Queen Elizabeth I spoke about her faults as a woman and the fact that she, a woman, has a “heart and stomach of a king” (6). This shows that women were aware they were being looked down upon as they compared a strong heart and stomach to one that only a king could have. This speech shows that its
Chivalric romances are often centered upon the efforts of gallant knights seeking to achieve a concept known as “true knighthood” which involves embarking on quests or adventures to obtain honor, love, and Christian virtue. The brave knights of these stories are met with many obstacles to overcome, commonly in regards to rescuing or protecting a lady. In other words, the typical role of women in this period is that of the damsel in distress or a helpless, dependent lady in need of a hero. However, the stories of Chrétien de Troyes’ Yvain, the Knight of the Lion and Friedrich Heinrich Karl La Motte-Fouqué’s The Magic Ring strays from the typical role of women as the damsel in distress.
In medieval times, chivalry was something that many men lived up to. If a man lived up to the expectations of chivalry he was said to be loyal, brave and courageous. For some it was difficult to follow certain codes especially when it came to romance, an example: Sir Lancelot in the movie “First Knight.” Medieval romance was taken seriously during its time. Not only did men/knights have to follow rules and codes about war, but also about romance.
As the face of a societal female, women must set a strong impression upon future generations. In document one, by French writer, Christine de Pizan in 1404, writes in The Book of the City of Ladies, ‘[...] for where there is honour there ought to be the most perfect manners and behavior.” Pizan expresses that young women are taught to be mannerful for a man when women should act as equally honourable as a man. Women must be taught according to a mans standard of feminine honor rather than a woman's standard of feminine honor. In document five, Mary Cary, member of the millenarian Fifth Monarchy sect of the civil war writes in the 1656, The New Jerusalem's Glory, that “[...] women shall prophesie; not only aged men; and not only young men;[...] those that have university learning,but those that have it not[...].”
A medieval queen was then accompanied to mass with her ladies maids, at the end of which she would give charity among the gathered peasants at the church. Sometimes the Queen would also listen to petitions and make reasonable compromises. Some-times, when a medieval queen had a say in the business of the kingdom, she would go to the council and follow the business taking place. The afternoon of a medieval queen would usually be spent in the company of other ladies and maids.
Values of Men in the 11th Century Compared to Current Time Are you complaining about your man not having the values of a “real” man? Even though you keep wishing that your man had the values of a “real” man back in the 11th century, do you, the reader know what the values of a man were in the 11th century? Now that you thought about it, do you the reader have enough knowledge to compare the values that were looked for in a man during the 11th century to todays’ current values that are looked for in a man?
There were very high standards for women during the Elizabethan Era. Elizabethans thought that a woman’s outer appearance was merely a reflection of her inner condition (Papp and Kirkland). Women were valued for their beauty and qualities such as being submissive, passive, modest, humble, temperate, and kind (Zuber). A good woman was also obedient, modest, and had virtue and chastity (Papp and Kirkland). John Knox, a Scottish protestant leader said, “Women in her greatest perfection was made to serve and obey man” (Alchin).
It represented typical behavior that one finds in that period. In Johnathan W. Zophy’s text, “A Short History of Renaissance and Reformation Europe: Dances Over Fire and Ice”, he discusses at length the Italian Renaissance. For example, he writes, “the age started with females generally subordinated to males and restricted by law and custom” (Zophy 3). This way of live was set in in motion, women were to serve their husband and daughters listened to their fathers. At this point, it is fair to question the relationship between men and women.
Stories can be used to empower, to break, and to rebuild human nature. Moreover, the most dangerous kind of story is a single story. Single stories are so incredibly dangerous because they create stereotypes and, as Adiche said, “the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but they are incomplete” (Adiche). A single story about Africa being a completely destitute and hopeless place caused Adiche’s college roommate to immediately have extreme feelings of melancholy for her; her roommate even believed she was unable to work a stove which was far from the truth.
The concept of Chivalry has baffled countless medieval historians throughout the years. Chivalry was supposedly a code that knights and nobles lived their lives by. Similarly to other social structures that were in place in the past historians have struggled to draw conclusions as to the extent to which people lived according to chivalric principles. Sir Walter Scott believed that knights aspired to the code of chivalry, but that in the real world the code was impossible to live according to such a code. This conclusion gives a clear picture of chivalry.
The corruption women faced in the olden times were the social norm, and men were possibly unaware of any other way to treat women. In today’s times, it is a law that not only women, but everybody must be treated with respect without discrimination or racial injustices. While women face inequality at times, it is not normalized to treat women with disrespect. They are often misinterpreted and underestimated, but in the 1700s, women were expected to do one thing and only one thing: please the men.
He must show a variety of skills and characteristics that will help not only to maintain his reputation, but help to set an example for the others as well. Castiglione mentions an innumerable amount of qualities which included grace, affectation, and nonchalance. As Castiglione states, “A man who behaves with grace finds it with others” (65). If the courtier can find a quality like grace within himself, then he is able to identify with others and lead them in the right direction. The courtier exemplifies qualities that all the others, with the exception of the courtier and those in the court must exhibit: compliance.
This meant staying pure, and untilted by the lies of men. For example De pizan writes, “Women who do not act like this are going against their own nature” (789). In addition Lady Reason, Lady Justice, and Lady Rectitude carry with them symbolic artifacts that are used to support the idea of a good moral character. Lady Reason carries with her a mirror that represents clarity. De Pizan must see things as they are, and with logic not as how people claim they might be.
The term is now popularly known as the “honorable and polite way of behaving, especially towards women”. The modern day definition of chivalry targets men, specifically, in society. The phrase “knight in shining armor” is used to reference a man who possesses
Beauty, grace, riches, and obedience all exemplify the qualities of the proper women in medieval
