"No true knights": Deconstructing the Chivalric Ideal in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire

This presentation aims to analyse the deconstruction of chivalric masculinity in A Song of Ice and Fire. More specifically, I examine how George R. R. Martin interrogates the myth of knighthood through the contrasting figures of Jaime Lannister and Duncan the Tall, and how his work presents a critique of the chivalric ideal, exposing the disjunction between its mythologised values. Indeed, I shall argue that Martin dismantles the traditional association between knighthood and moral virtue by revealing how institutions such as the Kingsguard function less as embodiments of honour than as instruments of power. Through Jaime Lannister, whose reputation as the Kingslayer marks him as a failed knight, the narrative exposes the impossibility of reconciling personal ethics with absolute loyalty. His actions, while condemned within the chivalric framework, ultimately reveal the moral contradictions at its core. In contrast, Duncan the Tall appears to approximate the ideal knight, embodying humility, compassion, and a commitment to justice. However, his narrative similarly underscores the fragility of chivalric values within a corrupt and hierarchical society, where honour is frequently subordinated to political necessity. I shall conclude that knighthood in Martin’s work operates as a broken myth that fails to sustain its own promises.