Nathan T
12/10/2013 12:40:55 pm
Chivalry is not dead. Hundreds of years after the age of the knights, acts of chivalry can still be seen today. Something as simple as holding a door open, helping someone with their groceries or returning a lost item are all examples of chivalry. Countries and organizations that send medical volunteers to support developing nations are showing chivalry. Chivalry is about telling the truth. It is about acting bravely and offering courtesy to others. Should we strive for it? Yes, because believe it or not, we walk along the lines of chivalry every day and because it’s what holds us together as individuals, families, and society. As individuals, truth and honour win us friendship, trust and self worth. As families these values keep us together. As a society, chivalry helps to maintain productivity, efficiency and peace. Without truth, honour and bravery what values would we look toward?
Reply
Mr. Main
1/5/2014 01:28:40 pm
Beautifully written and presented Nathan! Great video as well.
Reply
Look around you. Every day, we see people pushing and shoving at the mall, not moving over for old folks, or not saying "sorry" if they do something wrong. Chivalry used to be something that just came naturally, but nowadays, nobody has any respect for much anymore. It IS something that we should strive for, because chivalry is what helps to make us who we are. Deep down, we all have a bit of kindness and honor inside us, deep down, chivalry is not dead. We just need to realize it and get it out. In the old days, knights would show a great deal of chivalry by protecting families and individual citizens from danger, but also by being nice to them and helping them out in their time of need. Rarely have I seen somebody hold a door open for a person who has a heavy load to carry, or let somebody into a lane while driving. People need to slow down, stop rushing, and show a little courtesy now and then. So the next time you’re out and about, help somebody carry their bags, or give a homeless person some food. Show some chivalry. Bring it back to life.
Reply
Beverly
12/11/2013 08:10:12 am
Amazing!
Reply
Katey
12/16/2013 03:14:12 am
Awesome!
Mr. Main
1/5/2014 01:33:45 pm
Sad, but true Escher. Far too few people show the courtesy and thoughtfulness you wrote about. Well done.
Reply
Beverly
12/11/2013 09:42:37 am
Yes there are many people that rush around and don't show chivalry, but there are others, people who are still chivalrous in their day to day lives. At Lochiel for instance. Everyone I have met at Lochiel is kind, if not chivalrous. I always see someone holding the door open, or opening the door for others. But then again, at a lot of other schools, people are bullied, and that is the opposite of chivalry. I do believe that there is some chivalry inside of every person, but it's just farther down in some. Chivalry is a trait that everyone should strive for, because it's what makes up society. If we stop being chivalrous, society as we know it could disappear. We could stop living together in cities and towns, and we could live as far apart as farmers, if not farther! Strive for chivalry, and you strive for everything that keeps us working together!
Reply
Mr. Main
1/5/2014 01:35:25 pm
I like your take on things Beverly...very positive and encouraging.
Reply
No it's not. Chivalry is still alive in many people today. When you see someone helping an elderly person with their groceries, or holding the door open for a lady with a stroller, or returning someone's wallet that they dropped instead of keeping it for yourself, you are seeing examples of chivalry. I think chivalry means treating people like they are worth a million dollars. Chivalry is what makes the world a wonderful place to live in. However, there are still people that lie, cheat, steal, and generally make people feel like they are worth dirt. If everyone suddenly stopped being chivalrous, everyone would be mistreated and life as we know it could fall apart. So I think everyone should work towards being chivalrous. Everyone has a little chivalry inside them, they just need to bring it out in themselves. A good way to start is to assume the best about everyone. If everyone practiced chivalry, the world would be a much better place!
Reply
Mr. Main
1/5/2014 01:38:57 pm
Interesting trend in the comments. A lot of what you and others are describing sounds like courtesy, respect and manners. All pillars of being chilvalrous. Well done Maia.
Reply
Thomas V
12/13/2013 08:17:31 am
In my opinion, chivalry lives on in a small way. The chivalric code states that all knights should help the helpless, and protect women and children. Knights had to vow to be noble and generous, and there is nothing wrong with that. In the medieval times, if you were a knight and had the power to do good things, you had a moral obligation to do them. A single day presents it's self with so many opportunities to do a chivalric act, but in our day and age, we have missed so many chances. We are killing chivalry. Murder, cheating, greed, and must I go on? Of course, this is not all we practice; deep inside there is chivalry. Ever witnessed a bully picking on a helpless kid and intervened? Or maybe just opened a heavy door for the elderly? That's chivalry! Really, any act of kindness is, in some ways, chivalry. We must help chivalry live to see another generation!
Reply
Mr. Main
1/5/2014 01:47:17 pm
Well done Thomas.
Reply
Winston C
12/14/2013 05:27:24 am
The Code of Chivalry says knights should protect others who cannot protect themselves, they should also be loyal, generous, and tell the truth at all times. Also they should protect the weak and defenceless, and just in general be a good person.
Reply
Mr. Main
1/5/2014 01:41:55 pm
Well done Winston. I think if more people actually lived up to the ideals of chivalry, by standing up for the others, bullying would likely be a non-issue.
Reply
Katey
12/14/2013 10:45:11 am
Reply
Mr. Main
1/5/2014 01:45:48 pm
Fantastic perspective Katey! You are 100% correct about your observations...there are definitely some parts of chivalry that work well today, and others that should be dead and buried.
Reply
Adrianna
12/15/2013 10:24:47 am
I think chivalry isn't dead yet but how society is now, its going to die off soon.. There are some people that are kind to others, and some people that aren't. But the majority of those people are not kind. 60% of people treat others like trash, only about 50% or even 40% treat others nicely. Back in the middle ages people didn't have very much. They didn't really have a choice for what food they can eat, what clothes they can buy, and what toys they can get etc. Most people back then didn't even have most of those things. But now a days we have everything. We have flat screen tv's, warm homes, tons of food, a whole wardrobe to choose from. People back then where happy with what they had, because they had no choice. But time now has changed a lot. Some people aren't grateful for what they have because they always want more, they want better, they want the best. Some people are so spoiled that they aren't even grateful for a new gift that someone gets them, because they have everything already and want the most expensive items.
Reply
Mr. Main
1/5/2014 01:49:55 pm
Good points Adrianna.
Reply
David M
12/15/2013 01:56:05 pm
I agree that the ideal of chivalry is dead, it no longer exists in the same way that it once did, but some of the values that it represented may be worth keeping.
Reply
Mr. Main
1/5/2014 02:01:42 pm
Excellent, evenly-presented and logical David. Well done!
Reply
Jenna
12/17/2013 05:33:15 am
the part of chivalry that should stay dead is that the knights would only treat the higher class with chivalry. the knights used to beat up the peasants. today people should treat everyone nicely and it shouldn't matter if they are poor or rich.
Reply
Tyrese
12/19/2013 03:03:44 am
I believe it exists in some people but in others it doesn't . In our society, it easy to tell who is likely to help others or who is going to laugh at them when they fall. As a people it would be better for all if we could help one another.
Reply
Mr. Main
1/5/2014 01:51:50 pm
Very true that society would be much better off if we were more concerned about the well-being of everyone around us, even strangers.
Reply
jenna m
12/19/2013 03:13:03 am
I think chivalry should be dead in today’s world. I don’t think it is an ideal that should be strived for because it treats women like they are not human. They were considered inferior to men and treated as lower class citizens. There is many reasons why chivalry should be left behind.
Reply
Anonymous
1/2/2014 08:56:25 am
Chiv·al·ry noun \ˈshi-vəl-rē\
Reply
Mr. Main
1/5/2014 01:57:29 pm
Thank you for sharing your opinion and the definitions, but please use your name with future postings so that we know who is commenting, and who the opinion belongs to.
Mr. Main
1/5/2014 01:55:34 pm
Good strong points of view Jenna. You are right that being treated as an equal is much more important than having a door held for you out of pity. (But if it's held open out of kindness...well, that's nice!) Nice job!
Reply
Julia wiser
1/20/2014 07:18:13 am
I think chivalry is not dead, but is used definitely in more of a personal and kind behavior. Today its not code for people to help the weak or care for the poor, rather, people do it out of the kindness of their heart. Back in the ancient times chivalry viewed woman as inferior and put them in a position that they may not have wanted to be in, of course, they may not have had as much to worry about. On the other hand chivalry was exactly out of the good of one’s heart, it also expected something in return. I feel that chivalry no longer exists on such a grand scale, but on a smaller one. Eg, when someone holds the door for you or helps the weak. I think that this kind of chivalry is better because it doesn’t exactly view woman or the poor as less.
Reply
Laura P.
1/21/2014 03:06:46 am
Times have certainly changed since when our concept of “Chivalry” first arose, back then our social constructs were much different than they are today and chivalry had a certain purpose. Developed first in the north of France by soldiers on horseback in Charlemagne’s heavy cavalry, it was originally an aristocratic warrior code; the term deriving from “Chevalerie” which is a French term meaning “Horse soldiery”. It later evolved to the more knightly virtues orientated version from the Middle Ages, losing the martial aspects of the tradition. The Knight’s Code of Chivalry was a medieval moral system stating that knights should protect and aid those weaker than them, such as children and the elderly. Knights vowed to obey those in higher authority to them, respect the honor of women and guard the honor of their fellow knights. The thing is, no one else had to behave according to this standard and even the knights sometimes slacked off. We have to remember to not romanticize those times and realize that things weren't always elegant and pretty, it was a cruel and harsh world full of disease, torture and violence.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
April 2014
Categories |