Chaucer's crusader: the knight as a representation of chivalry.

Abstract

The specific battles Chaucer attributes to the Knight in the General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales illustrate the values Chaucer believed a fourteenth-century knight should possess. Chaucer deliberately chooses certain contemporary campaigns and battles in order to exemplify traditional knightly values. The long service of the Knight demonstrates his loyalty, valor, and adherence to the lifestyle of the warrior monk advocated by Pope Urban II in his declaration of the First Crusade. The Knight serves in three broad areas: southern Spain and northern Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, and northern Europe. Chaucer chooses these campaigns to construct a composite for his perfect Knight; each campaign was conducted for the expansion of both the Church and European civilization. Chaucer further elevates his Knight by distancing him from the turbulent, often distasteful Hundred Years' War in France. After long service to chivalry and the Church, the Knight is rewarded at the end of his career by being selected to head the Teutonic Knights' Table of Honor. The Knight's selection to the Table is one of the highest achievements for a fourteenth-century warrior. Because Chaucer's audience would have known the details of each campaign, an examination of the historical record illuminates the description of the Knight in the General Prologue.