The Knights Code Of Chivalry In Le Morte D Arthur

In the time that Le Morte d’Arthur was written, Arthurian romances lined the bookshelves of Europe. Knights, wizards, sorceresses and mythical creatures are what the general public yearned for in the 1400’s. Lots of conflict, battles and, you can guess it, romance. Le Morte d’Arthur has been said to be written by Sir Thomas Malory, but since there were several somewhat prominent fellows named the same, the true author is a mystery. The most agreed upon author by experts is Sir Thomas Malory of Newbold Revel, said to be born “...after 1415 and before 1418” (Field). Many rumors surround him and not much is known about this mystery author. A few key things that are known are that he was knighted around 1443, and that he was also a frequent visitor of prison, being booked as a “thief, bandit, kidnapper, and a rapist.” (Hicks) The latter of the key things seem to contradict The Chivalric Code. The Knights Code of Chivalry was described in “The Song of Roland”, which was

Balyn was a newly liberated prisoner, who was deemed a man of a pure heart and was able to gain King Arthurs respect. Balyn ends up getting caught up in some controversial things, and ultimately kills his mothers murderer, The Lady of The Lake. Arthur is enraged about Balyns wrongdoings, to which Balyn promises to make right by killing one of Arthurs enemies, King Royns, thus winning back Arthurs respect. This vengeance is done in order to achieve a personal yearning for the respect of a higher up figure in this Arthurian society. Balyn was so thankful of King Arthurs gracious apology for holding him in prison, that he feels that he must repay him with good deeds. This correlates with the human condition, since the desire of wanting to be good in someones eyes, especially if they are higher up, is greater than that of being less in their eyes. We don’t like being not appreciated, it just goes against what we’re made to