What was the role of violence and the potential for violence in medieval and Renaissance-era European notions of masculinity? Was getting in a couple brawls a boyhood rite of passage?

by screwyoushadowban

Was a man still a man if he wanted to avoid fighting? Was avoiding conscription or a press gang a black mark on someone's notion of masculinity (in the way that being a "draft dodger" sometimes was and is)?

I'm mostly interested in Britain, Ireland, and the parts of Europe that make up France and some neighboring regions today. I'm familiar with the medieval Scandinavian concept of ergi and the role of violence in gender norms but I'm curious about more southerly regions. I'm also mostly interested in the experiences and attitudes of men who weren't at the very top of the social pecking order (lower or poorer nobility, the merchant class, and commoners and the sort of thing) if that's available.

Thanks!

Georgy_K_Zhukov

I can't speak much to the role of violence in the Medieval period, but I have written a few answers which do apply to the latter part of the Renaissance era, including here and here, that you might find relevant.