A knight-errant (plural knights-errant) is a figure of medieval chivalric romance literature. As a Literary genre of High culture, romance or chivalric romance refers to a style of heroic Prose and verse Narrative "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 pas d'armes or passage of arms was a type of chivalric Hastilude that evolved in the late fourteenth century and remained popular through

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. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th-century "^[1]

Description

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. Feudalism, a term first used in the early modern period (17th century in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval Europe Political system composed Sir Gareth was a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian Legend. 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. This article is about the word for other meanings see Quest (disambiguation A quest is a journey towards a goal used in Mythology 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 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. As a Literary genre of High culture, romance or chivalric romance refers to a style of heroic Prose and verse Narrative The Mythology and Legends of many different Cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength The dragon is a Legendary creature of which some interpretation or depiction appears in almost every culture worldwide 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. Sir Ywain (also called Owain, Yvain, Ewain or Uwain) is a Knight of the Round Table and the son of King Urien Yvain the Knight of the Lion (Yvain le Chevalier au Lion is a romance by Chrétien de Troyes. Other knights-errant 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. The Woodwose ( Old English: wuduwasa) or Wildman of the Woods is a mythological figure that appears in the artwork and literature of medieval Europe Valentine and Orson is a romance which has been attached to the Carolingian cycle. Guillaume de Palerme ( "William of Palerne") is a French romance poem which has been translated into English

Famous knights-errant

• Sir Galahad
• Sir Gawain
• Sir Lancelot
• Amadis de Gaula
• Don Quixote

In other cultures

Youxia, or "Chinese knights-errant", traveled solely protecting common folk from oppressive regimes enacted by courtly officials. Sir Galahad is a knight of King Arthur 's Round Table and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. Gawain (ˈgɔːwɪn or /gəˈweɪn/ also called Gwalchmei Gawan Gauvain Walewein etc In the Arthurian legend, Sir Lancelot ( Lancelot du Lac, also Launcelot) is one of the Knights of the Round Table. Amadis de Gaula (original Castilian Spanish version ( English: Amadis of Gaul, Spanish: Amadís de Gaula es '''''Don Quixote''''' (, see spelling and pronunciation below fully titled es '''''El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha''''' ("The Ingenious Hidalgo Don The Chinese knight-errant or Yóuxiá ( Traditional: 游俠 Simplified: 游侠 was a type of chivalrous hero similar to Europe 's Knight-errant 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. The Tang Dynasty ( Middle Chinese: dhɑng (June 18 618&ndashJune 4 907 was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by The term Negrito refers to several ethnic groups in isolated parts of Southeast Asia. The term Negrito refers to several ethnic groups in isolated parts of Southeast Asia. ^[2][3]

The cowboy of the American Western genre can in many ways be considered a modern successor to the Knight-errant. A cowboy is an animal Herder who tends Cattle on Ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback and often performs a multitude of Like the Knight-errant of Medieval romance (and not necessarily like the actual cowboy of 19th Century American society), the cowboy of Western novels and films wanders from place to place on his horse, bound only by his innate code of honour, and often performs noble deeds or saves a damsel in distress (though unlike the Knight-errant, he usually does not call such deeds by these names). The subject of the damsel in distress, or persecuted maiden is a classic theme in world literature art and film

See also

• Bogatyr
• Chivalry
• Paladin
• Romance (genre)
• Ronin
• Youxia

References