Chretien De Troyes Knight Of The Cart

Chretien de Troyes wrote Knight of the Cart, a twelfth century piece of literature which established the reader with a sence of how both knights and women of the past fit into society. Knights during the medieval ages were known to exemplify great honor and chivalry. Ironically, Lancelot is a knight who in a way sacrafices his honor by riding in the cart, but shows his devotion to the queen by going on his quest to save the queen. The role of women and how they are viewed changes throughout medieval time. During the twelfth century a piece of literature called, Knight of the Cart , Chretien de Troyes shows the diverse and unique way in which women and their roles changed. The Church and high ranking authorities viewed women to be secondary …show more content…
The role of women is shown early on in the story when Queen Guinevere resigns without fighting against it. Her resignation displays her limitations as a woman who is expected to fulfill her courtly demands. During Lancelot's quest for Queen Guinevere, he relies on the hospitality of numerous women along the way. These women not only provid him food, water, and shelter, but also direct him towards the queen. Along with the purity the women display; the fact that they are nameless throughout suggests them to be representations or secondary. Queen Guinevere was an important character throughout the story as a notable example of women during that time. She is loved for not only her beauty, but also her strength and nobility. The queen was introduced as King Arhtur's wife but later identified as Lancelot's courtly lover. Throughout Lancelot's quest the queen provided several tasks for Lancelot to prove his love for …show more content…
Chretien describes the embarrassment Lancelot endures while riding in the cart. His descriptions include the surrendering of all honor of a knight, and the abadonment of his identity. Honor and reputation were of great importance to knights during medieval times. It is clearly shown when Lancleot states " may god never have mercy on me if there's a word of pride in anything I say, and if I would rather not die honourably than live shamed" (Troyes, Knight of the Cart, Pg 221). Knights throughout the middle ages were very couageous and dying for honor was common. Many knights would rather die during their prime in order to be remembered for their success and greatness. Lancleot was a knight who set out to give his name meaning, and building a reputation for himself wasnt going to be easy. Lancelot needed to display honor, authenticity, and perfrom great