Chaucers Canterbury Tales - Knights Tale :: Chaucer Knights Tale Essays

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 provoke 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 Baths Tale, who is not a very noble knight and doesnt follow a chivalric code. This knight seems more hardheaded 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 mainstay 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 Knig hthood. By way of contrast the Knight in The Wife of Baths Tale is more special K 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 he authentically might have been, which is the knight presented in The Wife of Baths Tale. As all of the different tales reflect back on the characters of the pilgrims who tell them, the ideas in the Knights 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 Knights 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. In the article Costume empty words in the Knights Portrait Chaucers Every-Knight and his Bismotered Gyphon, by Laura F. Hodges, featured in the April 1995 edition of the Chaucer Review, Hodges examines the reasons behind Chaucers decisions on the clothing of his Knight. Hodges said that the situation that the Knight was wearing soiled clothing is an allusion to the fact that the knight was soiled religiously. However I think his shirt was much stained by where the fit had left his mark, and he just arrived from service and went directly on his pilgrimage.