The reality of medieval chivalry
Richard W. Kaeuper
Chivalry may sometimes seem to slip through our fingers and separate into discrete spheres. This quicksilver quality tempt scholars jettison use of the term altogether, considering it too fragmented sustain meaning. view, emerging from understandable impatience with sweeping generalization, resembles what medieval philosophers would have termed nominalism its focus on specific phenomena alone as having meaning, while general, classifying category is granted no genuine existence. Adopting this martial or honor culture might be existence in particular traits, attitudes, acts, but an overarching idea chivalry thought fail catch anything general for historical analysis.
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