Chivalry and Satire in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

The Idealized Knight in the Prologue

The narrator in the Prologue of The Canterbury Tales paints a noble view of the Knight. We are told that the Knight is a distinguished man who practiced "chivalry, / Truth, honour, generousness and courtesy" (20). We are also told he is wise and that he fought in "fifteen mortal battles" across the world (21). While the narrator may hold an ideal view of the noble Knight, Chaucer presents a rather different picture throughout the tales themselves.

Satirizing Chivalry in the Knight's Tale

In the Knight's Tale, two imprisoned knights who are cousins born of "Royal Blood" (46) serve as Chaucer's vehicle for satire. As fate would have it, Arcite and Palamon both fall in love with the lovely Emily, and this causes great strife between them while they are held in prison. This is the first example of how Chaucer uses satire, because the two knights are certainly not behaving in a noble manner.

The next example of satire occurs when Arcite is released from prison. He becomes despondent, and "his love had turned him upside-down / In looks and disposition, toe to crown" (56). He acts neither nobly nor honestly when he decides to disguise himself as a "labourer seeking hire" at the court where Emily lives (57). Similarly, Palamon abandons his noble nature when he decides to break out of prison. When Arcite and Palamon later encounter each other in the woods and fight, they again behave like jealous children rather than noble knights. By first establishing the image of the knight as a respectable man in the Prologue, Chaucer sets the stage for this sustained satirical treatment in the Knight's Tale.

Another knight who falls far short of nobility appears in the Wife of Bath's Tale. This knight seems to be the very opposite of the one described in the Prologue, because he actually commits rape. We are told he is a knight "who was a lusty liver" (300), and that despite the maiden's protests, "by very force he took her maidenhood" (300). This act clearly violates all of the chivalric codes.

The Knight's Moral Failures in the Wife of Bath's Tale

That said, this knight is not entirely without merit — he does keep his word to the old woman when she supplies him with the correct answer to the question that will save his life. As with the knights in the Knight's Tale, Chaucer presents his characters with a combination of noble qualities and very human failings. In both tales, Chaucer contradicts what the narrator established in the Prologue. Where we expect to find a respectable and noble man, Chaucer delivers a far more realistic character. He successfully illustrates the idea that the ideals associated with chivalry are, at best, an imperfect standard.

By examining the plot and language of the Knight's Tale, one can still identify a positive ending. An example occurs when the Duke summons Emily and Palamon years after Arcite's unfortunate death. We are told the Duke "spoke the wisdom in his breast" (99), indicating that he is not acting out of selfish motives but rather to restore happiness. He tells them:

Resolution and Positive Closure in the Knight's Tale

The First Great Cause and Mover of all above,
When first He made that fairest chain of love,
Great was the consequence and high the intent.
He well knew why He did, and what he meant. (99)

The Duke also reminds them that they should not rail against what has happened, because in doing so they offend Arcite as well as themselves and "are no more happier in the end" (101). He is correct when he states that "after grief there should be bliss / And praise to Jupiter for all his grace" (101). He tells Emily that Palamon truly loves her "heart and soul and might" and urges her to show her "womanly compassion" and take his hand in marriage (101).

In response, the couple is married — a genuinely happy and positive conclusion to the tale. This development in the plot also provides a sense of closure for the preceding tragedy.

Conclusion

The second comic thread involves the persistent Absalon, who refuses to abandon his pursuit of Alison. Much of the humor lies in the extravagance of his courtship. He takes his guitar and serenades her beneath her window: "Now dearest lady, if thy pleasure be / In thoughts of love, think tenderly of me" (109). John asks Alison if she hears him, and she replies dismissively, "Yes, John, God knows I hear it all" (109). Absalon's attempts go well beyond reason — he sends her "sweet wine and mead and spicy ale, / And wafers piping hot and jars of honey," and, since she lived in town, he even offered her money (110). Absalon simply cannot take a hint. As the narrator dryly observes:

However Absalon blew his horn,
His labour won him nothing but her scorn.
She looked upon him as her private ape
And held his earnest wooing all a jape. (110)

Alison's contempt is unmistakable. When Absalon comes to the window begging for a kiss, "out she put her hole," and Absalon "put up his mouth and kissed her naked arse / Most savourously" (119). When he returns with a hot coulter seeking revenge, he barely has a moment to act before Nicholas "at once let fly a fart / As loud as if it were a thunder-clap" and Absalon "was near blinded by the blast" (121). Nicholas's own cries for water then alarm John, who immediately cuts the ropes holding his tub and crashes down into the house, fainting on impact. The entire town is awakened, and everyone starts "laughing at this lunacy" (122).

The Miller's Tale achieves its comic effect through the convergence of multiple plots, escalating physical humor, and a cast of characters whose obsessions collide spectacularly. These elements make it a richer and more sustained comic performance than the Reeve's Tale.

The scenes in the Miller's Tale are much funnier than those in the Reeve's Tale because there is more happening at once and the tale itself is more light-hearted and fun — not to mention a delight to read. Across all three tales examined here, Chaucer's technique remains consistent: he establishes an ideal, whether noble chivalry or domestic order, and then systematically dismantles it through the very human behavior of his characters. In doing so, he creates a rich, satirical portrait of medieval life that continues to resonate with modern readers.

Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. Trans. Nevill Coghill. New York: Penguin Books, 1977.