The knight, Chaucer tells us, "possessed/Fine horses, but he was not gaily dressed.” Indeed, the knight is dressed in a common shirt, which is stained "where his armor had left mark.” That is, the knight is "just home from service" 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 has had a very busy life as his fighting career has taken him to great many places. He has

maintains that he is "modest as a maid.” Moreover, he has never said a rude thing to anyone in his entire life.

It would be nice to think that a person such as the knight could exist in the twentieth century. The fact of the matter is that it is unlikely that people such as the knight existed even in the fourteenth century. As he does with all of his characters, Chaucer is producing a stereotype in creating the knight. As noted above, Chaucer, in describing the knight, is describing a chivalric ideal. The history of the Middle Ages demonstrates that this ideal rarely was manifested in actual conduct. Nevertheless, in his description of the knight, Chaucer shows the reader the possibility of the chivalric way of life.

In twentieth century America, we would like to think that we have many people in our society who resemble Chaucer's knight. 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 nation's journalists in many ways attempted to make General H. Norman Schwarzkof a latter day knight. The general was made to appear as a fearless leader who r

Some topics in this essay:
Asia Minor, Knight Chaucer, Norman Schwarzkof, Theseus Palamon, England Prior, Knight's Tale, Palamon Emily, Middle Ages, Emily Chaucer’s, Canterbury Tales, knight chaucer, fourteenth century, chivalric code, twentieth century, knight possesses,