An Analysis of Chivalry in the Movie Tristan and Isold
Abstract: a special class, knights, appeared in Europe in the middle ages.They were rewarded and conferred titles by the king or Lord on the condition that they served in the cavalry. The Movie Tristan and Isold is a war film about the dark and cold weapon age in the middle ages of Britain.Tristan, the hero of the film, is admirably brave and tactful.He is a real knight, at the same time, the spirit of chivalry in his body has a good embodiment.
Definition of Chivalry
We often see European knights in tight-fitting armor, helmets and swords in movies and TV shows. They are armed to the teeth, riding their own horses and fighting for their country and honor.
Chivalry is a kind of noble cultural spirit, which is based on the superiority of personal identity.At the same time, it also accumulated some positive factors of the ancient European national warrior spirit, and strictly regulated the thoughts and behaviors of knights.Generally speaking, its spiritual essence mainly includes the following aspects: belief in Christ and loyalty to the Lord;Brave and honest;Warlike and yet graceful;To venerate women and to seek love;Chivalry and honor first.
Characteristics of Chivalry
The first knights were not the suave figures we now imagine. They were soldiers of the most barbaric and heartless character.However, under the ideological cultivation of Christianity, with the improvement of living standard and social stability, the behavior of knights changed at the end of the 11th century and the beginning of the 12th century, gradually forming their own unique spiritual quality and cultural connotation.Chivalry is a special moral code of the medieval knight aristocracy.Many factors, such as war, tournament, religion, elegant love and court culture, have fostered and spawned the spirit of chivalry.
In Europe in the middle ages, bravery was not only the daily code of conduct for knights, but also a kind of soul spirit.Bravery is the concentrated embodiment of chivalry's sense of honor and noble character, and also the core content of chivalry.
The eight virtues of a knight: humility, integrity, compassion, valor, justice, sacrifice, honor, and soul!
It constitutes the so-called "gentleman spirit" in the western European nations and forms the modern European people's emphasis on personal identity and honor, as well as on grace.Attention to etiquette and appearance;The yearning for the worship of spiritual ideals and the worship of women's romantic temperament;And a commitment to open competition and fair play.
In a word, it makes the modern European national character contain not only the elegant noble temperament, but also the brave warrior character of keeping promise, being ready to help others and sacrificing for ideals and honors.
Historical Background of Chivalry
Chivalry originated in the frankish kingdom of the carolingians in the middle ages and was gradually introduced to European countries.But the complete system of chivalry did not take shape until about the 11th century AD.Later, the Crusades launched by the Roman Catholic church and the rulers pushed the knights into a period of great prosperity.
In the middle ages, the so-called chivalry was mainly produced after the economic development and the Christian church's social norms.
The economy of Western Europe grew slowly but steadily in the 12th and 13th centuries, the money economy gradually recovered, and the feudal barons were able to live a more comfortable and respectable life. This may have reduced their barbarism in some ways, because they were able to live a life of greater abundance and taste.It is in this material background that the new moral standard of chivalry comes into being.
Social Context of the Development of Chivalry
Chivalry is an all-european system that started in the south of France and then spread to the north, through Flanders, Burgundy, and then to the west of the German empire.Its development has gone through three main stages.
The first period was roughly from Charles marter's military reforms to the end of the 11th century.The chivalry of this period was still in its infancy.Knights before the 11th century were an open class, and anyone capable of acquiring weapons and horses could be knighted after submission.Knights were professional soldiers. Early knights were considered to be the most loyal and brave people. He was responsible for the protection of the people.The military nature is very obvious.
The second stage lasted from about the beginning of the 12th to the beginning of the 13th century.This stage is basically based on the Crusades (1095-1291), is the prosperity of the system of chivalry.The religious and military principles of chivalry combined and reached their climax.At the urging of the Pope, the crusaders set out to wage war against the infidels in the name of god.After the twelfth century, the right to be a knight had become a hereditary privilege.On the other hand, the boundary between the common people and the knights grew larger and larger, and the social class of the knights was fixed.
The third stage lasted from the late 13th century to the reformation.The chivalry of this period began to decline and eventually disappeared in the development of history.One is the transformation of knights into general nobles.Knights who were not required to serve in the army began to convert into secular nobles.The knights who owned a large amount of real estate used their land to collect land rents and became land owners, while the small knights began to devote themselves to commerce and became the forerunners of the later emerging bourgeoisie.At the same time, after the 14th century, on the one hand, the knighthood ceremony became more and more casual, at this time, the knight has long lost the connotation of the early medieval knight, became an honorary title.
The Impact of Chivalry on Literature
Chivalry is a special literary form in Europe in the middle ages and a reflection of the system of chivalry in literature.In the 11th and 12th centuries, after the feudal system was established, in order to win the battle, the feudal lords had a group of warriors, who gradually formed a class of knights.During the crusader war, knights played an important role in the service of religion and their social status was greatly improved. After they came into contact with the more advanced eastern culture, they gradually formed a system and formed the so-called chivalry.
The tenets of the knights were loyalty to the king, protection of religion, and chivalry. They were loyal to their "beloved lady" and risked their lives to win and protect their own honor.Knights in such a name, to maintain the service of the feudal system.The romances of chivalry reflect the life and ideal of the chivalry.
The romances of chivalry came into being between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries.It was the end of the entrepreneurial era.Due to the establishment of the chivalry system and the improvement of the social status of the chivalry class, their own spiritual life and moral code were generated.They break through the Christian concept of being out of the world and the taboo, and demand the enjoyment of the present world, yearning for secular love, pursuing the chivalry of individual heroism, chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry of chivalry.Chivalry is the concentrated reflection of this mental characteristic.
Romances of chivalry are mostly based on folk tales and epics. The basic themes of romances are determined by feudal knights, chivalrous adventures, worship of ladies and the supremacy of love.
How Chivalry is highlighted in the Movie
Synopsis of the Movie Tristan and Isold
The Movie Tristan and Isold is a war film about the dark and cold weapon age in the middle ages of Britain.It is also a film about European chivalry and culture.
The film is set around 600 AD, when the Roman empire (the western Roman empire) had collapsed, and the tribes of Great Britain were in constant conflict, while the western Ireland, thanks to its geographical position, was not affected by the fall of the Roman empire and prospered.In order to maintain his rule, the powerful and cruel king of Ireland, Chad, brutally killed the parents of the hero Tristan, and destroyed the plan of king mark of Cornwall to sign the treaty of the united tribes.The whole film revolves around the protagonist Tristan grew into a brave knight, in love, loyalty to the country and a series of stories.