Preface Throughout my years of schooling, I have always been fascinated by medieval knights. Even as a child, I remember enjoying the tales of the great quests the knights would embark on. Whether it be slaying a mighty foe or adventuring to a far off land, the stories of knights were always exciting to hear. Because of this fascination, I chose to tell my creative tale in the style of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales from the perspective of the knight. Knights during the time of medieval England were responsible for protecting their king’s kingdom, as well as supporting him in attacking others (Medieval Knights).
These knights were well trained in combat and usually rode a horse into battle. One of the key concepts I want to highlight within the story is of the main values that knights held at the time. Loyalty to the king and protecting the kingdom were two, but chivalry was important as well. Chivalry describes a code of ethics that knights followed that included things like honor and respect toward women. Other values included bravery, honesty, and courtesy (Medieval Knights). While thinking about how to incorporate these values into my story, I came up with the idea of an epic quest.
Slaying a fearsome dragon that destroyed villages and castles in the king’s kingdom would cover the role of protecting the realm, and the quest that the knight journeyed on would showcase his bravery, honor, and skill in combat. He would also have to show chivalrous acts toward women, so the idea of the “damsel in distress” would be incorporated as well. One knight that was famous for saving a princess and slaying a dragon was St. George (Collin).
In the book, The Golden Legend written in 1265 by James or Jacobus of Voragine, an evil dragon egan terrorizing people in villages near the king’s castle. Eventually, the dragon stole the princess, and St. George was charged with retrieving her. The Saint perfectly fit into my story and was used to provide a familiar character to the time period. In trying to incorporate Chaucer’s style of writing in The Canterbury Tales, I tried to push a very high fantasy storyline similar to the tales in the book, such as The Wife of Bath’s Tale, and The Pardoner’s Tale. In those stories, we read about magical spells and physical fights with death that imply a fantasy storyline (Chaucer 96-150).
I also noted that most of the tales in the book have a meaning that relates to the character telling it. For instance, The Pardoner’s Tale, for example, had a message of greed leading to death, and encouraged people to spend their money on indulgences in the church instead of keeping it for themselves.. In my story, my message will relate to the values of knights during medieval times, portraying what the knight would feel others should stride for, honor and chivalry. Now kick back and relax, and enjoy reading The Knight’s Quest as much as I enjoyed writing it. —– The Knight’s Quest Long ago, there was a man who wandered into a dark and mysterious cave in the mountains to the north.
In this cave there read an inscription that told of an ancient evil that lurked behind a sealed door. Most would have turned away, but this eager man thirsted for fame and fortune, and felt that defeating whatever enemy lay before him would bestow upon him the greatest fortunes in the land. He followed the cave until he came upon the door and forced it open with his sword. Unfortunately, a fierce and fiery dragon stood in the chamber behind the door.
The man was engulfed in flames, and the dragon escaped his prison, terrorizing the people of the land for centuries. Many years passed, and many generations followed, but the threat of the dragon still remained at large. At the southern tip of the country, there stood a mighty castle whose walls could not be broken. St. George was on his way to this impenetrable fortress, when he noticed a creature flying in the distance. The beast had a wingspan as wide as a flowing river and scales that were as red as the flames that shot out its nostrils.
He rushed through the gate and warned the guards. The alarms rang through the streets, and the Saint rushed to protect the king. He burst into the throne room and slammed the doors shut behind him. Guards were posted at the windows. The evil dragon tried to break through the door, but could not beat the mighty strength of St. George. The tenacious knight could feel the dragon’s hot breath on the other side of the door. Then… silence. The king and his men peaked out the window to see if the dragon had given up and returned to his home in the mountains.
They could see the dragon flap its wings off into the distance far away. But something was wrong. They soon discovered that the princess was missing! The King was very distressed at this situation, and proposed a quest to return his daughter to the castle before she was harmed by the cruel beast of the north. St. George and nine other knights of the castle knew their duty, and set off to the northern mountains, where they would find the dragon and his prisoner. The knights’ horses were the swiftest in the land, and they reached The Forest of Death within an hour.
The dark and murky forest was responsible for killing many men who ventured into it, as the animals were very dangerous, and the roads were home to many bandits. This, however, did not bother St. George, as he knew his duty as a knight was to fulfill this quest no matter the risk. Mounted upon his noble steed, the knight powerfully charged through the forest, letting no fiendish bandit or terrifying creature slow him down. He slashed at his foes with his mighty sword, and defended his righteousness with his shield of justice. The other knights could not keep up with him, as they were all weak compared to the Saint.
He cleansed the forest of its pestilence with his fellow compatriots in tow and continued on their journey toward the northern mountains. After battling their way through the forest, only St. George and three knights remained; Sir James II, Sir Bedforth, and Sir Duncan. While traveling the long and twisty roads of the English countryside, George spotted smoke off into the distance. He saw black clouds billowing out of a nearby village. St. George rallied the knights to save the peasants from what looked to be a barbarian attack, as he felt it was their duty to save the people from their demise.
With sword and shield in hand, the knights charged head strong into battle. The knights’ swords clashed against those of the ruthless barbarians. Their lawless adversaries were no match for their crushing blows, and they dispatched the attackers within no time. With a quick adieu, the knights continued on the king’s quest. The knights trave through winding mountain roads above deathly drops, and finally found themselves at the foot of the dragon’s mountain. They heard a deep voice echo throughout the hills. The dragon told them to leave now and their lives would be spared.
The most squeamish of the four, Sir James II, shook in fear and rode back to the castle with his head hung low. The rest of them ventured onward up the mountain. The walls were too steep for the knight’s horses, so they continued on foot. The metal of their boots scraped against the cliff side as all three knights raced toward the top. Along the way, Sir Bedforth’s grip grew weak, and gave way halfway up the mountain side. The final challengers to reach the top were St. George and Sir Duncan. The mouth of the cave was wide, and the walls were jagged as teeth.
Sir Duncan echoed into the cave for the dragon to show himself so that they may engage in a mighty battle. The dragon replied with an offer: take the gold in the cave on the other side of the mountain side, and leave to never return. Sir Duncan’s eyes were filled with greed, and his skin turned as green as envy itself. He took the dragon’s deal and left with haste, abandoning the king’s quest, and leaving the princess and the dragon to the final knight, St. George. George’s call nearly rumbled the entire mountain as he beckoned the dragon to challenge him.
The enormous beast emerged from his cave and stood nearly seven men taller than the knight. The Saint stood firm. With his shield in one hand and his sword in the other, he valiantly charged into battle. The dragon aimed his fiery breath at George. George raised his shield to protect himself, but the flames were too hot for him to continue holding his shield. With his defensive wall now white hot and smoldering on the ground next to him, St. George knew he had to take the offensive. He leapt up and over the dragon’s sharp claws as the beast swiped toward him. anding on the dragon’s scaly forearm.
Then heroically leaping up onto the dragon’s head, St. George swung his sword, and slayed the foul beast in one smooth motion. The skull of his foe plummeted toward the earth, and St. George emerged victorious. He rushed into the cave to his noble lady’s hand, and he returned her back to the kingdom. The king was pleased that the princess was safe. Seeing that St. George was a strong and noble knight, the king offered his daughter to marry. St. George was later written into legend, and his story was told for centuries to come.