The undergraduate thesis attempts to analyse and compare the perception of chivalry in two medieval treatises of French origin. The first, Liber ad milites templi de laude novae militiae, was written in the 12th century for the newly established Templar Order by Bernard of Clairvaux. The Templars had been created in order to protect pilgrims in the new Crusader states and Bernard's support was crucial in their early expansion. In his treatise he declares them a new kind of knighthood, fighting against the enemies of Christ and therefore in no danger of losing their soul. He contrasts them with the worldly knights, who fight for selfish causes and are subsequently doomed after death in combat. The second treatise was written by Geoffroi de Charny, a renowned French knight. His Livre de chevalerie was meant as a guide for the monarchical order of the Company of the Star. Written during the first phase of the Hundred Years' War, it is a unique case of a knightly perspective of chivalry.
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