Chronicles

The nobility of Europe in Froissart’s time was still primarily a class of warriors. As such, concepts like honor and chivalry had a great deal of appeal and power. Although Froissart came from the medieval middle class, he was still “an admirer of chivalry and […] the spokesman to an over-exclusive degree of the ruling and knightly class” (18). Throughout the Chronicles, Froissart is concerned with recording the “great and noble deeds” (91) of not just entire armies, but also individual nobles, like James Douglas (337-340) or Robert of Namur (117-118). In this, Froissart is indeed “impartial” (14) in that he tries to praise the valor of both sides in the battles he describes. For example, in a naval battle between the English and Spanish, Froissart writes that “the Spanish […] did their utmost and never flinched” (117). Elsewhere, Froissart approvingly claims that in battle with each other both the Scottish and the English “stand their ground” and act “chivalrously to one another” (345). Chivalry transcends allegiances to one’s nation. This is shown when French knights host a tournament with English knights participating at Calais (380).

Chivalry and concepts of honorable behavior did not just involve courage in battle and merciful treatment toward prisoners, but also actions outside battle that would be difficult for a modern person to comprehend. For example, King Philip VI asked King Edward III to give up his position at Calais, which Philip VI could not reach with an army, and face him in a fair fight, a proposition Edward III refused (103). Likewise, King Charles V of France faces opposition for using guerilla tactics against the English, even though those tactics prove more successful than direct battles with the English army (188-189). Even when his son is exiled, the Duke of Lancaster “is too proud to approach the King, since his son’s honour is involved” (438).

Still, Geoffrey Brereton notes that, despite his positive attitudes toward chivalry, Froissart at least unconsciously depicts the chivalrous knights of his time as fighting “crudely savage small wars and private feuds in emergent nations not far removed from tribalism” (18). Despite the code of chivalry’s emphasis on the protection of the weak, King Edward III contemplated slaughtering the population of the city of Calais or at least killing six burgher prisoners who surrendered to him, but Queen Philippa intervened and kept them all from being killed (108).The Black Prince actually did slaughter the population of Limoges, even women and children (178). Froissart even highly praises Count Gaston Phoebus of Foix (264-265), even though he accidentally murdered his own son in a fit of rage. Chivalry was an ideal that Froissart expresses confidence in, but it is clear from his own accounts that many fell short of fulfilling it.