Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales: A Character Sketch of Chaucer's 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 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 is the embodiment of the chivalric code: he is devout and courteous off the battlefield and is bold and fearless on it. 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. It would be nice to think that a person such as the knight could exist in the twentieth century. The general was made to appear as a fearless leader who really was a regular guy under the uniform. Moreover, he has never said a rude thing to anyone in his entire life (cf. Bibliography The Canterbury Tales: A Character Sketch of Chaucer's 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. During this nation's altercation with Iraq in 1991, the concept of the modest but effective soldier captured the imagination of the country. That is, the knight is "just home from service" (l. During this nation's altercation with Iraq in 1991, the concept of the modest but effective soldier captured the imagination of the country. Indeed, the knight is dressed in a common shirt which is stained "where his armor had left mark" (l. 43) and, indeed, his sketch of the knight is highly complimentary. The history of the Middle Ages demonstrates that this ideal rarely was manifested in actual conduct. In the midst of all this contenton, however, the knight remains modest and polite.
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Acceptance Essays
