I should start out with the fact that chivalry is not primarily about being a “simp” as the kids would say these days. I should also point out that being a “simp” of sorts can be a boundless well for development. This will require further consideration but for now let us return to the subject of chivalry. It was first and foremost a warrior ethos and a kind of battlefield etiquette. It was of course centered around the mounted fighting man of the middle ages. There is a romanticizing  that cuts in lofty and cynical ways in recent history. On the one hand the Victorian era held up the the chivalrous knight as an always stalwart Dudley Doright that rescued fair maidens and never debased himself with wrongdoing. In our more cynical modern times we see the ever familiar deconstructions that chivalry was a thin veil of propaganda that sugar coated groups of bloodthirsty idiots that were more or less outlaw biker gangs on horses. The truth is not on one side or the other or even in the middle but rather hovering above it in a hazy mirage that modern eyes find difficult to penetrate.

There is no doubt there were evil knights who ran roughshod over innocent people. There is also no doubt that the cult of chivalry was something that was taken very seriously and followed with great severity. There are numerous ways to go straight to the horse’s mouth regarding the importance of chivalry.

One such voice comes from Ramon Llull. An incredible mind from the Catalonia region of Spain who lived in the thirteenth century and may be responsible for the creation of computers. A part of the neoplatonic tradition, He wrote many tracts on metaphysics and science but also wrote of the very visceral code of chivalry. It is interesting to note that Ramon Llull personally met Jaque De Molay and was consulted briefly during their trial. He had put forward the notion that the military orders should be combined into one entity. The Templars disagreed with his strategy but had cordial relations nonetheless. He wrote a short tract to advise those who sought to make their way in the warrior caste in the middle ages.

The work takes place within a frame story where an older knight has retired as a sanyassin after a career of war and is retired to a life of contemplation in a remote forest living off of what he can forage. A young man on his way to be knighted falls asleep and his horse carries him to where the old knight’s hermitage. An interesting parallel could be made to the parable of the coach in Mouravieff’s Gnosis.

The old knight passes on his small book of chivalry to the young squire who asks for it and asks him to keep the torch burning and pass on the tradition. The book has broad sections detailing the origins of chivalry, qualifications needed, customs, symbolism, and honors regarding knighthood. Chivalry and knighthood emerged out of a time of tumult and darkness which most historians will more or less agree on. While noble lineage is important he emphasizes that is the interior virtue and the proper fulfilling of the obligations of that lineage that are important.  What is particularly interesting is the section regarding the symbolism of the arms and equipment of the knight. Using the method of analogy he describes the various weapons and the inner meaning of them.

The next time you lace up your boots or put on some gloves to chop some firewood, you are wearing your PPE right, reflect on these virtues they represent. More importantly enact these virtues in your life. The book is a short read and is worth your time. In the version I read there was an afterword by a knight named William Caxton who translated it in approximately 1483 in order to exhort his fellow Englishmen to once again revive the great feats and examples set by the Knights of the Round and other knights through history. It’s apparent there must be constant vigilance to keep the flame of the warrior ethos burning and now there must be drastic measures to find and preserve whatever embers we can find.

The last section deals with honor that should be rendered to the knight. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but one shouldn’t hold their breath for such things. The more likely scenario is to be a ranger of the north skulking in forests and camping in crumbling edifices with the only thanks being ambivalence or suspicion. Regardless I hope you decide to stick around rather than sail off in the white ship and give the West one more chance.