We’re back with more Dragonheart Old Code analysis, and this time it is to be an examination of the last line on the first paragraph of the code of chivalry. This one is one that always manages to somehow catch my eye, in a code that is honestly quite fascinating from start to finish and with a great middle part to it.
This one could almost be grouped with the next paragraph, with it definitively part of the previous one (the first one). It is by itself in a world that is kind of ‘Post-Lord of the Rings’ one that brings to mind the One Ring (at least to my over-active imagination) but also the Ring of the Nibelungen of Norse myths.
The Nibelungenlied is the tale of Sigurdr the greatest of all mortal heroes of the Norse, who pledges himself to Brynhildr, once a great Valkyrie she was stripped of her divinity and was to alongside Sigurdr fall prey to terrible manipulations and trickery. The two were to be married to others, only for Brynhildr to decide to kill Sigurdr as he had been party to the manipulations surrounding her only for her to immediately regret and to jump onto his funerary pyre. It is honestly a long story and one I’ve summarized to its detriment, in all seriousness go read it.
The thing Pogue was likely thinking when he created the Old Code with this line though, was the notion of a wedding ceremony during which rings are exchanged. The notion of exchanging wedding vows and a ring goes back to when a portion of Burgundy was first absorbed into the Holy Roman Empire, with the heiress of Burgundy being given a ring as proof of the union between her husband the Emperor and her (this is the first proven example of it).
The notion that a knight is wed to the Order of Chivalry, to his brothers-in-arms and to his King or God, is one that has already been discussed in another essay. That said, this is the formal declaration of the bond.
A ring is a circle without end by its nature, it is supposed to be when properly forged perfect. The idea of perfection is one that every knight aspires to, at least those interested in upholding their vows with such characters as Gawain seeking to always serve his uncle faithfully, with the likes of Bowen in particular struggling with this notion in the context of the Dragonheart movie. As he comes to the realisation that he is fallible in comparison to the greatest knights imaginable, as no man could ever compare to the likes of Bedivere, Gawain, Arthur and such.
Interestingly the Church tends to have their priests pick up rings, and swear themselves to the Church so that the oath is similar to them. God is meant to observe the oath, much as he is called upon to witness the oaths of knights who are first inducted as full knights.
Honour for itself is hardly a simple thing in many’s eyes, with some favouring for such a thing the 10 Commandments of Chevalerie. But given that Dragonheart doesn’t operate with this being a factor in the universe, but rather the following paragraph regarding valour and virtue, it is better to focus on that. What can be considered equally important to examine before we get to that paragraph, is the notion of the Seven Virtues in regards to this notion of honour.
They all play a role in it, as for millennia the notion of a ‘chaste’ knight, or a ‘patient’ knight, and knights applying each of the other virtues has appeared in literature. The notion being not that a knight is capable of perfection rather that he should aspire to it. The aspiration after perfection is the true goal. Yes, you want to achieve those ideals as much as possible, but sometimes it isn’t the end so much as the journey of self-improvement. Because so long as you maintain self-improvement, and are diligent in your efforts you will improve until you are maybe not perfect but have come closer to it than ever before.
The marriage of oneself to honour, is the union of man with God to an extent. The union with virtue, with what is right. The knight’s oath of chivalry was never about worshipping any man above all else, but rather about servitude primarily to God, the nation and the people, as embodied by Gawain in the old tales and even Roland. If a priest is wed to the Church and takes it up as his nation, a knight is wed to his nation. His nation and her people are what he serves in order to come closer to God.
By marrying them, and the ideals of honour which bound him to servitude to them, he ensures that he is if not the shepherd for his people at least the sheep-dog. The one who keeps the sheep on the right path, and guides them to safety and fends off those wolves or bears who might come after those under his protection.
In fiction this has been a recurring theme in more than just Dragonheart, with the likes of Heracles, Mathias the Mouse, Martin the Warrior, Aragorn Elessar, King Conan of Aquilonia, Ivanhoe, Jex the Hero and plenty of others all showing themselves to uphold this notion of protecting those around them, who are part of their nation or their Fellowship above their own lives.
The vow of fidelity to a warrior ethos can be found also in Rome, at least in regards to the psychological outlook that the Legates and Centurions had. They were married as much to the individual Legio, as they were to Rome, to safeguarding her and protecting her people and interests. And by people, one should look at it as the whole of the Empire, by the 2nd Century that is so that what had begun as an oath to a city, then to a ‘Public Thing’ or ‘Commonwealth’ had evolved into an oath to a vast, unequalled Empire (or Principate).
In terms of literary Romans who act as though wed to their nations, one could look at modern adaptations/stories’ characters such as Maximus, Vorenus, Pullo, Atilius, such characters uphold their link to their Legio and fellow warriors above themselves. It is more important that they not bring shame, that they comport themselves well less people might develop the notion that the whole of the Legio is a wretched thing.
Loyalty to one’s oaths is not easy, and yet it must be absolute. A chain is only as strong as the weakest link, and nowhere is this truer than in regards to orders of chivalry or in groups. Men can be weak, it is true but a group of men who bolster one another, support one another and bring a sense of community to one another against those outsiders who might mean them harm is a mighty thing. Something that in ancient times forged a city called Rome, or in myth forged Camelot and in my own tales forge the likes of Caledonia or Gallia.
There really was no official ‘code of Chivalry. Despite a lot of material gathered under this heading most, if not all, date from the 19th century adapted for the more recent times. In fact, those who were said to practice a chivalric way of life were amongst the most brutal and unforgiving bunch in history.