A comprehensive study of every aspect of chivalry and chivalric culture.Chivalry lay at the heart of elite society in the Middle Ages, but it is a nebulous concept which defies an easy definition. More than just a code of ethical behaviour, it shaped literary tastes, art and manners, as well as socialhierarchies, political events and religious practices; its impact is everywhere. This work aims to provide an accessible and holistic survey of the subject. Its chapters, by leading experts in the field, cover a wide range of areas: the tournament, arms and armour, the chivalric society's organisation in peace and war, its literature and its landscape. They also consider the gendered nature of chivalry, its propensity for violence, and its post-medieval decline and reinvention in the early modern and modern periods. It will be invaluable to the student and the scholar of chivalry alike. ROBERT W. JONES is a Visiting Scholar in History, Franklin and Marshall College; PETER COSS is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History, Cardiff University Contributors: Richard Barber, Joanna Bellis, Matthew Bennett, Sam Claussen, Peter Coss, Oliver Creighton, David Green, Robert W. Jones, MeganG. Leitch, Ralph Moffat, Helen J. Nicholson, Clare Simmons, David Simpkin, Peter Sposato, Louise J. Wilkinson, Matthew Woodcock

Introduction - Robert W. JonesThe Origins and Diffusion of Chivalry - Peter CossThe Organisation of Chivalric Society - David SimpkinThe Secular Orders: Chivalry in the Service of the State - David GreenThe Military Orders - Helen J. NicholsonMarshalling the Chivalric Elite for War - Robert W. JonesChivalric Violence - Samuel A. Claussen and Peter SposatoChivalry in the Tournament and Pas d'Armes - Richard BarberHeraldry and Heralds - Robert W. JonesArms and Armour - Ralph MoffatConstructing Chivalric Landscapes: Aristocratic Spaces Between Image and Reality - Oliver H. CreightonGendered Chivalry - Louise J. WilkinsonChivalric Literature - Joanna Bellis and Megan G. LeitchManuals of Warfare and Chivalry - Matthew BennettThe End of Chivalry? Survivals and Revivals of the Tudor Age - Matthew WoodcockChivalric Medievalism - Clare A SimmonsBibliography