On LARP Chivalry

Knighthood should be about virtue and service, not about how many people you can beat with a foam bat.

- Primarch Ser Hivemind Saligia of The Cairnhold Legion (from the old Dagorhir forum)

What are the virtues of a knight? This is something that I have pondered for many years. Robb Rodgers, Brian Kasheta, and I developed a list of virtues several years ago. I finally got around to fleshing out the ideas.

Introduction
The knights of medieval Europe were expected to live by the standards of chivalry, the knightly code of honor. Although most fell short of this code, it stands even today as a guide for the behavior of those who would wish to be knightly. Furthermore, I feel that chivalry serves as an excellent code for those who wish to act knightly at medieval battlegames.

There are many different versions of the code. This is simply my personal take on the matter. I hope others find it instructive.

Note on gender – Although medieval knights were expected to be male, modern knights can be of any gender status.

Note on religion – The code of chivalry was intricately tied to the Christian faith, the religion of medieval Europe. Because of this, I will often use Bible verses to illustrate the medieval mindset. This does not mean that modern chivalry is restricted to Christians. As with its application to genders, I believe that the code is universal and can be followed by people of all beliefs about religion.

We can summarize the code of chivalry with the acronym CHVLRIE (i.e., chivalry). The acronym stands for seven virtues of the knight. These virtues are:

• Charity
• Humility
• Valor
• Loyalty
• Responsibility
• Integrity
• Encouragement

Let’s look at these virtues in more detail.

Charity
In medieval times, charity meant more than giving money to a benevolent organization. It had a broader meaning encompassing a love for humanity. In the Bible, Jesus commands his followers to “love your neighbor as yourself.” (MT 22: 39 NIV) Paul further stresses the necessity of this love when he wrote “no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.” (1 COR 13: 3 MSG).

How were medieval knights supposed to express their love for humanity? They were to care for the welfare of the people under their charge, to protect them and to serve them. In fact, “knight” stems from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning “servant.” Knights were expected to serve their lord and the lord’s people.

The applicability to battlegame knights is clear. They should serve their comrades in the organization, helping them learn and grow. They should serve their officers, assisting where they can with the organization and maintenance of the group. They should also serve the community at large, ensuring good relations between the battlegame group and mundane authorities and people. They should be generous, courteous, helpful, kind, patient, and merciful (forgiving) in their dealings with others.

Humility
While many medieval knights used their position to lord themselves over the commoners, the code of chivalry actually frowned upon such behavior. The chivalrous knight was supposed to practice humility. The Bible stresses this concept; Jesus commented that “all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (LK 14: 11 NIV). Paul emphasized this teaching when he wrote “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” (PHIL 2: 3-4 NIV). 

Knights were expected to be above such petty, worldly concerns as status and position in society. They should place their interests below those of their lord and his people. In reality, knights often ignored this virtue, but it still stands as a wise guideline to behavior.

How can modern battlegame knights exhibit humility? They should not boast about their achievements. They should seek to elevate others rather than protect their own prerogatives. They should not bully or viscously target others. They should seek to serve their group, the organization, the battlegaming community, and the larger community.

Valor
Naturally, medieval knights were expected to be valorous. It was their job to rush into the thick of battle and meet their lord’s foes face-to-face in mortal combat. Cowardly knights could not fulfill their primary purpose. It may come as a surprise, but the Bible also calls people to be courageous. There are many passages encouraging followers to fear not and trust in God. As Paul wrote, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 TIM 1: 7 NIV).

Obviously, modern battlegame knights need to be valorous on our mock battlefields. Giving into fear and running away during a battlegame will leave the team open to defeat. Instead, battlegame knights need to stand firm and fight on.

But valor is also needed off the battlefield. Distressingly, there have been far too many incidents of harassment within the battlegame community. Our knights need to stand firm, condemn such behavior, and take appropriate actions against malefactors. When battlegame knights see bullying, harassment, denigration, or other negative behaviors, they need protect the victim and stop the behavior. They do not necessarily have to confront the perpetrator, but they must report the offense to the proper authorities (which could include park and organization leaders, event organizers, and even law enforcement officials). However they do it, the battlegame knights must have the courage to make the game safe and enjoyable for all.

Loyalty
Loyalty was a crucial virtue for medieval knights. The king or lord entrusted them with protecting his safety, his possessions, and his subjects. If the knights betrayed their lord all these things would be lost. Similarly, Christians were expected to be loyal (i.e., to be faithful) to their lord, Jesus. How did Christians express their loyalty? As Jesus stated, “If you love me, keep my commands.” (JN 14: 15 NIV) Obedience was the hallmark of loyalty.

Similarly, modern battlegame knights need to display loyalty through obedience. They must listen and obey the marshals. They must follow the rules of the game and not try to get away with cheating. They must heed the instructions of their officers. For example, if an officer tells them to guard a flank but they run off in a different direction, then the unit is placed at risk. Knights must practice the virtue of obedience.

There is a caveat to this, however. Knights should only obey legitimate commands. If asked to do something immoral or contrary to the other chivalric virtues, then the knight is justified* in refusing. For example, if an officer commands battlegame knights to cheat, those knights must ignore the order. 

* For Christians, the justification is simple; God’s Law is superior to man’s law. Any earthly law that violates God’s Law is null and void.

Responsibility
We could also call this Duty (but I needed a word that began with “r”). Medieval knights had responsibilities to their lord. They were expected to serve in the lord’s army. During peacetime, they typically served as administrative and legal officers of their lord’s demesne. Their Christian faith buttressed this requirement. Jesus told the story of three men given talents (coins) by their master. (MT 25: 14-30) Two of them invested responsibly and reaped a profit. Their master commended each as a “good and faithful servant.” The third negligently buried his talents and was scolded as “wicked and slothful.” This story demonstrated the importance of responsibly managing one’s resources.

 
Modern battlegame knights also have responsibilities to bear. They should assist newcomers by training them and helping them acquire equipment (e.g., teach them how to craft equipment or show them what and where to buy items). They should also assist officers in running practices and leading the unit. If something needs to be done, the knights should be quick to volunteer. Without knights meeting their responsibilities, the unit will crumble.

Integrity
Integrity, honor, was of paramount importance to the medieval knight. Accusations of dishonor could lead to duels! The Bible frequently commends integrity. Proverbs states “The righteous who walks in his integrity— blessed are his children after him!” (PRO 20:7 ESV). Jesus noted: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” (LK 16:10 NIV). If knights were dishonest with little, how could the king trust them with their own estates? Integrity was crucial.

Similarly, integrity is crucial for battlegame knights. The game, after all, is based on an honor system. If knights do not obey the rules, ignore valid hits, or cheat in any fashion, how can we expect new players to behave properly? Furthermore, our knights must be true to their word. If they say they will help the group doing this or that, they need to follow through. If they abandon their pledged word, then the group suffers. Thus, the very fabric of the game is dependent upon the integrity of its players.

Encouragement
To be quite frank, I added this because I wanted a seventh virtue.  I figured the best place to add it was on the end, so an “e” virtue made sense (chivalrie was an alternative spelling in medieval times). Nevertheless, I think encouragement is crucial. Paul exhorted Christians “to encourage one another and build each other up.” (1 THES 5: 11 NIV).

battlegame knights should do the same. Too often I have seen so-called “knights” lord it over others and treat others as lesser. That’s not what should happen. The knights should encourage others to improve their game, get more involved in the group, and most importantly have fun.

Additional Notes

Why not prowess? 
Quite a few medieval manuals list prowess a characteristic of the medieval knight. This makes sense; a knight needs to be able to fight well in order to serve the king. I chose not to include it because I don’t think it is necessarily relevant to a game. 

There are a few reasons why I think this is so:

• It tends to encourage selfish ends – players usually try to demonstrate their prowess through individual success, such as winning tournaments (this also applies to practitioners to the arts)! Thus, players are encouraged to focus on themselves instead of serving the group.
• You don’t need to be good to have fun – a group of middling fighters can still have enjoyable battles, and fun is the main reason we do this! Thus, prowess does not necessarily make the game better.
• Everyone is good at something – a player does not necessarily have to improve as a fighter to serve the group. As the opening quote of this post says, knighthood is "not about how many people you can beat with a foam bat." Find out where the players can best serve and encourage them to contribute in those areas.

This does not mean that I eschew improving one’s game, by all means work on bettering yourself. But that by itself does not make you knightly. Using your improved skills to help the group makes you knightly.