14 Interesting Facts About Chivalry
1.
A MSN survey found that while nearly two-thirds of women 35 and younger say they offer to pay for dates, 39% hope the guy will turn down the offer and 44% get annoyed if he lets her pay.
2.
One sociologist reports that, overall, 16% of men believe a woman owes him sexual favors in return for paying for dates. This number climbs the younger a man is. Approximately 21% of men under the age of 25 believe this. Additionally, the less a man earns, the more likely he expects sex as payment for a date.
3.
A survey found that women were actually more chivalrous than men. Women were more likely to give up their seats to the elderly or expecting mothers. They are also more likely to say hello to a complete stranger and more likely to hold the door open for someone. The survey suggests that men have abandoned chivalry for fear of "getting it wrong."
4.
The term “chivalry” is from the Latin word caballus, meaning “nag, pack-horse,” and is related to the word “cavalier.”
5.
A study in the journal Social Influence found that holding doors for men threatens their masculinity and can make them unhappy.
6.
Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), in his novel Don Quixote, effectively satirized chivalric romances that were still being read in 16th-century Spain. The central character of the novel, Don Quixote, interprets his experiences according to his reading of the chivalry romances of the time—which, in turn, leads him to outrageous adventures, such as battling windmills.
7.
The LGBT community doesn’t have a traditional “code of chivalry” to fall back on. Steven Petrow, an LGBT advice columnist, suggests this rule: “You invite, you pay.”
9.
The custom dates from the Middle Ages when knights wore their sword on the left side, keeping the right side (the fighting arm) free. Men were also encouraged to walk curbside to protect women from splashing carriages and the contents of the chamber pots being thrown into the street.
10.
The chivalric tradition of tipping one’s hat is rooted in the Middle Ages. In medieval times, knights often wore a full body of armor, making it difficult to identify friend or foe. As a sign of friendliness, knights would lift their helmet visors to show their faces to one another. The modern military salute also shares this origin.
11.
The “damsel in distress” is a central archetypical character in the history of chivalry, particularly during the Middle Ages. Nowadays, some women dismiss chivalry as a type of benevolent sexism because it relies on the assumption that women are weak and in need of protection while men are strong.
12.
Scholars point to the superstar status of chivalrous knights who performed in front of adoring crowds in tournaments as the origin of the modern cult of celebrity.
13.
The handshake is derived from the chivalric display of extending the empty right hand, thus showing the other knight that he was not wielding or concealing a weapon.
14.
The tradition of carrying the bride across the threshold began in Medieval Europe when many people believed that a bride was extra vulnerable to evil spirits through the soles of her feet. To protect the bride from evil spirits, the chivalric groom carried the bride into their new home.
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