Antoran Chivalry: Difference between revisions

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== Terminology & Origins ==
The origins of the [[Staynish]] word 'chivalry' are disputed, but scholars have noted a relationship to the [[Impelanzan]] word '<nowiki/>''caballero/a''<nowiki/>' which can translate to 'horseman,' 'cavalry,' 'cavalier,' or 'knight,' depending on context. As it was used in the AndoranAntoran principalities before the Twelfth Century, '<nowiki/>''caballero''<nowiki/>' meant contextually 'a man, who either has been granted military office or has assumed one on virtue of owning land, who serves as a mounted combatant for his liege lord by the ability of his physical body and the equipment he possesses.' Such men were expected to act as officers of individual units known as '<nowiki/>''{{wp|Lances fournies|lanzas}}'',' or lances, and act as an example for the men under them. Similar to the concept of 'knights' being mounted armored soldiers who act with dignity in other parts of the world, the AndoranAntoran ''caballeros'' can be categorized as and indeed directly translate idiomatically and linguistically to knights.
 
As the ''caballeros'' became more and more pervasive in cultural understandings of war, the idea of formations of mounted soldiers spread from the coastal regions to the AndoranAntoran interior. While mountainous terrain did not provide as much room for ideal cavalry maneuvers, the principalities of the west saw the virtue in organizing forces of horse. These ''caballeros'' were used in skirmishing, flanking maneuvers, and scouting, taking on a slightly different connotation than their eastern cousins. While the heavy horse of the AndoranAntoran coastal states were designed as the mailed fist that crushed enemy formations and rode down routed soldiers, the lighter horse of the interior lords were better suited to locating, reporting on, and harrassing the enemy, preventing him from organizing efficiently while the main infantry moved into position and tore him apart while he was distracted. This resulted in the western ''caballeros'' being viewed less as paragons of leadership, virtue, and raw martial skill, and more of responsible guides; the men that led the army onto the path to victory rather than leading the army ''on'' the path. Due to the importance of the duties of scouting and skirmishing, they were no less respected, and the position was seen as just as indicative of status.
 
The codification of chivalry and the acts of ''caballeros'' into a hard set of rules began with the writing of ''To Become an Ideal Cavalier'' in 1149. Penned by the [[Tunseism|Tunesism]] scholar Guilliam de Cartevija, it was the first literary work to describe in detail the responsibilities and expectations placed upon a ''caballero'' and how he should act to accomplish them. With some obvious but not direct religious overtones, the work was generally accepted as a good guide on comportment. In 1203 it was joined by the Deusism-inspired ''Holy Actions of the Noble Man'', written by Count Julían de Vries. de Vries is generally accepted to have drawn heavy inspiration from de Cartevija's work, but crucially added a list of commandments that he thought all ''caballeros'' should follow. It was the combination of these two texts that proliferated the idea of a universal social code for gentlemen and warriors.
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# Thou shalt observe the world and make effort to rid it of the unjust, the deceitful, the liars, and the treacherous.
 
Further texts, such as the 1297 work ''The Great Deeds'', which chronicled the life of ''caballero'' Frederico de Largo and his efforts to always act with moral goodness, and the 1321 anthology ''Fifteen Virtues'', a collection of fifteen poems about different knights and their triumphs over different obstacles, can be considered part of the courtly romance and romantic chivalry movement of AndoranAntoran literature. This saw the idea of ''caballeros'' rescuing, learning from, escorting, or courting women enter into mainstream practice as a way to entertain and add aspects to stories that ladies could relate to. The courtly practices in literature soon became reality in noble life across the region. This combination of honor, virtue, skill, and piety would combine to make ''caballeros'' into the true AndoranAntoran embodiment of the knightly concept.
 
As Tunesism fell out of use in AndoraAntora in favor of Deusism, aspects of its ideas could still be found in chivalric traditions such as certain colors being associated with certain aspects of ''caballeros''. The color orange, for example, still is connected to martial strength in AndoraAntora. King Arturo Gael Andres, who founded Casilló in 1249, took orange as both his dynasty name (Naranza) as well as the official color of royalty. Most AndoranAntoran texts on chivalry after 1400 have all overt religious aspects relating to Deusism, however, and Tunesism remains largely in the minority of contemporary AndoranAntoran knights.
 
== Andoran Precepts ==
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