Monday, December 23, 2019

The Heroic and Honorable Knight in The Canterbury Tales...

Knights are one of the most mistaken figures of the medieval era due to fairytales and over exaggerated fiction novels. When medieval knights roamed the earth, it was known that they were only human and, like humans, had faults. These knights did not always live up to the standards designated by society. However, in The Canterbury Tales, the knight is revealed as a character that would now be considered a knight in shining armor, a perfect role model in how he acts and what he does. Modern day people see them as chivalrous figures instead of their actual role as mounted cavalry soldiers. As time passes, the idea of what a knight is changes from a simple cavalry soldier to a specific type of behavior. Historically, knights were not very†¦show more content†¦In The Canterbury Tales, the knight is a modern type of knight. Although the description of this character’s personality is vague, it is not hard for modern day people to visualize him. In the prologue, it mentions that the knight follows the five basic ideals that a good knight should possess: â€Å"chivalry, Truth, honour, generousness, and courtesy† (Chaucer 4). The knight fought in the Crusades, wars in which Europeans traveled by sea to non-Christian places and tried to convert people’s culture by brute force, which was considered noble and brave hearted. From his love of the five basics ideals previously mentioned to his impressive military career, the knight is a perfect example of how a knight should be represented. Indirectly, the tale is discussing both the knight and the idea of how a knight should be. The tale does not describe much about the knight as in physical appearances and charac teristics of this knight but as the tale comes to an end, the book starts to unfold how this story connects with this character. The tale itself is not important yet it’s what the tale represents that is important, such as pursuing courtly love, risking death, and respecting women. All of the previously mentioned attributes are ones that knights should possess to achieve expected standards. A knight’s characteristics are usually described by using power and authority but, in actuality, the knight is just a servant to a higher authority. AnShow MoreRelatedThe Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer1073 Words   |  5 PagesIn The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer introduced and described a variety of fictional characters that lived in the Middle Ages. It was the time period that European civilians were governed by a system called feudalism. Where kings were the head of the system and everyone was categorized in social classes. In the prologue of The Canterbury Tales the first character introduced was the knight. Geoffrey Chaucer depicts the knight correctly by characterizing him as a chivalrous and honorable man, whichRead More Anglo-Saxon Values Essay488 Words   |  2 Pages Throughout the Anglo-Saxon and Middle Age periods the main characters always had a similar established value; honor. This value is prominent in Beowulf, â€Å"The Seafarer†, and The C anterbury Tales. Each of the main characters portray honor either to himself, his followers, his king, and/or his God. These poems are the different aspects of honor intertwined together to form the most prevailing value during this time frame. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Beowulf is a story of a brave warrior who fightsRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer1582 Words   |  7 Pages Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the Canterbury tales a collection of short tales in the 14th century. The compilation of stories are told by different characters within the narrative as part of a game proposed by the host. Each individual must tell two stories on their journey and two stories on their way back. Each story tells some aspects of English life during the time and often added satire like qualities to the English life. In particular Chaucer often tells stories with elements of the relationshipRead MoreChivalry And Courtly Love In The Knights Tale1140 Words   |  5 PagesIn The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer tells â€Å"The Knight’s Tale†, a story of the two knights Palamon and Arcite who fall deeply in love with Princess Emily, a member of Theseus’ kingdom. Even though both knights are imprisoned within a tower, each finds a way to escape jail and try to win Emily. Ultimately, this leads to a duel between the two knights for which the prize is the hand of Emily. Chaucer uses the knights to reflect the very male-oriented time period through the strong chivalry andRead MoreLiterature Reflecting Religious and Political Ideals3433 Words   |  14 Pagesa pagan hero with supernatural powers who had been turned into a Christian knight and holy warrior by the time the story was written down in the 9th Century. His mission is also Christ-like in that he sacrifices his life to defend the people against Grendel and his mother the Dragon or Devil. The Green Knight is a story from the High Middle Ages (1000-1300 AD), which is commonly thought of as an age of chivalry and knights in shining armor. In popular culture, this remains the most popular and persistentRead MoreEssay about A Knights Tale1672 Words   |  7 PagesThe Canterbury Tales begin with The Knight’s Tale; which chronicles the tragic love triangle of Palamon, Arcite and Emilye. The following tale, which is told by the Miller, is also a love triangle, and is in many ways si milar to the Knight’s tale. However, the Miller’s tale sharply contrasts the Knight’s, almost parodying it. The Knight’s tale is a tragic of nobility, heritage and focuses heavily on mythology and astrology, whereas The Miller’s tale is a comedy, focusing on the common-man and hisRead MoreDiscuss the Relationship Between Appearance and Reality and the Issues This Involves in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and ‘the Franklin’s Tale’.2721 Words   |  11 Pagesrelationship between appearance and reality and the issues this involves in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and ‘The Franklin’s Tale’. Judging a Book by its Cover The appearance of a situation, person or place may sometimes be at total odds with its actual reality, and thus change previous conceptions held of a thing or person. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Chaucer’s The Franklin’s Tale, not only are there illusions throughout the tale’s themselves, but the reality of the story and itsRead More Epic of Beowulf Essay1818 Words   |  8 Pageswill refer to all of these ideas, the way it did when the term was introduced into english. If all things are to be considered this short essay would turn into a book. I would like to compare and contrast Beowulf, Lanval, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight with some of the modern day creations especially in looking at the values, and belief systems in all of the three â€Å"classic† stories. I will apologize in advance to those who will read this and are not familiar to the texts that are mentioned, due

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.