A Comparison Of The Knight And The Squire In Chaucers The Canterbury Es

In the medieval period that is described by Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, chivalry was perhaps the most recognized quality of a true gentleman. This quality is explored in Chaucer's two characters of the warrior class, the Knight and the Squire. The squire is the son of the Knight; both ride gallantly and have the air of true gentleman warriors. However, the two are very dissimilar despite their appearances. The Knight possesses the true qualities of chivalry, devotion to service, constancy in humility, and honesty. The Squire possesses none of these qualities truly; instead his demeanor is one that is less honorable and virtuous. Although both claim the same vocation, the Squire and the Knight display contradicting attitudes in respect to dedication, material possessions, and sincerity. The main point in the description of the Knight was the abundance and importance of his battles, while it was the least mentioned aspect in the Squire. The entirety of the Squire's military experience is named in two lines, "he had seen some service with the cavalry/ If Flanders and Artois and Picardy," perchance a direct consequence of the Squire's youth (5). The list of the Knight's battles clearly dominates the text of his description, running many lines. He had embarked ".along the Mediterranean coast" to such places as Alexandria, Lithuania, Russia, Granada, Algeciras, North Africa, Benamarin, Anatolia, Ayas, and Attalia (4). Not only were the battles of the knight more numerous, they were more extensive and required lengthy travels to far-away lands. The Squire had "done valiantly in little space" in these battles, but had not distinguished himself from his peers. This is implied when it is said that he had only seen "some service with the cavalry" (5). The Squire had pursued no noteworthy errands in the interest of chivalry like his father. The "distinguished knight", on the other hand, was very chivalrous because of his unconditional dedication (4). He had been in "fifteen mortal battles" and "always killed his men" which supports that he is committed to his work, as opposed to the Squire, who possessed a distracted attitude (4). "He could make sons and poems and recite, / Knew how to joust and dance, to draw and write" and so has focused his time and energy to many other things (5). The S... ...agility", he did not use it to the full extent that his father used his own. In all aspects, in comparison with his own contradictory behavior, and in comparison with the Knight's behavior, the Squire is shown to be less than sincere in his chivalry. The Knight and the Squire have distinctly different attitudes towards their vocation. As a result, they are complementing images of the medieval warrior. The Knight is the romantic image that all true knights aspire to, generously practicing such chivalrous qualities as dedication, humility, and sincerity. Contrasting this, however, is the image depicted by the Squire, that of an imperfect knight who was to some degree boastful, lusting, or superficial. The Squire was never directly criticized by Chaucer, but the implications that resulted from the description amounted to an extravagant, un-chivalrous image, perhaps a reflection of the actual knights of Chaucer's day. Therefore, Chaucer was not merely comparing two knights and defining the virtues that comprised chivalry, but on a bigger scale was revealing the corruption of humanity by comparing the difference between the realities of our humanity with the ideal of perfection.