A Comparison and Contrast of the Knight and the Squire in the Canterbury Tales Essay

Compare and Contrast the Kngiht and the SquireGeoffrey Chaucer portrayed a cross section of medieval society thoughThe Canterbury Tales. "The Prologue" or foreword of this work serves asan introduction to each of the thirty one characters involved in the tales.Two of these characters are the Kght and the Squire, who share a father and son relation. These individualsdepart on a religious pilgrimage to a cathedral in Canterbury. The Squire,opposed to the Knight, goes for a vacation instead of religious purposes.His intent is not as genuinand pure as his father's. Though the Knight and the Squire are fromthe same feudal class and vocation, they differ in the fact that the Knightrepresents how society should have been and the Squire depicts an accurateportrayal of how it actually was.Chivalry, heroism, and modesty delineate the Knight, whose upright standardsand principles illustrate a true gentleman these characteristics are notevident in the Squire. Even though the Knight has won many wars, he iscareful not to brag about hisctories. The most recurrent point in the description of the Knightis the abundance and importance of his conquests however, the Squire'sbattles are barely mentioned. While the entirety of the Squire's battlesare summed up in two lines ("he had sesome service with the cavalry In Flanders and Artois and Picardy"),the list of the Knight's battles dominates his description (Chaucer 120).The Squire's battles are not fought in the interest of his chivalry. Onthe other hand, the Knight is distiuished and chivalrous because of his unconditional devotion. Chauceradmired the valiant and noble Knight above the overbearing Squire.Regarding clothing and appearance, the humble Knight chooses to weara plain armor and tunic while the Squire frivolously indulges in excesses.The Squire is an extremely vain individual, taking pains to improve hisappearance. His superfluous appareis clean and bright and his hair has "locks as curly as if they hadbeen pressed"(120). This greed for wealth and beauty definitely does notabide by the code of chivalry and is unnecessary for his knighthood....