A desolate, unforgiving landscape, dangerous creatures and humans lurk around every corner, waiting to take what they believe is theirs from you. You may be staring into the face of the person who will end up stealing the unused life from your body, leaving your soul with no host to guide it. Yet, amidst all the chaos there is a single character, a man on horseback who has rode in, halting all who come near. He and his small army are well known around the area, but you had never seen them before. They live by a special moral code that puts them at an arm's reach of the King as they work side by side day in and out perfecting their craft. They are the Knight of the Roundtable and are known to be centered around the building blocks and fundamental…show more content… In the medieval time period the King who was best known was King Arthur, his origins and talents coming from mysterious beginnings taught him how he should be the protector he transformed into. Paul F. Grendler explains how “Arthur was represented as a powerful but wise king reigning over a vast territory by delegating power to a select group of younger knights whose military strength would allow them to excel at the king’s missions and eventually be rewarded with wealth and power of their own.” in his work titled Chivalry. He brought the idea and initial test run on how one should protect their people and soon after all of his knights would begin to follow in his footsteps. Now in this code when it comes to protection often times what separates the round table knights from the remaining defenders of the area is their will to protect their king and people, even if it means to lose one’s own life. This is seen by all the knights in stories of their journeys as a group or an individual, but can be best and most easily seen in the story Arthur D’Morte. More specifically there is the story of one knight known as Lucan, who is able to help Arthur until he collapses from exhaustion and dies right in front of him. “In lifting up the king Sir Lucan fell in a swoon that part of his guts fell out of his body.” Other than protection in battle there are places that are…show more content… If there are pieces of the code that one is good at that gives them more legitimization than another, but if all the requirements aren’t met then that man can’t be crowned as a knight. In the code one of the most basic things that knight needs to understand is protection of the people and the king at any cost. This requires more balance between physical and mental skill to be able to perform well. The aspect of courage is mostly seen in battle; how one will show that they aren’t afraid of battle or a challenge that has been placed in front of them. Yet courage is also knowing how to use one's abilities and at what time they are truly needed. The final key to the code in becoming a knight is obtaining respect and honor for oneself, the king, and the realm that they reside in. Honor is needed to hold the prestige and reputation that one has built for in life, but it can be lost by unwise actions as easily as it is gained by them. Respect is often times the best method for a knight of the chivalric code to obtain honor when he isn’t in physical combat. All these items are part of the chivalric code created in the times of King Arthur when humans battled for land and survival in the dangerous land of England. This code is what created the time period for most and is still studied and valued today
