The Knight's Tale: Courtly Love

Tyisha Edwards
April 27, 2015
ENGL 2341 1001

Knight’s Tale

The story The Knight’s Tale tells of two brothers, Palamon and Arcite, who fall in love with the same woman. The movie A Knights Tale released in 2001 is about a peasant-born man, William Thather who went on an expedition to become a knight and joined tournament jousting; something he is determined to win in and become prodigious legend. Throughout his journey, Thather wins the heart of a beautiful woman named Jocelyn. These stories both share a few common themes. The first theme that I noticed was courtly love. During the medieval times, courtly love was common among knights. This was basically the rule of the knight and his woman. Like the movie, the woman in The
Knights Tale was portrayed to be perfect in all aspects. She stood out among all other women; she was placed on a platform and was worshipped by the knight. Emily was simply an adored princess and noblewoman cherished by Palamon and Arcite whom they described her to be a “fresh beautee” and “wher she be woman or goddesse”. These strikingly beautiful women are both pursued by two men (Palamon and Arcite in the story and William Thather and Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein in the movie). Unlike the story, however, William and Sir Ulrich are not knight brothers. As a matter of fact, both of the men were hostile toward each other since they encountered each other. In the story, The Knights Tale, Palamon and Arcite are sworn as knights and brothers, who pledge to do anything to protect each other. Another theme the movie and the story both share is chivalry. This was also a rule followed by knights that dictated duties and behaviors they should follow. The movie “A Knights Tale” displayed this theme throughout the story. After William’s Lord, Sir Ector died from jousting by taking too many hits to the head, he still remained loyal to him. William convinced his serfs Roland and Wat to win more money by joining a bigger tournament even though they did not want him to joust anymore. William Thather shows that a man is fated to have a particular end. Even though he was a peasant and his Lord had died right before winning the joust tournament, William did not allow that to be the end of his life. William was able to influence his friends to join him by remaining hopeful about winning the bigger tournament in Rouen, Normandy. Along his voyage, William, Roland and Wat met Geoffrey Chaucer, who, by coincidence, had a way with words. Chaucer was exactly who William needed in order to participate in the joust tournament. Palamon and Acite are thrown in Theseus’ tower next to his garden without ransom. Sometime in May, Emily began gathering flowers in that same garden. Palamon saw Emily and quickly fell in love with her. Hearing this, Acite sees Emily and falls in love with her as well. Ironically, Acite’s fate changed and he is released from jail through a mutual friend with Theseus. Unluckily, Acite has to leave the city and never come back. They both believe that the grass is greener on the other side because Acite thinks Palamon can see Emily when he wants, but Palamon thinks Acite is constructing an army to win Emily. Acite showed his free will by disregarding the threat of not returning to Athens by disguising himself as a servant so he can see Emily once again. Palamon breaks out of jail and hides in a grove of trees. Fate catches up to them once Acite happens to be walking by the same grove of trees. After Palamon hears Acite talking about his love for Emily, they both agree to dual for Emily once and for all. I strongly believe a man can change his stars.
Just because you have an affiliation with someone, it does not mean you are entitled to the same destiny. William was born into a poor family, but with the little money he won at his town’s tournament, he became a very noble and respected knight. William overcomes many challenges. His armor was destroyed in battle, but luckily a young woman named Kate offered to forge him a new one. The new armor was better for William; it was more lightweight and allowed for greater mobility. He remained courageous and chose to battle the Black Prince, despite the fact that Adhemar withdrew from the fight. He was later turned in by the jealous Adhemar and was exposed for his false identity. William was placed in pillory and was ridiculed by the crowd for his deception. Roland and Wat defended him and Prince Edward appeared from the crowd and noted that his friends’ devotion to him was part of the best traditions of knighthood. There William was knighted as “Sir
William”. Despite the fact that a man may think he chooses his fate, his fate was already planned from the beginning.
Palamon and Acite agree to meet up a year later with their army to fight for Emily. Palamon prays to Venus to give him Emily. Acite, on the other hand, prays to Mars to give him victory in the joust. Acite may have thought that his request was also going to win him the heart of Emily. His demand, unlike Palamon’s, was not for Emily’s love. The knight’s prayer requests caused a conflict in the heavens, but Jupiter devised a way to please both Acite and Palamon. At the end of the battle, Palamon is taken captive and Acite is crowned the winner of the battle. At this moment, Acite already thought that the fight and the woman was his. He did not know that his brother prayed for an even greater victory. On his ride, Acite was caught in an earthquake inside the stadium and fell off his horse on his head. Everyone thought Acite’s injury was just minor. They were all expecting to celebrate the wedding between him and Emily. Things took a turn when Acite died beside Emily and Palamon. He received an extravagant funeral arranged by Theseus. This shows that you may not always get the things you ask for. Acite may have thought he received the upper hand once he won the battle against Palamon. Regardless of Acite being jealous of his brother, he used his last breath to tell Emily how great Palamon is. This also supports the knight’s rule of chivalry. Acite
respected this rule even on his deathbed, and remained loyal to his fellow knight brother. The words Acite spoke to Emily could have been an unkind remark toward her or Palamon. Both stories end happily with two pronounced knights marrying the attractive women they longed for. William and Jocelyn most likely married after his battle and triumphant victory against Adhemar. In the story The Knight’s Tale, Theseus recommends that Palamon and Emily marry each other. To my surprise, they both agree and have a great, jubilant wedding. The Knight’s Tale, written in the 1400s, and “A Knight’s Tale” aired in 2001 both depict the story of a classic tale of friendship and hardship with a happy ending. Even though the modern interpretation of The Knight’s Tale did not directly duplicate the story written by Geoffrey Chaucer, it still symbolized the story and what it was about. The story written by Chaucer was an analysis of how events occurred during his time. The movie and the story helped me understand the guidelines knights had to follow in that time. It also showed me how technology has an impact on the way we control our lives. In the story The Knight’s Tale, the knights had to prove their love by participating in a harsh fight. In the movie, William proved his love for Jocelyn by submitting to her request to deliberately lose and then win the tournament in her name before he is eliminated.