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Abstract
Coinciding with the rise in population and sophistication of high medieval Europe,chivalric romances of the twelfth through fourteenth centuries attempted to settle a number of issues regarding the status of chivalry, nobility, and masculinity with regards to their function in society. Using both frameworks of feudal kinship relations and an overlay of Christian morality and sinfulness, poets constructed definitions of noble masculinity favoring attributes of prowess and conquest over moderation and self-sacrifice. The concept of chivalric masculinity conflicted with religious doctrine concerning pride, sexuality, and sin, resulting in a degradation of the individual knight in following chivalric over religious codes of conduct. Exile, vice, and shame became inexorably connected to chivalric excess, and religious morality displaced feudal honoras the primary belief system in medieval courtly literature.