Chivalry in Literature: Lord of the Rings

[Bauceant]

Do "knights" exist in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth? Or does the "Chivalric Spirit" of the known world only exist in the archetypal forms, or in symbols devoid of reality and meaning? Certainly, none of the classic documents of Medieval chivalric thought exist in Middle-earth. In this time and place, there is no "Ordene de Chivalry", nor do we find writers and philosphers like Geoffrey Chaucer, Ramon Lull, or Andreas Capallanus speaking to us of knighthood and the "Way of the Warrior."

When examining the "Lord of the Rings" for textual clues as to Tolkien's intent for this topic, several incidents from the story do support the hypothesis that "knight" and chivalry do exist in a recognizable form in Tolkien's world. Two of the most obvious examples are:

1) Merry's exchange of Vows with Theoden
2) Pippen's Oath of Fealty to the Steward of Gondor

In the Middle Ages, as part of the standard chivalry "contract," a knight was expected to exchange with his overlord a series of promises in which the knight agreed to perform such services as the overlord deemed appropriate to his rank. In return, the King (or other secular or ecclestical authority) would promise to provide services to the knight in return. In the "Lord of the Rings", there are two examples of this kind of contract being executed. In the first, we find Merry exchanging his vow with Theoden, in a relationship that results in his joining the King's household as a 'sword-thain and esquire':

"I have a sword," said Merry, climbing from his seat, and drawing from it's black sheath his small bright blade. Filled suddenly with love for this old man, he knelt on one knee, and took his and and kissed it "May I lay the sword of Meridoc of the Shire on your lap, Theoden King?" he cried. "Receive my service if you will!"

"Gladly will I take it", said the king; and laying his long old hands upon the brown hair of the hobbit, he blessed him. "Rise now, Meriadoc, esquire of Rohan of the household of Meduseld?" he said. "Take your sword and bear it unto good fortune!"

"As a father you shall be to me," said Merry.
"For a little while," said Theoden. (Return of the King, Pg. 49)

In the second example of a chivalric exchanging of vows, you have Pippin swearing an even more formal Oath of Fealty with Denethor:

"Here do I swear fealty and service to Gondor, and to the Lord and Steward of the realm, to speak and to be silent, to do and to let be, to come and to go, in need or in plenty, in peace or in war, in living and in dying, from this hour henceforth. until my lord release me, or death take me, or the world end. So say I Peregrin, Son of Paladin, of the Shire of the Haflings."

"And this do I hear, Denethor son of Ecthelion, Lord of Gondor, Steward of the High King, and I will not forget it, nor fail to reward that which is given: fealty with love, valour with honour, oath breaking with vengeance."
(Return of the King, Pg. 27)

In both cases, the symbols of chivalric exchange are present: The Boon (the request to be accepted into service), the Oath (the promise of recpriocal service) and the Accolade (the exchange of the sword, and the announcement of the "knight's" new status.) Later in the book you find this new status reinforced when Merry and Pippin announce to Frodo and Sam at the Field of Cormallen: "We are knights of the City and of the Mark as I hope you observe." (Return of the King Pg. 237)

When it came to portraying chivalric themes in the "Lord of the Rings, Tolkien did not stop with these two characters, however. Elsewhere in the text we find situations that exemplify other forms of the "chivalric" contract. In the next installment of this thread we will examine these two other examples of the "Arte of Chivalry." In the meanwhile, however, this topic is being discussed on a Lord of the Rings forum elsewhere...so we'll leave the scholars a bit of time to ponder the topic and postulate their answers before I post the solution to the challenge here.
Bauceant!

[Dashinvaine]

Lord of the Rings seems to be set in a world parallel to the ninth, tenth or eleventh century, prior to the age of chivalry. You see in it the honour code of dark ages warriors rather than the chivalry of medieval knights. The feudalism reflected is therefore rather primitive. The Riders of Rohan rather resemble the frankish paladins of Charlemagne, for example. Tolkein was more into stuff like Beowulf than stuff like Mort d'Arthur.

[Bauceant]

Dash: I must respectfully disagree...

Not only was Tolkien considered to be an expert in Norse and Anglo-Saxon lore, his command of Arthurian motifs and themes helped him to publish what is generally considered among Arthurian scholars to be one of the seminal translations of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." This, and his work on the stories of "Sir Orfeo" and "Pearl" illustrate that he had more than a sufficient background and interest in the 14th Century Middle English allertative poem forms to be conversant with the themeatic conventions found therein. Also, given that both "Sir Gawain" is generally considered to be part of the "romance genre" and Sir Orfeo can be found in the "Breton-Lai" form, I think it is safe to postulate that "chivalry" was something he knew more than a little about.

And as for Middle-earth itself. While I conceed that that the Rohirrim are portrayed with more of a Dark Age perspective than a Middle Ages one, the Gondorians (especially those who guard the City of Minas Tirith) have a much different heirarcy and social structure. If you add to that the few textual clues we get about the military prowess and equipment of the Gondorian "Swan Knights" of Dol Amroth:

"And last and proudest, Imrahil, Price of Dol Amroth, kinsman of the Lord, with gilded banners bearing his token of the Ship and the Silver Swan, and a company of knight in full harness (italics mine) riding grey horses..." (Return of the King Pg. 42)

I am confident in my assessment that the "spirit" of chivalry (if not historical, then certainly literary) is alive and well in Middle-earth.

[Dashinvaine]

I bow to your superior knowledge in this area. The Gondorians also reminded me of the Byzantine Empire, in some ways.