Verily.
Chivalry as a code of life and and status might be dead, but it is in most cases a very dignified way of living ones life. Now the commandments listed here can be considered quite complicated to those whom perhaps do not speak English as their first language or to those of you whom simply do not possess the vocabulary for older words such as these. As such, I shall write them in a simpler form where necessary.
1: To fear God and maintain his church.
2: To serve the liege lord in valour and faith.
3: To protect the weak and defenceless.
4: To support widows and orphans in their times of need and hardship.
5: To not insult someone without being provoked.
6: To live by honour and for glory.
7: To hate the idea of monetary reward.
8: To fight for the safety of others.
9: To follow the orders of those above you.
10: To protect the honour of all other folk who follow the code.
11: To never engage in unfair, mean or deceitful behavior.
12: To keep faith.
13: To always tell the truth.
14: To never give up.
15: To respect the honour of women.
16: Never say no to a challenge from someone at the same level as you.
17: Never run away from a fight.
Now to be perfectly frank, I believe in following the code of chivalry in my modern day life where applicable. However I don't believe it is fair to take the exact definition from medieval times as that, along with many things from such a time, have changed in definition.
Let us first look at how the code contradicts itself and move to adapt it as possible.
The code came from a time of religious bias, a time where the entire World was turning in on itself for what silly sky fantasy they believed in. In this modern day society, the idea of defending every human equally would contradict the old ways of following a single religion. Since the tenant "To Keep Faith" exists, I believe this may be applicable to all World religions rather than just the catholic faith. Thus the first tenant would be null and void in todays society in order to fit in with the other more just rules.
Tenants 2 and 9 also fall into the same field, the idea of a liege lord is now dead and as such the idea of following the orders of ones authority figure is still important. It should be noted however that this rule was often broken by knights as a figure of authority may not be chivalrous themselves and as such disobeying their orders went against the rest of the code. By the by, one should simply follow they whom is viewed most just and obey their orders diligently. Either that... or be a leader yourself.
Tenant 3 is personal opinion in terms of its application. But I personally have always followed this as a rule of thumb as it is by far the most famous rule. A chivalrous individual should always help those whom cannot help themselves and whom desire help, if more people did this then I think our modern society would be a much better place as a whole.
Number 4 is a bit of a given, you have to be a right sick piece of trash to directly disobey this rule. While simply not following it is fine, I think doing the opposite of said would be appalling don't you?
Number 5 is another important one. Don't be a bad person, don't insult people without at least rationalizing a good reason for your provocation. Why on Earth would you do that unless you're a jerk?
Number 6? Another debatable one but if you apply it to modern ideals and definitions then it makes sense;
Honour:
1: high respect; great esteem.
2: the quality of knowing and doing what is morally right.
Glory:
1: high renown or honour won by notable achievements.
2: magnificence or great beauty.
In essence? Hold yourself with dignity and aim to achieve greatness. If you ask me this is the sort of mindset that earns a person respect.
Now number 7 is one that changed with the times, now one requries money to live and exist in this World, however back at the times of the knights chivalrous, they had themselves provided for by their lords. They were provided with food and housing, arms and armor. They had no need for money apart from selfish indulgence and thus it was denied by the code. Maybe indulgence is worthwhile and could be argued for, but I'd at least counter point that this should be in moderation. The refusal of monetary reward in todays setting would apply to something like helping a neighbour or fixing your little brothers bike for them... it is unchivalrous to expect or ask for payment for the good deeds you do, helping others should be its own reward. Your payment comes from your work and job and is your means of living in general.
I understand why others might shy from Tenant 8, but personally I choose to uphold it as well. It can be difficult to stand up for another person... in any circumstance. But can anyone argue that doing so is not the right thing to do?
Tenant 9 was discussed earlier.
If we assume that the code of chivalry is indeed just, which I do in this scenario, then those whom follow it are in most circumstances deserving of their dignity due to the actions they see through for the benefit of others. I would, personally, gladly defend such a person with my own honour at stake... such a thing is chivalrous as well and thus tenant 10 exists.
Tenant 11 translates directly into "don't be a dick". Simple stuff even for those who don't follow the code.
This was discussed, but tenant 12 can in a modern circumstance if adapted by taken literally as "Stay true to what you believe." Which if you ask me, is a very important thing in any persons life. What is life without something to strive for? A personal way of life to believe in? Be it religious or otherwise... having faith in ones beliefs and defending them is undoubtedly worthwhile.
Tenant 13... Telling the truth can be hard, especially when the truth would hurt people... so I understand this tenants controversy and I too can break it. Still, I believe that in most situations I would still strive to stick true to this tenant. In the majority of situations in life, lies are rarely necessary and they hurt more people than they have ever helped.
Tenant 14. Never give up, what else is there to say?
Now for tenant 15, many people often misunderstand this one and think it hints at women needing to receive special treatment. Even people whom follow the code tend to mess this one up. But I'll tell you now that all of those people are wrong. In the time of this codes conception, women were considered weaker and lesser than men... men were the stronger and better individuals in the eyes of the populace. Chivalry disagrees with this common misconception of the era.
"15: To respect the honour of women." Women and men both have their own honour, their own codes to live by and their own sense of dignity... this tenant isn't telling us to mollycoddle females, but to treat them with the respect and dignity of their own. In its own way and in the most blatant way at the time, this tenant is telling us to treat all people as equals should they have the willpower to match you and that even if they don't that they deserve some semblance of respect. This is the tenant of equality in gender, not favoritism of any one side... and if you really want to dispute equality then you have a much grander problem my friend.
Tenant 16 is linked to honour entirely and it is the only one I can myself claim to disagree with in many parts... even though yes I do abide by it. Confrontation is often bad, but if someone challenges you to a battle of any sort... if they stand as a rival at your level. Then I believe that there is a certain disrespect in turning them away... if it is out of fear then it is self disrespect for doubting your ability against an equal, if it is out of arrogance then it is disrespect due to your under-estimation of an equal opponent. Remember, this tenant specifies that you may not turn down a challenge from an
"equal" opponent.
Finally, tenant 17. Never run away from a fight, probably one of my favourites. "Never to turn the back upon a foe." Never turn away from your enemy. If you enter into a fight then you have gotten yourself into that situation, you either get yourself out, live up to your claims and succeed... or you fail trying only to try again later. I view running away from an accepted confrontation as weak, it shows an inability to cope with what you yourself have undertaken... if thrust into a situation against your will then I wouldn't blame you for running, but you'd have to accept and agree to that fact that you did so because you were not capable enough to deal with the situation... that's simple 2+ 2 logic. This applies not only to a physical opponent but to every trial and tribulation in life... responsibilities, commitments, challenging times. This rule does not forbid you from seeking help... only from running away and abandoning the issue for someone ELSE to deal with. Have honor, stand and fight, or let someone who can handle the situation deal with it for you. Which option would you rather choose? If people applied this to their lives I can see their ambition pushing them to excel further rather than the common ending of their fear inhibiting them from growing as a person.
All in all, chivalry as a code is old yes, it is slightly dated in some areas, yes.
You hear talk of the crusades and the holy tenants of chivalry... how they lead to massacre and death. Pain and suffering. But as I established in a modern setting these rules contradict the entire code! They render it redundant and thus in adaptation the religious connotation would have to be removed.
And when you remove that aspect... can you tell me of a knight who slaughtered innocents? A knight who ruined lives? Or can you only see as I do the stories of valiant heroes whom gave their all for what they believed in? Maybe sometimes they were misguided but they protected those weaker than themselves and they defended their dignity, their beliefs and their homeland. They were some of the most respected individuals in the medieval World by the common man and much like today the problems of the World were caused by the "kings" and "rulers" whom rarely followed the code of chivalry at all.
I have admired and yes, silly as it might sound on paper, I have striven to follow chivalry as best I can as the person I am. At its core chivalry is the ideal of defending what you feel is right, protecting your dignity as a human being... and most importantly striking back at injustice and disgrace brought on to the weak, defenceless, innocent and honourable.
I give chivalry a resounding "Yea" as a fit for the modern society, if followed correctly as its code dictates and purified of its contradictions in a modern World then I feel like it would bring a sense of honour back to us all that is so very painfully lost in more modern times. More chivalrous people are needed in times like these.
