When a knight had to follow the Code of Chivalry, the reason was not legal or military, but personal. If the knight did not follow the Code of Chivalry, his lady would not respect him. Obviously, not all knights were constrained by ladies, and not all ladies really cared... So that is the reason why.
Above is an incredibly romanticised ideal of chivalry, the truth is the laws of chivalry were incredibly varied, but were mostly aimed at "good and proper conduct of gentlemen" and a sort of Geneva convention of "the laws and ordinances of war"
If a knight broke such laws then he might be removed from knighthood, have the lands given to him by the crown or other lords stripped for him or even hanging.
some of the war codes were quite modern compared to what happened later on in history ie: if a man surrendered you had to take him prisoner, feed care and clothe him; since it was the case of "if you kill my men, I'll kill yours".
Some laws were just bizzare to our eyes like if in a siege the defenders tried to mine their way to the enemy tunnels being made the combatants became "brothers in arms" and were obliged to treat one another as family even if they were on opposite sides With example of the siege of Rouen where Henry V fought against the constable of the city and after the battle had to spare his life.
In the UK there is still today a Court of Chivary though it is largely non-functional but can still act as a Civil or Law court on matters of both chivalry and heraldry.
The code of chivalry had little or nothing to do with the Church or any rules it produced. In fact, the Church leaders were sometimes very suspicious of the whole courtly love thing because it was unacceptably erotic.
They didn't "HAVE" to follow it but they would've been punished if they didn't.
The code of chicalry was set into place to maintain order withing the kingdom.
It revolves around the idea of morale and a positive influence over the people.
Originally, there was no code of ethics specifically for knights. During the High Middle Ages, however, the Code of Chivalry was formulated to govern the conduct of knights. It required knights to be honorable, loyal, merciful, and honest. It also required knights to protect people who were poor or unable to protect themselves, especially women and children.
A code of conduct for knights.
The code of behavior for knights was called the Code of Chivalry. There is a link below to an article that explains it.
Knights lived by a strong code of behavior called chivalry.
In Europe Knights were the main practices of chivalry. Chivalry was a strict warrior code that emphasized national pride, brotherhood, and martial excellence.
They followed the Knights Code of Chivalry.
the Chivalry code.
Code of Chivalry
The European knights followed the Code of Chivalry, which was a moral and honor code.
The code of chivalry in the story of Perceval was the rules that all knights lived by. The code provides a moral, religious and social honor for the knights to follow to keep themselves gentlemen and be true to the king.
European nobles In the 12-1300's
The knights code of behavior is call "chivalry."
Chivalry
The code of conduct for knights is called a Chivalry.
Knights were supposed to live by the Code of Chivalry. This was the code that states that knights have to respect both the poor and women, never show fear in battle, and also respect and honor those who have a higher authority than you.
Originally, there was no code of ethics specifically for knights. During the High Middle Ages, however, the Code of Chivalry was formulated to govern the conduct of knights. It required knights to be honorable, loyal, merciful, and honest. It also required knights to protect people who were poor or unable to protect themselves, especially women and children.
King Arthur's knights had a code of chivalry