Canterbury Tales The Knight
Canterbury Tales - The KnightCanterbury Tales - The Knight
Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, written in approximately
1385, is a collection of twenty-four stories ostensibly told by
various people who are going on a religious pilgrimage to Canterbury
Cathedral from London, England. Prior to the actual tales, however,
Chaucer offers the reader a glimpse of fourteenth century life by way
of what he refers to as a General Prologue. In this prologue, Chaucer
introduces all of the characters who are involved in this imaginary
journey and who will tell the tales. Among the characters included in
this introductory section is a knight. Chaucer initially refers to the
knight as "a most distinguished man" (l. 43) and, indeed, his sketch
of the knight is highly complimentary.
The knight, Chaucer tells us, "possessed/Fine horses, but he was
not gaily dressed" (ll. 69-70). Indeed, the knight is dressed in
a common shirt which is stained "where his armor had left mark" (l.
72). That is, the knight is "just home from service" (l. 73) and is in
such a hurry to go on his pilgrimage that he has not even paused
before beginning it to change his clothes.
The knight has had a very busy life as his fighting career has
taken him to a great many places. He has seen military service in
Egypt, Lithuania, Prussia, Russia, Spain, North Africa, and Asia Minor
where he "was of [great] value in all eyes (l. 63). Even though he has
had a very successful and busy career, he is extremely humble: Chaucer
maintains that he is "modest as a maid" (l. 65). Moreover, he has
never said a rude thing to anyone...
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