Tales of

Valor
The influence of
literature on Chivalry
and Bushido.

Nathaniel Snider
History 106
December 2, 2008
 “For these knights, chivalry was not simply a code of manners at court: it was an ideal of

liberality and restraint in the conduct of the countless wars of the age, which raised the dubbed or

initiated warrior above the level of the savage.”

- Anonymous, Chivalry – The Path of Love.

The above statement is one that reflects the impact that chivalry had upon the noble

warrior class of Europe; however the same statement can equally be applied to bushido, what

many hail as chivalry’s Japanese equivalent. Both of these codes have many similarities that

draw attention to the evolution of warriors into a class that was answerable to something more

than itself and pursued a higher calling. Chivalry and bushido can be defined as codes of

behavior created to pacify an otherwise uncontrollable group of men born and trained from birth

to wage war and fight. Even then, it is incorrect to state that chivalry and bushido were an

absolute and uniform code of ethics and beliefs followed without question. It is much more

accurate to see both of them as a general and shifting ideal that knights and samurai,

respectively, chose how much they would adhere to said values if at all.1 Much of what these

codes are based upon seems to be the teachings and actions of people in myth, legends and

stories. There has been some argument that much of the ideals of chivalry that are known about

today are merely the musings of the authors of the chivalric romance.2 The same goes for

bushido, much of what we know and classify as bushido is the culmination of the same legends

and stories that were idolized during the Tokugawa era. It stands to reason that if the stories and

myths were what transmitted those ideals, then the stories did create, at least in part, those

warrior codes.

1
Cameron Hurst III, "Death, honor, and loyalty: The bushido ideal" < Academic Search Premier> (November 12,
2008).
2
Maurice Keen, Chivalry (London: Yale University Press 1984) 2.
 Chivalry has its roots in the word chevalier, the French term for mounted warrior or

knight.3 Bushido, bushi meaning warrior and do meaning way, literally translates as “way of the

warrior” and much the same as chivalry places loyalty, courage and prowess as its highest ideals.

Samurai, meaning “one who serves” or vassal, were the main recipients of the teachings of

bushido as well as the enforcers of this social code for the rest of the classes in feudal Japan.4

Both codes placed loyalty as the most important virtue that a warrior could follow, for the

obvious reason that the warrior would follow his lord’s commands both on and off the field of

battle and reduce the amount of insubordination. They also saw prowess, generosity, courtesy,

and franchise as being key parts of a higher calling of both knight and samurai.5 Though the

phrasing of the virtues is quite different,6 the main idea behind them is quite similar. An

example of this is the chivalric virtue of franchise, or standing, used to relate the concept that a

knight is of noble bearing and should act as such while he lived his life. This is reflected in

several bushido ideals, namely makato (truthfulness), gi (right attitude and right decision), and

melyo (honor and glory).7 Though called a code, both chivalry and bushido lacked a single

unifying manual or guideline of ideals.

There were many books written about chivalry but there wasn’t a single governing work

that set down the principles that every knight would follow. Instead there were many books

written by the clergy, by knights, and various poets and writers that had their own idea of what

chivalry was, though there were some overlying similarities. One of the earliest systematic

3
John P. Mckay et al. A History of Western Society 2nd ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company 2008) 114.
4
During the Tokugawa era, 1603-1867, the class system became acutely defined as four roles: nobles (samurai),
farmers, artisans and merchants in that order of importance.
5
Keen, 2
6
Prouesse, loyauté, largesse, courtoisie, and franchise as illustrated by the romance authors for chivalry; Gi, yu, jin,
rei, makato, melyo, and chugo for bushido.
7
Taisen Deshimaru, The Zen Way to Martial Arts. (New York: E.P. Dutton 1962) 13.
works written about chivalry was by Etienne de Fougères, Bishop of Lisieux. His book was

written in 1170 and was entitled Livre des Manières, or Book of Manners, in which he

emphasized that any knight should “be the strong right arm of the Church, which should do the

bidding of the superior clerical order.”8 Chivalry continued to have strong overtones of Christian

belief and mythos as one of the shaping forces of the knight’s code. By following God,

specifically during the Crusades, knights were promised the negation of any past sins and were

effectively removed from any consequence of their actions. Knights were also told they could

attain salvation by fighting for the church, a service to God, which was attributed prior to this as

being only something monks were able to achieve.9 Early in the church’s ‘encouragement’ of

creating knights accountable to God through the taking of oaths, groups of vowed knights and

clergy would force any resisting warriors to take these holy vows.

Bushido, on the other hand, wasn’t even termed bushido until the Tokugawa period, an

era that saw a unified Japan for the first time in Japanese history.10 However there were articles

and other literary works that outlined the proper attitude and actions of samurai, one of the

earliest systematic expositions being written by Yamaga Soko during the 16th century. Yamaga

Soko wrote his book after witnessing a decline of the behavior of the samurai during the

Tokugawan peace.11 Bushido is closely tied to Zen and Confucianism, beliefs that stressed self

discipline, education and respect. The original schools for swordsmanship, an activity closely

8
Keen, 4.
9
Keen, 54.
10
The Tokugawa period also saw a closing off of the country’s borders and a revitalization movement that looked at
redefining what it meant to be Japanese by looking back at the nation’s history. The Tokugawa period was an era of
a peaceful unified Japan for the first time in that nation’s history. It was during this time that samurai began to act in
what Yamaga Soko observed as “an undignified manner.” Turnbull, 138.
11
Stephen Turnbull, Book of the Samurai (New York: Arco Publishing 1982) 138.
linked to the samurai,12 were religious temples. It was here that the religious indoctrination of

the warrior class truly began. Many samurai, flocked to these institutions in hopes of learning

some magic to grant them special powers but found Zen instead, forever changing the way of the

warrior in Japan13. There became a higher calling for the bushi, no longer concerned solely with

taking lives and servitude to their lord, they became interested in breaking through the emotions

and thoughts that cloud the mind. It was believed that by doing this, one may achieve satori, or

enlightenment, and be able to be in harmony with the world around them with their actions

guided by this harmony through intuition and no-thought.

However it was not only through religion that the codes were passed on and taught. Both

codes were greatly expressed and transmitted in the literature, both oral and written, and art of

the time. Chivalry and bushido spread largely through stories and legends of characters and

situations that exemplified the ideals. Romances, told to young and old, such as King Arthur and

the Knights of the Round Table and The Tales of Charlemagne became the favoured vehicle of

the transmission of the ideals of chivalry; many tournaments and banquets were based on such

tales as well as the formation of secular chivalric orders. Likewise art, theatre and stories were

also responsible for the transmission of bushido behavior. Stories like “The Forty Seven Ronin”

and the exploits of the Kensei, or sword saint, Miyamoto Musashi were almost treated with

propaganda like fervor in their spread during the Tokugawa period in which literacy became

widespread among the samurai class. These stories served as a guide for commoners and

12
The samurai were the only class allowed to carry a katana, or Japanese longsword, since the “Sword Hunt” of the
Hideyoshi period (1592-1600) disarmed all nonofficial warriors and peasants. Thus the katana became synonymous
with the samurai as a symbol of their status, and role.
13
Zen Buddhism is a combination of Buddhism, Shintoism (an animistic religion), Taoism and Confucionism
(which strongly emphasized the proper conduct for relationships of all kinds. Deshinaru, 71.
samurai alike to live their lives according to the great tradition, the loose ideals of bushido that

came before them.14

The largest divergence of these two codes in relation to their image in romantic literature

was that chivalric literature focused on the outward struggles while bushido emphasized inward

conflict. Romantic chivalric literature dealt more with outward questing as a way to attain the

true understanding of being a knight. This was reflected in the fact that when a young knight

was finally girdled, showing he has achieved the rank of knight, he set out for two years and

traveled the land with a small entourage, righting wrongs and engaging in tournaments. This

tour was also a way in which the new knight might begin to build a name and achieve some fame

like the idolized characters of the chivalric tales. Samurai too were interested in achieving glory

through deeds though it was a glory that would also bring honor to their family and lord, not just

themselves. By performing great deeds and heroic actions a samurai could add their name to the

names of their ancestors before them and continue the legacy befitting his bloodline. Bushido,

on the other hand, led a samurai on an inward quest to overcome the illusion of the duality of

existence and attain a spiritual perspective on the world. Samurai were encouraged to meditate,

alongside with their regular practices, as a way to remove the separation of life and death, of

good and evil, of self and the universe.15

The impact that either code of ethics had on their relative cultures is where the most

speculation can occur. Chivalry was said to bring in an era where women were treated with

adoration and utmost respect, compared to them being little more than objects of procreation and

pleasure as during the dark ages. It is even to the credit of a few women, in particularly Eleanor

of Aquitaine, as being one of the main driving forces behind the spread of chivalry with the
14
Turnbull, 8.
15
Kurt Singer, Mirror, Sword and Jewel (London: Croom Helm 1973) 158.
emphasis on courtly love.16 Due to the introduction of courtly love into chivalry by troubadours

telling tales and poems greatly influenced by Muslim culture and stories, courtly behavior grew

more refined and respected. This emphasis on the courts as a key part of chivalry resulted in the

patronage of many artists, poets and musicians in what might be seen as an unspoken rivalry

between courts. This flourishing of the arts would eventually lead to a much larger movement,

namely the Renaissance or premodern age. One of the most notable examples of this is Lord

John of Gaunt who was patron to a young Geoffrey Chaucer. It was primarily with Gaunt’s

patronage that Chaucer was able to stretch his creative wings. His work helped spread the

Middle English language and began to turn the literal focus away from knights and courtly tales

towards the common people as seen in his most notable work: The Canterbury Tales.17

Bushido encouraged the samurai to treat his wife with the respect as a person of equal

standing but seem to lack some of the more romantic overtures that the assimilation of courtly

love brought to chivalry. 18 Instead, women were said to give up themselves for their household

and duties, much as a samurai would give themselves over to their duties to their lord. Bushido

on the other hand led to a spreading of Zen and spiritual seekers as the Tokugawan period

enforced Samurai to look within to find a sense of peace. It was during this period where many

samurai broadened their horizons, moving away from solely focusing on the martial arts and

turning to other pursuits of self mastery such as the tea ceremony and calligraphy. There was

also a move away from the more militant aspects of practice an example of this is kenjutsu.

Kenjutsu, the militaristic practice of the sword began to give way to kendo, a more passive and

16
Courtly love emphasized a kind and courteous behavior towards equals and primarily towards women.
n.a. Labyrinth Publishing, Chivalry - The Path of Love. (San Francisco: Chronicle Books 1994) 32.
17
Norman F. Canto, The Last Knight (New York: Free Press 2004)203-205.
18
A.L.Sadler, Translator, Code of the Samurai (Berkeley, California: Ulysses Press 2007) 57.
internal practice that emphasized personal development. These arts are still practiced today; still

closely tied with Zen Buddhism and the pursuit for internal and therefore external harmony.

Aspects of chivalry and bushido live on in society today. There are still orders that place

chivalric virtues as some of the highest pursuits and attributes to possess; orders like the Order of

the Green Garter19 originally created by Edward III and his son Edward, the Black Prince.20 So

too is it with bushido, changing with great fluidity, as it is passed down through the generations,

gaining momentum and new meaning with each retelling of the old stories and legends.21 Even

today children in Europe and Japan are still raised on tales of heroism and daring that hark back

to the feudal era and the golden age of the warrior’s code. It cannot be said that the ‘instructional

manuals’ that were written in both countries didn’t have any sway on the followers of their

respective warrior codes, but as Maurice Keen wrote in his book entitled chivalry “the romances

do indeed help…toward a definition of chivalry’s elusive ethical implications.” In the end, both

bushido and chivalry remain, as the ever elusive Grail in Arthurian legends, lofty ideals to be

pursued and sought after but ever out of reach due to their absolute and somewhat mythical

nature.22

19
The Order of the Green Garter was established during the Hundred Years War as a way to entice many of the
lords of England to rise up under the chivalric banner of war patterned on tales of The Knights of the Round Table.
20
Cantor, 67.
21
Singer, 157.
22
Keen, 2.
Bibliography
A.L.Sadler, Translator. Code of the Samurai. Berkeley, California: Ulysses Press, 2007.

Cantor, Norman F. The Last Knight. New York: Free Press, 2004.

Deshimaru, Taisen. The Zen way to the Martial Arts. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1982.

Hurst III, Cameron. "Death, honor, and loyalty: The bushido ideal." Academic Search Premier.
October 1990. (accessed November 12, 2008).

Keen, Maurice. Chivalry. New Haven: Yale University, 1984.

Labyrinth Publishing. Chivalry - The Path of Love. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1994.

Mckay, John P. et al. A History of Western Society 2nd edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Company, 2008.

Singer, Kurt. Mirror, Sword and Jewel. London: Croom Helm, 1973.

Turnbull, Stephen. The Book of the Samurai. New York: Arco Publishing, 1982.