Abstract
The paper explores, in the perspective of the history of concepts, the patterns of conduct adopted by fighter pilots of the First World War 1914-1918. In the middle of a total war, the fighter pilots became the representatives of heroism, honor, and tradition; these notions were inherited from Homeric times, from cavalries of the Middle Age, and from the Romantic era. The paper focus in the memories of two German fighter pilots: Manfred von Richthofen and Ernst Udet.
Keywords
History of concepts; Heroic narratives; First World War; Romanticism; Fighter pilots; International politics