My Creature from the Black Lagoon
Nate Bradley
Mr. Silberstein
English IV, Period 1
30 November 2009
The Beginning of the End of Morals If Chivalry is dead, then so is truth, justice, and the American way. America was based on profound leaders that set up a moral Constitution that make the men of this country question morality. Chivalry, being the Knights code of conduct, is a distinct set of rules that portrays the morals of a Knight. Not only is Chivalry not dead, but it will never die as long as there are men and women with integrity. Before one can argue for “the Knights code” one must first understand what a Knight is. According to the dictionary a Knight is “A mounted soldier serving under a feudal superior in the Middle Ages” or “a man upon whom the nonhereditary dignity of knighthood is conferred by a sovereign because of personal merit or for services rendered to the country”. In that in today’s society, since ones lineage does not define ones status, chivalry can be redefined as someone who has nobility, personal merit, and provides services to their country for the better of society. Someone with morals who fights for the betterment of society and is held to strict morals to defend their country, entitles a lot of people in America into Knighthood. Police officers, Firemen, American Forces, Lawyers, etc. or anyone who is patriotic and holds themselves to a code of ethics can be considered a follower of chivalrous actions. Now that that is clear, it is plain to see that Knights in today’s modern day society is a quite a bit more than it was back in the Medieval era. All of this leaning towards the fact that chivalry is far from dead. As proven by in the Knight’s Tale, by Chaucer, a true Knight leads by example not by simply heritage or speech. In that many religions and faiths can be considered chivalrous. Take Christianity, even some Knights were to be Christian men; Christians are bound to a code of ethics found in the Bible. Similar to that of the Code of chivalry
Mr. Silberstein
English IV, Period 1
30 November 2009
The Beginning of the End of Morals If Chivalry is dead, then so is truth, justice, and the American way. America was based on profound leaders that set up a moral Constitution that make the men of this country question morality. Chivalry, being the Knights code of conduct, is a distinct set of rules that portrays the morals of a Knight. Not only is Chivalry not dead, but it will never die as long as there are men and women with integrity. Before one can argue for “the Knights code” one must first understand what a Knight is. According to the dictionary a Knight is “A mounted soldier serving under a feudal superior in the Middle Ages” or “a man upon whom the nonhereditary dignity of knighthood is conferred by a sovereign because of personal merit or for services rendered to the country”. In that in today’s society, since ones lineage does not define ones status, chivalry can be redefined as someone who has nobility, personal merit, and provides services to their country for the better of society. Someone with morals who fights for the betterment of society and is held to strict morals to defend their country, entitles a lot of people in America into Knighthood. Police officers, Firemen, American Forces, Lawyers, etc. or anyone who is patriotic and holds themselves to a code of ethics can be considered a follower of chivalrous actions. Now that that is clear, it is plain to see that Knights in today’s modern day society is a quite a bit more than it was back in the Medieval era. All of this leaning towards the fact that chivalry is far from dead. As proven by in the Knight’s Tale, by Chaucer, a true Knight leads by example not by simply heritage or speech. In that many religions and faiths can be considered chivalrous. Take Christianity, even some Knights were to be Christian men; Christians are bound to a code of ethics found in the Bible. Similar to that of the Code of chivalry
Cited: -The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer - www.dictionary .com