Chivalry VI - - Edward.

This is coolbert:

Now for an instance of how NOT the chivalrous knights of old were supposed to behave.

[like I have said before, a lot of wags will say that there was no such thing as chivalry in medieval times. That a lot of instances can be cited that demonstrate a lack of chivalrous behavior. And this is true. Still, the concept was in place, was adhered to in many cases, was considered to be the IDEAL to STRIVE toward, and was not just the figment of imagination of some "romantics".]

Chevauchee.

"French word Chevauchee - - a cavalcade, and more particularly an ostentatious coat-trailing"

I am thinking here of the chevauchee of the Black Prince. Edward the Black Prince, son of Edward II the King of England. A prodigious military leader.

A prodigious military leader, skilled in conventional warfare of the time, but also one given over to a depraved form of warfare as well. The chevauchee.

"Edward generally avoided conventional battle, preferring to continue the chevauchee strategy of his father, wreaking havoc on the civilians of France through pillage, looting, slaughter, and rape. The aim behind this was to show the French that their king could not help them . . . It was also a successful form of economic warfare, and could be used to draw out armies who were avoiding battle, including guerrilla armies."

Rather than waging war in a chivalric manner, the chevauchee was designed as a form of warfare that with INTENTION would be decidedly un-chivalric.

"Troops" from the start were ENCOURAGED to kill, rape, burn, and pillage, and do so until sated or even beyond that. This TO A MODERN WOULD BE CONSIDERED TERRORISM!!

There is a modern equivalent for such behavior. What is occurring in Darfur, right now, as we speak.

Edward the Black Prince, for all his chivalry and nobility that HE DID possess, on occasion did NOT comport himself in the manner as he should have. He might even have felt at home as a commander of a janjaweed militia. I would like to think not, but there it is.

coolbert.