Medieval codes of honor???

Question

So I am writing a report on codes of honor for medieval times, and why people would behave in such a way, seems like google would fix this right? umm not so much so I get lists of how a knight is or was to behave, yay, but I need some more info, any history buffs PLEASE help me, I also need the Hierarchy, and why people would behave in such a way, not looking for someone to writ this for me, just input please

Answer 1

It is against the Knights code of honour to:

Attack from the shadows (assassinate)

Be cause of strife within the nation

(this ones obvious) Go against orders of the King/Queen

endanger the King/Queen or their people

I don't know how they got their nation but each sucsesion was hereditary if there wasn't an heir the closest to the original bloodline was found

Answer 2

The knight’s code of honor started in France in the late 12th century & spread through Europe. It’s main method of influence was the romance stories like King Arthur. Remember at that time England & a huge part of France were ruled by King Richard the lionheart. In addition to his biography, the legacy of Saladin had most likely inspired the code of honor. Saladin was known for his chivalry, magnanimity & generosity, & his virtues were celebrated in number of European literatures including Dante’s divine comedy.

Answer 3

In the beginning of the history of knights, they were really nothing more than hired hands for a Lord. That gradually changed. By the medieval era they were part of the landed class, involved in local politics, the dispensation of justice, and numerous other required tasks for their sovereign, or liege lord. A knight served his liege lord with military service, up to 40 days a year in peace time, more, as needed, in war time. Military duties included castle guard, serving in the lord's "bodyguard", and participating in battle. Apart from military duties the knight could also participate in administering justice, manage his estates, and continue to hone his combat skills in tournament.

When the knights, like others, were christianized it changed the way they behaved. The Chivalric Code was a reflection of Christian  Though the values were well intended it rarely affected most knights, who plundered, slaughtered, and looted often when given the chance. Our modern notion of knights is very much based in the ideas of chivalry, and it is the survival of medieval romantic writings that tend to show knights as the chivalrous ideal.

The hierarchy was...

King

Nobles...Barons, Bishops, Dukes, Earls

Knights

Merchants

Peasants

this was the basic set-up. I don't remember where people like troubadours, etc came in...sorry. Here's a site that may help a bit...

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/midd...

Answer 4

Ok, I'm an incipient medievalist, but I don't know the answer to your question outright,  so I'm going to offer some advice on how go about searching.  (Since you're googling it, I assume this isn't for a particularly high level report).  First of all, all of this will fall under feudalism, i.e. the hierarchy of medieval society in which knights bound themselves to a lord (as did serfs, peasants tied to the land).  I would try to find out the process by which a knight was sworn in.  They had to do a vigil, swear to protect various groups of people and so forth.  This will tell you a good deal about their code of honor and how the hierarchy works.  (I know Cervantes talks about this, el Quijote is of course a parody, but Cervantes knew the rules at least as far as books of chivalry are concerned).  The lords to whom the knights are subservient did control the land, which they could then parcel out to their vassals (the people who had sworn fealty to them).  Such as system organizes society in the absence of a strong central government, and provides protection for both parties.  

Now that I reread your question, I realize you don't want to concentrate on knighthood, but I'm not sure who else would really have a specific code of honor.  I believe it's in the Siete Partidas where Alfonso X of Spain outlines how a king is to behave, but with anything like that you're going to get an idealized form of how someone should behave, which is different from how people actually did behave.  I think feudalism might be your best approach to this, but I'm not sure you're going to find a list of honor codes.  I.e. you'll find what kinds of things serfs could and couldn't do, and what they owed their lord, but not anything that I would consider as an honor code.  This might be why you're having such difficulty with this topic.  

Hope this helps in some way.  Good luck with your report.