Chivalry still Lives: an Essay

Here is an Essay by me. It is a basic overview of modern Chivalry. It may help in our search for a Practical Chivalry for Modern Man.

What is Chivalry? It is a much used word, and it’s meaning which most often springs to mind is, as the Oxford American Dictionary says: “Courteous behaviour esp. that of a man toward women.” Chivalry most certainly is that, but more. Chivalry, in short is the tendency to act courageously, with “honour, courtesy, justice, and a readiness to help the weak”(OAD). In the twenty-first century, chivalry has lost much of its attraction. The strong can help themselves and the weak can go to the devil. But chivalry is not dead. On the contrary, chivalry is making the comeback of the century.

To act courageously is perhaps the hardest thing for humankind. Man has a natural tendency toward self-protection and acting courageously often means forgetting oneself. Courage means doing what’s right as opposed to what’s easy. But to do what is right, does not justify how you do it. It must be done with honour, doing things right, the right way. It must be done with courtesy, respect for all people, It must be done with justice, a sense of the fair and reasoneable. And most importantly, it must be done with a readiness to help the weak. This is the core of chivalry. Chivalry is not doing the right thing because it will gain you acclaim. It is not all flashing swords and colorful pennants. It can take that face, but now in the twenty-first century, they are symbols for more ordinary things. After all, they were at one time the ordinary. Now, however, we must find our modern face of chivalry, and it is there.

In the modern day, chivalry is often characterizeds by cliches such as holding doors open, but modern Man can do better, and does do better.  Helpfulness in all areas and for all people should be our goal. One place that this can be put to practice is in the workplace. Very often there are odd jobs that need to be done, or sometimes, you can get short-handed, and so people have to do extra. The chivalrous approach is to help as much as you can. If you are doing nothing else, pick up the slack. This is just one example, but a general rule can be followed. We should think of others first, we should respect people even if we disagree with them, and we should give ourselves for the sake of others. We should protect the weak, man, woman, and child, and treat them honorably and respectfully. Not only can we do this, but we do. Chivalry still lives!