The Knight's Tale: Social Classes In Medieval Times

The Knights Tale: Social Classes Dalton Vance

During the medieval times the social status and the rank of the citizens where very important in determining the obligations and restrictions of the people. When citizens jumped social class or stepped out of line, it was looked down upon by the other citizens. In the Knights tale some of the social class stereotypes are broken by characters such as Kate, William and Joselyn.

Tournaments during the medieval times where an experience that only people of noble birth could participate in. The advantages that citizens of noble birth could get was enough to influence William, a man not of noble birth, to impersonate a Knight in order to participate in a tournament where he could make money. William was born in Cheapside which was the “slum” part of London at this time. Being born in this poor community Williams Father sent him away to be a

squire where he could get away from the misfortunes that his father had to endure in Cheapside. As William was doing his civic duty as a squire for a Knight, who was of noble birth, the Knight died during a tournament. William decided to go against the accepted outlook of changing social classes and pose as the knight during the tournament. William makes up a lineage where he is of noble birth and participates in several more tournaments until someone finds outs who he really is. When they discover that William has lied about who he really is and that he tried to jump social classes he was arrested and thrown in jail for a crime that we think in today’s society would be a small offence.
Women during the medieval times were looked upon like they should only be in the homes and not be laborers. Some women challenged this social downgrade and tried to work in places that normally men would be the only people working there. There was one woman
named Kate who was a blacksmith, which was looked upon as a man’s job.

Kate was looked down upon by the male blacksmith in which they believed she was inferior. During one of Williams joust his armor was damaged and he had no money to get it fixed. He tried to barter with the male blacksmith but they would not take on the task. William took the task to Kate saying that the male blacksmith where talking about how bad her work was which is why she took on the task. Kate was confident in her work and decided she could challenge the social outlook that was put on women during the medieval times.

Marriage between social classes was not normally looked at as a good thing during the medieval times. Intermingling between the lower class, William, and the people of noble birth, Joselyn, was normally never going to happen. Joselyn believed that they were both in the same social class because William was riding in the tournament under the name of a noble. Joselyn would have never talked to William if she knew he was from the poor class as she only converses with people of the upper

class.
The challenges of the social class system was predominantly pressured by the people of the upper class. The challenges of women where influenced by men who believed that they were inferior to men. The obligations and the restrictions put on each citizen by their social class ranking was an influence in their everyday life.