Canterbury Tales: The Knight
In his prologue, Geoffrey Chaucer introduces all of the characters who are
involved in this fictional journey and who will tell the tales. One of the more
interesting of the characters included in this introductory section is the
Knight. Chaucer initially refers to the Knight as "a most distinguished man"
and, indeed, his sketch of the Knight is highly complimentary. In this essay, I
will contrast Chaucer's ideal Knight with its modern equivalent. The Knight,
Chaucer tells us, possessed good horses, "but he was not gaily dressed". Indeed,
the Knight is dressed in a common shirt "much stained" by where his armor had
left its mark. In other words, Chaucer is telling us that the Knight has just
arrived home from service and is in such a hurry to go on his pilgrimage that he
has not even paused before embarking on it to change his clothes.
Additionally, the Knight has led a very busy life as his fighting career
has taken him to a great many places. He has seen military service in Egypt,
Lithuania, Prussia, Russia, Spain, North Africa, and Asia Minor where he always
"won the highest honor". Amazingly, even though he has had a very successful
and busy career, he remains an extremely humble man: indeed, Chaucer maintains
that he is meek "as a maiden". Moreover, Chaucer claims the Knight has never
said a rude remark to anyone in his entire life. Clearly, the Knight possesses
an outstanding character, and Chaucer gives to the Knight perhaps one of the
most flattering descriptions in the General Prologue than any other character.
His Knight can do no wrong: he is an outstanding warrior who has fought for the
'true faith' (according to Chaucer) on three continents. In the midst of all
this, however, Chaucer's Knight remains modest and polite. Thus we see him as
the embodiment of the traditional chivalric code: bold and fearless on the
battlefield, devout and courteous off it. Apart from the moral message contained
in the story, perhaps this tale of Chaucer's is of even further interest to
modern-day readers. In our twentieth-century America, we would like to think
that we simply don't have enough people in our society who we can liken to
Chaucer's Knight. Perhaps we are under the impression that our modern society
does not breed such virtuous people as existed in Chaucer's time.
We remember that Chaucer's work represented one of the few sources of
literature available to the people of England in the latter half of the
fourteenth century; The Canturbury Tales was indeed a precursory form of mass
Morte d'Arthur, a knight is injured mortally and dies. When the squire of the knight
Life during the Middle Ages was full of social change, division, and classism. This feudal society of Britain was divided into three estates. (social classes) Within the second estate was the the knight who was a soldier for the king who fought in many battles. Even though the knight is expected to have the strength and the skills to fight in battle, all knights during the Medieval period additionally had a chivalrous aspect to them. Chivalry was the honor code of a knight which included bravery, courtesy, honor, and gallantry toward women. Within the stories of the “Wife of Bath’s Tale” and “Le Morte d’Arthur”, the code of chivalry was broken by knights which show the corruption of England’s feudal society.
In the Canterbury Tales, the Knight begins the tale-telling. Although straws were picked, and the order left to "aventure," or "cas," Harry Bailey seems to have pushed fate. The Knight represents the highest caste in the social hierarchy of the fourteenth century, those who rule, those who pray, and those who work. Assuming that the worldly knight would tell the most entertaining and understandable story (that would shorten their pilgrimage to St. Thomas Becket), Harry tells the Knight to begin.
The Knight’s leadership is one quality that Chaucer values. The Knight is a wise, noble, modest, and brave man. Chaucer recognizes this when he writes, “To ride abroad had followed chivalry, / Truth, honor, generousness and courtesy. / He has done nobly in his sovereign’s war / And ridden into battle, no man more, / As well in Christian as in heathen places, / And ever honored for his noble graces” (ll. 45-50). Chaucer speaks highly of the Knight because he was well liked and the everyone looked up to him.
William served faithfully under three kings and served as regent for a fourth. His loyalty and honor never hesitated and were never compromised. His oaths of fealty and innate sense of honor governed and directed his entire life. Because of his commitments, William Marshall will remain the most outstanding knight of the Middle Ages.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight – A Test of Chivalry Essay with Outline: Loyalty, courage, honor, purity, and courtesy are all attributes of a knight that displays chivalry. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is truly a story of the test of these attributes. In order to have a true test of these attributes, there must first be a knight worthy of being tested, meaning that the knight must possess chivalric attributes to begin with. Sir Gawain is admittedly not the best knight around. He says "I am the weakest, well I know, and of wit feeblest; / and the loss of my life [will] be the least of any" (Sir Gawain, l. 354-355).
A knight's’ duty is to be loyal to the king, and follow the social code, chivalry. The knight has also fought bravely in the king’s services. He fought for the king and for the christian Land. Knights were usually sent out by the king and the church to go and enforce Christianity in a new land. He was honored in bravery for all the battles he has participated in, Such as, Alexandria when it fell, in “Prussia where he was awarded the seat of honor above all knights.” . And every battle he has fought in he always “killed his foe” This was not frowned upon to the
The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, has gone through many adaptations. Some authors decided to translate the story into verse, while others chose to write the as a narrative in prose. Although all adaptations are based off the same story, they are vastly different and can be the result of opposing interpretations of the original work. After reading a text translated by Nevill Coghill (referred to as Version I) and a text translated into a narrative by a different author (referred to as Version II), it is obvious that for each similarity they share, there are many more differences in language, syntax, and imagery as well.
In the movie A Knight’s Tale the two main knights were William Thatcher and Count Adhemar. They both showed chivalry and courtly love, but not correctly. More of chivalry was followed more and the right way. The movie is very loosely based on Geoffrey Chaucer’s book Canterbury Tales. His father always wanted him the change his stars so he would not live in poor life forever. Even though both knights were good, William was better because he followed chivalry, courtly love, and prowess in battle.
There is, however, one central idea that every knight is a servant; a knight is the one who does only good in the name of love and never brings dishonor to anyone. In this second test, Sir Gawain proves to be a true knight when he is tempted by the hostess of the Green Castle. So far nothing can turn him from his path, for he is a true knight.
In The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, the stereotypes and roles in society are reexamined and made new through the characters in the book. Chaucer discusses different stereotypes and separates his characters from the social norm by giving them highly ironic and/or unusual characteristics. Specifically, in the stories of The Wife of Bath and The Miller’s Tale, Chaucer examines stereotypes of women and men and attempts to define their basic wants and needs.
Though the Knight and the Squire are from the same feudal class and vocation, they differ in the fact that the Knight represents how society should have been; and the Squire depicts an accurate portrayal of how it actually was.Chivalry, heroism, and modesty delineate the Knight, whose upright standards and principles illustrate a true gentleman; these characteristics are not evident in the Squire. Even though the Knight has won many wars, he is careful not to brag about his ctories. The most recurrent point in the description of the Knight is the abundance and importance of his conquests; however, the Squire's battles are barely mentioned. While the entirety of the Squire's battles are summed up in two lines ("he had se some service with the cavalry / In Flanders and Artois and Picardy"), the list of the Knight's battles dominates his description (Chaucer 120). The Squire's battles are not fought in the interest of his chivalry. On the...
as brown as is a berry." (P 120 line 211) This shows that the Monk spends
So, what we have is a case of an dishonorable knight, who proved his worth in dishonorable battles, and tells stories so packed with chivalrous pomp and circumstance that it actually parodies itself. All I can say is that if Chaucer's Knight truly was an "every knight," as Laura Hodges says, and not a parody of the ideals of the time, I am very glad I live in the 20th century, not the 14th century, and that my life doesn't depend on Knights to keep me safe and happy.
One of Geoffrey's less believable main characters is the Knight, for reasons of chivalry. The knight displays many traits which make him seem almost too good to be true, and a true gentleman that rarely exists in reality. The narrator sums up the knights character by stating that "Though he were worthy, he was wys,/And of his port as meeke as is a mayde." (pg. 5, The Canterbury Tales) The knight holds four main admirable traits, making him the most liked traveler in "The Canterbury Tales," and also amplying the doubt of his realism. The reader is prepared to learn of each of his noble accomplishments and importance when the narrator remarks that" A knight ther was, and that a worthy man,/That fro the tyme that he first bigan/To ryden out, he loved chivalrye,/Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisye." (pg. 4, The Canterbury Tales) From the characters impressive introduction, it is clear that this man is the most valued and honorable traveler among the group. This perfect gentleman holds a love of ideals that are often not displayed by people. First and foremost, he believes in the ideals of chivalry, and always stays true to its principles. He also feels that one should be honest, truthful and faithful, which many people are not all of these ideals. The knight thinks one should only do what is right, and what will gain him honor and reputation. This character also believes in freedom and generosity towards all, and displays this ideal repeatedly throughout the novel. And lastly, the knight also strongly feels that any proper person should display courtesy and elegance at all times. Another aspect of this character's life which makes him seem too prestigious to be truthful is his impressive military career. He fought in the holy war, known as the Crusades and was involved in 15 "mortal battles." In the prologue, the narrator informs the reader that "Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre,/And therto hadde he riden, no man ferre,/As wel in Cristendom as hethenesse,/And ever honoured for his worthinesse.