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A knight-errant (plural knights-errant) is a figure of medieval chivalric romance literature. "Errant" meaning wandering or roving, indicates how the knight-errant would typically wander the land in search of adventures to prove himself as a knight, such as in a pas d'Armes.

The first known appearance of the term "knight-errant" was in the 14th century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, where Sir Gawain arrives at the castle of Sir Bercilak de Haudesert after long journeys, and Sir Bercilak goes to welcome the "knygt erraunt."[1]

Description

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Yvain rescues the lion. Medieval illumination
Many knights-errant fit the ideal of the "knight in shining armor". A knight-errant performed all his deeds in the name of a lady, and invoked her name before performing an exploit. 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 (as Sir Gareth rescuing the Lady Lyonesse), 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 Queen, 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 giants, enchantresses, or dragons. 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 Knight of the Lion. Other knight-errants have been assisted by wild men of the woods, as in Valentine and Orson, or, like Guillaume de Palerme, by wolves that were, in fact, enchanted princes.

Famous knights-errant

In other cultures

Youxia, or "Chinese knights-errant", traveled solely protecting common folk from oppressive regimes enacted by courtly officials. Unlike their European counterpart, they did not come from any social caste and were anything from soldiers to poets. A popular literary tradition arose during the Tang Dynasty which centered on Negrito-slaves who used supernatural physical abilities to save kidnapped damsels-in-distress and to swim to the bottom of raging rivers to retrieve treasures for their Feudal Lords.[2][3]

See also

References

1. ^ The Maven's Word of the Day: Knight Errant
2. ^ Liu, James J.Y. The Chinese Knight Errant. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1967 (ISBN 0-2264-8688-5)
3. ^ Snow, Philip. The Star Raft: China's Encounter With Africa. Cornell Univ. Press, 1989 (ISBN 0801495830)
Middle Ages form the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three "ages": the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages and Modern Times.
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romance or chivalric romance refers to a style of heroic prose and verse narrative current in Europe from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

Characteristics of the romance


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Pas d'Armes ("Passage of Arms") or Passo Honroso ("Passage of Honor") was a type of knightly chivalric hastilude that evolved in the late 14th century and remained popular through the 15th century.
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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th century alliterative chivalric romance outlining an adventure of Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. The poem survives on a single manuscript, the Cotton Nero A.x.
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Feudalism refers to a general set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the warrior nobility of Europe during the Middle Ages, revolving around the three key concepts of lords, vassals, and fiefs.
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Sir Gareth was a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian Legend. He was the son of Lot and of Morgause, King Arthur's sister, thus making him Arthur's nephew, as well as brother to Gawain, Gaheris, Agravaine, and half brother of Mordred.
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Fantasy media
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Genre studies

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The Faerie Queene is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser, published first in three books in 1590, and later in six books in 1596. The Faerie Queene is notable for its form: it was the first work written in Spenserian stanza.
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romance or chivalric romance refers to a style of heroic prose and verse narrative current in Europe from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

Characteristics of the romance


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Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.

In various Indo-European mythologies, gigantic peoples are featured as primeval creatures associated with chaos and the wild
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Enchantress could refer to:
  • Enchantress, a female spellcaster, practitioner of magic, user of enchantment
  • Enchantress, a beautiful and charismatic woman
  • The Enchantress, an opera by Tchaikovsky

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Sir Ywain (also called Owain, Yvain, Ewain or Uwain) is a Knight of the Round Table and the son of King Urien in Arthurian legend. The historical Owain mab Urien, on whom the literary character is based, was the king of Rheged in Great Britain during
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Yvain, the Knight of the Lion (French: Yvain, le Chevalier au Lion) is a romance by Chrétien de Troyes. It was probably written in the 1170s simultaneously with Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, and includes several references to the action in that poem.
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Woodwose (Anglo-Saxon: wuduwasa) or hairy wildman of the woods was the Sasquatch figure of medieval Europe. Images of woodwoses appear in the carved and painted roof bosses where intersecting ogee vaults meet in the cathedral of Canterbury, in positions where one is
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Valentine and Orson is a romance which has been attached to the Carolingian cycle. It is the story of twin brothers, abandoned in the woods in infancy. Valentine is brought up as a knight at the court of Pippin, while Orson grows up in a bear's den to be a wild man of the
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Guillaume de Palerme ("William of Palerne") is a French romance poem, which has been translated into English.

The French verse romance was composed circa 1200, commissioned by Countess Yolande (who is generally identified to be Yolande, daughter of Baldwin IV, Count
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Sir Galahad is a knight of King Arthur's Round Table and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. He is the bastard son of Sir Lancelot and Elaine of Carbonek, and is renowned for his gallantry and purity.
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Gawain (Gwalchmei, Gawan, Gauvain, Walewein etc.) (IPA pronunciation: /gaʊwɪn/ or /gɑːweɪn/) is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table who appears very early in the Arthurian legend's development.
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Sir Lancelot (Lancelot du Lac, also Launcelot) is one of the Knights of the Round Table. In most of the French prose romances and works, he is characterized as the greatest and most trusted of Arthur's knights, and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories –
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Amadis of Gaul
Author Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo
Original title Amadis de Gaula
Country Spain
Language Castilian
Publisher
Publication date 1508

Amadis de Gaula (original Portuguese version) (English: Amadis of Gaul
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El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha

The 1605 original title page
Author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Original title El ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote de la Mancha
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The Chinese knight-errant or Yóuxiá (Traditional: 游俠 Simplified: 游侠) was a type of chivalrous hero, similar to Europe's Knight-errant, which came into existence during the Han Dynasty and disappeared during the Qing Dynasty.
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Negrito refers to a small-statured, dwindling ethnic group which is now restricted to isolated parts of Southeast Asia. Negritos are arguably the most enigmatic people on our planet as they belong to an ancient stratum of Homo sapiens in Asia.
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bogatyr (Russian: богаты́рь, from the Turkic baghatur) or vityaz (Russian: витязь, a valiant warrior
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Chivalry[1] is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood. It is usually associated with ideals of knightly virtues, honor and courtly love. The word is derived from the French word chevalier, indicating one who rides a horse (Fr.
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romance or chivalric romance refers to a style of heroic prose and verse narrative current in Europe from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

Characteristics of the romance


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rōnin (浪人 rōnin
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