E X T E N S I O N THE KNIGHT The Knight is the first pilgrim Chaucer describes in the General Prologue and the teller of the first tale. The Knight represents the ideal of a medieval Christian manat-arms. He has participated in no less than fifteen of the great crusades of his era. Brave, experienced and prudent, the narrator greatly admires him, as the Host himself clearly does. The narrator seems to underline four main qualities of the Knight. The first is the Knight s love of ideals chivalrie (prowess1), trouthe (fidelity), honour (reputation), fredom (generosity), and curteisie (refinement) (General Prologue, 45-46). The second is the Knight s impressive military career. The Knight has fought in the Crusades, wars in which Europeans travelled to non-Christian lands and attempted to convert whole cultures by military force. By Chaucer s time, the spirit for conducting these wars was dying out2, and they were no longer undertaken as frequently.The Knight has battled the Muslims in Egypt, Spain and Turkey, and the Russian Orthodox in Lithuania and Russia. He has also fought in formal duels. The third quality is the Knight s gentle manner; the fourth is his array or dress.The Knight wears a tunic made of coarse3 cloth and his coat of mail is rust-stained4, because he has recently returned from an expedition. The Knight s interaction with other characters tells us a few additional facts about him. In the Prologue to The Nun s Priest s Tale, he calls out to hear something more light-hearted5, saying that stories about tragic falls upset him. He would rather hear about joye and greet 1. prowess: great ability or skill. 2. die out: disappear. 3. coarse: having a rough surface. 4. rust-stained: with reddish marks left by iron. 5. light-hearted: not serious. 6. solace: comfort, consolation. 37