Chivalry In Froissart's Hundred Years War

Chivalry as a concept that has baffled countless medieval historians throughout the years. Chivalry was supposedly a code that knights and nobles lived their lives by. However, similarly to other social structures that were in place in the past historians have debated over the extent to which people lived according to chivalric principles. Sir Walter Scott believed chivalry was meant as a code which knights could aspire to, but not one that was carried out in the real world. This conclusion gives a clear picture of chivalry. The aristocracy strived to live according to the ideals of chivalry but it was simply impossible to adhere to such rules in real life. Froissart painted a romantic image of The Hundred Years War and of the aristocracy at

Chivalry and the battlefield cannot be looked upon as one topic when studying The Hundred Years War. The Fourteenth-century saw European warfare change completely. Military tactics ceased to conform to a specific set of principles. During the early stages of the war the rules of chivalry were at least in theory still practiced, but by the end of the war, chivalry was at the very least a useless concept to adhere to. Chivalry’s usefulness waned after battles such as Crecy and Courtrai as the cavalry began to be replaced by pikes and longbows. The battle tactics used at the Battle of Crecy can be seen through Froissart’s writings about the event. Their formation involved men of arms staying behind while bands of archers were wedged at the sides. It was this form of warfare that defeated the purpose of a cavalry. Froissart does seem to be hesitant towards these new ideals. He describes how the bows ‘fell like snow’ while the ‘splendidly mounted’ French fell to their deaths. Froissart seems to be somewhat annoyed at the English here. He does not criticise the English, but his praise of the French does give us some idea of his viewpoint. His view, however, should not come as a