Bringing chivalry back into our modern-day world, this book shows us how to inspire today's generation of young boys to pursue honor, courage, and compassion. In an age when respect and honor seem like distant and antiquated relics, how can we equip boys to pursue valor and courageously put the needs of others before their own? This book helps parents to inspire their boys by captivating their imagination and honoring their love for adventure. Heather Haupt explores how knights historically lived out various aspects of the knights' Code of Chivalry, as depicted in the French epic Song of Roland, and how boys can embody these same ideals now. When we issue the challenge and give boys the reasons why it is worth pursuing, we step forward on an incredible journey towards raising the kind of boys who, just like the knights of old, make an impact in their world now and for the rest of their lives.

On the great influence of a valiant lord: "The companions, who see that good warriors are honored by the great lords for their prowess, become more determined to attain this level of prowess." On the lady who sees her knight honored: "All of this makes the noble lady rejoice greatly within herself at the fact that she has set her mind and heart on loving and helping to make such a good knight or good man-at-arms." On the worthiest amusements: "The best pastime of all is to be often in good company, far from unworthy men and from unworthy activities from which no good can come." Enter the real world of knights and their code of ethics and behavior. Read how an aspiring knight of the fourteenth century would conduct himself and learn what he would have needed to know when traveling, fighting, appearing in court, and engaging fellow knights. Composed at the height of the Hundred Years War by Geoffroi de Charny, one of the most respected knights of his age, A Knight's Own Book of Chivalry was designed as a guide for members of the Company of the Star, an order created by Jean II of France in 1352 to rival the English Order of the Garter. This is the most authentic and complete manual on the day-to-day life of the knight that has survived the centuries, and this edition contains a specially commissioned introduction from historian Richard W. Kaeuper that gives the history of both the book and its author, who, among his other achievements, was the original owner of the Shroud of Turin.

Medieval Europe was a rapidly developing society with a problem of violent disorder. Professor Kaeuper's original and authoritative study reveals that chivalry was just as much a part of this problem as it was its solution. Chivalry praised heroic violence by knights, and fused such displaysof prowess with honour, piety, high-status, and attractiveness to women. Though the vast body of chivalric literature praised chivalry as necessary to civilization, most texts also worried over knightly violence, criticized the ideals and practices of chivalry, and often proposed reforms. Theknights themselves joined the debate, absorbing some reforms, ignoring others, sometimes proposing their own. The interaction of chivalry with major governing institutions ("church" and "state") emerging at that time was similarly complex: kings and clerics both needed and feared the force of theknighthood. This fascinating book lays bare these conflicts and paradoxes which surrounded the concept of chivalry in medieval Europe.

Ranging from Chretien de Troyes to Shakespeare, this study proposes that the chivalric romance is characterized by a centerless structure, self-conscious fictionality and a propensity for irony. The form is tied to historical reality, yet represents the archetype of imaginative literature, declaring its fictional status without claiming to embody fixed truths. Through use of irony, the chivalric romance precludes conclusive interpretations, inviting readers to inhabit multifold fantasy worlds while uncompromisingly showing that an ideal world is only a fiction. Thus the reader is enjoined to confront the suspension of truth in their own lives.

Winner 2023 Will Eisner Award - Best Adaptation from Another Medium. Another delightfully humorous and sweet fantasy graphic novel adaptation of a Neil Gaiman short story, brought to you by the Eisner award-winning creative team behind Troll Bridge and Snow, Glass, Apples: Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran! An elderly British widow buys what turns out to be the Holy Grail from a second-hand shop, setting her off on an epic visit from an ancient knight who lures her with ancient relics in hope for winning the cup. From the Hugo, Bram Stoker, Locus, World Fantasy, Nebula award–winning, and New York Times bestselling writer Neil Gaiman (American Gods) comes this graphic novel adaptation by Colleen Doran (Troll Bridge, Snow, Glass, Apples).

Guibert of Ghent is only 7 years old when he arrives at his uncle's castle to become a knight and study chivalry. But learning the Ancient Code of Chivalry turns out to be a much harder and much more exciting lesson than he ever expected! Guibert's study of chivalry leads him into adventures involving a deadly encounter with wolves, helping a lady in distress, finding new friends and new enemies, fighting a nefarious political plot against his home, helping in a desperate woodland battle, and solving a mystery with roots stretching into the era of his Viking great-grandparents. Follow Guibert's adventures through the Ten Commandments of Chivalry in this character study of 22 lessons for your little knights. A story lesson alternates with a practical lesson about the specific commandment Guibert is learning, applying Christian principles to everyday situations. The lessons also contain questions to think about, memory verses, reproducible coloring pages, puzzles, crafts, and practical activities to make learning chivalry even more fun! Chivalry is still very much alive today. And that's because it is essentially a list of qualities to help people be better servants to God and their fellow man. It is codified Christian servanthood. It speaks into our broken, modern age in incredibly relevant ways, and it can help your child build a strong foundation for a vibrant life of Christian faithfulness. Those bold boys and girls who set off on the path of Ancient Code Chivalry will find a challenge: but they'll find it the path of real, Christian adventure, a path they'll never want to turn back from!