By Dr. Carol Jamison. Confirming the significance of birthright to medieval chivalry, William...
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Harry Potter and the Code of Chivalry By Dr. Carol Jamison
By Dr. Carol Jamison. Confirming the significance of birthright to medieval chivalry, William Caxton explains in the epilogue of Lull’s Book of Knighthood
Confirming the significance of birthright to medieval chivalry,
William Caxton explains in the epilogue of Lulls Book of Knighthood
and Chivalry that Lulls book is not for every common man to have,
and Lull himself requires that knights must be taken of the natural
nobility. Keen defines this requisite as franchise, the free and
frank bearing that is testimony to the combination of good birth
with virtue. While much of Rowlings series is devoted to
questioning the necessity of pure blood as a requisite of wizard
chivalry, Harry, who comes from a long line of prestigious and
powerful wizards, nonetheless possesses an impressive birthright.
Ramon Lull, Lulls Book of Knighthood and Chivalry and the Anonymous
Ordene de Chevalarie, Trans. William Caxton, Rendered into modern
English by Brian R. Price (The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2001), 102, 51.
Keen, 2.
Slide 4
As he learns to follow the rules of the wizard world, rules
that echo those in medieval books of chivalry, Harry resembles a
number of Arthurian knights : Both Percival and Arthur must grow
into their roles as successful knight or leader. In the opening
lines of Chrtiens Percival, for example, the young hero is
untrained and ignorant of the rules of chivalry, making a series of
blunders when he first aspires to become a knight. Although he
possesses franchise (his father was an excellent knight) and
clearly shows natural talent, Percival is not successful until he
learns the proper rules of etiquette and makes amends for his
earlier errors. The similarities between Harry and Percival are
particularly strong in the beginning books of Rowlings series when
Harry, who Rowling claims is brave but stupid, is still ignorant of
the wizard rules of chivalry. Like Percival, who shows the
potential for prowess with his natural skill at handling a javelin,
Harry, despite his lack of experience, first grasps a broomstick,
and he knew, somehow, what to do. Both Professor McGonagell and
Gryffindor Quidditch team captain Oliver Wood note that Harry is a
natural. Obviously, Harry comes about some of his skills naturally,
yet, like the typical knight of romance, he must learn to control
his inherited gifts through chivalric education. Rowling, The
Chamber of Secrets, 176. Rowling, The Sorcerers Stone, 150. Ibid.,
151 and 167. The notion of Percival as a natural seems to be a
popular motif for modern renditions of the tale. For example,
Barnard Malamuds character in his novel The Natural, Roy Hobbs, is
a natural at baseball. More recently, in the comic film The
Waterboy, Adam Sandler plays a character who, despite his mothers
attempts to shelter him, is a natural at football.
Slide 5
In the final book, the ghost of Dumbledore acknowledges Harrys
abilities as leader, a role which, like Arthur, Harry finds himself
unexpectedly filling: It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps
those who are best suited to power are those who never sought it.
Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and must
take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own
surprise that they wear it well. Harrys virtues as a leader,
particularly his willingness to fight against Voldemort, accord
with the virtues of the ideal leader as described by Geoffroi de
Charney: They were, therefore, chosen to be the first to take up
arms and to strive with all their might and expose themselves to
the physical dangers of battle in defense of their people and
land.They were, therefore, chosen to give of their own freely and
generously to men of worth. As Harry emerges as a leader and
gradually understands the gravity of his situation, moral lessons
become more complex, and also his use and understanding of weapons
move beyond the simple object lessons of the earlier books. Whereas
Harrys early attainment of the Sword of Gryffindor from the sorting
hat provides him a moral lesson in identity, assuring him of his
place in the House of Gryffindor, those who have read all of the
series note that his subsequent encounters with swords are more
clearly keys to his moral development. Rowling, The Deathly
Hallows, 718. Charny, 77.
Slide 6
Slide 7
Rowling, The Half-Blood Prince, 139-140. Rowling alludes to the
Siege Perilous reserved for Galahad prior to his birth as Harry
wonders, Had Voldemort chosen Neville, it would be Neville sitting
opposite Harry bearing the lightening-shaped scar and the weight of
the prophecy.Or would it?....Would there then have been no Chosen
One at all? An empty seat where Neville now sat and a scarless
Harry? However, Harry Potter is no Galahad: As she downplays
franchise, Rowling also downplays the significance of the prophecy.
In The Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore, in words that mark a major
difference between Harry and Galahad, points to Harrys personal
will as the leading factor that will determine his ultimate defeat
of Voldemort: Of course youve got to! But not because of the
prophecy! Because you, yourself, will never rest until youve tried.
Contemplating these words, Harry concludes that his own
determination is crucial to the successful completion of his quest;
not prophecy: It was, he thought, the difference between being
dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking
into the arena with your head held high. Harry reduces the prophecy
to chance when he realizes in The Half- Blood Prince that, in fact,
the language of the prophecy could have referred either to himself
or Neville Longbottom, and his own role as Chosen One is due more
to interpretation than fate or franchise. Rowling, Order of the
Phoenix, 511. Ibid., 512.
Slide 8
Slide 9
Keen writes that in the fifteenth century, learned heralds
explained a schematic relationship between the colors of heraldry
and the chivalric virtues. Rowling uses colors in similar fashion
to signify attributes that unite the members of Hogwarts houses.
Gryffindors color, gules, or red, symbolizes prowess according to
this schema. In her fifteenth-century treatise on chivalry,
Christine de Pizan explains that the color red on a heraldic device
symbolizes fire, which is by its nature the most shining after the
sun and the most noble of the four elements. For this nobility, the
laws ordered that nobody except princes should bear this vermilion,
which signifies loftiness. Keen, 131. Christine de Pizan, The Book
of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry. Trans. Sumner Willard, Ed.
Charity Cannon Willard, (Pennsylvania : Pennsylvania State
University Press, 1999), 219
Slide 10
Slide 11
Not only for his own success, but also for the good of his
house, Harry must learn the rules of wizard chivalry. Certainly,
many of Harrys early object lessons involve weaponry. However,
Rowlings portrayal of warfare is not glorified; Harry and his
companions fight solely to combat evil forces that threaten both
the wizard and Muggle worlds. Bernard of Clairvaux, writing in the
Middle Ages, argued that warfare for knights should focus solely on
the fight against evil: If he fights for a good cause, the outcome
of a battle can never be evil; and likewise the result can never be
considered good if the cause is evil and the intention
unrighteousness. Bernard of Clairvaux, In Praise of the New
Knighthood, Trans. M. Conrad Greenia (Trappist, Kentucky:
Cistercian Publications, 2000), 35.
Slide 12
Slide 13
Certainly, Severus Snape fulfills Christine de Pizans dictates
on the obligations of a vassal to obey the wishes of his lord: the
ideal vassal shall never reveal a secret that would be prejudicial
to his lord, shall not make excuses, saying that any job is too
hard or too difficult for him, and should not seek in any way to
excuse himself from going against his lords wishes. Snape
courageously and dutifully fulfills difficult commands from his
beloved lord, Dumbledore, when he feigns obedience to Voldemort and
agrees to kill Dumbledore as an act of mercy. Harrys regret at his
failure to recognize Snapes innate goodness is apparent in the last
novel in his decision to name his second son after Dumbledore and
Snape, the latter whom he acknowledges as the bravest man I ever
knew. This gesture evidences the fruition of Harrys moral growth
and the subtleties inherent in chivalric behavior. Christine de
Pizan, 148-149. Rowling, The Deathly Hallows, 758.
Slide 14
Slide 15
Slide 16
Harry almost immediately begins to develop loyalty, one of the
most important aspects of chivalry, upon moving from his
dysfunctional Muggle family to Hogwarts, where he quickly gains
companions. In fact, Harrys earliest display of loyalty occurs as
he first steps off the train at Hogwarts and defends Ron Weasley,
who becomes one of his closest companions and Gryffindor housemate,
against the verbal assault of Draco Malfoy. For the most part,
Harry comes about the attribute of loyalty naturally, though he is
presented with several challenges involving loyalty through the
course of the series. Harrys loyalty to Dumbledore is in accordance
with Lulls description of the loyal thane: neither treason nor
pride, nor any other vice corrupts the oath that the knight has
made to his lord and chivalry. Lull, 67.
Slide 17
In Malorys Le Morte DArthur, one of young Arthurs first acts as
king involves generosity as he distributes lands and wealth to
ensure loyal retainers. Like the medieval ruler, Harry also builds
loyalty through generosity. Although his intent is not to establish
himself as leader, his understanding of this trait nonetheless
clearly reflects Geoffroi de Charnys description of the generous
medieval knight: you should be generous in giving where the gift
will be best used. In the early novels, Harrys displays of
generosity are simple gestures, such as taking the whole lot of
candy from the trolley when sees that Ron cannot afford to buy any
and giving his earnings from the Triwizard Tournament to the
Weasley twins to fund their gag shop. However, Harrys understanding
of the meaning of generosity expands from such simple object
exchanges as an annual Christmas gift swap with Ron and Hermione to
much deeper exchanges of generosity involving personal sacrifice.
Charny, 70.
Slide 18
Despite the commitment from and assistance of his loyal
companions, in the first novel as in the last, Harry realizes that
he must finally face Voldemort alone. Harrys adventures culminate
in a final showdown with Voldemort.
Slide 19
Slide 20
The timeless nature of chivalric virtues in large part accounts
for the continued appeal of medieval romance, a genre from which J.
K. Rowling clearly borrows, yet also transforms for modern readers.
Caxton advises medieval readers of these virtues in the epilogue to
his edition of Lull: And some not well advised used not honesty and
good rules again in the order of knighthood, leave this, leave this
and read of Tristam, of Percefrost, of Percival, of Gawain, and so
many more. There will you see manhood, courtesy, and gentleness.
William Caxton, Preface to Malorys Works by Sir Thomas Malory, Ed.
Eugene Vinaver, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1971),103.