A Brief History
Quick! Give me the top ten things that could destroy your planet. Quick! Give me your top ten favorite foods. Admit it, you started to make a list. Top ten lists are extremely popular and permeate our media. How could we not come to adore them? There are top ten lists of Do It Yourself renovations, foods and apocalyptic countdowns on the television, the radio and the internet. Top ten lists are everywhere, we can no longer turn on a television without surfing past a top ten something. Our culture is fascinated by them. History and Headlines — A Bizarre Look at History… One Day at a Time is a website that uses top ten lists as an informative and easily understandable content for educational purposes as well as entertainment.[1] Dr. Matthew D. Zarzeczny runs the History and Headlines website and has also written many top ten lists and a book called Banned from the Internet?!: Bizarre Letters, Creepy Crimes and other “Controversial” Top 10 Lists!, which documents many lists that were too intense for website sponsors.[2] We love top ten lists, they are informative, insightful, inspiring and relatively quick. When people are inspired it lays the foundation for change. Our society is continually confronted with many forms of violence, moral distaste, famine, pestilence, war and bloodshed. Some of us think that these distasteful occurrences are new problems caused by recent events but many of the occurrences have been played out time and time again throughout our history. When people face these problems they turn to epic ideas that not only will change their circumstances but also empower their lives. People develop ideas and behavior that help them react to the conflicts that they find themselves in within their society. When people live together, there is going to be some arguing and the only way to come to an agreement is to develop a code of conduct. Chivalry is a code of behavior that idealized the concept of knighthood. This romanticized idea of chivalry was greatly influenced by romantic literature. Here are the top ten reasons why it was imperative that the concept of chivalry be born during the Middle Ages.
Digging Deeper
1) The Need to Eat
First and foremost man is driven by the desire to eat. Food sources, or lack of food, can certainly play a part in how well early man got along with his fellow man. In early human pre-civilization, people banded together in small groups that hunted and gathered their food.[3] By around 12,000 years ago, during the Neolithic Revolution, a development sometimes called the Agriculture Revolution, these practices of hunting and gathering no longer met the needs of the emerging civilizations and human necessity gave rise to one of the earliest and greatest practices in human history; agriculture was born.[4] Long after the Neolithic Revolution, agriculture remained a major way of life for much of society during the Middle Ages.
2) Overpopulation
The second problem came from this invention and the development of the practice of raising animals and farming the land. Early empires flourished and cities developed around stable food sources that could be cultivated, harvested and sustainable enough to nourish an increasingly growing settlement. As the food production increased, the populations increased and cities of commerce and trade grew. Problems arose as greater amounts of people flocked to these growing cities to provide their families with a better life. These cities became increasingly congested.
3) New Ideas
The third problem arose from the growth of trade in these cities. As more people interacted with broader groups their worlds expanded as ideas were exchanged.
4) Differences in Beliefs
Exchanging of ideas and interaction over resources caused disputes and developed into our fourth reason for developing a uniform code of conduct. There were fundamental differences in each culture that led to the differences of religious beliefs of how human beings are to behave. There became a great need for this era to develop a unifying code of conduct that humankind could turn to for guidance.
5) Property Disagreements
The fifth problem was the disagreement over small issues and the need for the empire to expand to provide for its people. Feudal skirmishes broke out as people began to argue over land, food and commerce. The Middle Ages gave rise to various cultures arguing over scarce resources for these growing empires while trying to occupy the same space.[5] Fights broke out as people tried to maintain their hold on their land. Landless men were persuaded to join military organizations to defend the realm “with the promise of land and low taxes.”[6] During the Middle Ages these cities fell to ruin as territories crumbled and lands were invaded. War is always a noble reason to demand a change in the behavior of an individual or a culture. People left these dwellings and returned to the land hoping that a new form of conduct would rise.
6) Unfavorable Living Conditions
People had struggled over food, agriculture, trade, religion and war. These major problems evoked a shift in the struggle of daily life. Life in a medieval city was not easy. The sixth condition that elicited change were the unfavorable living conditions that humans found themselves in throughout medieval time. The living conditions were unsanitary and inhumane. People discarded their raw sewage and trash in the streets. Many houses and streets were infested with rats and insects. These areas of filth became breeding grounds for disease.
7) Charity for One’s Fellow Humans
Due to the poor living conditions, disease and pestilence grew. These conditions gave rise to the seventh problem that needed to be addressed. There were no uniform codes regarding the care and treatment of the sick, dying and the dead. Basic biology and a grounded understanding of how disease and illness spread were not known at that time. People believed that they were being punished for their sins. This lack of understanding reinforced the idea that a new system was needed to restore hope in the value of mankind.
8) Short Life Expectancy
There was a general feeling of hopelessness. The eighth reason for a need for a new code of conduct was a relatively low life expectancy. Life seems short and hopeless. Men went away on military campaigns furthering the progression of the empire and their risk of death was high. Sons were raised without fathers. They were taught skills to provide but they were not taught how to conduct their life in order to prevent their doom from occurring.
9) Human Depravity
The ninth reason it was necessary for a code of chivalry was because there was theft, pillaging and violence. As cities crumbled, people struggled to survive. The unruly human condition of depravity raked through the land leaving heartache and trouble. Criminal elements flourished, as they ravaged the poor families whose men were away fighting battles.
10) The Need for Justice and Punishment
Lastly, the tenth reason it was so vastly important to change the dynamic of the culture and install a uniform code of conduct was the lack of justice and punishment. A new era needed to be born before their society ruined every aspect of their way of life. Through this misery, injustice and despair a code of conduct was born. This idea or code of conduct influenced medieval behavior and the moral beliefs of this time. A code of behavior known as chivalry developed, and was based loosely on the birth of romantic literature.[7]
The romantic literature of the day fueled to inspire a society of men wishing to become “the chivalric hero [who]was a knight constrained by a code of refinement, fair play, piety, and devotion to an ideal.”[8] The inspiring literature conveyed stories told of justice, love and retribution. These stories touched the hearts of all who heard the tales. The concept of these legends gave this new era hope. Illuminated manuscripts capture the attention of the audience. These lively illustrations reflected the romanticized notions of a disheartened world. They were colorful and full of life. They inspired the people of this time to better themselves through their behavior toward one another and therefore improve the areas that they lived in. These stories may have been used for entertaining, yet they brought valuable lessons to people and were informative and also educational to the young. Young men wished to be knights, and young ladies wished to be their damsels in distress. These romanticized ideas gave a glimpse of hope to people who suffered through these troubled times. The Middle Ages had developed role models for their young children to follow and change their world. The concepts behind the codes of chivalry greatly influenced the people that heard the stories of the idealized knights. Society began to believe that many people held true to the ideas of bravery, respect, truth and justice. It also brought forth the desire to become something more than what you were born in to: to become a chivalrous knight. The ideas and concepts about these codes of living helped change the behavior of society and allowed people to expect more from their short lived lives. Chivalry was absolutely necessary to propel the Middle Ages forward.
[1] History and Headlines — A Bizarre Look at History… One Day at a Time, last modified 11 December 2014,
https://www.historyandheadlines.com/ (accessed 11 December 2014).
[2] Dr. Matthew Donald Zarzeczny, FINS, Banned from the Internet?!: Bizarre Letters, Creepy Crimes and other “Controversial” Top 10 Lists! (excerpt, 2013). http://www.amazon.com/Banned-Internet-Controversial-Top-Lists/dp/1483934721/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418293919&sr=8-1&keywords=Banned+from+the+Internet%3A+Controversial+Top+ten+lists#reader_1483934721 (accessed 8 December 2014).
[3] Lynn Hunt, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein and Bonnie G. Smith, The Making of the West, Peoples and Cultures, A Concise History, Volume 1: To 1750, Fourth Edition, (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2013), 5.
[4] Ibid., 4.
[5] Ibid., 239-251.
[6] Ibid., 249.
[7] Ibid., 356.
[8] Ibid., 357.
If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by entering your email address at the top right of this page or like us on Facebook.
Your readership is much appreciated!
Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…[AMAZONPRODUCTS asin=”0300107676″][AMAZONPRODUCTS asin=”0812219090″]
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="9377 https://www.historyandheadlines.com/?p=9377">16 Comments
These are most certainly 10 great reasons why the middle ages needed chivalry. You provided great detail and information to keep the reader interested. I enjoyed reading this article very much!
I never really thought that chivalry was actually important in the Middle Ages. I honestly believed that it was just the way of living and that is the only way they knew how to live.
I enjoyed reading your article. Middle ages needed chivalry.
Interesting, I have noticed that there are lots of these sorts of articles. 10 ways to… The 7 most… The 3 things you…. I personally think that it’s also important for each individual to do what they know to be the right thing to do and do it!
This is a great article and really shows how the middle ages needed chivalry. The top 10 charts is definitely the best way media and other sources can get their information out, I know I sure do read them!
Thank you Dr. Zarzeczny!
… and thank you all for your time and kind words! — DAVID WARDLE
interesting article
I had to actually google the word ‘chivalry’ since current society has romanticized it. After reading this article, I had a better understanding of the word, and I thought it was well-written and interesting to read! Good job 🙂
Really good article interesting reading about chivalry in the Middle Ages
This was a great article! Because of the romanticized world we live in, I barely even knew what chivalry was, but this showed all the reasons it was necessary!
Good explaination on chivalry. I understand it and appreciate it more now since reading this article
I had never considered chivalry really to be a part of our society except for the romantic notion, then after reading this article it became clear that chivalry is not dead. It may be dormant in some parts of the world but it’s worth striving for in everyday life. I really enjoyed reading this article and I learned a great deal. Great job!
It would’ve been tough to have a father be gone for so long due to war.
I now know much more about chivalry! Never took the time to read into it more
Very interesting list. Good job on it.
I like the article. It is interesting take on that topic. Chivalry is not dead but it sure is n short supply. Great job on the research. Very easy read, will use it in the future.