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The Canterbury Tales

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In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, the character of the Knight is defined in “The Prologue” as a courageous, honorable, and humble man. The narrator admiringly describes the Knight’s extensive battle experience, relaying the countless wars that the Knight had bravely fought in. His clothes are even “stained and dark / With smudges where his armor had left mark” (21), exemplifying the Knight’s valiance and dedication to his work. Additionally, the narrator goes on to illustrate the Knight’s respectable and distinguishable traits, such as “chivalry, / Truth, honor, generousness, and courtesy” (20). Furthermore, the Knight is portrayed as a wise and modest man who has never spoken a single harsh word to anyone. Fitting the image of a
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There was once a time where knights were meant to be the epitome of chivalry; they symbolized honor, courage, justice and much more. However, not every knight matched the narrative of what a true knight should be. One way to teach people a certain value is through exemplary texts such as, “The wedding of King Arthur”. This story uses the knights and their actions to instruct the reader to be honorable by punishing the, shameful, dishonorable knights while rewarding the true and honorable one hence, guiding the reader towards a more honorable path. Sir Gawain does not show mercy to a defeated foe and is punished for it.

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It could be debated that the tale “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” written by Sir Thomas Malory, did not display moral courage within the text. However, it can be proven that it did in fact have moral courage, and this theme was developed through the use of characterization and conflicts. Malory uses direct and indirect characterization to reveal the theme of moral courage. He does this by using Sir Gawain’s words, actions and how he progresses as a person. In this tale, Arthur and all of the Knights of the Round Table sit around laughing, enjoying the festivities of the day with an enormous feast.

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During the Medieval times chivalry was one of the most important characteristics a knight could display. Chivalry was viewed as a moral obligation that involved bravery, honor, respect, and gallantry. Knights were expected to uphold this code or face social consequences for any infractions, with punishments ranging from humiliation to termination of their knighthood. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” presents the struggles knights faced with honoring the chivalrous code at all times. Sir Gawain, while imperfect, exhibits qualities expected of knights and embodies the internal struggle between honoring the chivalrous code and giving into selfish desires.

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The Canterbury tales are full of many tales where there are good and evil people. There are sins that are being or have been committed in the past. Some of the deadly sins mention in the The canterbury Tale is lust and pride. Lust can be found in the tale through the wife of bath who is an “expert on marriage.” The wife does not see anything wrong with being married five times because she cannot understand that it is a sinful thing to be committing adultery.

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Chivalry is a code of conduct associated with the medieval institution of knighthood which developed between 1170 and 1220. Between this time period many authors wrote about knights and warriors and how they represented the values of being loyal, courageous and their willingness to give one’s life for another or in other words being a chivalrous warrior. Some examples of these tales are Beowulf and Le Morte d’Arthur. Beowulf and Wiglaf from Beowulf and King Arthur from Le Morte d’Arthur each have two examples of them reflecting the values of being a chivalrous warrior.

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The Pearl Poet vividly illustrates the concepts of chivalry in his epic poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, where Sir Gawain is characterized as a very honorable, chivalrous knight. Throughout the poem, Gawain’s unceasing commitment to his code of chivalry provides a protection against, thus proving the value and necessity of chivalry. An integral component

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A true knight is one who demonstrates the virtues of generosity and magnanimity. In The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer uses characters such as the Knight and the Landowner who tell stories that reflect on their own personalities. The Knight tells a story about Theseus, Palamon, and Arcite, who are all true knight’s. The Landowner tells about characters like Arveragus, Aurelius, and the magician who are lacking the virtues of a true knight.

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Chaucer made the knight like he was from the Highest class of all. Chaucer wrote that the knight has won fifteen mortal battles in more than anyman. He also said that the knight was truthful, generous, and had courtesy. Chaucer described the knight as wearing a fustian tunic that was stained and dark with smudges. For the appearance, he had that the knight was not worried about looks and was very modest, and didn’t have any flaws.

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271 Words | 2 Pages

The Knight’s tale is looked upon by some critics as a shining example of Chivalry which embraces the traits of knightly virtues, honor and courtly love. Admittedly, the duel they fought to contend for their mutual lover, to some extent, reflected the valor and determination of a knight, but the hatred towards one another spawned by this deformed love illustrates Chivalry at an immense discount. Should fraternal love be excluded from Chivalry? After all, they had a close brotherly bond which was so easily demolished by the sense of competition and the craving to monopolize a flower girl. Fair play is irreproachable and typical of knights in the medieval time, but violence against brothers is far from the essential morals of Chivalry.

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545 Words | 3 Pages

(Chaucer 45-60). Chaucer gives the knight genuine praise to show the virtuous qualities he possesses. Similarly, Chaucer uses the knight in “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” to show the importance of honor. The knight shows honor when he promises the queen that he will find what  women most desire, “In the end he chose to go away / And to return after a year and a day / Armed with such answer / As there might be sent to him by god” (Chaucer, 91-94).  

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Such virtue is symbolized in his clothing choices. Under his armor he wears a simple stained tunic. Indeed, the Knight is a shining example of honesty. Similarly to the Knight, the

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551 Words | 3 Pages

The squire of Geoffrey Chaucer's, The Canterbury Tales is a talented young man. He's following in his father's footsteps and is serving as an apprentice to become a knight. As Chaucer describes the Squire more in detail, the corruptness in the knight's home is more evident. The Squire's character seems that his talents lie elsewhere than on the battlefield. But first, let's look in whether he is the perfect fit to be the next knight.

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570 Words | 3 Pages

In addition, the themes displayed in Canterbury Tales can be still seen in present day such as social satire and competition. In Canterbury Tales, the knight is described as someone who is noble and chivalrous as he should be because he has fought many battles in order to protect the king and country. He is one of the most respected character according to the third person omniscient narrator. The knight is similar to Hercules as Hercules was considered a hero just like knights were during the pilgrimage to Canterbury.

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212 Words | 1 Pages

On the contrary, during the European Renaissance the Church of England alone was a force to be reckoned with and still had a massive say on legal proceedings. Even though the Churches influence in politics was weakening the popularity of religion was growing, and so it’s evident that christianity remained a vital and essential element of European Renaissance culture. One explanation for this growth is that the Renaissance placed emphasis on knowledge and travel, and so Europeans were experiencing a lot of other new territories, cultures, peoples and religions as they ventured to new places. Europeans also began experiencing an increase in immigration as technological advancements enabled global mobility for the first time. This led an increase

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824 Words | 4 Pages

In The Knight’s Tale of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, a knight tells the tale of two knights who fight for the woman they love. The knight who tells the story exhibits characteristics such as chivalry, honor, and nobility, which is reflected throughout the story he tells. The Knight’s Tale is a story about two knights who fall in love with the same woman. Chivalry, in the knight’s sense, is a display of qualities such as courage, honor, courtesy, and justice.

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