chivalryn.
/ˈʃɪvlri/, U.S. /ˈʃɪvəlri/ 1. collective. Knights or horsemen equipped for battle.† a. The contemporary name for the ‘men-at-arms’, or mounted and fully armed fighting-men, of the Middle Ages. Obsolete. (In Old French chevalier translates miles, chevalerie = militia n. II.)† b. as collective singular. A body of men-at-arms.† c. Applied by early translators to the horsemen (ἵππος, equitatus, equites) of ancient Greece and Rome, for which cavalry n. is the modern equivalent. Obsolete.† d. Rarely applied to cavalry n. in the ordinary modern sense. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > branch of army > [noun] > cavalry > medieval or chivalrous
chivalryc1300
knighthood1377
knightage1858
c1300 K. Alis. 1495 He schipeth into Libie, With al his faire chivalrie.
c1320 Sir Beues 2217 Þai wolde after vs..Wiþ wonder-gret cheualrie, And do vs schame and vileinie.
1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 252 A parte of the chivalrie With him to suppe in compaignie Hath bede.
c1400 Melayne 203 With fourty thowsande chevalry Of worthy men of Were.
1485 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur i. xiv. (Globe) 39/2 The eleven kings with their chivalry never turned back.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. ccxxvii. 302 Sir John Mountfort..had..taken all the cheualry of Bretayne.
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1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) iv. 187 King Eduard..gaderit a gret cheuelry.
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society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > branch of army > [noun] > cavalry > Greek or Roman
chivalry?1530
?1530 J. Rastell Pastyme of People sig. Aiv Lucius Tarquinius..captayn of cheualry.
1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour l. 4030 in Wks. (1931) I Prince Tytus, with his Chewalrye.
c1580 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalmes David xx. vi Let trust of some men be In chariots, and some in chivalry [L. hi in curribus et hi in equis].
1581 J. Marbeck Bk. Notes & Common Places 651 Hermogenes master of the Chiualrie, was slaine.
1697 J. Potter Archæologiæ Græcæ I. i. xxvi. 169 The Chivalry shall be detacht out of the most Puissant and wealthy Athenians.
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society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > branch of army > [noun] > cavalry
horse1548
chivalry1562
cavalry1591
chavallery1619
troop-horse1640
1562 P. Whitehorne tr. N. Machiavelli Arte of Warre iv. f. lix Many haue accustomed to vse certain fote menne light armed, to faighteemong horsemen, the whiche hath been to the chiualrie moste greate helpe.
1693 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) III. 65 The elector of Bavaria had remounted his chivalry.
e. As a historical term for the medieval men-at-arms. Occasionally applied poetically or idealistically to ‘cavalry’ or ‘horsemen’ in general, esp. when chivalrous gallantry is attributed.
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1556 in J. G. Nichols Chron. Grey Friars (1852) 13 The lordes and chevaltre of France..wolde have stoppyd [Hen. V] the kynges waye, that he shulde not passe to Callys.
1570 B. Googe tr. T. Kirchmeyer Popish Kingdome i. f. 5 Able..to decke the fieldes, with lustie cheualrie.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 ii. iii. 20 And by his light Did all the Cheualry of England moue To do braue acts. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 307 The Red-Sea Coast, whose waves orethrew Busiris and his Memphian Chivalrie . View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 765 At the Soldans chair Defi'd the best of Panim chivalry To mortal combat. View more context for this quotation
1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. xv. 518 A valorous knight, who charged at the head of the Spanish chivalry..against the Moors.
1802 T. Campbell Hohenlinden Wave, Munich! all thy banners wave, And charge with all thy chivalry!
1836 W. Irving Astoria II. 311 They met with some of the ‘chivalry’ of that noted pass.
1843 W. H. Prescott Hist. Conquest Mexico II. v. ii. 339 Cortéz and his chivalry rode down the whole extent of the great street.
f. In more extended and complimentary sense: Gallant gentlemen.
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society > society and the community > social class > nobility > aristocracy or upper class > gentry > [noun] > gentleman > collectively
bravery1616
gentry1619
chivalry1816
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > specific classes of common people > fashionable society > [noun] > member of > male > collectively
gilded youth1763
chivalry1816
gilt youth1837
glitterati1956
beautiful people1967
1816 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Canto III xxi. 13 There was a sound of revelry by night, And Belgium's capital had gathered then Her Beauty and her Chivalry, and bright The lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men.
a1839 W. M. Praed Poems (1864) II. 408 When Loveliness and Chivalry Were met to feast together.
1883 W. H. Brewer in Daily Tel. 10 July 5/3 The galloping turf was for the chivalry of the South.
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society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > [noun] > an army
ferd823
herec855
drightOE
drightfolkOE
ferdingc1000
gingOE
land-fyrd11..
hostc1290
powerc1300
preyc1300
chivalry1382
puissance1423
enarmec1430
exercite1485
force1487
armya1522
land-force1614
wall1657
ground force1929
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > part of army by position > [noun] > main body or middle
stalec1350
chivalry1382
rangale?a1400
middlewardc1440
battle1489
main battle1569
main-ward1570
centre1590
camp-royal1593
main body1595
grossc1600
battalia1613
battalion1653
centreline1774
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Gen. xxi. 33 Phicol, the prince of his chyualrye [L. princeps exercitus ejus].
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Jer. xix. 13 Thei sacrifieden to al the chyualrie [1382 knyȝthed] of heuene.
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 94/3 A grete companye of cheualrye of heuen.
1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) ii. 275 All the chyualry of heuen prayseth her.
3. The position and character of a knight, knighthood.† a. generally. Obsolete.† b. In early use, esp. Bravery or prowess in war; warlike distinction or glory. Phrase, to do chivalry. Obsolete.figurative.a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 49 [They] þat gooþ to holy chevalrie [L. ad sacram militiam].
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society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > knight > [noun] > knightly condition or qualities
chivalry1297
knighthood1377
knightlihood1390
knightliness1596
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 216 Þo hii seye her kyng aslawe, flour of chyualerye!
c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Lucrece. 1818 Whi hast tow don dispit to chiualrye? Whi hast thow don this lady vilanye?
1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 237 How this king in womanhede Was falle fro chivalerie.
1486 Bk. St. Albans, Her. A iiij b Foure vertues of cheualry.
1579 E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. To his Bk. To him that is the President Of Noblesse and of chevalree.
1601 J. Weever Mirror of Martyrs sig. C4 Great Bolingbrooke this type of chiualrie.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida i. ii. 226 Braue Troylus the Prince of chiualrie . View more context for this quotation
1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Palamon & Arcite i, in Fables 5 He swore, That by the Faith which Knights to Knighthood bore, And what e'er else to Chivalry belongs.
1779 S. Johnson Butler in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets II. 19 Pedantick ostentation of knowledge which has no relation to chivalry.
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the mind > emotion > courage > valour > warlike valour > [noun] > warlike excellence
worshipOE
chivalry1297
vassalage1303
bountyc1330
valuea1393
well-doingc1475
war-proofa1616
nine-worthiness1663
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 211 He bed hym sywy, trwelyche to do chyualerye.
c1325 Chron. Eng. 225 in J. Ritson Anc. Eng. Metrical Romanceës (1802) II. 279 Hy weren men of Chevalerie.
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 45 Fro the tyme þt he first bigan To ryden out he loued chiualrye Trouthe and honor fredom and curteisye.
?c1475 Sqr. lowe Degre 1054 He hath bene in Lombardy And done he hath great chyvalry.
1480 W. Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxxvi So through Godde's helpe he had then the victory and bare thens a glorious chyvalrye.
1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) ii. 348 Yar fayis ridand..Willful to do chewalry.
1534 R. Whittington tr. Cicero Thre Bks. Tullyes Offyces i. sig. D.4* The desyre of fame by chyualry.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 5985 Thurghe Achilles chiualry hom cheuyt the worse.
1553 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Eneados xi. Prol. 1 Hie renowne of martis cheuelrie.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II i. i. 203 We shall see Iustice designe the Victors chiualrie . View more context for this quotation
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II ii. i. 54 This England..Renowned..For christian seruice, and true chiualry . View more context for this quotation
1652 R. Brome Joviall Crew Prol. sig. a2 No Power can redresse Th' afflicted Wanderers, though stout Chevalry Lend all his aid for their delivery.
c. The military art (of the middle ages), knightly skill and practice in arms and martial achievements. archaic.
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society > armed hostility > war > war as profession or skill > [noun]
wara1375
chivalrya1387
chiefalrie1548
soldiery1579
profession1581
military art1590
militia1590
warcrafta1661
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 76 Chyualry or knyghtehoode, milicia.
1475 Bk. Noblesse 21 Vegecius in his boke of Chivalrie [L. Institutio Rei militaris].
1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde i. v. 29 It happed neuer..that clergye cheualrye & laboures of therthe myght be well knowne by one only man.
1489 W. Caxton tr. C. de Pisan Bk. Fayttes of Armes i. i. 1 Experte in tharte of chyualrye.
1551 R. Robinson tr. T. More Vtopia sig. Rviv The resydewe of the daye they passe ouer in playes, and exercise of cheualrye [L. exercitio militaris disciplinæ].
1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Pref. 2 He excelled in feates of chiualrie.
1616 J. Bullokar Eng. Expositor Chiualrie, Knighthood, the Knowledge of a Knight or Nobleman in feats of armes.
1619 E. M. Bolton tr. Florus Rom. Hist. ii. vi. 156 Spaine, that braue martiall countrey, ennobled for cheualrie [L. viris armisque nobilem].
1655 tr. C. Sorel Comical Hist. Francion iii. 73 My greatest pastime..was to read the feats of Chivaldry.
1805 W. Scott Lay of Last Minstrel i. Introd. 3 The last of all the Bards was he, who sung of Border chivalry.
d. Knighthood as a rank or order. archaic.
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society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > knight > [noun] > order > knighthood
knighthooda1300
knightheadc1325
chivalry1483
cavalry1601
knightship1620
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 336/4 Thenne the quene..made them alle to swere this newe chyualrye.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xii. 186 Who so myght take ordere of chiualrye moste in eny wise be a gode knyght.
1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 184 There be now, for Martiall Encouragement, some Degrees and Orders of Chiualry; which neuerthelesse, are conferred promiscuously, vpon Soldiers, & no Soldiers.
1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. i. 3 Never bow'd his stubborn knee To any thing but Chivalry.
1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) III. 488 That an order of Chivalry might be instituted, in imitation of the Civic Crown.
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the mind > emotion > courage > valour > deed of valour > [noun] > heroic feat
chivalry1297
bountyc1330
vassalagec1330
feata1400
turnc1400
pointc1440
valiance1470
valiantise1513
valiancy1627
gallantry1652
heroism1740
heroics1873
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 4578 He smot of is heued as liȝtliche as it were a stouple · Þat was is laste chiualerye.
1485 W. Caxton tr. Paris & Vienne (1957) 14 Eche of you do valyantly hys armes and hys chyualryes.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) vi. 12 How ony man sa suddandly Micht do sa gret a cheuelry.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xiv. 220 Many feire chivalryes shewed on the oo parte and on the tother.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1977) ii. 282 Acts less famous, because they were but private chivalries.
1823 J. G. Lockhart Anc. Spanish Ballads Introd. 13 In the..chivalries celebrated in the Castilian Ballads.
5. The knightly system of feudal times with its attendant religious, moral, and social code, usages, and practices. age of chivalry: the period during which this prevailed.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military service > [noun] > military code > feudal
chivalry1765
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > knight > [noun] > knightly system in feudal period
chivalry1765
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > knight > [noun] > knightly system in feudal period > period
age of chivalry1765
1765 T. Percy Reliques Prelim. Ess. K. Richard I..the great hero of Chivalry.
1774 T. Warton Hist. Eng. Poetry I. Diss. i. sig. i The ideas of chivalry, the appendage and the subject of romance, subsisted among the Goths.
1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 113 The age of chivalry is gone... The unbought grace of life, the cheap defence of nations, the nurse of manly sentiment and heroic enterprize is gone! View more context for this quotation
1823 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto XIII xi. 60 Cervantes smiled Spain's Chivalry away.
1829 Arnold in Life & Corr. (1845) I. 255 If I were called upon to name what spirit of evil predominantly deserved the name of Antichrist, I should name the spirit of chivalry—the more detestable for the very guise of the ‘Archangel ruined’, which has made it so seductive to the most generous minds.
1841 R. W. Emerson Hist. in Ess. 1st Ser. (London ed.) 27 The student interprets the age of chivalry by his own age of chivalry.
1854 H. H. Milman Hist. Lat. Christianity III. vii. vi. 256 Chivalry..left upon European manners..a punctilious regard for honour, a generous reverence for justice, and a hatred..of injustice.
1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. ix. 579 In the eleventh century there arose the celebrated institution of chivalry, which was to manners what feudalism was to politics.
1876 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest V. xxiv. 482 Chivalry..is in morals very much what feudalism is in law; each substitutes..obligations devised in the interests of an exclusive class, for the more homely duties of an honest man and a good citizen.
6. The brave, honourable, and courteous character attributed to the ideal knight; disinterested bravery, honour, and courtesy; chivalrousness.
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the mind > emotion > courage > chivalry > [noun]
bachelry1297
knighthood1377
emprisea1393
knightheada1400
chevisance1579
chevachance1592
chivalry1790
chivalrousness1863
society > morality > virtue > morally elevated quality > [noun] > disinterested bravery or courtesy
chivalry1790
chivalrousness1863
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > [noun] > good manners or polite behaviour > chivalrousness
knighthood1377
chevisance1579
chivalry1790
chivalrousness1863
1790 [see sense 5].
1829 K. H. Digby Broad Stone of Honour: Godefridus xiv. 89 Chivalry is only a name for that general spirit or state of mind which disposes men to heroic and generous actions.
1854 H. H. Milman Hist. Lat. Christianity III. vii. vi. 251 All the noble sentiments, which blended together are chivalry.
1861 A. Trollope Orley Farm (1862) I. xl. 316 He felt himself bound..to cling to her himself. Such was the special chivalry of the man.
1874 H. Sidgwick Methods of Ethics iii. viii. §2. 302 Generosity or Chivalry towards adversaries or competitors seems to consist in shewing as much kindness and regard for their well-being as is compatible with the ends and conditions of conflict.
1885 L. Stephen in Athenæum 28 Nov. 696/3 Chivalry of feeling, as I understand the word, means a refinement of the sense of justice—an instinctive capacity for sympathizing with every one who is the victim of oppression.
7. Flower of Chivalry: in various senses: (a) flower or fairest type of knighthood, or of feudal chivalry; (b) the prize or highest honour of knightly prowess; (c) the choice portion of a force of armed knights.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > soldier by branch of army > [noun] > mounted soldier > knight
riderlOE
Flower of Chivalry1297
Knight (formerly also fellow, etc.) of the Round Tablec1330
chevalier1377
knight voyagerc1500
ritter1577
cavalier1596
knight-
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > knight > [noun] > knightly system in feudal period > fairest type of
Flower of Chivalry1297
1297 [see sense 3a].
c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 124 And in his oost of Chiualrye the flour.
c1440 Partonope 1227 The rereward..wherin the floure Is herbowred of his Cheualrye.
c1440 Partonope 1902 This hethen kyng..Which of chevalry beryth the flour Of alle the sette in hethen lay.
a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) 2183 The flour of knychthed and of chevalry.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. ccxxxiiii. f. cliv The Kynge..with the Flowre of that Chyualry of Fraunce set forthward.
1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. 1231/1 Which duke [sc. the Black Prince], being the flower of chiualrie in his time.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. viii. sig. Hv Flowre of chevalrie.
1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Palamon & Arcite i, in Fables 5 His Host, the Flow'r of Grecian Chivalry.
1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc xii. 517 Our English swords..Cut down the flower of all their chivalry.
1821 R. Southey Vision of Judgem. viii. 31 He of the sable mail, the hero of Cressy, Flower of chivalry.
1833 H. W. Longfellow Coplas de Manrique xxxix When all the flower of chivalry Was in his train.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal right > right of possession or ownership > tenure of property > [noun] > tenure by service > by military or knight service
knight-service1439
ward1508
chivalry1528
ward-holding1681
military tenure1764
1292 Britton iii. ii. §1 Plusours maneres de tenures dount touz les plus sount de chevalerie et de graunt serjaunties.]
1528–30 tr. T. Littleton Tenures (new ed.) f. iiii And them [sc. xx. acres of lande] hath and occupyeth as warden in chiualrye durynge ye chyldes nonage.
1641 Rastell's Termes de la Ley (new ed.) f. 57v The services are all by Littleton divided into two sorts, Chivalry and Socage; the one martiall and military, the other clownish and rusticall.
1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. ii. v Incident to the tenure in chivalry.
1876 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People ix. 607 The conversion of lands held till then [12 Car. II. cap. 24] in chivalry into lands held in common socage.
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society > law > administration of justice > judicial body, assembly, or court > [noun] > court of chivalry
court of honoura1586
Court of Chivalry1616
1616 J. Selden Notes on Fortescue xxxii. 37 in R. Mulcaster tr. J. Fortescue De Laudibus Legum Angliæ That court..hath been long discontinued..The Court of Chiualrie, wherein all matters of Armes, Treason committed beyond sea, Warre, and the like, which could not bee tried at the common law, were determinable.
1644 E. Coke 1st Pt. Inst. Lawes Eng. iv. xvii The Honorable Court of Chivalry before the Constable and Marshall..this Court is the fountain of the Marshall law.
1863 H. Cox Inst. Eng. Govt. ii. ii. 321 (note) .
10. A team of horses. [compare cheval.]
ΚΠ
1863 P. S. Worsley Phaethon in Poems & Transl. 12 Nor even thus..had curbed That chivalry divine.
Compounds
chivalry-play n.
ΚΠ
1827 T. Carlyle in Edinb. Rev. Oct. 337 The Sentimentalists, the Chivalry-play-writers.
chivalry-ribbon n.
ΚΠ
1839 T. Carlyle Chartism iii. 18 Chivalry-ribbons and plebeian gallows-ropes.
chivalry-romance n.
ΚΠ
a1843 R. Southey Common-place Bk. (1849) 2nd Ser. 230/1 The chivalry-romances are all battles.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1297