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Sir. Galahad
Code Of Chivalry
This is the Code of Chivalry. For those of you who don't know what this is . . . it was the Code of conduct that King Aurthurs knights obeyed and followed. This was their way of life, to them it was law. I would like for all of you to read this code and see if you can apply it to your life, not only here on the Internet but in your real life as well. It will make a difference, I promise.
Courage - Knights must know when to choose the more difficult, and more personally expensive path. They must be ready to make personal sacrifices in order to serve the ideals and people that they cherish. It involves choosing to uphold truth at all costs, rather than allowing a lie to pass. Courage does not mean being stupidly arrogant, but having the will to do what is right.
Defense - Knights swore to defend their lords and ladies, their families, their nation, widows and orphans, and the church. In defense of these ideals and individuals, there can be no compromise.
Faith - Knights held strong faith in the Christian God, giving them strong roots and hope against the evil tidings of the world.
Franchise - A knight must never forget himself. A knight must remember his bearing and conduct himself as befits his station.
Consistency is then the key to franchise.
Humility - Humble knights were the first to tell of another's deeds before their own, giving them the honor they deserved from their good deeds. They let others proclaim their own deeds. Knighthood is glorified by the humility of its members.
Justice - In courageously seeking the truth, and the path of righteousness, knights strove to escape their own bias or personal gain.Justice untempered by mercy can bring grief, however. Valorous knights sought out justice without bending to temptation or expediency, and thus were men of renown.
Largesse - Generosity was a chief characteristic of a knight. In order to counter the weakness of gluttony, knights were as generous as their resources would allow. A generous knight is better able to walk the line between mercy and cold justice.
Loyalty - Good knights were unbending in their commitment to those they were sworn to defend: the Crown, his Lord, and his peers.
Temptation could, therefore, hold no sway over their lives.
Nobility - Nobility is the beginning of courtesy, and thus knights were to be polite and equitable to all as they developed and maintained a noble character through the ideals of chivalry. A knight is forever an example of what it is to serve righteousness.
Prowess - Knights sought to be masters of their minds and bodies, and thus sought excellence in matters mental and martial. From this prowess they humbly sought to serve justice
The pure and stainless Knight son of Sir Launcelot du Lake and Elaine, the daughter of King Pelles.
His arrival at King Arthur's court, where he sat at the seat of the Perilous Siege, caused the Knights to set out on the Quest of the Holy Grail.
As the perfect Knight, Sir Galahad achieved the Quest and in an ecstasy of joy he desired that he should die, which request was granted unto him.
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honor code that pledges a knight to respect ladies and defend them against harm and other knightly behavior. A knight pledges to always do his best in battle, may honorably break that pledge at the request of a lady.
Sir Galahad arrives at the court of King Arthur
He was the son of Launcelot and Elaine, the daughter of King Pelles. Because he was the noblest and purest of the knights of Christendom, he alone, according to Sir Thomas Malory, achieved the Holy Grail
SIR GALAHAD
My good blade carves the casques of men,
My tough lance thrusteth sure,
My strength is as the strength of ten,
Because my heart is pure.
The shattering trumpet shrilleth high,
The hard brands shiver on the steel,
The splinter’d spear-shafts crack and fly,
The horse and rider reel:
They reel, they roll in clanging lists,
And when the tide of combat stands,
Perfume and flowers fall in showers,
That lightly rain from ladies’ hands.
How sweet are looks that ladies bend
On whom their favours fall!
For them I battle till the end,
To save from shame and thrall:
But all my heart is drawn above,
My knees are bow’d in crypt and shrine:
I never felt the kiss of love,
Nor maiden’s hand in mine.
More bounteous aspects on me beam,
Me mightier transports move and thrill;
So keep I fair thro’ faith and prayer
A virgin heart in work and will.
When down the stormy crescent goes,
A light before me swims,
Between dark stems the forest glows,
I hear a noise of hymns:
Then by some secret shrine I ride;
I hear a voice but none are there;
The stalls are void, the doors are wide,
The tapers burning fair.
Fair gleams the snowy altar-cloth,
The silver vessels sparkle clean,
The shrill bell rings, the censer swings,
And solemn chaunts resound between.
Sometimes on lonely mountain-meres
I find a magic bark;
I leap on board: no helmsman steers:
I float till all is dark.
A gentle sound, an awful light!
Three angels bear the holy Grail:
With folded feet, in stoles of white,
On sleeping wings they sail.
Ah, blessed vision! blood of God!
My spirit beats her mortal bars,
As down dark tides the glory slides,
And star-like mingles with the stars.
When on my goodly charger borne
Thro’ dreaming towns I go,
The cock crows ere the Christmas morn,
The streets are dumb with snow.
The tempest crackles on the leads,
And, ringing, springs from brand and mail;
But o’er the dark a glory spreads,
And gilds the driving hail.
I leave the plain, I climb the height;
No branchy thicket shelter yields;
But blessed forms in whistling storms
Fly o’er waste fens and windy fields.
A maiden knight–to me is given
Such hope, I know not fear;
I yearn to breathe the airs of heaven
That often meet me here.
I muse on joy that will not cease,
Pure spaces clothed in living beams,
Pure lilies of eternal peace,
Whose odours haunt my dreams;
And, stricken by an angel’s hand,
This mortal armour that I wear,
This weight and size, this heart and eyes,
Are touch’d, are turn’d to finest air.
The clouds are broken in the sky,
And thro’ the mountain-walls
A rolling organ-harmony
Swells up, and shakes and falls.
Then move the trees, the copses nod,
Wings flutter, voices hover clear:
‘O just and faithful knight of God!
Ride on! the prize is near.’
So pass I hostel, hall, and grange;
By bridge and ford, by park and pale,
All-arm’d I ride, whate’er betide,
Until I find the holy Grail.
The Code of Chivalry
according to the Order of the Rose
Thou shalt defend the innocent
Thou shalt respect all weaknesses and shalt constitute thyself the defender of them
Thou shalt love the country in which thou was born
Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy
Thou shalt perform scrupulously the feudal duties
Thou shalt never lie and remain faithful to thy pledged word
Thou shalt be generous and give largesse to everyone
Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion of the Right and Good and the foe of Injustice and Evil
SIX SILENT TEARS
Last night before I went to bed,
Thoughts of you filled my troubled head.
Though I've not cried this way in many years,
On to my pillow fell six silent tears.
The first was for your smile that I miss,
And the taste of your tender lips that I long to kiss.
The second was for your angel face,
And the thoughts of your warm, loving embrace.
The third comes as no surprise,
As I thought of your beautiful, bright, loving eyes.
After this the fourth came rolling...
Instead of my pillow, it was you I should be holding.
The fifth came for one reason alone...
I felt my love for you was not fully shown.
I really miss you, my love, my dear...
There just fell my sixth tear.
I awake, with a faint familiar feeling.
I’ve been dreaming of you.
All of my senses are still filled
With your essence.
It’s such an intoxicating feeling
That I lie in bed,
Grasping at every last little shred of you.
I still hear the faint whisper of our voices in my ears.
“I love you,” I say.
“I love you, too” the reply.
“I miss you, already. Don’t leave . . . please,” I whisper
as I come to my senses.
I can still feel your arms around my waist,
Your lips pressed to mine.
Your breath on my neck.
I close my eyes so I can see you
Looking into my eyes.
I really need a picture of you.
As the sound of your voice and the feel of your skin leave me,
Your scent still lingers.
It’s not distinct . . . more of a feeling,
The feeling that you are still here . . . just out of sight.
