The Knight

The Knight is a pilgrim in The Canterbury Tales. Of all 24 tales, "The Knight's Tale" is the second-longest.

Note: The version of The Canterbury Tales ''that is cited here is "Interlinear Translations of Some of The Canterbury Tales". A link is provided in the bibliography.''

The General Prologue
The knight first appears in "The General Prologue". He is described by Chaucer as loving chivalry, fidelity, generosity and courtesy. This is followed by a list of the military campaigns and battles that the knight has been in: Alexandria, Lithuania, Russia, Grenada, Morocco, Ayash, Atalia - the list goes on and on from about line 51 to 66. He is brave, but also "meek as is a maid" (line 69), and has never said a rude word to anyone. Chaucer ends his description by declaring the knight to be "perfect" (line 72).

The Knight's Tale
The pilgrims draw straws over who tells the first tale and the knight is picked.

Briefly told, the tale is about two knights, Arcite and Palamon, who are captured in a battle by a duke called Theseus. In prison in Athens, they both fall in love with Theseus's sister-in-law, Emelye, and become bitter enemies as a result. After some years, Arcite is freed and exiled. Driven mad with desire for Emelye, he returns to Athens in disguise and becomes a servant in Emelye's household in order to stay close to her. Eventually, Palamon escapes and is prepared to leave Athens, but when he overhears the disguised Arcite singing about love, he stops to fight him. Theseus catches them duelling and, at the behest of his wife and Emelye, he arranges for them to fight in a tournament for Emelye’s hand in marriage. Arcite wins, but is immediately struck down by the god Saturn, so Palamon gets to marry Emelye.

A more detailed summary can be found below.

The Pardoner's Tale
After "The Pardoner's Tale", the pardoner accidentally insults the host and they begin to fight. As the other pilgrims start to laugh and cheer, the knight intervenes, forcing the pardoner and host to kiss and make up, literally: "At once they kissed, and rode forth their way" (line 968).

The Nun's Priest's Prologue
The knight opens "The Nun's Priest's Prologue" by interrupting "The Monk's Tale". He begs him to stop because it is getting too depressing to listen to.

Introduction: the capture of Arcite and Palamon (lines 859-1032)
Theseus is the duke of Athens. He is a powerful, wise, and chivalrous knight who has conquered many countries, including Scithia, after which he wedded the queen of Scithia, Ypolita. The knight interrupts his own tale to briefly reflect on the free supper he could win if he has the best tale (line 891). Then, he continues. One day, Theseus is riding home when he comes across a group of women who are dressed in black and wailing. Theseus' immediate reaction is that they are envious of his glory and honor, but then asks what is wrong and why they are clad in black (lines 905-911). The eldest lady assures him that they are not envious, but that they have been wronged. She explains that she was wife to king Cappaneus of Thebes before her husband and those of all the other wailing women were killed in a siege. Now, king Creon, a tyrant, rules over Thebes, and the weeping women were unable to retrieve their husbands' dead bodies for burial.

Moved by this story, Theseus swears to avenge them. He rides to Thebes with an army, kills king Creon, takes the city and returns the husbands' bones to their grieving widows. After the battle, scavengers find two knights lying among the dead, Arcite and Palamon. They are badly wounded but still alive. They take the two knights back to Theseus, who imprisons them in Athens without a ransom.

Arcite and Palamon fall in love with Emelye (lines 1033-1186)
Years pass. One day, Emelye is out in the garden, picking white and red roses for a flower crown while singing. The garden is right next to the tower where Arcite and Palamon are imprisoned. By chance, Palamon sees Emelye: "And with that he turned pale and cried, "A!" as though he were stabbed unto the heart" (lines 1078-9). Hearing his cry, Arcite comes to his aid, assuming that he is despairing at being in prison. Palamon scoffs at this and tells Arcite that he saw Emelye and fell in love. Arcite sees Emelye and he too falls in love with her. When he expresses this, Palamon becomes angry because "I loved her first" (line 1146). They argue, making grand speeches about love.

From then on, they are enemies.

Arcite's release (lines 1187-1354)
One day, Theseus is visited by his childhood friend, the duke Perotheus. According to the knight-narrator, they love each other more than they do any other man, to the point that if one died, the other would have gone to hell and back for him. Parotheus is also friends with Arcite, and the former asks Theseus to let Arcite go. Theseus relents and lets Arcite go without a ransom. However, there is one condition: if Arcite is ever found in Theseus' land, he will be executed.

Arcite is upset about this. He "weeps, wails, cries piteously" (line 1221), declaring his exile from Athens to be an even worse fate than life imprisonment because he does not get to see Emelye anymore. He regrets ever having known Perotheus and is jealous of Palamon being allowed to remain imprisoned in Athens because at least he can see Emelye there. He continues in this vein from line 1219 to 1274.

Meanwhile, Palamon is envious of Arcite's freedom. He imagines that Arcite will probably besiege Athens in order to get Emelye while he himself will die in prison. He berates the gods (Roman gods like Saturn and Juno) for his fate and for his being treated like an animal. He muses upon how the innocent often get punished while the guilty go free.

The knight-narrator then addresses his audience, asking them who has it worse: Arcite or Palamon?

Arcite's return to Athens and Palamon's escape (lines 1354-1487)
In Thebes, Arcite is wasting away with desire for Emelye, "So that he became lean and dry as is a stick; his eyes sunken and grisly to behold, his hue sickly yellow and pale as cold ashes, and he was solitary and ever alone" (lines 1362-5). After a year or two, the god Mercury appears to him in a dream and tells him to go to Athens. Arcite gets up to look in a mirror, and, realising that his face is completely different since he last was in Athens, decides to go to Athens in disguise as a poor labourer. He takes a squire along, also in disguise.

He then spends the next two years as a page in Emelye's household under the name Philostrate. His noble manner earns him renown, and eventually, Theseus makes him a squire. Arcite spends another three years like this.

For Palamon, it has now been seven years since Arcite was released. On the 3rd of May of that seventh year, Palamon, with the help of a friend, escapes from prison by drugging the jailor. He intends to hide in a grove all day and continue to Thebes by night, with the goal of raising an army and waging war on Theseus, and hopefully win Emelye in the process.

The fight in the grove (lines 1488-1828)
While Palamon is hiding in the grove, Arcite rides by on a warhorse, although Palamon does not recognize him. Arcite wanders around the grove, singing, and eventually he sits down and sighs. He talks to himself about how he still pines for Emelye and feels shame at hiding his name, going as Philostrate instead of Arcite, and working for his mortal enemy, Theseus. Thus, Arcite inadvertently reveals his identity to Palamon.

Palamon leaps out of the bushes, shouting at Arcite and calling him a traitor. They declare their ill intent towards each other and agree to meet the next day for a duel over Emelye. Arcite also offers to bring armour and bedding for Palamon, which the latter accepts.

The next morning, the two knights meet and begin to fight. Meanwhile, Theseus decides to go on a hunt for a hart that morning. During the hunt, he spots Arcite and Palamon fighting and intervenes, demanding to know what is going on and why they are duelling without a judge present. Palamon immediately confesses everything, telling him that they are Arcite and Palamon and that they both did everything that they did because they love Emelye. He ends by saying "we have both deserved to be slain" (line 1741). Theseus agrees with this assessment.

In response, the queen, Ypolita, her sister, Emelye, and all the ladies in their company, begin to weep, fall on their knees, and ask Theseus to show Arcite and Palamon mercy. Theseus agrees to this and decides to show compassion to Arcite and Palamon. Instead of executing them, he applauds their dedication to love. He decides that their current wounds are payment enough.

Theseus' settlement of the matter (lines 1829-1880)
Theseus declares that one of the two knights will marry Emelye. He tells Arcite and Palamon to come back in fifty weeks' time with a hundred knights each. The winner of that battle (either by killing the other or driving him out of the lists) gets to marry Emelye. Theseus is to be the judge.

Arcite and Palamon thank Theseus heartily and go home to raise their respective armies.

Descriptions of the lists and chapels (lines 1881-2094)
While Arcite and Palamon raise armies, Theseus has the lists constructed. This is the arena where Arcite and Palamon's armies will compete.

It is described in the following way: "The circumference was a mile around, walled with stone, and surrounded by a ditch. Round was the shape, in the manner of a circle, full of tiers of seats, the height of sixty paces, that when a man was set on one tier of seats, he did not hinder his fellow from seeing. Eastward there stood a gate of white marble, westward just such another on the opposite (side)." (lines 1887-94)

"He has eastward, upon the gate above, in worship of Venus, goddess of love, had made an altar and a chapel; and on the westward gate, in memory of Mars, he has made just such another, [...] And northward, in a turret on the wall, of white alabaster and red coral, a chapel, rich to look upon, in worship of Diana of chastity" (lines 1893-1912).

Following this, the knight-narrator eloquently describes the chapels of Venus, Mars and Diana. Each is decorated in a very distinct way that reflects the attributes of each god: Venus' evokes feelings and traits associated with love and passion; Mars' is intense and gory, like war; and Diana's is characterised by scenes of hunting and animals.

Descriptions of Arcite and Palamon (lines 2095-2189)
Palamon and Arcite's respective 100 men arrive in Athens. The knights are described as being among the most noble in history, and they are all very excited to be there to fight for a lady (presumably Emelye).

First Palamon, then Arcite, are described. Both are magnificent and have large retinues that include both knights and wild animals. However, they are extremely distinct from each other in appearance. Overall, Palamon appears to embody a warlord ideal, whereas Arcite seems to embody a courtly lover ideal.

Palamon, Emelye, and Arcite pray to their respective gods (lines 2190-2437)
After feasting all night, Palamon goes to the temple of Venus in the early hours before dawn. He says that he does not care whether he wins or loses the tournament, only that he may have his love, Emelye. He completes the ritual and the statue of Venus shakes, signifying that his prayer has been accepted.

At dawn, Emelye wakes up and goes to the temple of Diana. There, her maidens prepare the ritual and Emelye bathes in the temple. She says that she does not wish to ever have a lover, marry or have children. She wishes Palamon and Arcite to be friends again and to no longer desire her. The fires that she lit in the temple briefly go out and appear to drip blood. Diana appears and tells Emelye that she must marry one of the two knights because the high gods have decided that. Emelye is upset and leaves.

Finally, Arcite goes to the temple of Mars. He completes his ritual and appeals to Mars on the basis of that Mars knows what it feels like to lose in love, referencing the Greek myth where Mars loves Venus but the latter must marry Vulcan instead. Arcite asks Mars for victory in the lists. Mars accepts the prayer.

Venus and Mars argue and Saturn intervenes (lines 2438-2482)
Venus and Mars argue because both have made promises to their respective champions. Saturn intervenes, declaring that Palamon will have Emelye, as agreed with Venus, and Arcite will have victory, as agreed with Mars.

The tournament and Arcite's death (lines 2483-2819)
Everyone goes to the lists. The knights are in all their splendour and people debate on who will win. A herald calls for silence and lays out the rules of the fight. When he is done, everyone cheers and trumpets play as the contestants arrive at the lists along with Theseus, queen Ypolita, and Emelye. They go to opposite ends of the list with their knights.

The battle is brutal: bones are smashed, helms hewn, spears splintered (although in line 2708 it is established that no one dies). There are several rounds and Arcite and Palamon unhorse each other several times. In the end, Palamon is captured, thus losing the battle. Theseus declares Arcite to be the winner.

Meanwhile, Venus laments at her disgrace. Saturn gets Pluto to send an infernal fury out of the ground, distressing Arcite's horse and causing Arcite to fall onto his head, badly wounding him. He is described to be poisoned, which could be interpreted as his wound becoming infected. Arcite explains his feud with Palamon to Emelye, ending with that Palamon is worthy of her love. Then, he dies.

Emelye and Palamon are distraught at Arcite's passing and both wail.

Arcite's funeral (lines 2820-2966)
The knight-narrator then muses upon death and how people grieve and deal with it.

Theseus decides to make a tomb for Arcite. They have an open casket in Theseus' hall and then burn Arcite's body in the grove where he and Palamon first fought.

Ending (lines 2967-3108)
Initially, Palamon goes back to Thebes without Emelye. Years later, Theseus sends for Palamon to discuss an alliance between Athens and Thebes. When Palamon, Theseus, and Emelye are seated together, Theseus philosophises about how the world works, how one's fate is decided by the gods, and how depressing life is. He says that they might as well be merry and have a wedding. Palamon and Emelye marry.

Role in The Canterbury Tales
The role of the knight in the framing story of The Canterbury Tales is primarily that of a peacekeeper. Usually the host fulfils this role, but when the host is unable or unwilling to fulfil this role, the knight steps in. The knight resolves problems through calm reasoning, as opposed to the host, who resolves problems by making jokes and encouraging the involved parties not to take things too seriously. All of these methods stand in stark contrast to Theseus' considerably more violent methods in "The Knight's Tale". Theseus' way of keeping the peace is to start fights and have one of the involved parties die, most notably in the conflict between Arcite and Palamon, but also at the start of the tale in the conflict between king Creon and some grieving widows.

The purpose of "The Knight's Tale", besides telling a story, is to characterize the knight. There are many asides to the reader, and the knight-narrator rarely lets you forget that the story is being told by a character. The plot is long, winding, and drags at times, but the language and style are vivid and epic, letting the reader get lost in exotic locales, wonderous settings and interesting speeches. Chaucer may have done this to reflect how widely-travelled the knight is and the incredible things he is implied to have seen. It also reflects the knight's class, ideals about knighthood, and his education.