Student Question
In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, does the squire embody the code of chivalry?
Quick answer:
The Squire in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales embodies the code of chivalry through his actions and character traits. Linked to his father, the Knight, the Squire is depicted as courteous, humble, and serviceable, qualities essential to chivalry. His participation in cavalry expeditions is motivated by the desire to win a lady's favor, reflecting the chivalric ideal of proving oneself worthy through honorable deeds. Chaucer's portrayal aligns the Squire with traditional chivalric values.
In terms of chivalry, Chaucer definitely stacks the deck in the squire's favor in the prologue to Canterbury Tales. The first character introduced in the prologue is the knight, who is obviously a favorite of the narrator's. The knight is all about medieval chivalry. Then, in the first line about the squire, Chaucer says “With him [the knight] was his son.” Just the simple linkage to the knight lends a chivalric air to the squire. Chaucer reinforces the idea in the second line about the squire with “on his way to knighthood.” At this point, it would be a shock if the squire turned out to be anything other than chivalric.
The squire's behavior also exemplifies the characteristics of chivalry. After telling the reader that the squire had been on cavalry expeditions, Chaucer writes:
. . . he had borne himself well,
in the hope of winning his lady's...
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One of the characteristics of chivalry is the attitude the male takes toward the woman he loves. It is nothing like a modern courtship. Instead, a knight (or in this case, a squire, who is often an aspiring knight) puts the object of his affection on a pedestal and then goes off on military adventures with the intention of proving himself worthy of her love. To do so he must comport himself with courage and honor. He must also be what we would call a “nice guy”--which Chaucer shows the squire to be in the second to last line:
He was courteous, humble, and serviceable.
Today, to be chivalric means to be polite and helpful to a woman—opening doors, lending overcoats, walking to the car in the rain and then driving back to the restaurant door to pick up your date (where she stands sheltered and dry). In Chaucer's time chivalry was something different—the male actually put his life on the line to prove himself worthy of a woman that he had probably not yet even courted.
Chivalry also governed other aspects of knightly behavior, stipulating, among other things, that knights must be fair in battle and devoted to God.