1/ EB White was a rather nice, shy guy who wrote for the New Yorker and hid from his admirers. TH White was a weirdo who lived on the edge of the woods in the UK. EB White is the White of Strunk & White. https://xkcd.com/923/

2/ it would be more accurate to say Em “hangs around” the book space. There’s no working going on. But this is true: 50% of all books sold are romance novels (to the tune of $1.44 billion per year). The other 50% are all the other genres. Think about that.

3/ Ramon of Llull (c.1232–c. 1315)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramon_Llull
The Book of the Order of Chivalry, a new translation by Noel Fallows
https://boydellandbrewer.com/9781843838494/the-book-of-the-order-of-chivalry/

4/ For the Green Knight, see episode 60.

5/ Tristan und Isolde. We will have an upcoming episode on Wagner (and Tolkien), too!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristan_and_Iseult

6/ “This is the medieval version of trying to go viral on TikTok.” I think we can stop there. That’s either the best or worst thing I’ll ever say.

7/ For more on the Bayeux Tapestry, see episode 54 note 15, episode 58 note 5, and episode 62 note 15.

The Bayeux Tapestry links:
https://www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/the-bayeux-tapestry/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayeux_Tapestry

Chivalry by Maurice Keen https://www.amazon.com/Chivalry-Maurice-Keen/dp/B002L4N66S

8/ Council of Clermont, called by Pope Innocent II in 1130 (not to be confused with the more famous Council of Clermont called by Urban II in 1095 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Clermont)

Pope John XXII lifted the ban in 1316.

9/ For more on sins and the Inferno, see episode 8.

10/ Sir John Hawkwood (c.1323–1394)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hawkwood
To clarify, Florence actually created a fresco of the monument they wanted to build him but…couldn’t afford, I guess? An image of the fresco is on his Wikipedia page.

11/ Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale: https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/knights-tale-0

Chaucer’s Miller’s Tale (adult rated!): https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/millers-prologue-and-tale

12/ I can’t believe I have to do this, but just in case we have a bunch of Gen Alpha listeners (who permitted this?), here’s the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade clip: https://youtu.be/A0TalLrtZ24

13/ The Lady of Shalott (1832, by Tennyson): the most boring poem for your forensics poetry competition. Suck on it, pre-Raphaelities. Sorry Jesse, I’ll take that out. [Lolz!–JN] Poem link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45359/the-lady-of-shalott-1832

14/ Elaine (of Astolat, aka the Lady of Shalott): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_of_Astolat
Not the same Elaine (of Corbenic) who is the mother of Galahad by Lancelot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_of_Corbenic I combined them in the episode!!

15/ Once and Future: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_%26_Future

16/ For more on Gawain and the Green Knight and Morgan le Fay, see (recent) episode 60.

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Summary

Early on, a friend of the podcast asked if we were going to cover chivalry. Because really, when you think of the Middle Ages, this is it, right? Knights in very shiny armor on beautiful horses charging into battle, swords drawn! Knights getting scarves from their ladies! Knights holding vigils and praying in front of the holy grail. Today, three years later, Em and Jesse are finally going to get down to brass tacks on the topic. Who wrote the book on chivalry and what did it say? Did people ever really behave like this, or was it an unreachable ideal? And, of course, Chaucer forever. Join us, won’t you?

Notes

1/ Colin Firth rescuing a woman from a nondescript office job…Bridget Jones?? [Lol!]

2/ Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White_and_the_Huntsman

3/ England Before 1066: see episodes 53, 54, and 56.

4/ Maurice Keen Chivalry

Richard Kaeuper Chivalry and Violence in Medieval Europe

5/ Crusades: We haven’t really covered these yet! We should do that. But we discuss the infamous Albigensian Crusade in Episode 48 (see note 27).

6/ Macbeth “unseam’d him from the nave to the chops, / And fix’d his head upon our battlements” (I.ii.22–23)

Henry V The opening of IV.vii discusses the slaughter of the boys watching the supplies.

7/ John Hawkwood (1323–1394) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hawkwood

Terry Jones, Chaucer’s Knight.

8/ Andrzej Tadeusz Bonaventura Bciuszko. Sorry. https://www.nps.gov/thko/learn/historyculture/kosciuszkobio.htm

9/ Baron von Steuben (1730–1794)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Wilhelm_von_Steuben

10/ Known to every Illinois schoolchild, Kasimir Pulaski (1745–1779).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casimir_Pulaski

11/ Hundred Years War (1337–1453) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Years%27_War

Battle of Crecy (1346) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Crécy

Battle of Agincourt (1415) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Agincourt

12/ Sir Geoffrey Luttrell being helped by his wife and daughter-in-law (image from the Luttrell Psalter, mid-14th-century British Library MS Additional 42130 folio 202v)

13/ Chrétien de Troyes (flourished 1160–1191)

Perceval

14/ Against the King’s Peace: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_(law)

15/ The Three Estates (those who pray [clergy], those who work [peasants], those who fight [knights/nobility]) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estates_of_the_realm

16/ Étienne de Fougères (d. 1178) writes a Livre des Manières about knights and chivalry. French wikipedia site: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Étienne_de_Fougères

17/ Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_of_Clairvaux

18/ Ordene de chevalerie anonymous Old French poem c1220.

The poem is about Prince Hugh https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_II_of_Saint-Omer

19/ Saladin (1137–1193) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saladin

20/ Quote from the Ordene de chevalerie is from Keen’s Chivalry p. 7

21/ Please instead insert King Charles into this joke.

22/ Carpet considerations.