Summary: Chivalry was the moral code observed by knights of the Middle Ages. It originated in the military practices of aristocratic French and German soldiers, but developed into an elaborate system governing many different aspects of knightly behaviour. It influenced the conduct of military campaigns and gave rise to the phenomenon of courtly love, the subject of much romance literature, as well as to the practice of heraldry. The remnants of the chivalric tradition linger in European culture even today. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Miri Rubin, Professor of Medieval and Early Modern History and Head of the School of History at Queen Mary, University of London; Matthew Strickland, Professor of Medieval History at the University of Glasgow and Laura Ashe, Associate Professor in English at the University of Oxford and Fellow of Worcester College.
