Review of A Knight's Own Book of Chivalry by Geoffroi de Charny
Initial impressions were that the book was very dense reading and overly religious. Ho...moreReview of A Knight's Own Book of Chivalry by Geoffroi de Charny
Initial impressions were that the book was very dense reading and overly religious. However, that must be put into context with the writer of the book and the time period. Because although the writer is actually one of the most famous for writing about chivalry from a knight's point of view he was not educated and trained in rhetoric the way a monk or a priest would be. As for the over bearing message of Christianity throughout the text it, it was written in 13th century France, of course it's going to be filled with overt religious tones - everyone was then.
The book that I'm reading is a modern translation of the original text. It was translated by Elspeth Kennedy and I think she did a wonderful job of keeping it readable when it very easily could have been denser. Not only did she keep it generally readable, but as the introduction by Richard W. Kaeuper says it "is better understood if read out loud and dramatically, ideally with a flagon of wine at the ready" (15). Kennedy maintained this read aloud air quite well. However, even if the original lacked punctuation there are sections of this which could have done with a little more of it.
The entire book comes in at under 150 pages. However, the heart of the text, The Book of Chivalry, takes up only 60 pages. The first section is a historical introduction and the end has all the usual notes and further reading suggestions.
Though the book is a slog to get through I think it is an excellent primary source for any researcher. After all, this is a book that one can purchase at the store and keep in the house without worrying about destroying a priceless object. Most people will never see originals, so this is a good substitute.
The book begins with a biography of Charny ad Kaeuper pointed out a few things that make later passages in the book quite humorous. However, he does not hesitate to give a good grounding in the history of chivalry.
On the other hand, Charny (translated by Kennedy*) Charny wanders about his topic, and while it is obvious that he starts with some sort of order he occasionally devolves into a mess before starting over again. Alternately he will wander from topic to topic and then return to the topic that he began with. However, who ever helped to put the book together did a good job of titling the sections so that it is easy to read.
I cannot recommend this book to any one who prefers light fluffy reading. However, if you are an author of fantasy or historical fiction then this is a good research book for you. I could see shades of Tamora Pierce as well as several other writers in it.
If you do choose to read this book I definitely recommend reading it aloud over a period of several days.
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