Final answer:
The code of conduct for knights that encompasses qualities such as generosity, bravery, humility, honor, respect for women, and fairness to enemies is called chivalry. Originating in medieval Europe, this code was a blend of military, social, and Christian values that knights were expected to uphold, though it did not always successfully curb violence.
Step-by-step explanation:
Code of Chivalry: Definition and Examples
The term for the code that requires knights to be generous, brave, humble, honorable, respectful of women, and fair to enemies is known as chivalry. This code of conduct was developed during the medieval period and aimed to Christianize knightly violence and behavior as part of a broader push by the church to create a more Christianized society. Chivalry included the notion that knights should not engage in certain types of violence such as looting monasteries or holding clergy for ransom, and they should act in protection of the church, women, and the defenseless.
Knightly aristocratic values rank-ordered by society emphasized traits like vigor, strength, and honor. Celebrated in popular culture through poems, stories, and songs, chivalry became emblematic of the noble social class. Its idyllic embodiment can be seen in literature, such as the description of a model knight who is 'merciful and just in all men's eyes' and whose conduct is in keeping with the chivalric code.
Though the ideal of chivalry was meant to impose a moral framework on the actions of knights, it was not always successful in curbing violence, yet it remained a powerful social and cultural force throughout the Middle Ages, influencing notions of social justice and honor that persisted even in the romanticized tales of troubadours and the courts of lords and ladies.