And so as sort of an amateur student of philosophy myself, I saw in that aspect of the code of chivalry, that contradictory nature, something that was very similar to the approach that Aristotle takes in his work, the “Nicomachean Ethics” to his sense of virtue ethics, which is a exploration of trying to find the golden mean between two extremes of human behavior.ĬAVANAUGH: Now getting back to what we, I think in common parlance, think of as the martial arts, and that is the Asian martial arts, we know that winning is not the only thing that’s important in that form of combat. And so both of those codes really kind of do the job of bringing together some elements of the human character that we often think of as kind of contrary or divergent, you know, courage but also meekness and humility, a sense of fierce competitiveness but also a sense of compassion and, you know, and responsibility to help other people. Both are practices that, you know, are intended to get soldiers from a bygone era ready for battle, and so it’s not surprising that the code of honor that drew from those Eastern traditions, the code of the Samurai, the code of Bushido, is surprisingly similar to the code of chivalry in its authentic and historical form as a martial code. You know, Scott, on the face of it, Asian martial arts and then knights crashing around in armor don’t seem to have much in common.ĬAVANAUGH: What is the link that binds them?įARRELL: Well, both come from a martial tradition. If you have questions about the roots of chivalry or where the code of chivalry has gone in our modern age, give us a call with your questions and comments. SCOTT FARRELL (Educator, Chivalry Today): Thanks for having me, Maureen.ĬAVANAUGH: Now, we invite our listeners to join the conversation. He runs the Chivalry Today educational program here in San Diego. That chapter is written by my guest, Scott Farrell. Usually the history of knighthood and chivalry are relegated to Renaissance fairs and “Monty Python.” But, a new book explores the connection between martial arts and philosophy, and includes an examination of the medieval code of chivalry. And practitioners say Western martial arts can be traced to the days of old, when knights were bold. But most people don't know that there's also a Western version of combat that blends aggression and reflection. To become masters in combat, practitioners must first master themselves. Most people know that the graceful but powerful martial arts of Asia combine physical action with philosophy. MAUREEN CAVANAUGH (Host): I'm Maureen Cavanaugh, and you're listening to These Days on KPBS. We'll speak with a San Diegan who's busy introducing that code to modern students. But a new book which examines martial arts and philosophy finds links with the medieval code of chivalry. After falling madly in love in their youth, they had raised the ten of us in a herculean effort of chaotic parenting – and they wanted to be alone again to bask in the golden years of that love.When you think about the martial arts, knights in armor usually do not come to mind. They wanted to be alone together – with occasional visits from their vast brood, but no permanent new neighbors with a sense of carte blanche to drop in any time. When they retired to the family farm, their children were somewhat dismayed to find that Mom and Dad did not want any of us to build another vacation home on the land, so we could be nearby.

They pursued that missionary intimacy well into their golden years, reluctantly giving up work in their 80’s. It gradually dawned on their ten children that, though they loved us all and each one dearly, the great passion of their lives was not us (!), but rather their intimately shared missionary quest as holistic pediatric healers – with the convenient laboratory of their ten offspring on whom to lovingly experiment.

If there are such things as soul mates, I grew up with the example of one in my parents’ marriage.

Chivalry code of knowledge