A Knights Tale Analysis

The genre of medieval romance is a genre with many requirements. The foremost and most obvious ones being that a movie must be romantic and it must be set in the Middle Ages. Other requirements for content include, aimless wandering, spontaneous fighting and the list goes on. I think for a movie to be a “medieval romance” it only has to have romance and be set in the middle ages. However if it fulfills any other criteria it helps.

The movie “A Knights Tale” is strange fit with medieval romance with a bit of a modern twist. It is the story of a young squire of “lowly birth” who is inspired to become a knight when the knight he works for dies. However, he is not of noble birth so, he has to get proof that he is noble forged. To summarize, he becomes very successful, falls in love with a princess and beats his evil archenemy. This movie is a modern classic of the medieval romance genre. It fits the main criteria of being “romantic” and it is packed with action as well.

While A Knights Tale does not have any of the magic or supernatural elements, it makes up for it in other areas. One criterion that A Knights Tale fills very well is the presence of a strong female character. The female blacksmith, Kate, is a great example because first, she is a woman in a profession largely considered a “mans” work, second, her character is strong and unforgiving. The other characters are unique and all are humorous. A Knights Tale is wonderful movie that qualifies for the genre of medieval romance quite nicely without being too serious.