The influence of knight__ spirit.doc

The influence of knight spiritAbstract: Although the knight grew from West Europe in middle age the spirit of knight has lasted to modern times. It has great meaning to the modern society. The influence of knight spirit should be remained not only in the middle age society but also present times. There are eight roles of this spirit: humility, honor, sacrifice, valor, compassion, honesty, justice and Spirituality. These are all necessary for modern people who are almost discard these Key words: Chivalry influence modern moralI. IntroductionMany things come to mind when we think of a knight and the role of the knight has changed over the centuries. But the typical Knight we think of was a man that lived between the 12th and 17th centuries who was pledged to serve his lord or king in military service. Generally this pledge was termed that the knight would serve 40 days of each year in military combat for his king. In exchange the knight would receive loot from battles, his own estate and position in the Kings court.Knight spirit grew from West Europe in middle age. The role of the knight was something that developed slowly over many centuries and the earliest knights could be considered to be the officers of the Greek and roman armies. The picture of a knight typically is one of a highly trained soldier who fights with mounted on a horse, wields weapons like the sword, lance and also holds land and maybe a small castle in service of a king or a lord. It was in the middle ages and starting as early as the 11th century that the Medieval Knight began to take the shape and form that we think of now. These early knights were often foot soldiers with responsibility and skill with the rudimentary weapons and armor available to them. The role of the Knight evolved and grew throughout the next several centuries, right into the 18th. One of the most important skills of a knight was his combat ability while mounted on a horse. And this was something that was highly prized because it lent a very big advantage in battle. This skill on a horse took many years to master and a lot of resources, horses, weapons and armor were expensive. The charge of mounted and well armored knights with polearm weapons could effectively break the defensive lines of the normal foot soldier.II. History of KnightThe Medieval Knight has a long history and the pinnacle of a mans career in the feudal age was being deemed a knight. It came in a ceremony where the king, queen or lord would tap the mans shoulder with the flat of a sword as shown in the Leighton poster here. With the development of the social division of labor, private ownership has gradually established in the European society. 封建社会制度在欧洲正式确立，产生了封建庄园经济，而这些封建地主需要培养一大批人来保护自己的私有财产，这样就使得骑士这个社会阶层应运而生。 The feudal social system started in Europe and then resulted in the producing of feudal manorial economy. These feudal landlords need to train a large number of people to protect their private property so the knight social class came into being. 虽然骑士阶层也属于贵族阶层，但是他们却处于贵族阶层的最底层，比一般的平民、商人、手工业者的社会地稍高一点。 Although the knight class is an aristocratic class they are still in the bottom of the aristocracy, than the ordinary civilians, merchants and craftsmen. 产生于中世纪的骑士阶层，正好处于冷兵器时期，那也正好造就这个社会阶层的辉煌时期。 Middle age the knight class Produced is a period of cold steel. It was them who bring glory of this social class. 封建领主们为了保护自己的私有财产，对他们进行训练，并灌输一定的思想，确定骑士们的行为规则，以便他们能更好地忠诚于封建领主。 The feudal lords train them in order to protect their private property. They instill some ideas, rules of conduct to these knights so that they can be loyal to the feudal lords. 而这个思想意识随时间的推移，不断地完善，形成了一种文化景观，骑士精神也得以在欧洲封建传播。 With the passage of time this ideology continues to improve and forms a cultural landscape. Knight spirit is also able to spread well in the European. As technology advanced and the crossbow and arbalest were developed the knight fell from favor because a relatively untrained foot soldier could kill a knight with a single shot from a high powered arbalest thus cancelling out the lifetime of training that a knight undertook. This use of the arbalest was scorned and pronounced as un-chivalric but it was a weapon whos time had come. This development was enough to bring about the end of knighthood but the final development that forever sealed the knights fate was the development of gunpowder. No knight could match against a fired bullet. In the 13th Century as the Iron Age developed and weapons and armor became more practical, available and reliable knights became more important in the role or defending their kings and lords. Around the 15th century was when the art of knighthood reached its pinnacle in several respects. War craft and weapons technology had advanced significantly and the knight was at the lead of this advance in the fact that he was a mounted soldier. This mounted attack was a significant advantage in any type of battle. With this importance of the knights ability in battle came tithing and responsibility. Knights were given lands and serfs to manage and they were called upon to serve their lords and kings in battle. Throughout the 15th to 17th Centuries the art of being a knight developed from just the art of fighting to a code of conduct and chivalry came to the forefront. A knight became an example of behavior and it was a knights duty to be versed in many arts such as writing, musicianship, the courts, land management, and law. One of the most interesting aspects of the knights was the alliances and groups they formed outside of the normal king/knight relationship. These organizations were often military and religious and nature; and sometimes very secretive in nature. The most famous example of this kind of order is the Knights Templar. Other knight organizations like this are the Knights of Columbus, the Teutonic Knights and the Order of the Golden Fleece.Over the centuries knighthood eventually declined to the state they are in now as strictly a title of honor with no real power. The thing that brought about the demise of the knight was technology and this moved in stages. The first stage of decline was the invention of the crossbow and later the arbalest (Which was a very powerful crossbow) these weapons could be wielded by someone with very little training and they were powerful enough to pierce the best armor of a knight. This meant that a knight who had trained all his life in the art of combat could be brought down in the matter of a few seconds by a person with an arbalest and very little training. The Arbalest was declared a dishonorable weapon but it was still used. This technological development was probably enough alone to bring about the fall of the knight but the decline was completed with the development of gunpowder. As guns came into use it was clear the knight stood no chance for no armor could protect against a bullet.III. Content of Chivalry 骑士精神属于贵族的文化精神，在欧洲的封建社会时期对塑造欧洲人的价值观起了很大的影响，加速了欧洲文明进程。 Knight spirit is a kind of aristocratic culture of feudal society in Europe. We usually called knight spirit as Chivalry. Chivalry has come to be very watered down in modern day times. For the most part we think of chivalry as the way a man behaves toward, and around, women. And while this does characterize chivalry it is actually a very small component of what chivalry was. It has great influence during the process of shaping the values of the Europeans and accelerates the process of European civilization. 它构成了西欧民族中所谓的“绅士精神”形成了现代欧洲人对于个人身份和荣誉的注重。 The so-called gentleman spirit which forms the modern Europeans personal identity and honor, also started from that time. 在西方的文化传统中，中世纪的骑士精神对现代欧洲的民族性格的塑造起着极其重大的作用。 In Western traditional culture, the medieval chivalry plays an extremely important role in the shaping of national character of modern Europeans.欧洲的中世纪是一个黑暗的世纪，教会的势力深入社会的每一个角落，骑士精神刚好可以作为一种正义的精神，来挞伐社会的Medieval Europe was a dark century. The churchs influence reaches to every corner of the society. Knight spirit as a spirit of justice eliminates the darkness of society. 随着欧洲封建社会的发展，骑士精神逐渐形成一定的行为准则，形成欧洲骑士世界的行为规则。 With the development of the European feudal society, the knight spirit gradual becomes certain rules of conduction in Europe. Chivalry was an all encompassing guide for living. There has been a long-standing debate about chivalry and whether anybody actually followed any of it and I believe it was something that knights aspired to. The early middle ages were an extraordinarily tumultuous time and there was no such thing as chivalry. Europe was in darkness, plague ravaged the people, and war was found everywhere. The prime rule of thumb during this time was that might was right; and the only rule that was effective was rule by the sword. Barons, lords, knights and kings took by force what they could take. But, Europe slowly came out of this darkness in the centuries leading up to the Renaissance. The plague disappeared; Kings consolidated their lands (which caused stability) and the Church exercised power over a significant portion of the continent. So what happened? What happens when stability occurs and food once again becomes a reliable resource? People turn to new ways of doing things. They gain the freedom to examine themselves and their lives. They search for meaning in new ways, and it is from this stability that the Renaissance was born and the ideals of chivalry were also born.Chivalry is a natural development of the need for structure and organization in any large culture or society. As a society grows in size and complexity it needs a set of rules of behavior for its people and chivalry was exactly this. It was a set of rules that laid out how a knight could manage himself, his people, his affairs and also how he could better himself. So among other things the code of chivalry was the first self-help program! See that, chivalry is so much more than just holding a door open! We tend to think of chivalry as a very limited set of rules but chivalry was a code for living that influences much of the culture we live in today. It is a fascinating topic and there were books written about chivalry going back more than 500 years - and some of them are still in print. Among the best of these are A Knights Own Book of Chivalry by Geoffrey De Charny and the Book of Knighthood and Chivalry by Ramon Lull.骑士精神由八大部分铸成，即怜悯、谦卑、精神、公正、英勇、诚实、牺牲、荣誉。Chivalry consists of eight parts. There are humility, honor, sacrifice, valor, compassion, honesty, justice and Spirituality. Humility which is the way they treat others in their daily life. They are courtesy, respect for others, modesty and prudence. Knight has their proud side, because of its glory and status. But not the same as other noble class, knight class also has their humble side. Not only the beautiful young ladies but also the ordinary civilians receive their respect. Honor：they fight for honor with the price of anything. This is glory for them. “Knight” of the title itself is an honor; to obtain such a title is not easy. A will be knight want to be an alternate official knight need to go through many rigorous tests. Not only good riding skills but also excellent command of force, rich combat experience, and prominent landmark achievements are needed in the process. Sacrifice: Knight needs such courage. They are needed to sacrifice themselves to fulfill the interests of most people, perhaps their material things, perhaps their lives. Valor: There is no doubt that a coward is unworthy of the glory to crown the title of knight. One of the necessary moral of knight is valor. Fight with the evil without fear and came forward to protect the weak at the crucial moment knights must be the last one to think of themselves. Compassion：A broad and inclusive heart should be held to the knights. They should be sympathy for the weak and take up the burden of eradicating the evils. Honesty: Honesty is commendable in any time. As a knight, honesty is also necessary because knight is the lowest class in European aristocracy. In order to have a good relationship they must have a good reputation which needs them to be honesty. Spirituality: a knight, who carries a lot of things, needs a heart strong enough to face difficulties. This is the spirit which helps knights get what they want. Justice: Historically, because of the class nature of knights, they can not be fully implemented. Medieval Europe, after all, is the age of kings. Kings will is Gods will which can not be denied. Knight is just the kings accompaniment. At that time knights have their own declaration. There are: I will be kind to the weak. I will be brave and against the strong. I will fight the all who do wrong. I will fight for those who cannot fight. I will help those who call me for help. I will harm no woman. I will help my brother knight. I will be true to my friends. I will be faithful in love. IV. Chivalry to Modern Society These spirits are benefits to our society. 骑士精神中的怜悯，应该是社会中每个人所具备的。Mercy, everyone in this society should have.社会中的有太多的弱势群体，他们生活在社会的底层，需要周围人群的帮助。 There are too many vulnerable groups; they live in the bottom of society, needs the help of people around. 如果仅仅靠政府的力量来帮助他们，这也只是杯水车薪。 For them, the governments help is only a drop in the bucket. 我们生活的空间是一个种群社会，仅靠自己的能力是远远不足以在社会中生活下去的，只有人人都有这种互相的怜悯之情，人际关系才可能和谐，这种意识是值得我们推崇的，和谐人际关系社会才会更好发展。We live in a community population. We can not have a good life without the help of others. Only this way everyone has such compassion for each other, interpersonal harmony is possible. Such consciousness is worth for us to resist on and harmonious interpersonal relationship will have a good development. 谦卑是“绅士风度”中最核心的Humility is the central conception of the spirits. 随着市场经济的建立，利益观念的变化，人际关系逐步被淡化，谦卑的做人态度，可以缓解社会中道德缺失的缺口。With the establishment of market economy, conception change of interests, peoples relationship gradually being diluted. Humble attitude towards life can complete the moral failure in modern society. 当代大多数人的价值观已经被严重扭曲，需要一种积极的态度来重塑他们的世界观和价值观。 Contemporary values of the majority of people have been seriously distorted, a positive attitude needed to reshape. 而这种谦卑没有阶级概念，也没有社会地位的要求，人人都该这样对待身边的人群，这样更有利于社会的稳定与道德观念的再造。 Humility has not the concept of class and social status. Humble attitude toward people around us is helpful to Social stability and moral values reshape.精神是骑士精神的本质，它是整个骑士世界的中流砥Spirit is the mainstay of the knights.而这里的精神是指精神力，这种精神力恰好是意志力的重要组成部分，这对我们坚定我们的信念有着不可代替的作用。 And here the spirit is the spirit of power. It is an important component of willpower, which is important for us to firm our belief.我们每个人都应该拥有念力，这种念力恰好与这种精神力吻合。公正也是一个重要的精神状态。 Justice is also an important mental state. 从奥林匹克运动的产生，到现今电子竞技项目的勃起，体育运动的发展日新月异，而在比赛中需要的就是公正。From the Olympic Movement to modern electronic games project erection, there have a rapid development of sports. Justice is extremely needed in sports games. 现今的体育世界虽然是一片繁华，但是同样的体坛丑闻也是不甘落后，什么假球、误判的现象比比皆是，实在让人汗颜。 Although today the sports world is a prosperous, sports scandal always appears. Match-fixing, false positive signs are everywhere, it is embarrassment. 而这种公正的精神正好可以弥补体坛世界的道德缺失，使体育运动变得更加的纯洁。 Justice of the spirit can make up the sports worlds moral deficiency,公正精神的缺失不仅仅是体现在体育这一块，在这里的表现只是九牛一毛而已。 Lacking of justice is not only embodied in sports; the performance is only a tiny corner of it. 当代社会应该更要好好审视我们当代人的不足，加以完善我们的道德体系。 Contemporary society should take more intention to improve our moral system. 英勇可能很多人会说在我们的当代社会没有多大的现实意义，因为和平年代没有战争，何来的Many people may say that the heroic in our contemporary society does not have much practical significance. 而这里的英勇应该是体现在面对社会的不公平时，我们应该挺身而出，去帮助那些社会中需要帮助的人Bravery should be reflected in the face of injustice in peacetime, we should come forward to help those who need help. 在面对国家的利益受到侵犯时，应该敢于和这种恶势力作斗争，保护祖国的国家安全。诚实是一个我们老生常谈的话题，可是却没有多少人能够真正做到。 Honesty is one of our common themes, but few of us can really do. 现在的社会诚信体系严重受到挑战，社会中的真实与虚假已难以区分。 Social credit system now is a serious challenge. It is difficult for modern people to distinguish between true and false. 诚实的精神状态对建设好社会诚信制度，有着不可代替的作用。 Honest has an irreplaceable role to build social credit system.当代社会中的诚信缺失相当严重，就是大学校园也不时传来抄袭门事件，育人之地渐变成这种是非之地，社会中的诚信就可想而知。 Lacking of Honesty in contemporary society is quite serious. There are so many scandals in the campus, let alone the people in other area. Everyone be an honest, 人与人之间的得到和付出的对等，只有每个人都做到了诚实，在交往之间才会确立良好的的诚信制度。only in this way a good society credit system will be established. 生存在种群社会中的我们，我们不可能单独剥离开来去研究人性，唯有人人付出，才能够实现诚信社会。牺牲需要的是勇气。Sacrifice needs courage. 当涉及大部分人的利益时，少部分人的利益会受到挑战，也就是所说的牺牲。 When it comes to most peoples interests, the interests of a small number of people will be challenged.在辩驳“人性自私论”的时候，先哲却忽略了他们难道就没有考虑过自己的利益，如果自己没有太多的物质基础作条件，他们会有时间来研究这些问题吗？ When people rebuttal on selfish human nature, they ignore the fact that does they consider their own interests. If they do not have stable material basis, will they have time to study these problems? 其实每个人都有自己的人生追求，而这里就肯定会产生自私，因为人的欲望是无法控制的。 In fact, everyone has their own pursuit of life, and here it would certainly produce selfish because peoples desires can not be controlled. 在面对欲望时我们，伟大的人和渺小的人做出的选择是完全不同的，他们懂得牺牲“小我”，成全“大我”。 With a rational perspective, sacrifice is an optimistic attitude toward life, it can make our life more meaningful. 换在精神现象的这个角度来说学会牺牲，精神的压力也会随之减小，因为期待的目标可以实现力所能及。 Now advocating of collectivism values, is must have the spirit of sacrifice and collectivism values can better established.荣誉这是骑士们恪守的信条，这是他们的信仰，为荣誉而战是每个骑士的身存目标。 Honor is Knights faith. To fight for the honor is each knights goal. 荣誉是一个民族立足于世界民族之林的条件，只有拥有荣誉，世界才会承认你这个民族的存在。 Honor is the basic of a nation. Only with