Knight-errant
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
(Difference between revisions)
| Revision as of 18:43, 27 June 2022 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) ← Previous diff |
Current revision Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {| class="toccolours" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5" | {| class="toccolours" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5" | ||
| | style="text-align: left;" | | | style="text-align: left;" | | ||
| - | "In the time of [[King Arthur|this good king]] that famous order of [[chivalry]] of the [[Knight-errant |Knight]]s of the [[Round Table]] was instituted, and the amour of Don [[Lancelot]] of the Lake with the [[Guinevere |Queen Guinevere]] occurred, precisely as is there related, the go-between and confidante therein being the highly [[honour]]able dame Quintañona."--''[[Don Quixote]]'' (1605) by Miguel de Cervantes | + | "[[Peter of Blois |Pierre de Blois]], who wrote in the twelfth century, complains that the [[horse]]s of the [[Knight-errant|knights]] were more frequently loaded with implements of gluttony and drunkenness, than with arms fit for battle. "They are burdened, "says he, "not with weapons, but wine; not with [[javelin]]s, but cheeses; not with [[bludgeon]]s, but bottles; not with spears, but with spits."."--''[[History of Fiction (John Colin Dunlop)|History of Fiction]]'' (1814) by John Colin Dunlop |
| + | <hr> | ||
| + | "Many an argument did [[Don Quixote|he]] have with the curate of his village as to which had been the better [[knight]], [[Palmerin of England]] or [[Amadís de Gaula|Amadis of Gaul]]." --''[[Don Quixote]]'' (1605) by Miguel de Cervantes | ||
| <hr> | <hr> | ||
| “I’m a [[fairy tale]] [[princess]] in search of a [[Knight-errant|knight]] and I never believed dreams come true. I’m just like you, I’m caught up in a [[One-night stand |one night love affair]].”--"[[I'm Caught Up (In a One Night Love Affair)]]" (1979) by Inner Life | “I’m a [[fairy tale]] [[princess]] in search of a [[Knight-errant|knight]] and I never believed dreams come true. I’m just like you, I’m caught up in a [[One-night stand |one night love affair]].”--"[[I'm Caught Up (In a One Night Love Affair)]]" (1979) by Inner Life | ||
| - | |||
| |} | |} | ||
| [[Image:Don Quixote and Sancho Pansa by Honoré Daumier.jpg|thumb|200px|right|''[[Don Quixote]]'' (c. 1868) by [[Honoré Daumier]]]] | [[Image:Don Quixote and Sancho Pansa by Honoré Daumier.jpg|thumb|200px|right|''[[Don Quixote]]'' (c. 1868) by [[Honoré Daumier]]]] | ||
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| + | A '''knight-errant''' is a figure of medieval [[Chivalric romance|chivalric romance literature]]. The adjective ''[[errant]]'' (meaning "wandering, roving") indicates how the knight-errant would wander the land in search of adventures to prove his [[chivalry|chivalric]] virtues, either in [[knight]]ly [[duel]]s or in some other pursuit of [[courtly love]]. | ||
| - | A '''[[knight]]-errant''' is a figure of medieval [[chivalry|chivalric]] [[Romance (heroic literature)|romance literature]]. The adjective ''[[errant|errant]]'' (meaning "wandering, roving") indicates how the knight-errant would wander the land in search of adventures to prove his [[chivalry|chivalric]] virtues, either in knightly duels ([[pas d'armes]]) or in some other pursuit of [[courtly love]]. | + | ==Description== |
| - | + | The knight-errant is a character who has broken away from the world of his origin, in order to go off on his own [[Robin Hood|to right wrongs]] or to test and assert his own chivalric ideals. He is motivated by [[Ideal (ethics)|idealism]] and goals that are often illusory. In medieval Europe, knight-errantry existed in literature, though fictional works from this time often were presented as [[non-fiction]]. | |
| - | A Knight-errant is not a knight but a knight in waiting, a servant/messenger role in liege to a full knight or Prince. | + | |
| - | The template of the knight-errant are the heroes of the [[Round Table]] of the [[Arthurian cycle]] such as [[Gawain]], [[Lancelot]] and [[Percival]]. The [[quest]] ''par excellance'' in pursuit of which these knights wander the lands is that of the [[Holy Grail]], such as in ''[[Perceval, the Story of the Grail]]'' written by [[Chrétien de Troyes]] in the 1180s. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Although the character is part of the romance genre as it developed during the late 12th century, the term "knight-errant" itself is younger, for the first time recorded (as ''knygt erraunt'') in | + | |
| - | the 14th-century poem ''[[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]]''. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Knight-errantry tales remain popular with [[courtier|courtly]] audiences throughout the [[Late Middle Ages]]. They are written in [[Middle French]], in [[Middle English]] and in [[Middle German]]. | + | |
| - | In the 16th century, the genre becomes highly popular in the [[Iberian Peninsula]], | + | |
| - | ''[[Amadis de Gaula]]'' was one of the most successful knight-errantry tales of this period. In ''[[Don Quixote]]'' (1605), [[Cervantes]] satirizes the ''Amadis'' romances and their popularity. | + | |
| - | Tales of knight-errantry then fall out of fashion for two centuries, until they re-emerge in the form of the [[historical novel]] in [[Romanticism]]. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | ==Romance== | + | |
| - | :''[[Romance (heroic literature)]], [[Chivalry]]'' | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | A knight-errant typically performed all his deeds in the name of a lady, and invoked her name before performing an exploit. In more sublimated forms of knight-errantry, pure metaphysical idealism rather than romantic inspiration motivated the knight-errant (as in the case of Sir [[Galahad]]). Such a knight might well be outside the structure of [[feudalism]], wandering solely to perform noble exploits (and perhaps to find a lord to give his service to), but might also be in service to a king or lord, traveling either in pursuit of a specific duty that his overlord charged him with, or to put down evildoers in general. This [[quest]] sends a knight on adventures much like the ones of a knight in search of them, as he happens on the same marvels. In ''[[The Faerie Queene]]'', St. George is sent to rescue Una's parents' kingdom from a dragon, and Guyon has no such quest, but both knights encounter perils and adventures. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | In the romances, his adventures frequently included greater foes than other knights, including [[Giant (mythology)|giant]]s, [[Magician (paranormal)|enchantress]]es, or [[dragon]]s. They may also gain help that is out of ordinary. Sir [[Ywain]] assisted a lion against a serpent, and was thereafter accompanied by it, becoming the [[Yvain, the Knight of the Lion|Knight of the Lion]]. Other knights-errant have been assisted by [[wild man of the wood|wild men of the woods]], as in ''[[Valentine and Orson]]'', or, like [[Guillaume de Palerme]], by wolves that were, in fact, enchanted princes. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | ==In modern literature== | + | |
| - | [[Don Quixote]] is an early 17th-century parody of the genre, in reaction to the extreme popularity which late medieval romances such as ''[[Amadis de Gaula]]'' came to enjoy in the Iberian Peninsula in the 16th century. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | A depiction of knight-errantry in the modern [[historical novel]] is found e.g. in ''[[Sir Nigel]]'' by [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] (1906). | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | The knight-errant stock character became the trope of the "knight in shining armour" in [[depiction of the Middle Ages in popular culture]], and the term came to be used also outside of medieval drama, as in e.g. ''[[The Dark Knight Returns|The Dark Knight]]'' as a title of [[Batman]]. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | ==Russian bogatyrs== | + | |
| - | The Russian [[bylina]] feature [[bogatyr]]s, knights-errant who served as protectors of their homeland, and occasionally as adventurers. Some of them are presumed to be historical figures, while others are fictional and possibly descend from [[Slavic mythology]]. Most tales about bogatyrs revolve around the court of [[Vladimir I of Kiev]]. Three popular Russian knights—[[Ilya Muromets]], [[Dobrynya Nikitich]] and [[Alyosha Popovich]] (famously painted by [[Victor Vasnetsov]])—are said to have served him. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | =="Knights-errant" in East Asian cultures== | + | |
| - | [[Youxia]], [[China|Chinese]] knights-errant, traveled solo protecting common folk from oppressive regimes. Unlike their European counterpart, they did not come from any particular social caste and were anything from soldiers to poets. There is even a popular literary tradition that arose during the [[Tang Dynasty]] which centered on [[Negrito]]-slaves who used supernatural physical abilities to save kidnapped [[damsel in distress|damsels in distress]] and to swim to the bottom of raging rivers to retrieve treasures for their Feudal Lords (see [[Kunlun Nu]]). | + | |
| - | A youxia who excels or is renown for martial prowess or skills is usually called [[wuxia]]. | + | The template of the knight-errant were the heroes of the [[Round Table]] of the [[Arthurian cycle]] such as [[Gawain]], [[Lancelot]], and [[Percival]]. The [[quest]] in pursuit of which these knights wandered the lands is that of the [[Holy Grail]], such as in ''[[Perceval, the Story of the Grail]]'' written by [[Chrétien de Troyes]] in the 1180s. |
| - | In Japan the expression [[Musha shugyō]] described a Samurai who wanted to test his abilities in real life conditions would travel the land and engage in duels along the way. | + | The character of the wandering knight existed in romantic literature as it developed during the late 12th century. However, the term "knight-errant" was to come later; its first extant usage occurs in the 14th-century poem ''[[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]]''. Knight-errantry tales remained popular with [[courtier|courtly]] audiences throughout the [[Late Middle Ages]]. |
| - | ==Etymology== | + | |
| - | From Middle English knight, kniht, from Old English cniht, cneht, cneoht (“boy, youth, servant, attendant, retainer, disciple, warrior, boyhood, junior member of a guild”), from Proto-Germanic *knehtaz (compare Dutch ''[[knecht]]'' (“attendant, servant”), German Knecht (“lad, slave”)), originally ‘billet (wood), block of wood’ (compare Dutch laarzeknecht (“boot-jack”), dialectal German Knüchtel (“bat, club”)), from Proto-Indo-European [[*gnegʰ-]], from *gen- ‘to ball up, pinch, compress’. | + | |
| + | In the 16th century, the genre became highly popular in the [[Iberian Peninsula]]; ''[[Amadis de Gaula]]'' was one of the most successful knight-errantry tales of this period. In ''[[Don Quixote]]'' (1605), [[Miguel de Cervantes]] [[burlesque]]d the romances and their popularity. Tales of knight-errantry then fell out of fashion for two centuries, until they re-emerged in the form of the [[historical novel]] in [[Romanticism]]. | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| - | * [[Black Knight]] | + | * [[Black knight]] |
| * [[Romantic hero]] | * [[Romantic hero]] | ||
| * [[Byronic hero]] | * [[Byronic hero]] | ||
| + | * [[Richard Payne Knight]] | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Current revision
|
"Pierre de Blois, who wrote in the twelfth century, complains that the horses of the knights were more frequently loaded with implements of gluttony and drunkenness, than with arms fit for battle. "They are burdened, "says he, "not with weapons, but wine; not with javelins, but cheeses; not with bludgeons, but bottles; not with spears, but with spits."."--History of Fiction (1814) by John Colin Dunlop "Many an argument did he have with the curate of his village as to which had been the better knight, Palmerin of England or Amadis of Gaul." --Don Quixote (1605) by Miguel de Cervantes “I’m a fairy tale princess in search of a knight and I never believed dreams come true. I’m just like you, I’m caught up in a one night love affair.”--"I'm Caught Up (In a One Night Love Affair)" (1979) by Inner Life |
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
A knight-errant is a figure of medieval chivalric romance literature. The adjective errant (meaning "wandering, roving") indicates how the knight-errant would wander the land in search of adventures to prove his chivalric virtues, either in knightly duels or in some other pursuit of courtly love.
[edit]
Description
The knight-errant is a character who has broken away from the world of his origin, in order to go off on his own to right wrongs or to test and assert his own chivalric ideals. He is motivated by idealism and goals that are often illusory. In medieval Europe, knight-errantry existed in literature, though fictional works from this time often were presented as non-fiction.
The template of the knight-errant were the heroes of the Round Table of the Arthurian cycle such as Gawain, Lancelot, and Percival. The quest in pursuit of which these knights wandered the lands is that of the Holy Grail, such as in Perceval, the Story of the Grail written by Chrétien de Troyes in the 1180s.
The character of the wandering knight existed in romantic literature as it developed during the late 12th century. However, the term "knight-errant" was to come later; its first extant usage occurs in the 14th-century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Knight-errantry tales remained popular with courtly audiences throughout the Late Middle Ages.
In the 16th century, the genre became highly popular in the Iberian Peninsula; Amadis de Gaula was one of the most successful knight-errantry tales of this period. In Don Quixote (1605), Miguel de Cervantes burlesqued the romances and their popularity. Tales of knight-errantry then fell out of fashion for two centuries, until they re-emerged in the form of the historical novel in Romanticism.
[edit]
See also
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Knight-errant" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
