The Bardic Journey Begins

Well, hello there, dear readers! Welcome, all, to my first blog post!

I've been taught many things in my life, and one thing that I've learned is that I'm good at writing. I don't want my first post to seem too boring, and I might as well make a good impression. Here, for your reading pleasure, is an essay from my most recent English class. Seeing as medieval history (and fantasy) is my forte, this particular paper seemed relevant. Rest assured, most of my other posts won't be nearly so academic.

New Age Knights: Explaining Modern Masculinity through Medieval Chivalry

When one hears the word “manly” in conversation, one might think of an action hero, a football player, or a stone-faced soldier. Many preconceived stereotypes about masculinity pervade the collective cultural psyche; stoic, gun-toting musclemen are a staple of modern media, and many a misty-eyed girl has fantasized about being swept off her feet by her knight in shining armor. Despite their immediate differences, many of these images are, at their core, related to the last one: the knight. Medieval knights of Europe were immortalized for being heroes; protectors of the weak and defenders of justice. They followed a strict code of honor and chivalry that preached honesty, loyalty, respect and patriotism. The influence that the chivalric code has had on western culture is still felt today.

As Jean-Babtiste Karr famously said, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Masculinity is an ever-changing concept of what a man should be, but many common factors remain the same. The popular image of an ideal man that persists to this day is of one who is strong and brave, one who is composed, one who respects and defends the weak, including women, and one who is honorable. In fact, many examples of modern masculinity can be traced back to knighthood and the code of chivalry.

Many people believe that all good men must be strong, both physically and mentally. This, of course, is a trait that has been around since our hunter-gatherer days, when it was the men who defended the camp from predators and hunted dangerous animals to feed their families. That mentality persisted through the middle ages, and the code of chivalry adopted it in many subtle ways. This need to be strong also seems to go hand in hand with a desire to be able to do everything alone, and without help. The stereotype of men not wanting to ask for directions falls squarely into this concept. Coincidentally, nowhere in the code of chivalry does it mention that a knight should help himself; it states clearly that he should help others and implies that he should ask for nothing in return.

Another major facet of masculinity is the ability to take on any situation with a cool demeanor. A true man shows no emotion; he shows no sadness, anger or fear. The typical image of an emotionally distant husband is prevalent in most of today’s media, with good reason. As psychologist Joan Shapiro notes, men are conditioned from birth to become soldiers. “[They] are often called insensitive, callous, and self-centered. And in fact, they are calloused. This callousness is an inevitable consequence of their role [as soldiers], because that role is traumatizing.” One of the major tenets of the code of chivalry is to ‘show self control’, and it is plain to see that this has remained an important merit for most men.

In general, men are considered to be doers, fixers, and problem-solvers. They take action, often as protectors and breadwinners. Central to many of these actions is the need to take care of women and others who are weaker than themselves. Imbedded in this is the idea that men are superior to and should be dominant over women. As time has progressed, women have begun to intrude upon those areas which were previously considered to be “men’s work,” which makes many men feel threatened or useless in their positions as defenders. However, included in this is the tenet of chivalry that men should be respectful of women and treat them with honor, because a lady’s favor is one of the greatest gifts that a knight can receive.

Though gender perceptions have changed over the years, many men still have concerns about doing or showing anything that seems feminine; they must maintain their images of being good, solid men. Another part of this show of manhood is a tendency to follow through with anything that they have promised to do, even if it is more than they can handle. A positive aspect of this seemingly overdeveloped sense of pride is the “bro code,” a set of humorous yet practical rules that details how men should be true to each other, be honest, and be “manly”.  In our modern world, we see stereotyped masculine behavior often limiting an individual man’s choices in how to act, how to dress, and even how to feel. However, this need to change who he is in public is a way of defending his honor as a man. The code of chivalry puts honor at the highest level, and in today’s society, that still seems to be the case.

Even now, public perceptions of masculinity continue to change constantly with our culture. In recent years, the idea that men cannot show their feminine sides has been turned on its head, as evidenced by the oft-used phrase, “Real men wear pink.” Countless movies and TV shows have depicted scenes in which a woman asks her husband why he is not sensitive, and sitcoms such as Family Guy often play this for laughs. In fact, the idea that a man is secure enough in his masculinity to admit that he uses skincare products or watches “girly” shows like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is now considered to be a good thing. However, the few unchanging aspects of masculinity remain the same at their core. Almost every trait that is considered “manly” by today’s standards can, when examined closely enough, be linked to one or more aspects of the code of chivalry that so many men once strived to follow, and in some cases, still do.