Medieval Era: Knights, Chivalry, and Morals

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Can someone who has little or no morals possess chivalry? In the Medieval era, many knights lived their everyday lives based on the quintessence of chivalry: fair play, courtesy, valor, loyalty, honor, largess, and piety. Without these admirable traits, righteous knights like the ones from Chaucer’s “The Prologue” and “The Knight’s Tale” wouldn’t be able to call themselves knights in the first place. However, unlike the other two knights, the knight from Chaucer’s “The Wife of Bath Tale” doesn’t exhibit an ample amount of chivalry. The knight from "The Wife of Bath Tale" is the least moral of all the knights because of his unbelievable actions towards women. He saw a girl alone and, despite her resistance, he ravished her (Chaucer, "The Wife of Bath Tale" 184). He clearly didn't care about being chivalrous or having any morals when he molested this girl. Even though he is considered a knight or squire by King Arthur's court, the knight still had the nerve to undertake such a disgraceful and despicable action towards someone whom he was supposed to have courtesy for. His actions have not only dishonored King Arthur but every knight of the court as well. Although the knight is hopelessly adulterated in his own selfish desires, he does show a scant amount of chivalry when he says to the old lady, "You have my word" (Chaucer, "The Wife of Bath Tale" 187). By saying this, the knight shows that he possesses honor, a virtue of chivalry, the virtue of being able to keep one's word. But after being saved by what the old lady taught the knight, he tries to bail on his word when she requested him to take her as his beloved wife. "Alas woe is me! I know very well that that was my promise....

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...Arcite, the knight from Chaucer’s “The Knight’s Tale,” possesses more morals than the one from “The Wife of Bath” because he shows hints of honor, valor, and loyalty throughout the tale, especially near the end when he is at death’s door. Those two knights may be called knights, but compared to a true knight like the knight from Chaucer’s “The Prologue,” they are nothing more than peasants. Being called a knight only has true meaning when one acts like a knight. Stealing the purity from a lady like the knight from “The Wife of Bath” or breaking a sworn oath for the sake of love like the knight from “The Knight’s Tale” are not qualifications of a true knight. The one and only true knight of the three is the knight from “The Prologue.” No changes needed as this is a properly formatted Works Cited section.

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