The knight's motto. Knights of the Middle Ages

The era of knights is sung in many works of their contemporaries and in the novels of the authors of subsequent times. Romance, and sometimes mysticism, the paladin himself, his knightly motto, the coat of arms, the way of life, the service of the beautiful lady are shrouded. As a rule, these were cruel warriors, but fine works of literature made their image irresistible and nominal - when they want to characterize a real man, he is called a knight.

The motto as a creed

And not only art works contribute to this. The mottos of the Knights of the Middle Ages, which were the most important attribute of the whole image, speak for themselves. All of them can be united under one common motto - "God, woman, king". Although there were quite a lot of abstract and pretentious mottos: "I will not become another" or "Neither to myself, nor to people" and so on. But basically, the knights of the Middle Ages, as a phenomenon, symbolize the nobility of thoughts, feelings, actions and declare that all the forces and skills, their very life will be directed to the ministry and defense of the fatherland, faith and love.

The origins of the knightly code of honor

The ideals are beautiful, because the legendary speech of the magician Merlin, who instructs and admonished the knights of King Arthur, lies at the basis. His beautiful words were made by the Code of Honor of Chivalry. Based on the declared, mandatory standards of conduct, the image of the warrior over time became very romantic. Ivanhoe, Roland, Sid, the Knights of the Round Table, led by King Arthur, Tristan - it is possible to enumerate these wonderful images for a long time. Each of them had its own chivalric motto, which, as a rule, was stamped on the coat of arms, but the essence was one - serving the chosen ideal. Like any phenomenon, chivalry appeared, reached its heyday, disappeared as superfluous and even subsequently was blamed. But it played its historical role, especially in the spread of Christianity.

Single caste

And if the mythical knights of the Round Table, or the real environment of King Richard the Lionheart, are enveloped in a halo of attractiveness, then there is not much that is good about Teutonic, Livonian and Polish hard-armed cavalry. Despite the very worthy chivalric motto of the latter - "God, honor, fatherland" - they are more associated hypocrisy, intrigue and betrayal. If you remember the Battle of the Ice, then at the word "knights", before your eyes arise not beautiful warriors with exquisite manners, but a piece of iron that goes under the water. In medieval chivalry, it was also attractive that it was a separate caste of people, in which everyone was equal, despite the origin. After all, only a well-off person could become a knight, but the incomes of all were not the same. The order could include large feudal lords, and mendicant commoners. But they all represented a brotherhood.

Eternal Ideals

As already noted, the motto of the knights was different, but initially all the warriors swore allegiance to some ideal, that is, the goals, as a rule, were noble. After all, boys from childhood were given first to pages, then to squires, and from a young age they grew up in an atmosphere of service to specific noble goals. The ideology of chivalry was formed over the centuries, and its basic postulates will not lose relevance ever. Actually, the ideal of man's virtue is inherent in all times. Heroes of ancient Greece and Rome, Russian heroes, Japanese samurai, Arab warriors - all of them inherent in the knightly motto "honor and shame." Emko and it is understandable. Other mottos were also brief, as for example, "I will overpower". More briefly, and most importantly - intelligibly, it is impossible to characterize a person who can perform any task. The noble and capacious motto of the medieval warrior "Without flattery betrayed" was so good that Emperor Paul I, appropriated it to Arakcheev by awarding the last title of the Count. This suggests that the ideals of chivalry are always modern.

Character traits

Chivalry is a special layer of medieval society. It had its attributes, inseparable from the image - vows, tournaments, arms and mottos of knights, military cries, rituals, especially dedications, the Code of Honor, which includes the norms of behavior in society. The appearance of the representative of this caste also has its own, only its inherent characteristics, in which it is unmistakable to identify a knight. Is it possible to imagine a paladin without a horse, armor, sword and cloak? Without a horse, you can, when he stands on one knee, bending his naked head in front of the Beautiful Lady. But as a rule, if in one hand he has a hat, then in the other - a reins. There is an established image, and only his inherent characteristics.

What is the motto?

As already mentioned, the motto of the knights of the Middle Ages has always been brief and capacious. Sometimes, if the owner was an original, the motto could consist of one letter. Brothers in arms were aware of what it personifies, and mystery and mysticism were always inherent in these romantics without fear and reproach. In theory, the slogan expressed the creed of a knight, his life principles.
For example, "Bliss in loyalty", "I beat the lion's paw", and so on. It should be noted that the mottos themselves were divided into three groups - figurative, figurative-verbal and actually verbal, the most common. The mottos were personal and patrimonial, passed on from generation to generation, and serving as a moral and educational symbol for descendants. There are state slogans - in Tsarist Russia it was the phrase "God is with us", in the Soviet Union - "Workers of all countries, unite!" Many countries have their own government mottoes now.

Required attribute

Among the knights of the Middle Ages, the motto was inscribed on the coat of arms, for example, in England - from above, in Scotland - in the lower part of the coat of arms, which, in turn, is also the most important attribute of the knight. The first knight arms of the Middle Ages appeared already in the Xth century, and in XII they were already on many knight shields. They served as identification signs in the battle, and then as signs of noble birth, merits before the fatherland and personal courage. Heraldic science studies the subtleties of the formation of the arms, all the allegorical signs inherent in them, the history of the creation and emergence of certain family attributes of chivalry. In the arms there is nothing superfluous, no decorating element.

The importance of each detail

Absolutely everything: form, background, arrangement of figures, any curl - carries a semantic load. The image can tell the knowing person everything about the owner: to which clan belongs, in which country, or even the city, he was born and what is famous. Knights' emblems of the Middle Ages are original passports of owners. The whole field of the emblem is divided into two parts - the upper (the head) and the lower (the foot). Modern heraldry is allocated several classes of coats of arms - concessionary and family, emblems for marriage or by succession, protective and crowned individuals. The very first knightly coat of arms with the motto, which has historical data, belongs to Count Anjuisuomu, Geoffrey of the genus Plantagenet. It dates back to 1127.

Beautiful courteous era

The emergence of chivalry, as well as its decline, is due to historical necessity. The Middle Ages are feudalism. Land owners needed to protect their possessions. Knights emerge as soldiers-guards of the suzerain's property. They originated in the state of the Franks, although they are rooted in the cavalry of Ancient Rome. The chivalry disappears with the appearance of a regular army with strict discipline and concerted action. However, the Knights of the Middle Ages in the relevant period were the only real force capable of both protecting the state and conquering new lands, exemplified by the crusades undertaken to protect the Holy Sepulcher from the Seljuk Turks. In addition, the knights were adornment and support of society. They had their own culture, their minstrels, their own behavior - all that is implied by the beautiful word "knight".