GRRM Quote(s) on the Ideals of Knighthood

[Mister Smikes]

I remember some quote or quote(s), which I now cannot find, in which GRRM made a pretty glowingly-positive statement about the medieval ideals of knighthood.  Can anyone help?

When and if we find it, maybe we could have a discussion about what, if anything, GRRM considers positive or negative about the ideals of knighthood.

[Mister Smikes]

Found it:

"The ideals of knighthood embody some of the finest ideals the human race has ever come up with. The reality was somewhat less than that, and often horribly so. Of course, that is true in the Seven Kingdoms as well."  GRRM Nov 2000

The SF Site: A Conversation With George R.R. Martin

[Aebram]

I think that quote sums it up quite well.  Knights were trained to be skilled fighters, and were (hopefully) also taught to use their skills to serve others, not to dominate them.  But of course, some were better than others at learning these lessons.  

Various characters illustrate the whole spectrum.  We have good ones like Barristan Selmy and Davos Seaworth, and bad ones like Gregor Clegane.  We have some in the middle, such as Jaime Lannister, who laments being made to swear so many oaths that it's impossible to obey them all.

On a related note, I know there are forum members with expertise in real medieval life here on Earth.  Can someone recommend any books, movies, or other resources on real-life knights? I, for one, would like to know more about their actual lives and deeds. 

[Nittanian]

On 5/15/2021 at 4:49 AM, Aebram said:

Can someone recommend any books, movies, or other resources on real-life knights? I, for one, would like to know more about their actual lives and deeds. 

Maybe some biographies about William Marshal? Amazon and AbeBooks have quite a few.