Chivalry refers to the medieval institution of knighthood and, most especially, the ideals that were (or have become) associated with it. It is usually, for example, associated with ideals of knightly virtues, honour and courtly love. The word comes from the French word "chevalier" which means "knight". The English word "cavalier" comes from the same root. Wikipedia
The definitive Wikipedia entry for Chivalry. Wikipedia is the biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chivalry