Examples Of Knighthood In Canterbury Tales

“He was a knight indeed, a worthy man, who from the very moment he first began to ride, searching adventure, held chivalry in his heart, and honor and truth, and courtesy and grace”. This excerpt from The Canterbury Tales perfectly exemplifies what are the makings of a knight. A knight is a man who is chivalrous, honorable, and trustworthy. A knight is always guided by God and has a keen sense of justice. In The Canterbury Tales Theseus, Palamon and Arcite perfectly capture the definition of knighthood. On the other side of the spectrum is Arveragus, Aurelius, and the Magician who are the epitome of what a knight is not. Theseus proves himself to be a knight in The Knight’s Tale in multiple instances. A perfect example of this is

Most men would use whatever means necessary to get what they want, but Palamon and Arcite truly want Emily to be with whoever loves her the most. Also, Palamon and Arcite are both willing to risk their lives for Emily. Another example of how Palamon and Arcite are knights is when Theseus finds them in the woods. Theseus did not recognize Palamon and Arcite but Palamon and Arcite refuse to stoop to the level of lying to someone who has already been so generous in sparing their lives. The ultimate act of knighthood is after the duel which Arcite wins, Arcite is bucked off of his horse which causes a mortal injury. Instead of Palamon for loving the same woman as him, Arcite tells Palamont he loves him and that he wants him to take care of Emily. There is no greater act than putting someone else’s happiness above his and that is exactly what Arcite did. Not only did he tell Palamon to take care of Emily, but he also tells Emily that she will always be his wife but if she is to remarry it should be to Palamon. Even in death Arcite is selfless and puts Palamon and Emily’s happiness above his own which makes Arcite a true

Marriage is supposed to be the forming of two souls into one, but Arveragus takes advantage of Dorigen and only marries her for the title, not out of love for her. When Dorigen comes to Arveragus and tells him that she jokingly said she would marry Aurelius if her could remove all of the rocks from the coast of England and Aurelius delivered on it, Arveragus tells Dorigen she has to honor her promise to Aurelius. This is ludicrous because not only was it a joke and in no way a legally binding contract, but also she is already married to Arveragus. In wedding vows, the bride and groom promise to be faithful to each other and going to be with Aurelius would break that promise. Lastly, Arveragus does not even fight for Dorigen like Palamon and Arcite fought over Emily, he does not even care if she is with another man as long as no one knows about it so his title will remain. The worst part of it all is that Arveragus tries to act as if telling his wife to go be with another man is the knightly thing to