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During the 11th century chivalry developed in all Western aristocratic societies as a code of knightly behaviour of the ruling warrior class. The fighters on horseback, the chevaliers became the protagonists of the feudal society. The English term 'knight' shows that the new system was obviously not totally different from pre-Conquest Anglo-Saxon conditions. 'King and queen' and 'lord and lady' are native English words, which were not superseded by Anglo-Norman terms after the Conquest.

By 1100, the concept of chivalry meant much more than a cavalry training of warfare. Its constituent feature of physical aggression had been gradually controlled by a strict knightly code of conduct, which incorporated aristocratic qualities, Christian virtues and the concept of courtly love. Thus we find among the major chivalric ideals prowess, loyalty and generosity side by side with charity, with the defence of the Christian faith and institutions and with the service of a courtly lady.

The social changes of the 14th century caused a gradual political decay of knighthood. Nevertheless, the cult of chivalry was upheld in art and literature and the highest aristocratic representatives organized themselves in various orders of knighthood, such as the Order of the Band in Castile, the Order of the Garter in England and later the Order of the Golden Fleece in Flandres.

Romantic love and modern rules of courtesy are probably a reflex of late medieval chivalry.