The Code of Chivalry

The Ten Commandments of the Code of Chivalry

From Chivalry by Leon Gautier

1. Thou shalt believe all that the Church teaches, and shalt observe all its directions.
2. Thou shalt defend the Church.
3. Thou shalt repect all weaknesses, and shalt constitute thyself the defender of them.
4. Thou shalt love the country in the which thou wast born.
5. Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy.
6. Thou shalt make war against the Infidel without cessation, and without mercy.
7. Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of God.
8. Thou shalt never lie, and shall remain faithful to thy pledged word.
9. Thou shalt be generous, and give largess to everyone.
10. Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion of the Right and the Good against Injustice and Evil.

The Code of Chivalry

• Live to serve King and Country.
• Live to defend Crown and Country and all it holds dear.
• Live one's life so that it is worthy of respect and honor.
• Live for freedom, justice and all that is good.
• Never attack an unarmed foe.
• Never use a weapon on an opponent not equal to the attack.
• Never attack from behind.
• Avoid lying to your fellow man.
• Avoid cheating.
• Avoid torture.
• Obey the law of king, country, and chivalry.
• Administer justice.
• Protect the innocent.
• Exhibit self control.
• Show respect to authority.
• Respect women.
• Exhibit Courage in word and deed.
• Defend the weak and innocent.
• Destroy evil in all of its monstrous forms.
• Crush the monsters that steal our land and rob our people.
• Fight with honor.
• Avenge the wronged.
• Never abandon a friend, ally, or noble cause.
• Fight for the ideals of king, country, and chivalry.
• Die with valor.
• Always keep one's word of honor.
• Always maintain one's principles.
• Never betray a confidence or comrade.
• Avoid deception.
• Respect life and freedom.
• Die with honor.
• Exhibit manners.
• Be polite and attentive.
• Be respectful of host, women, and honor.
• Loyalty to country, King, honor, freedom, and the code of chivalry.
• Loyalty to one's friends and those who lay their trust in thee.

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Rules of Courtly Love

The Twelve Chief Rules in Love

From The Art of Courtly Love by Andreas Capellanus

1. Thou shalt avoid avarice like the deadly pestilence and shalt embrace its opposite.
2. Thou shalt keep thyself chaste for the sake of her whom thou lovest.
3. Thou shalt not knowingly strive to break up a correct love affair that someone else is engaged in.
4. Thou shalt not chose for thy love anyone whom a natural sense of shame forbids thee to marry.
5. Be mindful completely to avoid falsehood.
6. Thou shalt not have many who know of thy love affair.
7. Being obedient in all things to the commands of ladies, thou shalt ever strive to ally thyself to the service of Love.
8. In giving and receiving love's solaces let modesty be ever present.
9. Thou shalt speak no evil.
10. Thou shalt not be a revealer of love affairs.
11. Thou shalt be in all things polite and courteous.
12. In practising the solaces of love thou shalt not exceed the desires of thy lover.

The Art of Courtly Love

From The Art of Courtly Love by Andreas Capellanus

1. Marriage is no real excuse for not loving.
2. He who is not jealous cannot love.
3. No one can be bound by a double love.
4. It is well known that love is always increasing or decreasing.
5. That which a lover takes against the will of his beloved has no relish.
6. Boys do not love until they reach the age of maturity.
7. When one lover dies, a widowhood of two years is required of the survivor.
8. No one should be deprived of love without the very best of reasons.
9. No one can love unless he is propelled by the persuasion of love.
10. Love is always a stranger in the home of avarice.
11. It is not proper to love any woman whom one would be ashamed to seek to marry.
12. A true lover does not desire to embrace in love anyone except his beloved.
13. When made public love rarely endures.
14. The easy attainment of love makes it of little value: difficulty of attainment makes it prized.
15. Every lover regularly turns pale in the presence of his beloved.
16. When a lover suddenly catches sight of his beloved his heart palpitates.
17. A new love puts an old one to flight.
18. Good character alone makes any man worthy of love.
19. If love diminishes, it quickly fails and rarely revives.
20. A man in love is always apprehensive.
21. Real jealousy always increases the feeling of love.
22. Jealousy increases when one suspects his beloved.
23. He whom the thought of love vexes eats and sleeps very little.
24. Every act of a lover ends in the thought of his beloved.
25. A true lover considers nothing good except what he thinks will please his beloved.
26. Love can deny nothing to love.
27. A lover can never have enough of the solaces of his beloved.
28. A slight presumption causes a lover to suspect his beloved.
29. A man who is vexed by too much passion usually does not love.
30. A true lover is constantly and without intermission possessed by the thought of his beloved.
31. Nothing forbids one woman being loved by two men or one man by two women.

 

 

I know that most if not all people on here already know how to speak at Ren Faires, so this is like a refresher or for new people a great way to learn... I hope this helps people new and old to the Ren Faire...   Crom of the Grail.

 
At first Elizabethan speech may seem daunting and very unfamiliar. To tell the truth, it can be. The most important part of learning BFA is perhaps patience - don't try to cram it all in in one afternoon. Learn the basics first, try using them in conversation. At faire listen to others and how they speak. Get comfortable with the idea that Elizabethan English, in some cases, is as close to our modern day English as French.

Do not fear, however. What I am presenting here is really just a few basics that any beginner can grasp. If you want a more detailed look into Faire Speak meander your way further down the page and you'll be given plenty of discussion regarding the difference of thee/thou and you/ye, how verbs are conjugated, etc...

"Hello" is an exclamation of surprise, not greeting. You might try "Good Morrow", "God ye good den.", "How now?",
"God save you", or "Good Day"
Instead of "Good Bye" try "Anon", "Fare thee well" or "God save thee!"

It's "Aye" or "Yay" not "Yes."
Try "Nay" or "Indeed Not" for "No".

"You" can be either "thee/thou" or even "you/ye"
"You would" or "You should" best heard as "Thou would'st" or "Thou should'st".

I would "beg your pardon" instead of excusing myself.
In order to get your attention I wouldn't cry: "Listen", but I would say "Hark!"
Say "prithee" or "if it please thee" instead of "please".
A wandering babe would be told to "come hither" not "here."

"A Salesperson" barks louder as a "Hawker". Affectionately you might call your grandfather "Gaffer". A beautiful young woman could be a lusty "wench" or maybe a fair "maiden". Perhaps your pet name for your boyfriend/girlfriend is "Sweeting". A doll might be called "poppet", but so would a child.

Some exclamations:
"Forsooth"
"Verily"
"Alack!", "Alackaday!", "Alas!", "Fie!", "Out upon it!", "Go to!"
"I'faith!", or "Now, by my faith!"
"Marry!", "'Zounds (God's wounds, pron: ZOONDS)", "Hey-ho!", "God's Death!", "God's Teeth!", or "What ho!"

Instead of a bar you would find the local "tavern" to buy some "Ale".

Some general words to know:

• Anon - Later
• As you will - Okay, or whatever.
• By your leave - Excuse me or please, when in the company of another.
• Carouse- Party!
• Chide - Scold or nag
• Cutpurse- Thief
• E'en - Evening or even
• E'er - Ever or before
• Fie - A curse.
• Grammercy - Thank you
• Maid or Maiden - A young woman of upstanding virtue
• Marry! - An exclaimation of shock
• Mayhap - Perhaps. Do not mistakenly say "Mayhaps" - there is no plural form
• Morrow - Days or tomorrow.
• N'er - Never.
• Nonpariel - A beauty
• Oft - Often
• In Faith - In truth, sometimes just "faith". A mild exclaimation.
• Perchance - Maybe or Possibly.
• Poppet - A doll or a young child
• Pray pardon me - Excuse me
• Pray tell - Please tell me
• Prithee - Please, literally "I pray thee"
• Privy - Bathroom, or more literally, outhouse
• Stay - Stop or wait.
• S'wounds! - An exclaimation, like wow. A shortened from "gods wounds".
• Tosspot- Drunkard
• Verily - Very, Truly or Truthfully.
• Wench - A young woman
• Wherefore - Why
• Yonder - Over there.

 

How to Address People

Elizabethan England society was very socially stratified and as such one was always aware of their rank among the larger scheme of things. Based upon one's physical description you can usually find the appropriate method of address: "My Lord", "My Lady", "Good Wife", "Goodly Juggler", etc. The art of addressing people was perfected out of necessity at this time. Remember your rank and how you would react to those of a higher and/or lower station than yourself.

People of the time wore clothes that suited their rank in life, and (fortunately) this makes them easier to identify. When addressing people of equal station you can be less formal. For instance: the Earl of Rycroft might call the Earl of Worth either "Worth" or "My Lord cousin", etc. However a merchant or peasant would call them "Lord", or "My Lord", or "My Lord, Earl".

When addressing a well-dressed, upper class person of whose station you're not certain it is always safe to address them as "Sir" or "Mistress."

Do not assume the rank of the nobility because more often than not you will miss some obscure title and insult the noble. For safety's sake use "My Lord" or "My Lady" if you do not know their name or title. The Queen is referred to as "Your Highness", or "Your Grace''. In the third person, the Queen may be called "Her Highness". Dukes and Duchesses are also addressed as "Your Grace". Office holders  may be called "Your Honour".

 

 

Or, Thee vs. Thou

Formal vs. Informal

Yes, you may not believe it but the English language once had a formal and an informal mode very similar to the romance languages. (Oh, come on tell me you don't remember trying to figure out those damned le's and la's in French class or the different conjugations that went with each mode. I sure do, ughhhh!) Well, for those of you who don't remember the difference between formal and informal allow me to give you a quick overview:

The formal mode is used when you are talking to your superiors, strangers, respected personages, your parents, the elderly, and/or those people you wished to be polite to. If you call a person sir then the address will be you and not thou. When addressing any of these persons the appropriate word is you.

Whom would I use the formal mode with?

• Your parents
• Your employer
• Any noble person
• Any person you are flattering
• Horses. Horses because they're noble animals.

	SINGULAR	PLURAL
1st person	I	we
2nd person	you	ye
3rd person	she/he/it	they

 

The informal mode is used when you are speaking with people close to you (intimates), social inferiors, children, etc... When addressing any of these persons the appropriate word is thou.

Whom would I use the informal mode with?

• Your husband/wife
• Your close friends
• Your children
• Your servants
• Your non-horse pets and animals
• Any person you are insulting
• Inanimate objects
• God. (because presumably, He is your intimate)

	SINGULAR	PLURAL
1st person	I	we
2nd person	thee/thou	ye
3rd person	he/she/it	they

 

Thee vs. Thou

You've seen these words numerous times before, I'm sure, and have probably never been able to figure out what the difference is. Well, they're not two versions of the same word. As a matter of fact these two word while having a similar meaning are extremely different. In the informal form of address these words are used in the second person to denote a subject or object.

Thee is objective which means it is used as the object of a sentence. For example, one might say "I love thee," but they would not say "I love thou."

Thou is nominative which means it is used as the subject of a sentence. For example, one might say "Thou art loved," but would not say "Thee art loved."

In the formal mode there is no difference between the objective and nominative cases. For both the correct form is you.

Objective - "I love you."
Nominative - "You are loved."

 

The Possessive Forms
Most forms change when it comes to the possessive case. All in all, the possessive has mainly stayed the same throughout the years with a few minor exceptions. The informal 2nd person singular "thee/thou" changes into "thy/thine" in the possessive. The informal and formal 1st person singular "I" changes to "my/mine".

Possessive Forms

	SINGULAR	PLURAL
1st person	my/mine	our
2nd person	thy/thine, your	your
3rd person	their	their

How do I tell when I use thy/thine?

Use "thy" when the word following begins with a consonant. Thy cattle. Thy friend.
Use "thine" when the word following begins with a vowel. Thine occupation. Thine apple.

How do I tell when I use my/mine?

Use "my" when the word following begins with a consonant. My sheep.
Use "mine" when the word following begins with a vowel. Mine eyes.

 

Verb Endings

Perhaps the most difficult part of any language is learning how to conjugate the verbs that you're using with the particular mode. Let's start with a simple verb and learn the different ending and when and where you would use them.

In any language one of the first verbs you learn is "to do", hence it would make sense that we do the same thing here.

• In the first person, both singular and plural, there are no extra endings. Continue saying these as you normally would in modern-day English.

Examples:

I do.
We do.

• The informal, second person singular uses "-st" and "-est" endings.

Examples:

How dost thou?

• The formal, second person singular uses no extra endings.

Examples:

You do.

• The third person singular uses the "-eth" and "-th" endings.

Examples:

He doth adore thee.
She doth smile on thee.
He taketh not a name, doth he?

• In the case of plural subjects there is no need for any additional endings. Continue to say the plural as you normally would.

Examples:

Do ye?
They do.

Some verb exceptions. "Will" and "shall" become "wilt" and "shalt" when used with "thee" or "thou".