Can you define Chivalry

Answer 1

The literal meaning of chivalry is a body or unit of knights (Anglo-Norman French chevalerie).

Today the word is used of a completely fictional idea of the "traditional" qualities of medieval knighthood, such as honour, protection of the weak, generosity to enemies and gallantry. This fictional view actually began in the medieval period, as fables and dramatic stories of gallant kinghts - the King Arthur stories are among these, but there are many others. They were seen at the time as entertaining Fairy Tales and were not intended to reflect the real world.

Throughout the medieval period, knights were brutal thugs trained to maim and kill their opponents without any thoughts of gallantry - study the details of any medieval battle and you will find little that could be called chivalrous. The fictional ideal was picked up in 19th century European literature and art, which helped to enforce the concept of gallant knights errant rescuing damsels in distress.