Social Rank And Status In The Knight's Tale

Social rank and status have many effects in Medieval life. The rank you are born into will basically lay out your whole life. It will decide what you do for a living, how much income you will make, and the kinds of people you talk to. Your rank gives you a job, and a social class, meaning that your rank is very important to not only your life, but also your family's life and this is represented in a few different ways throughout The Knight’s Tale.
William in the Knight’s Tale is born into a very poor part of town, Cheapside, England. Because of where William was born and the family he was born into, it was destined for him to be in a very low rank and social class. Once you are born into or given a particular social class, it is very rare for it to change during your lifetime. William and his father were very aware of this, but his father pushed William to “change his stars” which meant to change the way he was living his life and to be something bigger and more worthy. This is an example of how in Medieval times social class is a very important in the Knight’s Tale when William was born into a poor neighborhood and was put into a poor environment at birth. …show more content…
William came up with the idea to take the knight’s armor and begin pretending to be a knight to earn some money for himself and his friends. His friends were surprised at the idea and tried to talk him out of it. They said he was not born a noble and he will never be a noble, but William decided to take a chance and try to change his destiny. William decides to cheat the Medieval system by turning himself into a noble and proving that he is worthy of being a knight and not just a poor peasant in a low social class. This is another representation in the Knight’s Tale that shows how the social classes are important to their