Petercsák Tivadar - Berecz Mátyás (szerk.): Tudomány és hagyományőrzés - Studia Agriensia 26. (Eger, 2008)

KATONAI HAGYOMÁNYŐRZÉS A 21. SZÁZADBAN - PÁVAY TIBOR: Lovagi kultúra, lovagi kéziratok

Tibor Pávay

CHIVALRIC CULTURE, CHIVALRIC MANUSCRIPTS

We attempt primarily to clarify with substantiated evidence the notion of chivalry, with the aid of current terminology, and chivalry as a military, social and cultural construct in particular. We give an account of the origins and development of chivalry: the formation of an official warrior class in the early Middle Ages; the appearance of a costly, heavily armoured (and ultimately aristocratic) manner of engagement; the courtly chansons of the Occitan troubadours (fin ’amor, amour courtois); the ideal of the Miles christi (and how it came about), and the idea of the “Children of Mars” (ecclesiastical and royal chivalric orders). We have tried to provide both an account of the chivalric records and a more comprehensive cultural overview with the use of primary and secondary sources.

A short account of the sources is followed by a summary of the medieval literature, clerical conventions, historical descriptions and the chivalric manuscripts. After comparing chivalric literature (chansons, chansons de geste, mythical chivalric epics, late chivalric novels and chivalric dramas) with the reality of medieval chivalry, we then focus on those primary chivalric written sources we consider to be the most significant and reliable for enactment purposes.

We conclude therefore by arguing for the mode of chivalric reenactment to which we subscribe and one which avoids any form of dogmatism. It is hoped that the presentation will, in its small way, contribute to an understanding of chivalric culture and what constitutes a proper respect for tradition.

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