A Comparison Between Chaucer's Knight, and the knight from the "Wife of Bath's Tale"
In his prologue, Chaucer introduces all of the characters who are involved in this fictional journey and who will tell the tales. One of the most interesting of the characters introduced is the Knight. Chaucer refers to the Knight as "a most distinguished man" and, indeed, his sketch of the Knight is highly complimentary. Another Knight seen in the "Canterbury Tales" is the rapist knight in the Wife of Bath's Tale, who is not a very noble knight and doesn't follow a chivalric code. This knight seems more realistic as opposed to the stereotypical ideal knight that Chaucer describes in the Prologue. It is hard to believe that such a perfect knight existed during that time. Today we look back at knighthood, chivalry, and "curteisye" as romantic and unreal. It is true that a code of behavior did exist, and Chaucer presents the Knight as a real representative of the code. However the Knight in the Wife of Baths tale, is the complete opposite of this one, and violates all of the rules of Knighthood. By way of contrast the Knight in The Wife of Bath's Tale is more common during the Middle Ages, and stories of rape by knights were not uncommon. Chaucer goes against the normal chivalric ideal of a knight by presenting a knight as
After examining the introduction of the Knight's character in the General Prologue of the Canterbury Tales, Hodges said that Chaucer intended his Knight to be the one true life portrait of a knight of the 14th century - an every knight of sorts. Chaucer says that the Knight is very courageous, very prudent and very sage. He says that the Knight is, "The very pattern of a noble Knight." As all of the different tales reflect back on the characters of the pilgrims who tell them, the ideas in the Knight's Tale are reflected back on the Knight. His tale is a tale of ideal love and chivalry, and fits the character of the Knight. Furthermore, fitting the Knight's character, his tale has no incidents of vulgarity, the love is a clean love, with no hint of sensuality. The love exists on a high, platonic level. he really might have been, which is the knight presented in The Wife of Bath's Tale. The main function of the knight in medieval time was fighting. Knights were trained to fight, and to go to war. One of the ways that a Knight could earn the admirations of others, and be seen as very honorable, was to prove himself in glorious battles. The Knight's historical background of his fighting career is important for it shows that all the wars that he fought in were all religious wars in some nature and not secular. These wars can be divided into three groups. Chronologically, the first includes the long struggle to expel the Moorish invaders from Spain. The second group, (Alisaundre...Lyels....Satalye") occurred in "the Grete See" which is the eastern Mediterr
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Approximate Word count = 1061
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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