The Following are my personal views, and beliefs, and are not necessarily indicative of how things really are.
Chivalry: There are nearly as many versions of the Code
of Chivalry as there were orders—perhaps even practitioners. Some of the virtues, the ones I will be
addressing, are Prowess, Loyalty, Largesse, Courtesy, Truth, Temperance, Justice,
Faith, Courage, Honor. My goal is to
discuss the place of the various virtues in the SCA, and how the various ideals
relate to each other.
Prowess:
Prowess has always been important
to the Chivalric ideal. It is a way to
gain renown, status, and even a means of support (by means of the ransoms
gained with prowess). Prowess is
typically measured by skill in various forms of combat; whatever the current
fashion is.
While you cannot particularly
support yourself in the SCA by means of your prowess (unless you’re smart about
it, like Sir Gemini with his school, or various craftsmen who sell their wares)
the other two are quite common. Renown
is fairly simple—if you are known as a good fighter then people will talk about
it and eventually you will become known for being able to defeat (or skewer)
your opponents. Likewise, status may be
gained in the form of winning a crown tournament or earning a knighthood.
However, unlike in period, I think
that Prowess can be more than “just” fighting (I suppose you could gain fame
and renown by being a famous armourer or poet.). You can also gain renown by means of becoming
skilled at various arts; or, on the service side—perhaps by your skill at
herding assorted sizes of cats… It is,
however, a bit more difficult to gain status by means of arts or service—there
are just less options (Barony of the Far East withstanding).
Loyalty:
Like Prowess, Loyalty is fairly
straight forwarded. Loyalty to your King
and Country (or your direct feudal overlord).
There is also the loyalty to your friends and self.
I do not see too much of a
difference, on the whole, between loyalty in period and in the SCA. However, whilst in period your loyalty would
likely be directed at your overlord (being who you actually swore any oaths
to), I feel we may have more levels to be loyal towards. Poor way of putting it, I’m sure—but for
instance, I’ve paid homage at all three levels (Baronial, Principality, and
Kingdom), plus the more personal loyalty towards my peers and household (i.e.
friends); compare that to the medieval knight, who may never meet his king.
Largess:
Largesse is generosity. The giving of alms to the needy without
expecting anything in return is well known—however it could also be considered generous
to be merciful to a defeated opponent (not killing them, or returning a
knight’s ransomed armour so that he might continue in a tourney). The importance of giving largesse, as a
noble, can partially be seen in that you might carry a richly decorated “alms
purse” specifically for that purpose. In
earlier periods especially, largesse and loyalty were intertwined—a chief was
expected to give generously to his fighters in return for their loyalty.
In the Society, Largesse may often
be seen in the gifts to the officers or children by sitting royals. Other places that largesse can be applied is
after fighting a particularly “worthy” (by whatever measure you prefer--entertaining
being my preference) opponent, to give them a small gift. It would also be considered largesse to give
generously of your time (as many of us do), serving at events.
Courtesy:
Courtesy is usually considered
politeness or courtly manners—how you generally behave, in other words. Personally, I prefer another version—a French
word which translates as courtliness--that also covers things that a noble
should know that are not fighting related—the ability to dance, play chess,
entertain the ladies, etc.
This is a major part of the SCA,
and something which is very heavily encouraged in our hopefully courtly graces,
the carrying of things for ladies, and of course, the non-fighting skills of a
noble. Perhaps my favourite quote
(allegedly from period, but I cannot remember where I read it) was along the
lines of (lady) “If you cannot dance, or play a game of chess, then go hang
yourself in the closet with your amour until the next war.” I’m sure I butchered the quote, but I think
you get the idea.
Courtesy ties heavily in with
honor, and being an honourable and courteous opponent, for instance. Not attacking an opponent unequal to the
attack because they’re disarmed, completely and hopelessly open (especially if
you’re in a multiple on one scenario (I’m thinking of one fight in particular
that I experienced this in)—or offering single combat in that case), on the
ground, etc.
Truth:
Again, deceptively straight
forwarded. Truth is, and was, at the
simplest, not telling falsehoods—I’m not sure how to go any further with
that. Interestingly, the word truth is
related to loyalty and faithfulness. It
occurs to me that humility could also be taken as being truthful with yourself.
Temperance:
Temperance is the trait of
restraining yourself from going overboard.
Humility, for instance, is tempering your pride and vanity by not
showing off, not bragging, not reaching above your station (wearing clothing
that you really cannot afford, for instance) and being who you are. Mercy and forgiveness are tempering your
anger.
In the case of humility, it could
be displayed in combat by being a “good winner” (not gloating in victory) or a
“good loser” (and congratulating your opponent on their victory). Many people, when they think of Temperance,
think of alcohol—specifically, the not getting completely smashed even though
it would be quite easy to do so.
Again, relating to humility, is it’s
tempering pride—which I have actually also seen as a chivalric virtue. That is, the natural pride in one’s self,
abilities, etcetera. This could be
considered being truthful with yourself, as well.
Justice:
Justice is trickier—however, it
could be defined as upholding the laws equally, for all, or doing what is right
without bias. Obviously, laws and what
is right can vary according to person and place.
I’m not sure how it applies to the
SCA, beyond the above. It is quite
related to temperance, since it takes temperance to step back and apply justice
objectively.
Faith:
Historically, much of faith was,
of course, religion. However it can also
be applied to trusting a person as well—including yourself (pride could be
considered having faith in yourself and your abilities).
In the Society, while the
religious aspect of faith is personal (and doesn’t particularly apply to the
SCA as a whole), the others do (hmmm—faith that your helmet won’t fail when
somebody plays T-ball with your head, or that your opponent in rapier will not
actually harm you).
Courage:
Historically, in combat you could
not really have prowess without the courage to risk your life in the attempt to
gain it (prowess). As such, it goes hand
in hand with the virtue of Prowess. Courage
could be defined as having the strength to confront various forms of negativity
(like pain or death, as well as the mental equivalents).
While being defeated in combat
does not have the dire consequences it did before (thankfully), it can still
take courage to get out there and face the hot fighter, standing up for your
values, etcetera.[1] Courage can be applied to many of other
virtues, such as justice, faith, and temperance.
Honour:
I look at honor as being how you
and your behavior are viewed by others.
In the Society, as in period, an honourable fighter is generally
considered one who behaves with a certain courtesy on the field (and off),
perhaps one who accepts and will fight duels.
Looking into the OED, honour can
also be used in a similar way as prowess, with honour being gained or lost by
deeds and skill. It may also be
something similar to your dignity as a noble.
There is also the usage along the likes of paying honour to ladies,
where it is used in a manner similar to respect.
This last is as common as any of
the virtues in the SCA—in every tournament, usually in every round, you pay
honour/respects to the royals, your lady (who’s honour you fight for), and your
opponent—in effect promising that you will fight with honor and courtesy.
by Tiarna Bránn mac Finnchad
[1]
hauling some ladies baskets, or trying….
© John Frey, 2004. The Author of this work
retains full copyright for this material. May not be reproduced, in part or full.
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