When I look at our beloved show, there are many things I see… There is, of course, heartbreak, gruesome adventure, love, idealism, loyalty… and, in a modern way, chivalry. I love history, and, naturally, I love to dig into these topics…

'A true knight is fuller of bravery in the midst, than in the beginning of danger.'              Philip Sidney 

 
 
For me, our heroes of Supernatural, and in particular Sam and Dean Winchester, are knights in modern armour. In a former article I called them Warriors of Light, and, well, to that I hold to this day. Even though their story changed over the seasons, for me, the core of what they have stood for remained the same. 
 
They are warriors. Always have been, from childhood on. At first it wasn't really their choice, but as they grew older, a part of them wanted to be what they had become. For Dean it was a part of his personal identity - probably from the moment he carried baby Sam out of the burning house. Sam, on the other hand, needed more time to adjust to what seemed to be his calling. Papa Winchester tried to protect his youngest son from the horrors looming over their family and Sam hadn't known for a long time what their lives were about. But, just as Dean, he absorbed the ethos John Winchester taught his sons. A life lived in protection of those in need of help and refuge. 
 
Deep down, it's a very sad story, too. Sometimes I wonder how their lives would have looked like, had they not been put on the quest that bound them to 'the life', as hunters call it. We've had glimpses of the possibilities in some episodes, and it saddens me because their choice had to be such a hard, painful one. 
 
We always choose. There is hardly a thing we actually have to do. The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon wonderfully puts it in a nutshell: 'We have to take in nourishment, expel waste, and inhale enough oxygen to keep our cells from dying. Everything else is optional.' 
 
That is actually true. We often feel that we don't have a choice when we have to come to a decision, but we do. We are driven to choices by our history, by what we feel is right or has to be done, by fear of risking anger from those close to us, because we don't want to lose our present status or are too afraid to venture into unknown territory… There are many reasons, probably as many as there are individuals, why we feel we don't have a choice. And thereby our notion of a situation becomes truth to us. 
 
I am sure that Sam and Dean stood at various turning points and felt they didn't have another choice but do what they, then, did. Sam leaving home, Dean sticking to dad, eventually seeking out his brother, Sam agreeing to go with Dean and then, after Jessica's untimely end, remaining at Dean's side, and so on…
 
But, also, during their journey (which began the moment Mary found her terrible death on their home's ceiling) they acquired an ethos that reminds me a lot of the knights of old. I'm a romantic soul, it seems, so please, kind readers, bear with me…
 
In the Middle Ages, knights were members of a distinctive warrior class. I have always found it interesting that the term knight originates in the German word Knecht, meaning servant, vassal or bondsman. Basically denoting that this warrior serves. On a formal basis they served their superior, often a member of the nobility higher in rank (only members of the nobility were entitled to become knights, but there is still a debate among historians about that), from baron to duke to king or emperor. On a more idealistic note, knights served a certain ethos. I'll get to that in a moment. 
 
Sam and Dean also serve. Their superior, if you like, used to be their father, and in many ways he is still there, in their minds and hearts. They couldn't bury everything that John stood for, particularly since they met their father even after his death - as a young man, in love with Mary. His legacy has remained an important factor in their lives. And the ideal the two young men serve is simply: save lives. 'Saving people, hunting things.' The credo they were raised into and that became so much a part of their personal faith that they are ready to sacrifice themselves to save others. One of the most prominent examples of that we found in an early episode, Wendigo. The Winchesters risked their own lives to save an unknown family. Wounded Dean went after the wendigo (in best Han Solo style) and Sam put his life between the monster and the defenceless teens. There are countless examples like that. 
 

 Knights were the cavalry in the Middle Ages. They were, mostly, mounted warriors. And this is where the term chivalry stems from -  originally from Latin caballus, workhorse, (still to be found in the Italian cavaliere or Spanish caballero) which, over time, became the French chevalier - direct father to the English term chivalry which is not only a description of the knight's trade, but also the definition of a particular set of mind - knightly virtues. 

When I look at our show, I find this kind of virtues in abundance. And, in a very humorous way, chivalry was touched on in Supernatural in the wonderfully hilarious episode Like a Virgin. And, just like that, the Winchesters became dragon slayers. Following in the footsteps of St. George, Sigurd, Bard the Bowman, Tristan or Eärendil. In fiction, myths and legends, only warriors and knights of special skill were called to such a task. 
  '…as for the knights who gave their lives, their deaths were cause for neither mourning nor sadness. For they live forever, their names and deeds handed down from father to son, mother to daughter, in the legends of King Arthur and his knights.'
Lancelot, in King Arthur (2004)
 
The Winchesters are, I'd say, today's knights errant. On the road, with their trusty horse, ahem, horse powered Impala (and sometimes even a tandem bike), somewhat vigilantes and protectors of those in need, and always embarked on a specific quest, fulfilling a particular duty.
 

The most famous knights errant are perhaps Gawain and Lancelot from the Arthurian legends. In certain ways I find Gawain echoed in Dean and Lancelot in Sam.  
 
Gawain, one of the most esteemed knights of the Round Table (his name is often interpreted as a symbol of purity and patience), a sometimes cheeky, but fiercely loyal warrior (in particular to his family and king), a friend to young knights, defender of women, famed for his courteousness and often regarded as a model for his chivalric attitude. In some adventures his character is tested and tempted, but he emerges, eventually, honourable, passing the tests (for instance when Dean was tempted to actually say yes to Michael, but successfully resisted). Gawain is often regarded the perfect knight as a fighter, lover, devotee to his quest. And in one 13^th century German tale, he was even depicted as the knight to find the Holy Grail. I have loved Gawain. What an extraordinary guy!
 
 
And Lancelot, ah, the flawed one! In the Arthurian legends he is the most trusted of Arthur's knights, but also the one who falls in love with Guinevere, his king's wife, and thereby the one who betrays Arthur, in some ways the epitome of the tragedy of chance and human failing that eventually brings about the downfall of the round table. The Beauty and the Beast's Vincent once described Lancelot like this: 'Lancelot was flawed, but still he was the greatest knight of all.' Personally, I have always been very attracted to this 'flawed', very human, sometimes broken knight. Well, I have a thing for the imperfect, they are dear to my heart.
 
Due to sad events, Lancelot is at one point rejected by the Queen and loses his mind, because he believes to have lost the one he loves, subsequently wandering the wilderness until he is shown the Holy Grail through a veil which cures his madness, though later, upon the quest for the Holy Grail, he is not allowed to see it again, because of his human flaws. But, his son Galahad, a 'sinless' man, will find the Grail and thereby redeem his father. 
 
Sam's 'flaw', if you like, is his early contamination with demon blood. There is a driving force within him that makes him take a dangerous road. He is, from his childhood days, not 'pure' anymore, though the truth about that emerges late in his young life. He receives an answer to his early suspicions that something is terribly wrong with him. And this answer also makes him embark on a journey that results in many tragic events, his own death included. 
   
I'd like to read an analogy into Lancelot's healing by being given a glimpse of the Holy Grail and Sam's victory over Lucifer in Swan Song. When Dean, beaten to the brink of death, managed to reach out to Sam, and memories of their childhood, their lives, emerged from the light reflected from the Impala, the veil that enveloped Sam lifted long enough for him to remember who he was. His 'madness', meaning in this context: possession by Lucifer, was cured for a precious moment, and he managed to cast Lucifer down into the pit from where he had risen (and himself with him). Perhaps the 'Holy Grail' in this moment was the love that connected the brothers. The love that I continuously found there, in various faces, but always there.
 
Though Sam is redeemed by his sacrifice at the end of season five, he will suffer for it. We still have to find out what awaits Sam after he learned about his time in hell, but it's safe to assume that it will be far from pleasant. Perhaps he will lose his mind, but he will suffer. I hope, though, that the brothers' mutual knowledge of what it means to be imprisoned in hell will strengthen their bond even more. You can talk to another of experienced pains, but the moment the other lives them, too, the understanding is, kind of, literal. 
 
Of course, one can't transfer Lancelot's tale completely to Sam's or Gawain's journey to Dean's, but there is common ground. And, of course, what each of us (in this case yours truly, kind readers) reads into it.
 
'Cowards are cruel, but the brave love mercy and delight to save.'      John Gay 
 
I think it's no coincidence that stories about valiant heroes, such as these two men, live on in books and novels. We find them in the Star Wars saga, in Lord of the Rings, the legends of King Arthur, of course, and many more stories out there. I believe there is an inherent need for what these characters represent. They symbolize ideals that are able to give us security, and in a world like ours, security is needed, don't you think? A knight - or chivalry - is about finding one's moral centre. And it's about a set of virtues a knight was advised to live by, thus becoming what probably most of us think of when imagining a knight. 

 
There is no definitive list of knightly virtues, but the meaning of the Maltese Cross (or the Cross of St. John which can be traced back to the Knights Hospitaller, one of the first knightly military orders ever established) shows us the following virtues:
 
It is universally agreed that the four arms of the Cross stand for the four Cardinal Virtues - namely; prudence, temperance, justice and fortitude. Various authorities give differing meanings to the eight points. It is assumed, though, that the eight obligations of the Knights are described as: To live in truth.  To have faith.  To be sincere.  To give proof of humility.  To love justice.  To be merciful.   To endure persecution.  To repent of sin.
 
The ethos of our favourite characters lives very much in the neighbourhood of these virtues. They live by a code they learned from their father, and that code is determined by behaving honourably. Well, most of the time. But being human, and thereby flawed as we all are, they don't succeed all the time. 
Let's take a closer look at the mentioned virtues:
 
Prudence - it can't be said that Sam and/or Dean haven't acted according to that. They rely on common sense most of the time, knowing the enemy, being aware of their own strengths and weaknesses and using caution when necessary (despite a knack for the occasional recklessness).
 
Temperance, well, we might find the occasional flaw here. We know that Dean has had difficulties saying no to fast food, alcohol and (lately) pills, and Sam's sexual activities and tendencies towards alcohol while Dean was in hell haven't been in the temperance department, either. 
 
Justice - both try to live by acting justly. Early on, their world truly was black and white, human and non-human. But with time they learned that there are also shades of grey and hesitated occasionally when it came to killing their prey, even discussing whether they were actually entitled to, like in Metamorphosis, before the poor guy turned to become a rugaru. 
 
Fortitude - I don't think I need to elaborate on that one, I'd say. Both are incredibly brave. I've written about that in previous articles, but I remain taken aback by the amount of courage these young men are capable of summoning. They have encountered the worst of possible moments, faced adversaries most people would run 'screaming to the nuthouse', and still they stand their ground and go on. Their humour and tendency to sarcasm surely is very helpful there,
 
"Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave.'     Indira Gandhi
 
To live in truth, to be sincere - Sam and Dean have lied to each other, yes, and have thereby violated the virtue of living in truth, but the reasons for their lies have been rooted in a wish to protect or save the other or, an even higher goal, to save the world. And, to many close to them, they have been sincere, as much as they deemed possible. 
 
To have faith - for the knights of old the connotation was clearly Christian. And, when we look at the show, there is a background rooted in Christianity (the hunters use Holy Water, parts of the Catholic Rituale Romanum for exorcism, and silver and iron as weapons against various creatures also stems from Christian rituals and superstitions, etc.). Sam revealed in Houses of the Holy that he was a man who prayed every day. I'd love to know whether he still does. Dean, on the other hand, didn't believe until they actually encountered angels and, eventually, he got bigger a dose of faith than he bargained for - being the intended sheath for Michael. 
 
To give proof of humility - when they 'do' a job, they are not after laurel wreaths, they don't ask for payment or praise. They just do their job, save someone, kill the beast and ride off into the sunset. That is quite humble, wouldn't you say?
 
To love justice - I think they try to uphold what they deem to be just in accordance to their understanding of honour and righteousness. It's a very difficult standard, as justice can't be black and white. The grey shades need to be recognized, too. Both developed in this regard, immensely. It's not only 'human vs. non-human' anymore. English 18^th-century jurist William Blackstone once stated 'it's better that ten guilty persons escape than one innocent suffer.' To find justice is as difficult as it gets, since it's rarely pure and it's never easy, to paraphrase Oscar Wilde.

 
To be merciful - also a field where the Winchesters evolved. I'd say, the moment you begin to acknowledge the grey areas of life, you cannot not be merciful. You can never be sure, if the mercy you show might backfire at you, but I believe it hugely important to be able to find mercy. And to feel sympathy, even when it seems illogical or absurd. For me, it was mercy to allow Ellen and Jo die together and fighting in Abandon All Hope or granting Bobby the chance to kill his zombie wife himself in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid. I believe Dean considered it also an act of mercy to wipe Lisa's and Ben's memories so they wouldn't suffer, in Let It Bleed or bring Death to place Sam's soul back in his body so he would be 'whole' again in Appointment to Samarra. And, above all, to be able to forgive each other. Despite the darkness they found on their journey, they managed to also find forgiveness and clemency for each other.
 
To endure persecution - well, if the government ever got scent of the hunters' exploits, there would be a manhunt of so far unknown dimensions, wouldn't there? The Winchesters have been hunted by the FBI and police, but not for their hunting activities. They were mistaken for your 'normal' neighbourhood criminals. It would have been worse, I think, if the law knew more about them. They live outside government law, in many ways, and no administration would have that. On another level they (in particular Sam) were persecuted by their peers because of some of their adventures. Sam's connection to demon blood and some of his actions were not easily swallowed, as we see in episodes like Free To Be You And Me or Dark Side of the Moon. 

 
To repent of sin - a question of definition. Our heroes probably don't think of 'sin' in Christian terms. I see, though, a lot of repentance of personal errors and flaws and the wish to atone for committed mistakes. Sam, for instance, spent a great part of season five trying to atone for his actions that brought Lucifer back and, eventually, gave his life to bring about the devil's downfall and Dean, on the other hand, felt deep remorse because he thought to be responsible for his father's death in season two and to be the man who broke the first seal in season four. When they believe to  be wrong or to have been inadequate or untrue in their conduct, both Winchesters are ready to at least try to make amends. It the wronged someone publicly, they would apologize publicly. If they treated someone disrespectfully, they would make an apology to the face of that person. And that takes a lot of courage. Not many people, I believe, are capable of that. 
 
'How many times in battle have we snatched victory from the jaws of defeat? Outnumbered, outflanked, but still we triumph? With you at my side, we can do so again.'   Arthur in King Arthur (2004)
 
The time of chivalry has passed. Those ages have stepped back into the mists of history. But even today we find characters in fiction (and in real life) that embody what chivalry and being a knight once stood for. In a world that has been able to pervert human nobility to depravity under fascist regimes and displace common decency and thus often lost benevolence in the carnage, I think ideals like that are desired by many. It's no coincidence that stories evolving around chivalric heroes thrive at the box office or your neighbourhood book store, be it Lord of the Rings, The Three Musketeers, Robin Hood, King Arthur or even Indiana Jones.
 
In my life I was fortunate to meet a few people who held to those values. For me, my father was a person like that. A knight, if you like (oh, he would have loved to hear me say that about him…). A wounded warrior, an honourable man, a protector and decent human being. I hope to follow his example, hoping he'd be proud, and be a decent person. We can't change the world or save it on our own. But perhaps by trying to be the best we can, we can make it - a little bit - better.
 
 
In Supernatural, the characters get on a quest for the good of mankind, if you like. Eric Kripke often compared his show to be a lot like the story of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, as most of you, kind readers, know. Luke set out to become a Jedi Knight within a story already a modern classic, though firmly grounded in myths of old (George Lucas was clearly inspired by Lord of the Rings and the Arthur legends). Even though the storyline took additional directions, I believe from day one it was planned as a story with elements of chivalrous ethos and concepts. 
 
The crusade our heroes Sam and Dean are embarked on isn't a religious one, but it holds religious elements and sooner or later, both are confronted with more heavenly issues than they bargained for. They aren't knights in shiny armour, no, they are more often dirty than clean (and probably reek of blood, demonic entrails and the like after a hunt) and their very human flaws are always visible. We encounter two flawed young men, sometimes scared, often wounded, stubborn, angry, desperate and forlorn. And, furthermore, despite their psychologically authentic characters, they are larger-than-life. Hardly any real person would be able to endure what they have already been through without developing some serious psychiatric illness. And, well, there are clear signs of posttraumatic stress disorder… But still they hold to what they set out to do. They try to serve mankind in their own way, even though they can't expect a reward. Actually, they're doing the best to deny the fact that they are heroes, the entire time. But they are.