The Chivalry Guild Profile picture
Sep 17, 2021 12 tweets 3 min read Read on X
As the world becomes increasingly grumpy, the courteous gentleman has the opportunity not only to make a difference in the lives of others, but also to distinguish himself.

Here are some thoughts (notes-to-self, really) on being that kind of man.
On greeting others with enthusiasm, like you're actually happy to see them--

On treating your conversations like they matter--

On learning names, especially of the overlooked--

And, of course, your courtesy becomes all the more potent when you do it from a position of strength.

You are not nice, not domesticated, not a pushover hiding weakness behind manners--you are a potentially dangerous man who chooses kindness and warmth.

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More from @ChivalryGuild

May 3
Éomer son of Éomund doesn't get enough love. Too often he is overlooked among the great heroes of Tolkien's epic. I cannot let this stand. 🧵 Image
His introduction in the second chapter of The Two Towers is a thrilling literary moment. Things hit a different gear immediately when he rides into the story—returning from a mission to exterminate some Orcs trespassing in his country.Image
It’s worth mentioning that this mission has just saved the world. If those Orcs carrying Merry and Pip had made it to Saruman, they surely would have spilled the details about Frodo’s quest and gravely imperiled everything.
Read 27 tweets
May 2
There were warnings. And not just from some guy off the street, but from Arthur's most trusted advisor. Merlin tried to tell him of the peril of involvement with Guinevere. 🧵 Image
From Book 3 of Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur: Image
Merlin is gently suggesting that Arthur look elsewhere for a bride—there are plenty of beautiful and good damsels out there.

But Merlin also knows any attempt to guide Arthur on this question will be of no avail.
Read 8 tweets
Apr 26
Books on Chivalry—
For those interested in the study of chivalry, this is where to start. 🧵 Image
1) “The Necessity of Chivalry” by CS Lewis
(from a collection of essays called Present Concerns)

This was the work that got me started. Prior to reading it I had thought of chivalry merely as a series of good manners: the chivalrous man holds doors open and gives up his seat to ladies and so on. I’m all for good manners and everything—but chivalry understood thus is boring. Politeness and manners are not going to make any claim on the heart of a spirited young man.

Lewis shows chivalry to be much more invigorating: it's ultimately the attempt to reconcile ferocity and gentleness in the same man. “The important thing about the chivalric ideal is the double demand it makes on human nature. The knight is a man of blood and iron, a man familiar with the sight of smashed faces and the ragged stumps of lopped-off limbs; he is also a demure guest in hall, a gentle, modest, unobtrusive man. He is not a compromise or a happy mean between ferocity and meekness; he is fierce to the nth and meek to the nth.”

In other words, good manners are just one part of the picture. The more fundamental part is that the guy who gives up his seat to a lady must be a man of prowess, someone who could stomp a hooligan who was threatening that lady.

It seems like a stroke of Providence that I found Lewis’ essay shortly after reading Bronze Age Mindset, which I enjoyed greatly and which made me wish for a Christian vitalism. Lo and behold, Christian vitalism has long existed. Chivalry is it.Image
2) A Knight’s Own Book of Chivalry by Geoffroi de Charny

A proper study of chivalry must turn to the words of an actual knight of the Middle Ages. Geoffroi de Charny is, according to one historian, “as close to the genuine voice of knighthood as we are likely to get.” He was a famous and ferocious warrior, twice chosen to bear the Oriflamme, the sacred banner of the King of France, into battle. He died with it at Poitiers in 1356.

Charny wrote his manual because the knights of France had grown soft and lost their way (which might sound familiar). His mission was to call his fellows back to prowess and honor and faith, and thus revive the fate of his country.

“He who does more is of greater worth,” Charny repeats again and again. Chivalry calls us to become men capable of doing more.Image
Read 11 tweets
Apr 23
Happy Feast of St George the Dragonslayer!

Most people don't appreciate how relevant his clash with the dragon is. This wasn't just some random monster, but one that wanted children. 🧵 Image
Most of my friends already understand this, but it's always worth restating: George of Cappadocia did not slay a "metaphorical" dragon; he slayed a real one.

That said, his literal dragon and our metaphorical dragons bear resemblance. Image
Before George's arrival, the city of Silene is being terrorized by the monster's "envenoming" breath. Twice the author mentions it. Genesis 2:7 is inverted with this detail. As God breathes life into man, the dragon breathes something which terrifies him.
Read 10 tweets
Apr 23
The Pat Tillman Experience—
It was twenty years ago today that he fell. A few reflections on being a sensitive young fellow and learning about the death of your country's manliest man. 🧵 Image
The word manly wasn’t spoken much during my formative years. I didn't know what it meant, and American monoculture seemed deeply uninterested in examining what men were for. When people said “manly,” they seemed to mean “cave-manly”: dumb, boorish, horny, violent.
The Man Show (1999-2004) celebrated decadent "manliness": the good life of beer, masturbation, flatulence, fishing, and leering at “juggies” on trampolines.Image
Read 32 tweets
Apr 19
How do you earn history’s greatest epithet?

According to a medieval romance, when Richard I was (illegally!) imprisoned by King Modred on his return from Crusade, his captor's daughter fell in love with him. 🧵 Image
She bribed the guards to let her see the famous Crusader. When Modred found out what was going on, he wanted to kill Richard immediately, but his advisors convinced him to make it look like an accident.
They would underfeed the court lion for a few days, then allow it to "accidentally" wander to Richard's cell. Image
Read 6 tweets

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