Alanian roots of European chivalry.
статья по английскому языку

 Данная статья посвящена  истории, традициям, этикету и быту алан. Рекомендуется для использования на уроках  страноведения в школах и вузах.            

     Alanian roots of European chivalry

                                                  Автор работы:  Тибилова Индиана Борисовна,  

                                                                     учитель английского языка                                      

                                                                  высшей квалификационной категории  

                                                                  школы №26, г. Владикавказ

Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal, varying code of conduct developed between 1170 and 1220, but never decided on or summarized in a single document. It was associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood;[1] knights' and gentlewomen's behavior which were governed by chivalrous social codes.

The code of chivalry that developed in medieval Europe had its roots in earlier centuries.

The term "chivalry" derives from the Old French term chevalerie, which can be translated as "horse soldiery".[Note 1] Originally, the term referred only to horse-mounted men, from the French word for horse, cheval, but later it became associated with knightly ideals.[7]

   Over time, its meaning in Europe has been refined to emphasise more general social and moral virtues. The code of chivalry, as it stood by the Late Middle Ages, was a moral system which combined a warrior ethos, knightly piety, and courtly manners, all combining to establish a notion of honour and nobility.

   The first thing that comes to mind when we think about chivalry is the main motto of all medieval knights: "God, honor and woman". In those days, one word of a knight was an unbreakable pledge, even in the most important, negotiations.

   Among the main knightly virtues can be identified: courage, bravery, loyalty, generosity, prudence, courtesy, good manners, honor, freedom.

   Politeness and courtesy, the purpose of which-to soften the severity of the warrior, especially prescribed by the Statute of chivalry and  laid  at the heart of the education of young people who craved knighthood.

   To answer the question where the origin of such a wonderful medieval course as chivalry is, we have to plunge into the distant depths of history, at a time when one of the most amazing Nations in the history of this world walked on  the earth.

   The history of the Ancient World and, in particular, the history of Ancient Europe and Asia can not be imagined without knowledge of the history of the Scythian world. New economic and cultural-historical community under the name "Scythian world", which later became an outstanding phenomenon of world history, originated in the vast steppe spaces of Eurasia in the first Millennium BC. Herodotus noted that the Scythians were the most talented and wisest people of antiquity. They were outstanding representatives of the early iron age, have mastered the latest technology of the time: to process the ore, getting the iron, creating steel, developed new techniques of forging, hardening metal, carburizing. It were the Scythians who introduced the peoples of Northern Eurasia metal, and it was from them that the neighboring peoples learned the skills of iron metallurgy. The Scythians played an important role in the historical destinies of many countries, thanks to the Scythian tribes there were many peoples, including the ruling dynasties of Media, Persia, Parthia and other countries.

All peoples, natives of the Scythian world had high moral personal qualities and norms of behavior in the community, which were improved over the years. Going around the practical whole globe, the Scythians adopted the best of the cultures of the peoples they met and slowly, on a pebble created their own culture, their own etiquette, which today attract the interest of scientists from all over the world. No wonder Herodotus spoke of the Scythians as wise people.

Scythians had some secret knowledge, knowledge about the structure of the world and lived in harmony with this world. Today, the meaning of many traditions and rituals of that time is lost and is unlikely to be unrevealed, which is certainly a great loss for the whole world culture. The heritage of Scythian culture and their worldview can be found in the Caucasus among their direct descendants- Ossetians, who until today live according to the cannons that came to them through the millennia from their glorious ancestors. Hospitality rules, table etiquette, rules of behaviour in society, various ceremonies, modesty and moderation in all things - all that incorporates the Ossetian word "Æгъдау".

On this historical canvas, whimsically painted with bright colors that do not know the semitones, in the aura of fierce inter-tribal rivalry, overshadowed by the cult of imperious, unrestrained power in the heavens and on the mortal earth, hungry for full - blooded and unambiguous, again very little limited by any framework of emotions, brought up on the code of the highest national patriotism and the highest requirements for military valor, men-Alans look in historical retrospect no worse, perhaps, even much better than the representatives of many other Nations. Heroic and sacrificial in bloody battles, kind, straightforward and extremely sympathetic towards their relatives, friends and sovereigns, cruel and unforgiving to the enemy, feminine and hungry for a Golden robbery, beautiful riders, skilled warriors, loyal knights of their national gods - Alan passionaries were, in fact, the ideal of male power and beauty of their raging time.

The Alan epoch in European history features the initial model of Western traditions in the way the knights pursued religion and the starting point of the royal protection of the church. The Alans mixed with the local European nations wherever they went, yet the memory of them remained in myths, legends and geographic names. Their language is clearly different from Romance, Germanic, Slavic and other languages of Western and Central Europe, therefore Alan names are easy to find in modern European maps. France and Northern Italy alone have nearly 300 towns and villages of Alan origin. The English name Alan, and French Alain, are also part of the common legacy.

Tall and good-looking with fair hair and menacing looks, the Alans were more warlike than other ethnic groups related to them. Old sources also describe them as an “untamable and brave” people who lived in the lower reach of the Danube, Northern Black Sea region, Fore-Caucasus and Central Caucasus. The territory inhabited by Sarmatians gradually became known as Alania, while at the same time ancient historians stopped mentioning other Sarmatian tribes in their works.

The Alans had no temples or shrines. According to Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus, they “stuck a bare sword into the ground following a barbarian ritual and worshipped it in awe like Mars, the protector of the countries they cross as nomads” similar to their ancestors, the Scythians. The Alan community had the ideology where the military elite was considered supreme and chosen by God. Noble people did not burden themselves with any physical labour.

The Alans’ pursuit of war, a decent opponent and heroic death was legendary in old times. But how did these tribes end up with such a military role and political impact in the West, so far from their homeland and most often among enemies? Clearly, their number or strength was not the answer.

The Alans had a much deeper impact on the world’s view of the medieval West, including its mythology, epic stories and aristocratic military rituals. Legends about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and the incarnation of knight ideals in European culture, were based on the Alan culture. Similar legends can be found in Ossetian epos about Nart knights.

   Based on all this, we can safely say that the tradition of medieval European chivalry dates back to the Sarmato-Alanian military culture. They include clothing and weapons, military equipment, moral code and ideology of the military elite.(eil^it :) Moreover, many scientists agree that the prototypes of the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the Round table were also representatives of the Alan military elite, who were the embodiment of the knight's ideal for medieval literature.

But neither great cultural and political influence, nor participation in the most important events of the great migration of peoples did not save Western European Alans from rapid extinction. Alan's extraordinary military abilities served foreign emperors and kings. Having shattered their forces and failed to build a durable state, the Alans in the West finally lost their native language and merged with other peoples living in Europe.