To facilitate a close-reading of these battles, Hatton groups them into three distinct categories:ġ. Considering these campaisngs in their historical context, he argues, offers even further insight into significance. 53-66) must invite interpretation and careful consideration given that they take up nearly half of the Knight's portrait (80). Hatton rightly notes that the battles themselves (ll. What particularizes the Knight's portrait is the list of battles Chaucer uses to demonstrate the Knight's worthiness. As Thomas Hatton has observed, however,Ĭombining the virtues of worthiness and wisdom in the character of the ideal knight is, of course, hardly unique with Chaucer. According to the General Prologue, he warred many times for the Christian faith, fought in numerous battles against pagans, and stands as the epitome of a worthy and virtuous holy warrior. Of all of the figures in the Canterbury Tales (both tale-tellers and characters in the individual narratives), the Knight is the most obvious of crusading figures. Whan they were wonne, and in the Grete SeeĪt mortal batailles hadde he been fiftene,Īnd foughten for oure feith at TramysseneĪnd though that he were worthy he was wys, That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.Trouthe and honour, fredom, and curteisie. To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,Īnd palmeres for to seken straunge strondes, The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote, The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales Early in that course, the name of Chaucer came up and, inevitably, "The Canterbury Tales." Our teacher was a big fan and one of her requirements was that we learn and recite from memory the prologue to the tales in the Middle English in which it was written. I'm sure I have forgotten much of what I learned in college but I can still recite most of that prologue! Long, long ago, I was a freshman in college and one of my required courses was English literature.
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