The Code Of Chivalry In The Knight's Tale

When you think of a knight what do you picture? Do you picture a fragile, cowardly, dishonorable man? Of course not, you picture a strong man who is willing to give up his life for the kingdom. In “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” retold by Susan Thompson, a legend is told of, Sir Gawain on his quest to protect his king and fellow knights’ honor. After the Green Knight had challenged them and embarrassed King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Sir Gawain took up the challenge in an act of true chivalry. In this legend about a battle of knighthood between Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain is the better knight. He is a true romantic hero and follows the Knight’s Code of Chivalry, by serving the liege lord, King Arthur, in valor

Elements of the medieval romance are evident in the movie First Knight. As such Chivalry is clearly evident through the action of Lancelot in the First Knight. This is shown when he goes out to rescue Lady Guinevere from the ambush in the forest and from Malagant castle where she is being held captive after being kidnaped in Camelot, Therefore, this is a clear depiction of chivalry in where the knight goes out to save the damsel in distress from danger. Another act of chivalry is when Lancelot embarks into the gauntlet which is a contraption that test one’s courage, bravery, and skill to be able to pass. Therefore, Lancelot goes through the gauntlet without any protection to display his skill and bravery to impress Guinevere. Consequently,

In two stories there is a code that knights follow. Chivalry is the code that they follow. The code says that a knight should be a brave warrior, a good christian, and selflessly fighting for justice. The knights are supposed to fight for their king and queen. In the stories Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and from Morte d’Arthur they show the idea about chivalry.

The women in Le Morte d’Arthur and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, were part to blame for knights breaking the code of chivalry. Knights in these stories broke the code of chivalry by treating women in a poor manner, not obeying their lieges, and keeping secrets from their kin. The code of chivalry was an honorable code followed by knights in which they had to respect women, obey their liege, and show bravery in battle. Sometimes the women tried to tempt the knights, resulting in affairs. Sometimes these women try to exploit a knights chivalry. The women in these stories had an influence that steered knights into breaking the code of chivalry that caused some battles and knightly dishonors.

There are many misunderstandings with the word chivalry, one of them being that the knight never actually swore an oath of chivalry until later in the middle ages. Chivalry was a word that was created by French-speaking English nobility, during the medieval period. The word originates from the French word cheval meaning horse, and the French word Knecht meant knight, by putting the two words together, we get the word chevalier which meant horseman. During the early medieval ages, a knight was known as a chevalerie which meant horseman. Then the lords, who ruled over the

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a classic example of the behaviors of a medieval knight and how the code of chivalry works within the courts and towards women. When Sir Gawain visits Bertiak’s castle, he respectfully treats the elderly woman and Bertiak’s beautiful young wife with the same level of dignity. “To the elder in homage he humbly bows; the lovelier he salutes with a light embrace. They welcome him warmly, and straightaway he asks to be received as their servant, if they so desire” (lines 973-976). The treatment of women is an essential part of the code of chivalry. If Sir Gawain had only given attention to the pretty young woman, then he would not have been abiding by the knight’s code of honor. He also keeps the code of chivalry intact when he says “Lover have I none, nor will have, yet awhile” (line 1790). Sir Gawain says this to Bertiak’s attractive wife, when she tries seducing him in the bedroom, which proved Sir Gawain’s loyalty to Bertiak, upholding his chivalric code. Honorable Sir Gawain demonstrates the knightly code of chivalry throughout the poem.

    Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a tale that takes place in the medieval period. During this time period, knights were considered very common and were expected to follow one main code of law, chivalry. This code mainly stated that a knight must be loyal to his king, honest, modest, and brave. Chivalry is practiced in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in the form of tests that are given to Gawain to reveal his true character, and what is valued most to him. Throughout these tests, Sir Gawain proves that he values his honor over his life and will not fall to temptations displayed to him.

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.

“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.

In??Sir Gawain and The Green Knight?,?the author portrays the nature and code of chivalry as well as the humanistic features of the knights. Knights were but an extension of the king. They were not allowed to do inappropriate things as they were considered the representatives of Arthur. They were meant to treat women appropriately. Chivalry was their main feature.

Chivalry and courtly love were two major parts of being a knight in the medieval time period. Chivalry was the code that knights lived by and consisted of bravery, unselfishness, and other traits of being a good protector. Courtly love is the love between a knight and a woman that he was attracted to. In the movie, A Knight’s Tale, William has courtly love with Jocelyn, but so does Adhemar. They fight for her heart so that she can see which one she wants to love and adore. William conveyed more knightly traits than Adhemar through his love for Jocelyn, showing mercy when he was jousting the prince, and playing the role of a knight.

The conventions of courtly love stem from the precise chivalric code of knights in the Middle Ages and passionate romances of European medieval folklore. Fantastic tales of dauntless knights and their fair damsels, often set in King Arthur’s kingdom

By definition, “chivalry is the code of honor that knights must live up to, and two of its main points include fidelity and liberality (Lecture).” One of the first acts of chivalry in Yvain was when “Yvain rushed to the forest with the spring to fight the ‘unbeatable knight’ that put Gawain to shame as soon as Gawain told Yvain and the other knights about him” (de Troyes pgs. 15-16). This act was considered honorable because of the reason behind Yvain going to fight the knight, which was to avenge Gawain’s embarrassment. In addition to this, throughout the entirety of the novel, Yvain gives his time and his body to a multitude of lords, nobles, and ladies in order to fend off intruding knights and beasts. This is a great example of liberality, because, once again, he is being very generous to his hosts by giving them his swordsmanship, while they, in return, feed him, house him, and clothe him. However, the best example of chivalry in Yvain appears when “Gawain and Yvain are fighting each other. When they realize this, neither one wants to fight any longer or be declared victorious due to each’s honor and humility (de Troyes pg. 96).” All in all, there were numerous portrayals of chivalry in Yvain. Yet, this was not the only characteristic that the medieval romance genre

Chivalry is portrayed many times throughout the medieval story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The code of Chivalry is mainly what defines, or establishes, King Arthur and his knightly court. It is the one object that keeps them mended together. There are

The Seat Perilous, the last chair to be filled at the table is described as “if anyone who was unworthy sat in the chair, he would die or suffer a terrible misfortune” (par 4). A foolish fate for the unworthy, it mocks the code of chivalry. When the men gathered spoke out loud the Knighthood of the Round Table they kissed the hilt of their swords and raised their voices. The author conveys through this tradition that them kissing their swords is irony because while they are known as The Ancient and Honorable Companions of the Round Table, their “initiation” process is mocking them and portraying them as childish. When the story’s setting is set up and we read of the Green Knight's challenge to the Knights of the Round Table, the group takes it as a joke, which is the author’s way of showing that while the men were indeed knights, they didn’t take their job seriously. This indication highlights the joking