Social Status In A Knight's Tale

For centuries men have undermined and mistreated women because of their gender. As Virginia Woolf mentions when she picked up a history book about the life during the Elizabethan era she was astonished to find that one of the only things that she could find is that women were being beaten and how it was a recognized right of the man. She goes on to read that any woman could be beaten in public and that many people would act nonchalant. Woolf reads about how in the history of England marriage was not about personal affairs but it was a deal between two families. Women did not have the same rights that that men had back in the 18th century. In that era woman would not have time to pursue the art of writing, since they were married by the age of fifteen or sixteen whether they liked it or not. We can compare the differences between the social status of women from before the 18th century and modern times. However, even having better equality laws in society now, women are still at a disadvantaged by some of the challenges that were faced in the past.

“The Knights Tale” is the first tale in Geoffrey Chaucers “The Canterbury Tales”. The story introduces various typical aspects of the knighthood such as chivalry, ethical dilemmas, and courtly love. Knights all have this characteristic which they call the code that they portray through out the tale. In Geoffrey Chaucers “The Knights Tale” is an effort on the knight’s part to preserve a virtuous code.

Gender inequality will always affect the portrayal of women in society, the weaker, unnecessary, and other sex. It is not just a subject of the past, and still holds a name in society. However in the olden eras, the way women were treated and looked at was in a much harsher condition. In Shakespeare’s Othello and Shelley’s Frankenstein, women’s roles in the books are solely based on the way they are treated in their time period. The portrayal of women in these books demonstrate that they can never be in the same standing as men and therefore will never have the same respect as them. In both Othello and Frankenstein women are treated as property, used to better men’s social standards, and lack a voice, which demonstrates that in

The value of nobility in the middle ages can hardly be questioned. The majority of nobles lived a life of luxury, having riches beyond the wildest dreams of commoners. When one thinks of medieval knights, nobility is often comes to mind, but did knights have to be members of the noble class? Sir Thomas Malory’s “The Tale of Sir Gareth” examines this question and presents an interesting view as to the true value of a knight. Malory uses the actions of important characters to reveal his opinion that the nobility of a knight was secondary to his integrity, courage, and benevolence.

In medieval Europe it was a dangerous and fearless time, as being a knight you weren’t the most outstanding class in the feudal system but you got well looked after.

Also, when receiving land, the lord received power over the peasants of that village. Knights also got support, a share of the treasure and goods that were taken in battle, and a sort of insurance. This insurance was that if he died, his children were protected until the girl married and the boy became a vassal, and that the widow and the land were protected (Smith 3). Also appealing to would-be knights was the rise in status. Knights were given a fief, often land, making them a vassal, and therefore a lord (Beil 15). Knights were considered to be like the rock stars of their time as they were well off and thought as honorable, chivalrous, and wealthy (Nardo 29). Because of this they were sought after by high class ladies looking for a husband, and by troubadours who looked for the heroes of their songs (Nardo 31). Because of these advantages, the feudal oath became a political tool where it previously had been a vow of military duty (Beil 9). It was understood that if he did not uphold his promise it would all be taken back. (Beil 15). However, knights did not only gain as they also had to work or their king/lord. A common time frame expected from knights for

A boy's aspirations of becoming a knight would be fuelled by hearing stories of brave knightly deeds and combats and attending tournaments where he would see just a small part of what it is to live the life of a Knight. At the age of seven, he would be sent to continue his education at the castle of a noble.

The Chivalry Knight There are many disparities between William Thatcher and Count Adhemar. So, is it because William protects the weak, becomes a Knight, or he jousts without armor in the last tournament? What makes William the better knight than Count Adhemar? Remember that William is a peasant at the beginning of the movie. Count Adhemar was already a noble, but William was born a peasant and the ony way he could be a Peasant was to be born in to nobility.

Medieval feudalism, gender roles and chivalry. Those were the characteristics that I believe were explained and shown in a quite amazing yet subtle way in the movie “a knights tale”, let me explain how. See feudalism in a very small definition of it is, that people had to understand and follow the roles they were born in. Let’s say a person was born a peasant, for him to somehow become, lets say a king would be impossible, yet in the movie “a knights tale” the main character William Chafter was able to change his fate and be come a true knight. as a child at some point in the movie, William is seen with his father admiring a knight and he exclaims he was going to be a knight one day and you see a man that was being tortured that was listening to the conversation laugh at the thought of someone born from a place like Cheapside with no royal family become such a thing as a knight.

Though many nobles inherited their lifestyle, they have not lived without a profession. Knighthood, along with other responsibilities, defined a nobleman. A knight was a nobleman who could display high distinctiveness for chivalry. Chivalry was a code of arms that also taught nobles to be respectful and honorable. Female nobles had also followed chivalry, yet during the twelfth century it was illegal for a woman to be a knight (Waterman, Lynn). Chivalry was originally devised because knights had crude and aggressive behavior (“The Life of the People in the High Middle Ages”). The clergy teach nobles during their childhood how they should act and treat others. Therefore, a child’s life was also changed by their class. A noble’s childhood during infancy to around seven years consisted mostly of play. After that stage of their life, the church usually placed the boys into manors and castles to begin the training of knighthood (Kagan, Ozment, and Turner, 203). Children would learn to serve lords and knights. Beginning

The mistreatment of women can be interpreted in many different ways. There is a lot inequality towards women in The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, which is based on its main character’s, Offred, life. Offred’s life has taken a turn since she now lives in a totalitarian state that has replaced the United States of America. She is now a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead and has to follow a set of rules that make her, and the other women, realize that their freedom has been restricted. Many of the scenes in the novel can be interpreted differently because of the controversy of how the women are being treated.

What is a woman’s role in society? Today this question would cause uproar of answers from both feminists and anti-feminists. Despite the disagreement, the most popular response would be, without a doubt, that women’s role in society is equal to men’s. Currently, women can vote, hold a stable job, and lead a successful life without a husband. However, back in medieval times there were no such luxuries for women. Examples of their treatment can be found in Chaucer’s story, The Knights Tale. From being forced into marriage, to oppression by men, it is clear to see that women were treated as objects.

A knight, when thought of are commonly associated with Chivalry. Chivalry is it code that thing knight and Nobles must follow, although not all people during the Medieval Ages follow the code of chivalry. The code was for the upper class, not indigents such as the surf for the peasants. Those who followed the code of Chivalry we're expected to fight in defense of an honorable cause, which is why the code was used for the upper-class rather in the lower class who had no time to bother with such ideas. By using this code the upper class could make themselves more laudable by accomplishing feats that followed this code. Chivalry also help keep the nobles and knights from staying in a benighted state, as it helped better their treatment of women

There was little respect towards women during the Middle Ages. They were treated unfairly in a time that lacked feminism. Women were dominated by men. If a woman disagreed with a man, or refused to do what he told her, he had to right to beat her into submission. Much like today, in the Middle Ages, women were seen as inferior to men, even though they had as hard as work or harder to men.

Knights were noble men who fought on horseback and often lived in castles (Brooks 4). Becoming a knight was not easy, training and hard work from a young age was required. In order to even consider becoming one,