#GODFREY DE SAINT OMER SERIES#

Charny had been entrusted as the standard-bearer of the red silken Oriflamme of St. The battle is described in some detail by the French chronicler Froissart (who also gives us much of our information about the Black Death and the Hundred Years War in general). Geoffrey de Charny fought his last battle at the Battle of Poitiers between the English and the French in 1356. He suffered defeats during his career, but it was his victories he was recognized for, earning him his initiation into John the Good’s Order of the Star. He also participated in a crusade against the Turks (though it was ultimately unsuccessful) led by Humbert II of Viennois in 1345.

#GODFREY DE SAINT OMER SERIES#

After first seeing action in Gascony in 1337, he served a series of French kings fighting the English in Tornai, Brittany, and Calais. Geoffrey de Charny-not to be confused with the Knight Templar of the same name who was burned at the stake in 1307-lived, and ultimately died, by the sword. However, there could be another reason he fits so well into the definition of the perfect knight: as the author of three works on what it meant to chivalric, it’s a definition he helped create. Even during his own lifetime, people were calling him “the true and perfect knight”, and his military achievements, unwavering loyalty to French crown and fighting prowess all marked him out for the title. When it comes to chivalric perfection, few ever came closer than Geoffrey de Charny. Wikipedia Geoffrey de Charny (1300 – 1356) Geoffrey de Charny is depicted holding the Oriflamme of St. Contemporary illustration of the Battle of Poitiers. However, the Middle Ages were saturated with knights who can be considered great. The best knights also participated in tournaments and jousts (and won them too, ideally) and engaged in the rituals of courtly love.ĭespite the dozens of works defining what it meant to be the perfect knight, there was, in reality, no such thing no one man could fill all these criteria. And while it was difficult when it came to Christian knights having to fight Christian knights, there were always various papal-sanctioned Crusades that provided an outlet.

Unfaltering religious piety was important. To achieve chivalric greatness, a knight also had to aspire to-and indeed realize-some more abstract ideas. Certain military attributes were required: being a brave and able fighter, willing to serve one’s liege honorably and loyally, and being a protector of the weak. To be the perfect knight demanded more than that. To be a knight, in the most basic sense, was to be a man of aristocratic standing, wealthy enough to fight as a heavy cavalryman when called upon, and initiated into a chivalric circle through having been “dubbed”.

But, since fantasy and history rarely go hand-in-hand, we should ask what historically constituted a great knight? Through his strength, his devotion and his undying love, the knight finds a way to rescue his lady from peril, winning her heart and reinforcing his reputation as a great knight along the way. The knight in shining armor and the damsel in distress are two of the Middle Age’s most enduring clichés.

Godfrey de saint omer