Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

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There are many different pilgrims that contribute to the various stories of within The Canterbury Tales. The knight is the first pilgrim mentioned by Chaucer which is why the story is named the knights tale, this character represents his ideal Christian medieval warrior. He has participated in many crusades within his lifetime, with that he has gained much experience and many attributes. The knight is brave, loyal, and powerful because, the traits Chaucer admires him. A knight’s purpose is to live a life of honor with practices of chivalry, they force him to be loyal to their lord and their fellow knights no matter what. For that reason the knight as the narrator tells a story explaining the how two fellow soldiers that practice the code of chivalry break it for their own selfish reasons. Upon breaking this code the outcome good or bad, affect the soldiers and their honor. The breaking of this code is something the knight would never commit due to the various consequences that affect the warriors of his tale. Violating the code cause great misfortune to the individuals involved, …show more content…

Palamon and Arcite are both cousins, while also being fellow soldiers that experienced the effects of war and being imprisoned. The bond that the shared and experienced at the beginning of the story shows the chivalries side of their story. The two men were sworn to protect each other in battle, committing this act is considered chivalries and honorable. The various acts that each of the two men perform in order to gain the affection of the beautiful Emelye show the effects and actions of courtly love. For instance when Theseus tells both the warriors to raise large armies in order to fight for his daughter Emelye. These acts of courtly love between Palamon and Arcite sadly force them to violate the honorable acts of chivalry, with the foreshadowing of deadly

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    Chaucer’s primary description of the Knight and his battles is that of untarnished virtue. Chaucer says, “...he loved chivalrye, Trouthe and honour, freedom and curteisye” (General Prologue, 45-46). Chaucer describes the Knight as the perfect noble knight. The Knight’s true love is of chivalry and honor. He is depicted as a warrior who does his duty, because it is right. He believes in what he does, and isn’t a warrior for any other reason. Chaucer further portrays this quality about the Knight through the battles which he has been involved in. The Knight was never involved in a battle of secular nature. The Knight only fought in religious wars. Chaucer once says, “...And foughten for our faith at Tramissene...” (General Prologue, 62). This line implie...

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