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Providence and Ability in the Knyghtes Tale Providence and ability greatly affect a knight's everyday life and a balance must be found between them in order for
Submitted by ajnosk on May 6, 2008
Category: Book Reports
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Providence and ability greatly affect a knight’s everyday life and a balance must be found between them in order for him to succeed. At times, he may even have to overcome God’s providence with the help of his extraordinary abilities. The two main characters of the Knyghtes Tale, Palamon and Arcite, strive to reconcile these aspects throughout the tale. Luckily, Theseus serves as the model we can compare them to and he guides them to a noble end by interfering in their duel when they go astray. The development Arcite and Palamon show between their characters in the duel and those in the battle gives us hope that we can fruitfully integrate providence and ability within our own lives.
The Knyght gives us an account of providence, the first main aspect of a knight’s life, both in passing and in long descriptions. One of his most striking examples comes from a narration of a seemingly trivial action, Theseus’ hunting expedition.
The destinee, ministre general,
That executeth in the world over al
The purveiance that God hath seyn biforn,
So strong it is that, though the world had sworn
The contrarie of a thyng by ye or nay,
Yet sometyme it shall fallen on a day
That falleth nat eft withinne a thousand yeer.
For certeinly, oure appetites heer,
Be it of werre, or pees, or hate, or love,
Al is this reuled by the sighte above.
The destiny, minister general,
That administers over all in the world
The foresight that God has said before,
So strong it is that, though the world had sworn
The opposite of a thing be it ye or nay,
Yet sometime it shall fall on a day
That falls not again within a thousand years.
For certainly, our appetites here,
Be it of war, or peace, or hate, or love,
All this is ruled by the foresight above.
The Knyght uses this description to explain why Theseus encounters Arcite...
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