We value education, but we do not understand its history.

I do confess that I bring to the study of history the prejudices born of my experiences and imagination—who doesn’t—but I will not admit that this disqualifies me from seeing some bit of the truth about the past, even if only a bit.

Chivalry combined military, religious, and social concepts into a unified way of life.

From its earliest days, America has been an incubator of moral ambition.

When the next war comes—and it will (so history teaches us)—the burden of combat will not be carried by either strong women or weak men, although the sacrifice of the former will be warmly embraced by the best men.

Still, taking the good with the bad, chivalry, like Christianity, had a healthy effect upon Western man.

It is remarkable that chivalry, no matter how actual or merely aspirational it was in its own day, appeared when it did—that it appeared at all!

It was not enough for knights simply to love and fight well; they needed to sacrifice everything for the highest ideals, such as a Grail quest.