An Uncover Squire-A Knight's Tale

A Knight's Tale

In this 2001 modern interpretation of the Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, there is sword fighting, jousting, romance, and let’s not forget Count Adhemar, the villain.  The story begins with a squire named William Thatcher. William wants to be a knight, but is not of noble blood to able to compete. When his knight dies before a jousting tournament, He decides to go undercover as a knight to ensure that he and his friends will not starve. After their first victory, they decide to continue their rebellious strike for gold, glory, and to get the girl. Along the way making friends with Prince Edward (who makes him a knight at the end)  and making an enemy of Count Adhemar.         

Overall, A Knight’s Tale had many elements that represented the Middle Ages. For example, there were many different types of competitions in a tournament that could be competed in. This was seen in the film with William competing in the sword and jousting aspects of a tournament. Another example of accuracy in the film was their clothing appeared to be made of wool which was commonly worn in the Medieval Europe. According to Paul Newman “Thus, the peasant wore coarse but sturdy linen and woolen fabrics, merchants and craftsmen wore clothing made of better grades of wool and linen, and the nobility, though they did wear silken clothes if they could afford it…” (Newman 93). The clothing in the movie were modernized at bit which is too be expected. They did also include a falcon which belonged Count Adhemar. This aspect of the film is accurate for in the middle ages, falconry was a common past time for nobility. According to Newman, “…hunting with trained birds of prey, was a popular for ruling classes.” (Newman 174). The film also did a great good at showing the origins of surnames. For example, William’s last name is Thatcher, which ties with the occupation of thatching a roof. This can be seen when William visits his father and his father is in the process of thatching a roof. Another accurate part of the movie was Edward of Woodstock. However, he was call Edward, Black Prince in the film. Prince Edward was an actually person that was known for his military genius, so it would not be surprising if he engaged in jousting. However, according to BBC, “During his lifetime he was known as Edward of Woodstock. The title of Black Prince developed after his death and may refer to black armour that he wore.” (BBC). Although he was called the Black Prince in the film, he would have been called Edward of Woodstock at the time. 

A Knight’s Tale had many historical inaccuracies. One of the major inaccuracies is the adding of modern elements such as the modern music in the background, modern dancing, and gender roles. For example, the character Kate is a female blacksmith. In the middle ages a woman would have never been blacksmith. Another historical inaccuracy were the hats or rather the lack there of. According to Newman “…custom dictated that women wore hats or other head coverings that hid some or all of their hair. The only exceptions were for unmarried girls…” (Newman 119). Even though the main female characters were unmarried you would except to see hats in the background. Another major inaccuracy was the music and dancing. Although music and dancing were past times, the style of dancing and music were not from the middle ages. This inaccuracy was very obvious and was used to modernize the film.  Finally, another problem with the film was the timeline. Although they did not explicitly say what time the film was taking place, it would have to be taking place before 1376, the year that Prince Edward died. With that timeline, some events and inventions would not have been in the movie. An example of this is the tilt. According to Newman, “…in the early 15^th century, the introduction of a wooden fence called a barrier or tilt to keep jousters from running directly into each other.” (Newman 179). According to the timeline the tilt should not have been seen in the film, however it was.

Overall, A Knight’s Tale has many historical inaccuracies, but it does not take away an interesting storyline. This movie is good at exposing people to some aspect of medieval culture. Many the historical inaccuracies were a result of modernizing the film. This is to be expected as they were trying to made the film more relatable to modern society. In total, not everything in the film should be taken seriously, but it does make good for a fictional movie.

Work Cited

“History - Edward, the Black Prince.” BBC, BBC, http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/black_prince.shtml.

Helgeland, Brain, director. A Knight's Tale. Columbia / Sony, 2001.

Newman, Paul B. Daily Life in the Middle Ages. McFarland & Co., 2001.