The "Discrete Occupational Identity" of Chaucer's Knyght

Authors

  • Katherine Echols University of Houston

Keywords:

Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, Knight

Abstract

Popular critical opinion favors reading the pilgrim Knyght of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales as an idealized chivalric knight; however, the pilgrim Knyght bears the hallmark of the early professional soldier that began to evolve as early as the eleventh century. Both Chaucer's experiences as a soldier, plus his exposure to English troops, seem likely sources for this portrait of the professional warrior. This essay considers the construction of the pilgrim Knyght as a professional soldier based on his warfare experience and his verbal cues.

Author Biography

Katherine Echols, University of Houston

PhD English, English Dept., University of Houston

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Published

2013-01-09

Issue

Section

Critical Articles