THE BIRTHPLACE OF CHIVALRY: THE CASE FOR AN ANGEVIN ORIGIN

Abstract

When we think of the medieval period some of the first things we think of are knights and their code of conduct called chivalry. Throughout Western Europe, by the early thirteenth century, chivalry became emblematic of knighthood, but where did it begin? That is the question that this thesis aims to answer. Through the assessment of the political, cultural, and literary context of Angevin rulers and their Anglo-Norman predecessors, this thesis argues that the birthplace of chivalry occurred in the courts of the Angevin Empire between 1160 and 1190. This study points to the military reforms of Henry II, clerics such as John of Salisbury and Ralph Niger and their respective literary works Policraticus and De re militari et triplici via peregrinationis Ierosolimitane, and the cultural context of Henry the Young King to support its claims.