Historical Accuracy Of A Knight's Tale

Tournaments during the medieval ages are not just to show look stunning but, to show how powerful from that particular castle. It also is used for entertaining other kingdoms with jousting. Tournaments can also be used to sharpen one’s skill set. Tournaments can help a knight in battle with the skills he learned from the tournaments.

The nobles from military decent (the sword) have an extensive lineage that allows them to perform certain tasks as described by Jean de La Taille in the poem “The Retired Courtier,” the words speak of the need to be a noble, to be a pure

Several fictional works set in Arthurian times contain numerous similar elements, whether that be in the structure of its plot or encounters with mythical beings; however, one particular element of these tales stands out among the rest, that being the knights in the stories. Both chivalrous and virtuous, knights are the very embodiment of Arthurian mythology, and are a staple in many Arthurian legends. Their courageous acts of selflessness and loyalty to their lords only add to their reputation, inspiring many authors throughout the ages to capture their likeness in various texts; however, only one author has been able to truly capture what it means to be a knight, that author being the “Gawain Poet.” Also known as the “Pearl Poet,” the “Gawain Poet” is most known for his chivalric romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The story revolves around a central conflict in which the protagonist, Sir Gawain, must fulfill an agreement with a mysterious knight. Gawain’s “debt” must be repaid exactly one year after their agreement, and if Gawain should fail to do so, his honor and reputation would be tarnished. It is through his struggles that Gawain not only grows as a character, but also shows what it means to truly be a knight. Sir Gawain is the epitome of a knight because he is not only chivalrous and virtuous, but also stays true to his word in the face of danger.

“The Knights Tale” is the first tale in Geoffrey Chaucers “The Canterbury Tales”. The story introduces various typical aspects of the knighthood such as chivalry, ethical dilemmas, and courtly love. Knights all have this characteristic which they call the code that they portray through out the tale. In Geoffrey Chaucers “The Knights Tale” is an effort on the knight’s part to preserve a virtuous code.

It shows the frivolity and overall stupidity of some knightly traditions. Merlyn even calls it "A lot of brainless unicorns swaggering about and calling themselves educated just because they can push each other off a horse with a bit of stick!" This is because the jousting is rather pathetically clumsy and could actually have one of them injured for little reason. STRUCTURE The book itself is within the culmination of The Once and Future King, which is 639 pages long.

Jousters were the rock stars of the middle ages. They were the overpaid footballers who people would argue about in pubs and cheer on in the stadium (just like football in today’s world). And that’s what is done so well in this film. The matches are full of action, with some great useage of slow motion, and Helgeland really highlights the potential danger of charging at someone with a pointy stick. The rock star theme is furthered by some fantastic merging of moderns with traditional music. Queen’s We Will Rock You is used to get the audience straight into the right mindset. One of my favourite uses of pop music in a movie because it’s done so well. Check it out for yourself:

In the movie, there are two men competing for the same woman, just as Arcite and Palamon did. However, in the movie, it is William Thatcher (Heath Ledger) who competes with Count Adhemar (Rufus Sewell) over Lady Jocelyn, where William (a squire) is pretending to be a knight so as to compete in the jousting tournaments and Count Adhemar is the reigning world champion of jousting. While Arcite and Palamon are imprisoned physically in a tower, William and Adhemar face less literal imprisonments of their own: Adhemar gets called to battle so he has to take a hiatus from the jousting circuit and trying to win over Lady Jocelyn, and William is continually trying to hide the fact that he is a squire rather than a knight so as to compete and to meet Lady Jocelyn’s standards. In the film, the Black Prince of Wales—Prince Edward—has parallels to the wise and fair Duke Theseus. When William is found out to be a squire rather than a knight, he is imprisoned and cannot compete in the jousting world championships; however, Prince Edward and William had jousted in a tournament earlier in the circuit (after Adhemar had backed down because of Edward’s prince status), which Edward respected, so he returned the favor by making William a knight so he could be exonerated and compete. Both Duke Theseus and Prince Edward play mediator roles in their respective stories. Count Adhemar and the newly-knighted Sir William end up essentially jousting for Lady Jocelyn because Adhemar has entered arrangements with Jocelyn’s father to marry her even though she and William are very much in love with each other. William ends up defeating Adhemar and seals his fate to love

During the Medieval Era, their was not much to do for entertainment besides watch the tournaments that were held all over Western Civilizations. In modern times, many people know what jousting and sword fighting are but not like the way “A Knights Tale” show them. This movie was made in 2001 and was soon a crowd favorite. The modernization of a dark age era gave the audience entertainment through action, love and comedy. The tournaments were very exciting during this era, specifically the 14th century. This movie had many mixed reviews between historians and regular movie goers. There are a lot of great aspects of this movie but also many critiques historically. The movie is a portrayal of the Medieval games which helps a more modern audience

In the Medieval Period, knights dedicated their lives to following the code of chivalry. In Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, a number of characters performed chivalrous acts to achieve the status of an ideal knight. Their characteristics of respect for women and courtesy for all, helpfulness to the weak, honor, and skill in battle made the characters King Arthur, King Pellinore, and Sir Gryfflette examples of a what knights strove to be like in Medieval society. Because of the examples ofchivalry, Le Morte d’Arthur showed what a knight desired to be, so he could improve theworld in which he lived.

In Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem, The Knight’s Tale, the author encapsulates chivalrous characteristics in his telling of a battle for love. In its fundamental form, chivalry idealizes a knight’s conduct, both on and off the battlefield (Gregory-Abbott). Chaucer employs this “heroic code [of] bravery, loyalty, and service to one's lord” to illustrate the idillic knight throughout the narrative (Rossignol). Chaucer’s poem, The Knight’s Tale, exhibits the ideals of chivalry in the form of two knights, desperately in love with the same woman, and a wise Duke who embodies the voice of reason. Each knight upholds honor through compassion, troths, and heroism on the battlefield, despite their afflictions with each other.

Peasants were not allowed to participate in such events. Nobleman, knights and, on occasion, royally were the only allowed to participate. If you were not in one of these mentioned categories, and you injured or even killed one who as associated in one, you would be at risk to be put in the stocks, tortured and even put to death. William, who is a peasant, takes up the identity of his lord who as died, of what is assumed is dysentery, in order to win the purse to purchase food for himself and his companions to survive. After competing in the match and winning, William decides to take up the persona of Ulrich von Liechtenstein of Gelderland.

It involved activities such as mock battles and jousting competitions. Writing about the ‘Tournament at Saint-Inglevert’ Froissart claimed great occasion , where both French and English enjoyed themselves. He claimed that both sides stated that there were no injuries. Very typically on this occasion, it seems that Froissart's account was romanticised. The tournament was, according to Malcolm Vale baffling because of the how artificial it was. However, contemporaries such as Henry VII believed that the tournament gave men the chance to learn the ‘exercise of the deeds of arms’. The contemporary view of tournaments, in general, is one of praise. They were seen as entertainment and quite possibly useful too. Many contemporaries do seem to concur that the tournament was a useful exercise from a combat point of view and there must be some truth to this. The tournament certainly would not have prepared a knight for a full-scale battle, but it would have thought them essential skills such as how to joust and wield a sword. Either way, the tournament as described by Froissart was a part of the chivalric society, although we may question his claim that nobody was injured during the tournament he wrote about. It is fact that tournaments were great social occasions that were set up as methods of

Initially, when William fakes his identity, it was inaccurate. The major requirement of being able to participate in the jousting tournament is being a noble. William, who is a peasant, can’t partake in a jousting tournament. The people who checked his papers should have investigated more because nobles and high-class people are known. Moreover, the most unrealistic thing is the music played. During the dance where Jocelyn and William started to dance there was music that didn’t suit the dancing style. Normally, the use of a classical instrumental Middle Age song would have been perfect. To add, the unsuitable music was used in the beginning of the movie, which could have been changed. If they changed it into a Middle Age instrumental song, then it would have introduced and familiarized the watcher with what time and period the movie would be based on. To sum up, A Knight’s Tale could have improvements in order to make the movie much more realistic and based on the theme, which is the Middle

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.

Medieval sports of the middle ages were a source of public entertainment designed to increase the overall fitness and military experiences of men and woman. These games, called béhourds, were fought by rival knights and soldiers either on horses or the ground. This was in accordance with the feudal practice that required Lords to bring forth soldiers to protect the king in exchange for ownership of land. Knights that participated in these sports used weapons such as swords, lances, daggers, and battle axes, and thus men were often killed or brutally wounded (“Medieval Sports”). These sporting contests also made it possible for men to move up in the ranks of the Pyramid of Power. Those who performed heroically in battle or were triumphant in competition would become wealthy and considered a part of the nobility, whereas, the peasant class received as little as a purse for their excellence. Similar to the fame experienced by modern-day professional football players, medieval jousters were subject to the same treatment. However, different games were enjoyed by either class of men, therefore stardom was concentrated more toward the nobility. Despite this, many of the sports enjoyed during this time are still around today, some of which have been included in the world famous Olympic Games.