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102-687: Five major battles of Kawanakajima occurred: Fuse in 1553, Saigawa in 1555, Uenohara in 1557, Hachimanbara in 1561, and Shiozaki in 1564. The most famous and severe battle was fought on 18 October 1561 in the heart of the Kawanakajima plain, thus being known the Battle of Kawanakajima. The battles were ultimately inconclusive and neither Shingen or Kenshin established their control over the plain of Kawanakajima. The Battles of Kawanakajima became one of "the most cherished tales in Japanese military history",

204-459: A warhammer and his ancestral katana Samonji , he is instead portrayed as an arrogant but effective leader who is a persistent threat to the young Oda Nobunaga, even defeating him in combat in one battle and forcing the Oda army to withdraw, before his eventual defeat at Okehazama. A female version of Yoshimoto appears in anime The Ambition of Oda Nobuna . In this version, instead of dying Yoshimoto

306-630: A warrior ethos , knightly piety , and courtly manners , all combining to establish a notion of honour and nobility . The term "chivalry" derives from the Old French term chevalerie , which can be translated as " horse soldiery ". Originally, the term referred only to horse-mounted men, from the French word for horse, cheval , but later it became associated with knightly ideals. The French word chevalier originally meant "a man of aristocratic standing, and probably of noble ancestry, who

408-590: A few kilometers to the west; they menaced the Uesugi right flank. Kurita Kakuju 's defenses were bolstered by 3,000 Takeda warriors, of whom 800 were archers and 300 arquebusiers. The main battle was almost shadowed by the number of Kenshin's attacks (siege) against the Asahiyama fortress, but all were repulsed. Eventually he moved his army onto the plain, redirecting his attention to Takeda's main force. However, rather than attacking, both armies waited, for months, for

510-405: A more "ordered and peaceful society". The tripartite conception of medieval European society (those who pray, those who fight, and those who work) along with other linked subcategories of monarchy and aristocracy, worked in congruence with knighthood to reform the institution in an effort "to secure public order in a society just coming into its mature formation." Kaeuper says that knighthood and

612-425: A move", knowing that victory would require the essential element of surprise. Shingen was thus allowed into his fortress at Kaizu along with his gun-bugyō (army commissioner), Yamamoto Kansuke . At that time Kansuke formed a strategy that he believed would prove effective against Kenshin. Kōsaka Masanobu left Kaizu with 8,000 men, advancing up Saijoyama under cover of night, intending to drive Kenshin's army down to

714-658: A new military ethos based on nationalism rather than "defending the faith against the infidel". Social commentators of the Victorian era advocated for a revival of chivalry in order to remedy the ill effects of the Industrial Revolution . Thomas Carlyle 's " Captains of Industry " were to lead a "Chivalry of Labour", a beneficent form of governance that is hierarchical yet fraternal in nature, rather than materialistic. John Ruskin 's "Ideal Commonwealth" took chivalry as one of its basic characteristics. From

816-693: A part in the foundation of the Scouting movement. The Brownsea Island Scout camp , formed in 1907, began as a boys' camping event on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour , southern England, organised by British Army Lieutenant-General Robert Baden-Powell to test his ideas for the book Scouting for Boys . Boy scouts from different social backgrounds in the U.K. participated from 1 to 8 August 1907 in activities around camping , observation , woodcraft , chivalry, lifesaving , and patriotism . According to William Manchester , General Douglas MacArthur

918-410: A perceived codified law. The chivalric ideals are based on those of the early medieval warrior class, and martial exercise and military virtue remain integral parts of chivalry until the end of the medieval period, as the reality on the battlefield changed with the development of Early Modern warfare , and increasingly restricted it to the tournament ground and duelling culture. The joust remained

1020-545: A revival and elaboration of chivalric ceremonial and rules of etiquette in the 14th century that was examined by Johan Huizinga in The Waning of the Middle Ages , which dedicates a chapter to "The idea of chivalry". In contrasting the literary standards of chivalry with the actual warfare of the age, the historian finds the imitation of an ideal past illusory; in an aristocratic culture such as Burgundy and France at

1122-497: A social, not a military phenomenon, with its key features: generosity, fidelity, liberality, and courtesy. Chivalry was dynamic; it adjusted in response to local situations, and this probably led to its demise. There were many chivalric groups in England as imagined by Sir Thomas Malory when he wrote Le Morte d'Arthur in the late 15th century; perhaps each group created its own chivalric ideology. Malory's perspective reflects

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1224-449: A sword, wherewith he sheds blood blamelessly, without becoming thereby a man of blood, and frequently puts men to death without incurring the name or guilt of homicide. From the 12th century onward, chivalry came to be understood as a moral, religious, and social code of knightly conduct. The particulars of the code varied, but codes would emphasise the virtues of courage, honour, and service. Chivalry also came to refer to an idealisation of

1326-613: A warning to other Murakami holdouts. Murakami Yoshikiyo retreated from Shioda on 12 September 1553 and about 16 of the clan's outposts in Shinano surrendered to Takeda. Shingen pursued Yoshikyo across the Chikumagawa River but was turned back by Kenshin's reinforcements at the Battle of Fuse. Kenshin pursued Shingen, winning another battle at Hachiman. The victorious Uesugi forces went on to take Arato castle before winter forced both sides to disengage. From August to November 1555

1428-594: A way of life in which the military, the nobility, and religion combine. The "code of chivalry" is thus a product of the Late Middle Ages , evolving after the end of the crusades partly from an idealization of the historical knights fighting in the Holy Land and from ideals of courtly love. Pioneering French literary historian Léon Gautier compiled what he called the medieval Ten Commandments of chivalry in his book La Chevalerie (1884): In fact, there

1530-530: Is capable, if called upon, of equipping himself with a war horse and the arms of heavy cavalryman and who has been through certain rituals that make him what he is." Therefore, during the Middle Ages , the plural chevalerie (transformed in English into the word "chivalry") originally denoted the body of heavy cavalry upon formation in the field. In English, the term appears from 1292 (note that cavalry

1632-521: Is from the Italian form of the same word). The meaning of the term evolved over time into a broader sense, because in the Middle Ages the meaning of chevalier changed from the original concrete military meaning "status or fee associated with a military follower owning a war horse " or "a group of mounted knights" to the ideal of the Christian warrior ethos propagated in the romance genre, which

1734-403: Is no such medieval list. Gautier's effort was a series of moral bullet points he abstracted from his broad reading of 12th and 13th century romances. Supporters of chivalry have assumed since the late medieval period that there was a time in the past when chivalry was a living institution, when men acted chivalrously, the imitation of which period would much improve the present. However, with

1836-452: Is the minister of the common interest and the bond-servant of equity, and he bears the public person in the sense that he punishes the wrongs and injuries of all, and all crimes, with even-handed equity. His rod and staff also, administered with wise moderation, restore irregularities and false departures to the straight path of equity, so that deservedly may the Spirit congratulate the power of

1938-407: The preudomme , which can be translated as a wise, honest, and sensible man. This uncodified code—referred to as the noble habitus —is a term for the environment of behavioural and material expectations generated by all societies and classes. As a modern idea, it was pioneered by the French philosopher/sociologists Pierre Bourdieu and Maurice Merleau-Ponty , even though a precedent exists for

2040-534: The Anglo-Irish Order of St. Patrick (1783), and numerous dynastic orders of knighthood remain active in countries that retain a tradition of monarchy. At the same time, with the change of courtly ideas during the Baroque period , the ideals of chivalry began to be seen as dated, or "medieval". Don Quixote , published in 1605–15, burlesqued the medieval chivalric novel or romance by ridiculing

2142-661: The Carolingian Empire from the idealisation of the cavalryman —involving military bravery, individual training, and service to others—especially in Francia , among horse soldiers in Charlemagne 's cavalry. Over time, the meaning of chivalry in Europe has been refined to emphasize more general social and moral virtues. The code of chivalry, as it stood by the Late Middle Ages , was a moral system which combined

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2244-470: The De Re Militari of Ralph Niger (c. 1187) was written by the young man's former chaplain, in part as a moral defence of the knightly lifestyle. Crouch suggests another reason why chivalry coalesced as a noble code in the late 12th century in his analysis of conduct literature. He suggests that the courtly habitus underwent a crisis as its moral failure became obvious to writers, particularly in

2346-484: The High Middle Ages . Christianity had a modifying influence on the classical concept of heroism and virtue, nowadays identified with the virtues of chivalry. The Peace and Truce of God in the 10th century was one such example, which placed limits on knights to protect and honour the weaker members of society and also help the church maintain peace. At the same time the church became more tolerant of war in

2448-646: The Imagawa clan , which claimed descent from Emperor Seiwa (850–880). His childhood name was Yosakimaru (芳菊丸). His family branched from Minamoto clan by the Ashikaga clan . As he was not the eldest son, he was not an heir to his father's lordship. As a result, the young boy was sent to a temple where his name was changed to Baigaku Shōhō ( 梅岳承芳 ) or Sengaku Shōhō ( 栴岳承芳 ) . In 1536, his older brother Ujiteru died suddenly, unleashing successional disputes. His elder half-brother, Genkō Etan ( 玄広恵探 ) , tried to seize

2550-652: The Later Hōjō clan invaded into the Suruga province but Yoshimoto defeated the Hōjō's force. In 1542, Yoshimoto began his advance into Mikawa Province , in an effort to fight the growing influence of Oda Nobuhide in that region, but was defeated in the 1542 Battle of Azukizaka . Later in 1548, Yoshimoto defeated Nobuhide in the Second Battle of Azukizaka and continued to expand his territory until 1560. In campaigns over

2652-613: The Libre del ordre de cavayleria , written by Ramon Llull (1232–1315), from Majorca , whose subject is knighthood; and the Livre de Chevalerie of Geoffroi de Charny (1300–1356), which examines the qualities of knighthood, emphasizing prowess . None of the authors of these three texts knew the other two texts, and the three combine to depict a general concept of chivalry which is not precisely in harmony with any of them. To different degrees and with different details, they speak of chivalry as

2754-707: The Sengoku period . Based in Suruga Province , he was known as The number one Daimyō in the Tōkaidō ( 海道一の弓取り , Kaidō-ichi no Yumitori ) ; he was one of the three daimyō that dominated the Tōkaidō region . He died in 1560 while marching to Kyoto to become Shogun . He was killed in the village of Dengakuhazama in Okehazama by Oda Nobunaga . Yoshimoto was born as in 1519, the third son of Imagawa Ujichika of

2856-586: The Sieges of Toishi Castle, from which position he intended to carry out the final attack on the main Murakami castle of Katsurao. However, in November the siege was abandoned and Shingen's army was counterattacked by Murakami, and almost routed. The following year, though, Murakami was forced to leave the castle and the successful Siege of Katsurao (1553) ensued. The first battle of Kawanakajima, also known as

2958-492: The Teutonic Knights , who honored her as their patroness. The medieval development of chivalry, with the concept of the honour of a lady and the ensuing knightly devotion to it, not only derived from the thinking about Mary, but also contributed to it. Although women were at times viewed as the source of evil, it was Mary who as mediator to God was a source of refuge for man. The development of medieval Mariology and

3060-410: The early modern period , the term gallantry (from galant , the Baroque ideal of refined elegance) rather than chivalry became used for the proper behaviour of upper-class men towards upper-class women. In the 19th century, there were attempts to revive chivalry for the purposes of the gentleman of that time. Kenelm Henry Digby wrote his The Broad-Stone of Honour for this purpose, offering

3162-439: The knight 's character and the chivalric ethos were novel elements: revised social status, innovative military tactics, and fresh literary themes. Chivalric codes encompassed regulations such as pledging loyalty to the overlord and upholding warfare rules. These rules dictated refraining from attacking a defenseless opponent and prioritizing the capture of fellow nobles for later ransom instead of immediate harm, akin to adhering to

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3264-399: The "Battle of Fuse", was fought in 1553. Although regarded as the first battle, it is related to the two battles of Hachiman fought in the same year south of the plain. Twelve days after taking Katsurao Castle , Shingen penetrated far into the Kawanakajima plain along the eastern bank of the Chikumagawa River. Uesugi Kenshin marched up the western bank to support Murakami Yoshikiyo , and

3366-568: The "sword against the enemy". In the 11th century the concept of a "knight of Christ" ( miles Christi ) gained currency in France, Spain, and Italy. These concepts of "religious chivalry" were further elaborated in the era of the Crusades , with the Crusades themselves often seen as a chivalrous enterprise. The military orders of the crusades which developed in this period came to be seen as

3468-574: The 15th century Christine de Pizan combined themes from Vegetius, Bonet, and Frontinus in Livre des faits d'armes et de chevalerie . In the 14th century Jean Froissart wrote his Chronicles which captured much of the Hundred Years' War , including the Battle of Crécy and later the Battle of Poitiers both of which saw the defeat of the French nobility by armies made up largely of common men using longbows . The chivalric tactic employed by

3570-426: The 3000 Uesugi warriors defending the ford (under the command of Uesugi general Amakasu Kagemochi ), and pressed on to aid Takeda's main force. The Kosaka force then attacked the retreating Uesugi from the rear. Takeda Shingen's many great generals, including his younger brother Takeda Nobushige and Murozumi Masakiyo , were killed in the field. In the end, it is told that the Uesugi army suffered 62% casualties, while

3672-588: The Arabs as antecedents to the depiction of courtly love in medieval European literature. In the works of the Cordoban author Ibn Hazm , for example, "lovers develop passions for slave boys as well as girls, interchangeably, and the slave is recognized as now the master of his beloved." Ibn Hazm's The Ring of the Dove is a noteworthy depiction of a lover's extreme submissiveness. Medieval courtly literature glorifies

3774-529: The French armoured nobility, namely bravely charging the opposition in the face of a hail of arrows, failed repeatedly. Froissart noted the subsequent attacks by common English and Welsh archers upon the fallen French knights. Chronicles also captured a series of uprisings by common people against the nobility, such as the Jacquerie and The Peasant's Revolt and the rise of the common man to leadership ranks within armies. Many of these men were promoted during

3876-600: The Genkō faction was eliminated in the Hanagura Disturbance ( 花倉の乱 , Hanagura-no-ran ) . Baigaku Shōhō changed his name to Yoshimoto at this point and succeeded the clan. After Yoshimoto succeeded to family headship, he married the sister of Takeda Shingen of Kai . This allowed Yoshimoto to cement an alliance with the Takeda when he helped Shingen imprison his father, Takeda Nobutora, in 1540. Soon after,

3978-528: The Hundred Years' War but were later left in France when the English nobles returned home, and became mercenaries in the Free Companies , for example John Hawkwood , the mercenary leader of The White Company . The rise of effective, paid soldiery replaced noble soldiery during this period, leading to a new class of military leader without any adherence to the chivalric code. Chivalry underwent

4080-611: The Muraki Castle in the southeast of Owari, besieging Mizuno Nobumoto (uncle of Tokugawa Ieyasu ) in his castle of Ogawa, who defected from the Imagawa in favor of an alliance with Oda Nobunaga . In 1558, Yoshimoto sent Matsudaira Motoyasu to attack Terabe Castle , but were driven off by reinforcements sent by Oda Nobunaga. Later, Yoshimoto left the clan's political affairs in Ujizane's hands, in order to focus on dealing with

4182-399: The Takeda lost 72%. The chronicles seem to indicate that the Takeda made no effort to stop the Uesugi from retreating after the battle, burning the encampment at Saijoyama, returning to Zenkō-ji and then to Echigo Province . Some more conservative estimates place the casualties around 20%. In September 1564, also known as the "Battle of Shiozaki". Shingen and Kenshin met for the fifth time on

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4284-515: The Uesugi. Obu Saburohei fought back against Kakizaki's samurai. Anayama Nobutada destroyed Shibata Harunaga of Echigo, and forced the Uesugi main force back to the Chikumigawa. Meanwhile, Kosaka's stealth force reached the top of Saijoyama and, finding the Uesugi position deserted, hurried down the mountain to the fort, taking the same path they had expected the fleeing Uesugi to take. After desperate fighting, they punched their way through

4386-422: The advance westward into Mikawa and Owari . In the summer of 1560, after forming a three-way alliance with the Takeda and the Hōjō, Yoshimoto headed out to the capital with Matsudaira Motoyasu (later known as 'Tokugawa Ieyasu') of Mikawa in the vanguard. Despite having a strong force of 25,000, Yoshimoto deliberately announced that he had 40,000 troops. While this statement put fear in many factions, Oda Nobunaga

4488-499: The arena of professional infantrymen, with less opportunity for knights to show chivalry. It was the beginning of the demise of the knight. The rank of knight never faded, but Queen Elizabeth I ended the tradition that any knight could create another, making this exclusively the preserve of the monarch. Christopher Wilkins contends that Sir Edward Woodville , who rode from battle to battle across Europe and died in 1488 in Brittany ,

4590-662: The best protection in her lance and her sword. The chivalric ideal persisted into the early modern and modern period. The custom of founding chivalric orders by Europe's monarchs and high nobility peaked in the late medieval period, but it persisted during the Renaissance and well into the Baroque and early modern period, with e.g. the Tuscan Order of Saint Stephen (1561), the French Order of Saint Louis (1693) or

4692-542: The birth of modern historical and literary research, scholars have found that however far back in time "The Age of Chivalry" is searched for, it is always further in the past, even back to the Roman Empire . From Jean Charles Léonard de Sismondi : We must not confound chivalry with the feudal system . The feudal system may be called the real life of the period of which we are treating, possessing its advantages and inconveniences, its virtues and its vices. Chivalry, on

4794-490: The bourgeoisie were educated at aristocratic courts, where they were trained in the manners of the knightly class. This was a democratisation of chivalry, leading to a new genre called the courtesy book , which were guides to the behaviour of "gentlemen". Thus, the post-medieval gentlemanly code of the value of a man's honour, respect for women, and a concern for those less fortunate, is directly derived from earlier ideals of chivalry and historical forces that created it. Japan

4896-636: The capital in Kyoto , and powerful lords ( daimyōs ) began to assert themselves. Such lords gained power by usurpation, warfare or marriage—any means that would safeguard their position. It was manifested in yamajiro ("mountain castles"), which overlooked the provinces. In 1541, Shingen began his conquest of Shinano Province . In 1550, Shingen advanced once again into Shinano and quickly conquered Hayashi Castle , Kiribara and Fukashi Castle by siege . These had been controlled by Ogasawara Nagatoki , who fled to Murakami Yoshikiyo . In October 1550, Shingen began

4998-413: The changing attitudes towards women paralleled each other. The works of Roman poets like Ovid and Cicero bore some similarities to the typical depiction of romance in chivalric literature during the Middle Ages. In Ovid's works, lovers "became sleepless, grew pale, and lost their appetite," while Cicero's works celebrated the "ennobling power of love". Some scholars also point to the romantic poetry of

5100-763: The city of Toyokawa in modern Aichi Prefecture . See People of the Sengoku period in popular culture . He is a playable character in Pokémon Conquest (Pokémon + Nobunaga's Ambition in Japan), with his partner Pokémon being Pineco and Forretress . In the Samurai Warriors series, Yoshimoto is represented as a foolish old-fashioned nobleman. His weapon is a kemari which is inspired by his son, Ujizane's historical obsession towards kemari. In Samurai Warriors 5 , however, where he fights with

5202-472: The close of the Middle Ages, "to be representative of true culture means to produce by conduct, by customs, by manners, by costume, by deportment, the illusion of a heroic being, full of dignity and honour, of wisdom, and, at all events, of courtesy.... The dream of past perfection ennobles life and its forms, fills them with beauty and fashions them anew as forms of art". In the later Middle Ages, wealthy merchants strove to adopt chivalric attitudes. The sons of

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5304-403: The concept as far back as the works of Aristotle. Crouch in 2019 argued that the habitus on which "the superstructure of chivalry" was built and the preudomme was a part, were recognised by contemporaries as components of courtoisie (from Latin curialitas ) which was defined as superior conduct appropriate to the aristocratic hall ( court or curia ). He saw it as being taught within

5406-557: The condition of 15th-century chivalry. When Le Morte d'Arthur was printed, William Caxton urged knights to read the romance with an expectation that reading about chivalry could unite a community of knights already divided by the Wars of the Roses . During the early Tudor rule in England , some knights still fought according to that ethos. Fewer knights were engaged in active warfare because battlefields during this century were generally

5508-476: The confines of the hall by its senior figures to youths confided to the lord and his household for their social upbringing. Crouch suggested courtliness had existed long before 1100 and preceded the codified medieval noble conduct we call chivalry, which he sees as beginning between 1170 and 1220. The pre-chivalric noble habitus as discovered by Mills and Gautier and elaborated by Stephen Jaeger and David Crouch are as follows: The [warrior-]prince accordingly

5610-424: The contrary, is the ideal world, such as it existed in the imaginations of the romance writers. Its essential character is devotion to woman and to honour. Sismondi alludes to the fictitious Arthurian romances about the imaginary Court of King Arthur when taken as factual presentations of a historical age of chivalry. He continues: The more closely we look into history, the more clearly shall we perceive that

5712-464: The course of the ensuing decades, Yoshimoto wrested control over the Suruga, Totomi, and Mikawa provinces. In 1552, Shingen's son, Takeda Yoshinobu , married Yoshimoto's daughter. Yoshimoto and the Hōjō clan reached a peace agreement in 1554 with the marriage of Yoshimoto's son, Imagawa Ujizane , to the daughter of Hōjō Ujiyasu , Lady Hayakawa . In 1554, the Imagawa clan came to the west and built

5814-415: The death of Nobushige, younger brother of Shigen. While the kakuyoku formation held surprisingly well, the Takeda commanders eventually fell, one by one. Seeing that his pincer plan had failed, Yamamoto Kansuke charged into the enemy ranks, being killed in action with his two chief retainers, Osaragi Shōzaemon and Isahaya Sagorō . Eventually the Uesugi forces reached the Takeda command post, and one of

5916-442: The decline of the military ideals of duelling culture and of European aristocracies in general following the catastrophe of World War I , the ideals of chivalry became widely seen as outmoded by the mid-20th century. As a material reflection of this process, the dress sword lost its position as an indispensable part of a gentleman's wardrobe, a development described as an "archaeological terminus" by Ewart Oakeshott , as it concluded

6018-457: The defence of faith, espousing theories of the just war ; and liturgies were introduced which blessed a knight's sword, and a bath of chivalric purification . In the Grail romances and Chevalier au Cygne , it was the ethos of the Christian knighthood that its way of life was to please God, and chivalry was an order of God. Chivalry as a Christian vocation combined Teutonic heroic values with

6120-408: The definition: "Chivalry is only a name for that general spirit or state of mind which disposes men to heroic actions, and keeps them conversant with all that is beautiful and sublime in the intellectual and moral world." The pronouncedly masculine virtues of chivalry came under attack on the parts of the upper-class suffragettes campaigning for gender equality in the early 20th century, and with

6222-473: The earliest flowering of chivalry, and some of their opponents like Saladin were likewise depicted as chivalrous adversaries. It remains unclear to what extent the notable military figures of this period—such as Saladin, Godfrey of Bouillon , William Marshal , or Bertrand du Guesclin —actually did set new standards of knightly behaviour, or to what extent they merely behaved according to existing models of conduct which came in retrospect to be interpreted along

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6324-518: The epitome of Japanese chivalry and romance, mentioned in epic literature , paintings, woodblock prints , and movies. The battles were part of the 16th-century Sengoku period , also known as the "Warring States Period", and were little different from other conflicts. After the Ōnin War (1467–77), the Muromachi shōgun ' s system and taxation had increasingly less control outside the province of

6426-443: The four, this battle took place furthest from the Kawanakajima plain. The fourth battle of Kawanakajima resulted in greater casualties for both sides, as a percentage of total forces, than any other battle in the Sengoku period and is, according to Turnbull, one of the most tactically interesting battles of the period. After besieging Hōjō Ujiyasu 's Odawara castle , Uesugi Kenshin was forced to withdraw after hearing rumors about

6528-599: The general in command of the castle, Kosaka Masanobu , through a system of signal fires, informed his lord, in Tsutsujigasaki fortress, 130 km away in Kōfu , of Kenshin's move. Shingen left Kōfu with 16,000 men, acquiring 4,000 more as he traveled through Shinano Province , approaching Kawanakajima on the west bank of the Chikumagawa ( Chikuma River ), keeping the river between him and Saijoyama. "Neither army made

6630-402: The itinerant playboy lifestyle of his son to distract him from meddling in his realms, and also to stake a claim to the cultural high ground over the other European princes of the day. Young Henry was nonetheless heavily criticised for his wasteful and hedonistic life, and Crouch finds it significant that the first known work which used the knight as a moral exemplar and as a definitive nobleman,

6732-462: The life and manners of the knight at home in his castle and with his court. The code of chivalry, as it was known during the late Medieval age, developed between 1170 and 1220. Courtliness remained a recognised form of superior conduct in medieval European society throughout the middle ages. Courtly behaviour was expected of all aristocrats and its norms were integrated into chivalric literature. But as Crouch demonstrated courtliness (unlike chivalry)

6834-554: The lines of the "chivalry" ideal of the Late Middle Ages. Nevertheless, chivalry and crusades were not the same thing. While the crusading ideology had largely influenced the ethic of chivalry during its formative times, chivalry itself was related to a whole range of martial activities and aristocratic values which had no necessary linkage with crusading. The Virgin Mary was venerated by multiple chivalric orders, including

6936-570: The literary cycles known as the Matter of France , relating to the legendary companions of Charlemagne and his men-at-arms , the paladins , and the Matter of Britain , informed by Geoffrey of Monmouth 's Historia Regum Britanniae , written in the 1130s, which popularized the legend of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table . The code of chivalry that developed in medieval Europe had its roots in earlier centuries. It arose in

7038-758: The long period during which the sword had been a visible attribute of the free man, beginning as early as three millennia ago with the Bronze Age sword . During the 20th century, the chivalrous ideal of protecting women came to be seen as a trope of melodrama (" damsel in distress "). The term chivalry retains a certain currency in sociology, in reference to the general tendency of men, and of society in general, to lend more attention offering protection from harm to women than to men, or in noting gender gaps in life expectancy , health , etc., also expressed in media bias giving significantly more attention to female than to male victims. The promotion of chivalry played

7140-467: The lordship, but the clan split into two factions. Yoshimoto's faction argued he was the rightful heir because Yoshimoto's mother ( Jukei-ni ) was the consort of Ujichika. Genkō Etan's faction disputed this based on Genkō's seniority, and that his mother was a member of the Kushima family. However, with the assistance of Hojo Ujitsuna of Sagami province and support of Takeda Nobutora of Kai province ,

7242-645: The materialism that motivated courtly society. Crouch sees the Roman des Eles of the poet-knight Raoul de Houdenc , as a critique of courtliness and its failures. Raoul's solution is to focus moral eminence on the figure of the knight, who is to be the avatar of a new moral nobility, set above all other males. A knight was to eschew materialism ( envie ) and to embrace noble generosity ( largesce ). In medieval literature , chivalry can be classified into three overlapping areas: Different weight given to different areas produced different strands of chivalry: Emerging with

7344-449: The militant tradition of Old Testament . The first noted support for chivalric vocation, or the establishment of a knightly class to ensure the sanctity and legitimacy of Christianity, was written in 930 by Odo , abbot of Cluny , in the Vita of St. Gerald of Aurillac , which argued that the sanctity of Christ and Christian doctrine can be demonstrated through the legitimate unsheathing of

7446-421: The most famous single combats in Japanese history ensued. Uesugi Kenshin himself burst into the headquarters, attacking Takeda Shingen who, unprepared for such an event, parried with his signalling fan as best as he could, and held Kenshin off long enough for one of his retainers, Hara Osumi-no-Kami, to spear Kenshin's mount and drive him off. The Takeda main body held firm, despite fierce rotating attacks by

7548-503: The movement of Takeda Shingen's army. In September 1561 Kenshin left his Kasugayama Castle with 13,000 warriors, determined to destroy Shingen. He left some of his forces at Zenkō-ji but took up a position on Saijoyama, a mountain to the west of, and looking down upon, Shingen's Kaizu castle . To Kenshin's ignorance, the Kaizu castle contained no more than 150 samurai and their followers and he had taken them completely by surprise. However,

7650-541: The noise of their horses' hooves. With the beginning of dawn, Shingen's men were surprised to find Kenshin's army ready to charge at them—as opposed to fleeing from the mountain, as expected. Uesugi's forces attacked in waves, in a kuruma gakari formation, in which every unit is replaced by another as it becomes weary or destroyed. Leading the Uesugi vanguard were two of Uesugi's "Twenty-Eight Generals", Kakizaki Kageie and Irobe Katsunaga . Kakizaki's unit of mounted samurai clashed with Takeda Nobushige 's unit, resulting in

7752-533: The other to make a move. Finally, battle was avoided as both leaders retired to deal with domestic affairs in their home provinces. The peace was mediated by Imagawa Yoshimoto . The third battle, also known as the "Battle of Uenohara", took place in 1557 when Takeda Shingen captured a fortress called Katsurayama , overlooking the Zenkō-ji temple from the northwest. He then attempted to take Iiyama castle , but withdrew after Uesugi Kenshin led an army out of Zenkō-ji. Of

7854-429: The people, we are astonished to find the poets, after a long lapse of time, adorning the very same ages with the most splendid fictions of grace, virtue, and loyalty. The romance writers of the twelfth century placed the age of chivalry in the time of Charlemagne. The period when these writers existed, is the time pointed out by Francis I . At the present day [about 1810], we imagine we can still see chivalry flourishing in

7956-432: The persons of Du Guesclin and Bayard , under Charles V and Francis I. But when we come to examine either the one period or the other, although we find in each some heroic spirits, we are forced to confess that it is necessary to antedate the age of chivalry, at least three or four centuries before any period of authentic history. Prior to codified chivalry, there was the uncodified code of noble conduct that focused on

8058-669: The plain of Kawanakajima. Their forces skirmished for 60 days, and then both withdrew. Another encounter near Lake Nojiri in 1568 could be labeled as the sixth battle, but it is not considered as such. Chivalry Chivalry , or the chivalric language , is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It is associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood , with knights being members of various chivalric orders , and with knights' and gentlemen's behaviours which were governed by chivalrous social codes. The ideals of chivalry were popularized in medieval literature , particularly

8160-446: The plain where Takeda Shingen would be waiting with another 8,000 men in kakuyoku ("crane's wing"), formation. However, whether via spies in Kaizu or scouts looking down from Saijoyama, Kenshin guessed Shingen's intentions and led his own men down to the plain. Kenshin descended from Saijoyama by its western flanks. Instead of fleeing Kosaka's dawn attack, Uesugi Kenshin's army crept down the mountain, quietly using bits of cloth to deaden

8262-525: The primary example of knightly display of martial skill throughout the Renaissance (the last Elizabethan Accession Day tilt was held in 1602). The martial skills of the knight carried over to the practice of the hunt , and hunting expertise became an important aspect of courtly life in the later medieval period (see terms of venery ). Related to chivalry was the practice of heraldry and its elaborate rules of displaying coats of arms as it emerged in

8364-489: The prince with the words, 'Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me.' [ Psalm 23:4 ] His shield, too, is strong, but it is a shield for the protection of the weak, and one which wards off powerfully the darts of the wicked from the innocent. Those who derive the greatest advantage from his performance of the duties of his office are those who can do least for themselves, and his power is chiefly exercised against those who desire to do harm. Therefore not without reason he bears

8466-441: The professional horse warrior, the knight. Retained knights were a prominent feature of the households of barons, counts and princes, and were thought to be proper associates of their lords. As such knights adopted the fashions and behaviours of their lords. In many cases knights were often drawn from the younger sons of noble families so they would regard themselves as being noble too, if less noble than their lords. Crouch locates

8568-434: The respect of the former enemy after the occupation of their homeland. On May 12, 1962, MacArthur gave a famous speech in front of the cadets of United States Military Academy at West Point by referring to a great moral code, the code of conduct and chivalry, when emphasizing duty, honour, and country. Imagawa Yoshimoto Imagawa Yoshimoto ( 今川 義元 , 1519 – June 12, 1560) was a Japanese daimyō (feudal lord) of

8670-509: The second battle of Kawanakajima, also known as the "Battle of Saigawa", began when Takeda Shingen returned to Kawanakajima, advancing up to the Sai River . He made camp on a hill to the south of the river, while Uesugi Kenshin was camped just east of the Zenkō-ji temple, which provided him an excellent view of the plain. However, the Kurita clan , allies of the Takeda, held Asahiyama fortress

8772-591: The stubborn adherence to the chivalric code in the face of the modern world as anachronistic, giving rise to the term Quixotism . Conversely, elements of Romanticism sought to revive such "medieval" ideals or aesthetics in the late 18th and early 19th century. The behavioural code of military officers down to the Napoleonic era , the American Civil War (especially as idealised in the " Lost Cause " mythology), and to some extent even to World War I ,

8874-414: The system of chivalry is an invention almost entirely poetical. It is impossible to distinguish the countries in which it is said to have prevailed. It is always represented as distant from us both in time and place, and whilst the contemporary historians give us a clear, detailed, and complete account of the vices of the court and the great, of the ferocity or corruption of the nobles, and of the servility of

8976-513: The tipping point of the nobilising of the knight as in the households of the sons of King Henry II of England, and in particular his eldest son, the Henry the Young King (died 1183). Young Henry lived a lavish lifestyle of unprecedented expense focussed on the great northern French tourneying society of the 1170s and 1180s. Since Young Henry had no domains to rule, his father was willing to fund

9078-414: The two armies encountered each other at a shrine of Hachiman (place within modern Yashiro) on June 3, 1553. After Takeda withdrew, Uesugi continued his march and laid siege to Katsura, but was unable to capture it. In September, Takeda returned to crush the remaining Murakami forces around Shioda. Wada was taken on September 8 and Takashima on the 10th. In both cases the entire garrison was put to death as

9180-412: The valour, tactics, and ideals of both Moors and ancient Romans. For example, the ancient handbook of warfare written by Vegetius called De re militari was translated into French in the 13th century as L'Art de chevalerie by Jean de Meun . Later writers also drew from Vegetius, such as Honoré Bonet, who wrote the 14th century L'Arbes des batailles , which discussed the morals and laws of war. In

9282-455: The village of Dengakuhazama. Ujizane succeeded to family headship after Yoshimoto's death, but the Imagawa clan fell from power. Ujizane was later summoned by Tokugawa Ieyasu and became a kōke in the administration of the Tokugawa clan . Yoshimoto's niece was Lady Tsukiyama, the wife of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Yoshimoto has several graves; his body itself is buried at Daisei-ji, a temple in

9384-443: The worldview of "those who fight" was pre-Christian in many ways and outside the purview of the church, at least initially. The church saw it as a duty to reform and guide knights in a way that weathered the disorderly, martial, and chauvinistic elements of chivalry. Royalty also clashed with knighthood over the conduct of warfare and personal disputes between knights and other knights (and even between knights and aristocracy). While

9486-685: The worldview of "those who work" (the burgeoning merchant class and bourgeoisie) was still in incubation, Kaeuper states that the social and economic class that would end up defining modernity was fundamentally at odds with knights, and those with chivalrous valor saw the values of commerce as beneath them. Those who engaged in commerce and derived their value system from it could be confronted with violence by knights. According to British historian David Crouch , many early writers on medieval chivalry cannot be trusted as accurate sources, because they sometimes have "polemical purpose which colours their prose". As for Kenelm Henry Digby and Léon Gautier, chivalry

9588-487: Was a chivalric warrior who fought a war with the intention to conquer the enemy, eliminating their ability to strike back, then treated them with the understanding and kindness due their honour and courage. One prominent model of his chivalrous conduct was in World War II and his treatment of the Japanese at the end of the war. MacArthur's model provides a way to win a war with as few casualties as possible and how to get

9690-575: Was a means to transform their corrupt and secular worlds. Gautier also emphasized that chivalry originated from the Teutonic forests and was brought up into civilization by the Catholic Church. Charles Mills used chivalry "to demonstrate that the Regency gentleman was the ethical heir of a great moral estate, and to provide an inventory of its treasure". Mills also stated that chivalry was

9792-414: Was becoming popular during the 12th century, and the ideal of courtly love propagated in the contemporary Minnesang and related genres. The ideas of chivalry are summarized in three medieval works: the anonymous poem Ordene de chevalerie , which tells the story of how Hugh II of Tiberias was captured and released upon his agreement to show Saladin (1138–1193) the ritual of Christian knighthood ;

9894-401: Was not confined to noble society. There are examples of servants, merchants, clergy and free peasants being commended for their 'courtly' behaviour in medieval literature. His explanation for the appearance of chivalry as a recognisable and prescriptive code of behaviour is tied into the more exclusive definition of nobility that appears in the late 12th century. This had a particular impact on

9996-410: Was not dissuaded. (Some historical sources support the claim of 40,000. ) After capturing several castles from the Oda clan, Yoshimoto's army let its guard down, celebrating with song and sake . However, Oda Nobunaga launched a surprise attack with his army of 3,000 following a downpour and defeated Yoshimoto's army. Two Oda samurai (Mōri Shinsuke and Hattori Koheita) ambushed and killed Yoshimoto in

10098-571: Was still strongly modelled on the historical ideals, resulting in a pronounced duelling culture, which in some parts of Europe also held sway over the civilian life of the upper classes. With the decline of the Ottoman Empire , however, the military threat from the "infidel" disappeared. The European wars of religion spanned much of the early modern period and consisted of infighting between factions of various Christian denominations. This process of confessionalization ultimately gave rise to

10200-463: Was the last knight errant who witnessed the fall of the Age of Chivalry and the rise of modern European warfare. By the time the Middle Ages came to an end, the code of chivalry was gone. Chivalry!—why, maiden, she is the nurse of pure and high affection—the stay of the oppressed, the redresser of grievances, the curb of the power of the tyrant—Nobility were but an empty name without her, and liberty finds

10302-486: Was the only country that banned the use of firearms completely to maintain ideals of chivalry and acceptable form of combat. In 1543 Japan established a government monopoly on firearms. The Japanese government destroyed firearms and enforced a preference for traditional Japanese weapons. Medieval historian Richard W. Kaeuper saw chivalry as a central focus in the study of the European Middle Ages that

10404-449: Was too often presented as a civilizing and stabilizing influence in the turbulent Middle Ages. On the contrary, Kaueper argues "that in the problem of public order the knights themselves played an ambivalent, problematic role and that the guides to their conduct that chivalry provided were in themselves complex and problematic." Many of the codes and ideals of chivalry were contradictory: when knights did live up to them, they did not lead to

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