Chivalry was born when men found an ideal which could be imitated. Thus the knight could draw inspiration from the ideal knight and seek to imitate him. It is not surprising that knights would look to the first knight as their model who was Saint Michael, the Archangel.
Johan Huizinga explains that “The primordial feat of arms of the archangel 
Michael is glorified by Jean Molinet as ‘the first deed of knighthood and chivalrous prowess that was ever achieved.’ From the archangel ‘terrestrial knighthood and human chivalry’ take their origin, and in so far are but an imitation of the host of the angels round God’s throne” (Johan Huizinga, The Waning of the Middle Ages, Garden City, New York, Doubleday Anchor Books, 1954, p. 67).