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Unlock your guides5.2 Courtly love conventions and their subversion
5 min read•july 23, 2024
The Knight's Tale explores through the story of and , two knights who fall for Emelye. subverts traditional conventions, portraying their love as more about rivalry than genuine affection. The tale critiques the and in courtly love.
and fortune play crucial roles in the story, with characters attributing events to divine intervention. While the knights exercise , their fates seem predetermined. The tale reflects medieval ideas about the relationship between and divine will, raising questions about justice and the meaning of suffering.
Courtly Love and Its Subversion in the Knight's Tale
Concept of courtly love
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- Medieval European literary conception of love emphasizing nobility and chivalry
- Emerged in the late 11th century in the circles of the and spread throughout Europe during the Middle Ages
- The lover (usually a knight) devotes himself to a lady who is often married or of higher social standing
- Love is typically unconsummated, remaining unrequited and at a distance
- Knight undergoes trials and hardships to prove his devotion and worthiness
- Love is seen as ennobling and inspiring, leading the knight to perform great deeds and improve himself
- Secrecy and discretion are essential, as the love is often illicit or forbidden
- Lady is idealized and worshipped, placed on a pedestal of virtue and beauty (, )
Courtly love in Knight's Tale
- Features two knights, Palamon and Arcite, who fall in love with the same lady, Emelye
- Both knights are imprisoned by , the Duke of Athens, but catch a glimpse of Emelye from their cell window and instantly fall in love with her and pledge their devotion, despite having never spoken to her
- Knights undergo trials and hardships for their love
- Palamon escapes prison and lives a hard life in the forest, while Arcite is banished and suffers in exile
- Both eventually return to Athens, risking their lives for a chance to win Emelye's hand
- is resolved through a grand tournament arranged by Theseus
- Palamon and Arcite fight for Emelye's hand, each praying to different gods for favor (, )
- Arcite wins the battle but is fatally injured, leaving Palamon to marry Emelye in the end
Chaucer's subversion of conventions
- Idea of two knights falling instantly in love with the same woman from afar could be seen as a parody of the courtly love tradition
- Speed and intensity of their love, based solely on appearance, seems exaggerated and absurd
- Knights' devotion to Emelye is driven more by rivalry and ego than genuine affection
- Spend years obsessing over her without ever interacting with her directly
- Love is more about winning her as a prize than cherishing her as a person
- Emelye herself has little agency in the story, serving mainly as an object of desire
- Her feelings and preferences are barely considered, subverting the idea of the lady as an active participant in the courtly love dynamic
- Resolution of the love triangle through a violent tournament could be seen as a critique of the destructive nature of male rivalry and the objectification of women in courtly love
- Grand gestures and battles fought in the name of love lead to senseless death and suffering
Knight's Tale vs medieval literature
- Like other courtly love stories, the Knight's Tale features:
- Knights pining for a lady of higher social status (Emelye)
- Grand gestures and trials endured for the sake of love (imprisonment, exile, tournament)
- Idealization and worship of the beloved
- However, Chaucer's portrayal is more ironic and subversive than sincere
- Love at first sight is exaggerated to the point of parody
- Knights' devotion is driven more by competition than genuine affection
- Lady is reduced to a passive prize rather than an active participant
- In contrast, works like Chrétien de Troyes' Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart present a more earnest portrayal of courtly love
- Lancelot's devotion to Guinevere is shown as sincere and ennobling, despite the moral complexities of their adulterous relationship
- Guinevere, while still idealized, has more agency and influence in the story
- 's also feature more nuanced and sympathetic portrayals of love
- Lais often focus on the female perspective and the emotional realities of love (Le Fresne, Lanval)
- Characters navigate complex social and moral situations, with love depicted as a powerful but not always positive force
The Role of Fate and Fortune
Role of fate and fortune in Knight's Tale
- Tale is deeply concerned with questions of fate, fortune, and free will
- Characters often attribute events to the influence of gods or supernatural forces
- Theseus, in his final speech, reflects on the role of fortune in shaping human lives
- Love triangle between Palamon, Arcite, and Emelye is portrayed as a matter of fate
- Both knights fall in love with Emelye at first sight, as if struck by an arrow of destiny
- Each pray to different gods for favor, suggesting that their fates are in the hands of higher powers (Mars, Venus, )
- Resolution of the story, with Arcite's victory and subsequent death, is seen as the work of fortune
- Saturn intervenes to ensure that both knights' prayers are answered, but in an unexpected way
- Theseus acknowledges the role of fortune in his final speech, noting that all things are subject to change and decay
- However, characters also exercise free will and agency within the constraints of fate
- Palamon and Arcite make choices and take actions in pursuit of their love, even if the outcome is ultimately beyond their control
- Theseus chooses to resolve the conflict through a tournament, shaping the course of events
Philosophical and theological implications
- Knight's Tale reflects medieval ideas about the relationship between human agency and divine will
- Characters' fates are influenced by the actions of pagan gods, reflecting the tale's classical setting (ancient Greece)
- Overall message of the story aligns with Christian ideas about the supremacy of God's will and the limitations of human understanding
- Theseus' final speech offers a philosophical perspective on fate and fortune
- Acknowledges the role of fortune in shaping human lives but also emphasizes the importance of accepting one's fate with patience and humility
- Reflects the medieval Christian view of fortune as a tool of divine providence, used to test and shape human character
- Tale's treatment of fate and fortune also raises questions about the nature of justice and the meaning of suffering
- Palamon and Arcite endure great hardships in pursuit of their love, but the outcome seems arbitrary and unfair
- Theseus suggests that such suffering is an inevitable part of the human condition and that true wisdom lies in accepting it with grace and resilience (Boethian philosophy)
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