Richard W. Kaeuper Book order

Richard Kaeuper presents a new analysis of chivalry, re-interpreting it as a fundamental aspect of medieval society.

The book explores Edward I of England's innovative financial strategies during the thirteenth century, particularly his reliance on Italian merchant-bankers to address the inadequacies of traditional revenue sources. Faced with mounting expenses for military and administrative needs, Edward implemented duties on wool and leather and increased direct taxation. However, issues with slow and irregular collection prompted him to establish a crucial partnership with the Societas Riccardorum de Luka, ensuring a steady cash flow for his reign.

Kaeuper argues that chivalric ideology of the high and later Middle Ages selectively appropriated religious ideas to valorize the institution of knighthood. He describes how both elite warriors and clerics contributed to a Christian theology that validated the knights' bloody profession.

Composed at the height of the Hundred Years War by Geoffroi de Charny, one of the most respected knights of his age, A Knight's Own Book of Chivalry is an invaluable guide to fourteenth-century knighthood.

Exploring the paradoxes of chivalry in medieval Europe, this authoritative text argues that chivalry contributed to violence rather than solely mitigating it. Through a detailed analysis of chivalric literature, it reveals how the ideal of restraint among knights coexisted with the glorification of heroic violence. The book delves into the complexities and contradictions inherent in the chivalric code, offering a nuanced perspective on its role in shaping medieval society.