A Knight’s Tale
Director: Brian Helgeland
Cast: Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Mark Addy, Alan Tudyk, Laura Fraser, Rufus Sewell, Paul Bettany, Berenice Bejo, James Purefoy, Leagh Conwell, Christopher Cazenove, Nick Brimble
Inspired by "The Canterbury Tales," as well as the early life of William Marshall (later First Earl of Pembroke), this is the story of William Thatcher, a young squire with a gift for jousting and a dream of someday becoming a knight. On the journey, William and his companions stumble across an unknown writer, Geoffrey Chaucer (Paul Bettany). William, lacking a proper noble pedigree, convinces Chaucer to forge patents of nobility documents that will pass William off as a knight. With his newly minted genealogy in hand, William sets out to prove himself to be a worthy knight at the country's jousting competition and finds romance along the way with the beautiful Princess Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon.)
There are moments throughout the story which illustrate how William is a true knight, even before Prince Edward knights him officially. He has all the traits that make a worthy knight… courage, chivalry, honor, loyalty, love… and as William transforms from humble squire into noble knight, each of his friends play a part in making William the knight he was born to be and helping him change his stars.
William’s friends, Watt and Roland, teach him the dangerous art of jousting and swordplay, and they also serve as his squires, helping William to create a stronger case for his secret identity. Chaucer validates William’s identity as a knight by creating patents of nobility to prove his noble birth, and then, he creates William’s identity as Sir Ulrich and endears him to the people with stories of his grand and noble deeds, to impress them during the tournaments. And Kate, the blacksmith, creates William's special armor, which protects him during the dangerous jousts, and she also teaches William the subtle and delicate art of how to be a gentleman and impress a lady, and how to dance, so he doesn’t make a fool of himself at the celebration after he wins the tournament. Of course, Princess Jocelyn is his beautiful princess who wins his heart and teaches William the true nature of love. I found one last piece to the character puzzle. At the end of the movie when they discover the truth about William, his friends are all defending him from the crowd, and Prince Edward comes back and he remembers how William honored him on the field and let him keep his dignity, and so, to repay this debt, Prince Edward completes William’s transformation into a noble knight by making him a true knight and giving him the name Sir William.
Love is also a powerful theme in this film and nowhere does the power of love shine more brightly than in the character of William and how his love is expressed to both Princess Jocelyn and his friends.
William proves his love to the beautiful Princess Jocelyn by losing the joust and writing her the beautiful love letter and learning to dance for her. I DO love how Jocelyn tempers William's masculine arrogance and pride by challenging him to lose the tournament on purpose, to prove his love for her is sincere. I love how Count Adhemar keeps trying to discredit Sir William and make him look ridiculous in front of Jocelyn and she keeps thwarting him by showing her favor to William instead. She gives William her token, rather than Adhemar, who pledged to win the tournament in her honor, and she wears Williams colors at the banquet feast and teaches William to dance and helps him save face at the banquet when Adhemar tries to publicly humiliate William.
Can we just appreciate that Princess Jocelyn challenged William to prove his love to her by going against his masculine nature and losing the tournament for her, rather than winning, so she could see the full weight of his love...He refuses to do this, at first, but then, rather than just withdrawing from the tournament and losing that way to give his lady what she wants, William sits there gallantly on his horse and takes, by my count, at the very least, between 13 and 15 strikes to the chest, with the opponent's lance, without even trying to protect himself with his shield or blocking the lance or ducking out of the way. He takes the full weight of this punishment, hit after hit, and even causes grave damage to his arm to prove his love for the princess. We know from Kate that the new armor she created for William when she joined his company and helped transform him into a knight is strong enough to protect Will from the blows of the lance and he is not feeling any of the blows… but the emotional toll it takes on Will, proving his love for the princess, is what makes this a worthy and very romantic moment. This is why she finally gives him her name and tells him to win the tournament for her. He proved his mercy to Jocelyn by showing mercy to Prince Edward and allowing the prince to withdraw with his dignity from the tournament, rather than crushing him in defeat, as Adhemar would have done. Now, he proves his love for Jocelyn by showing gallantry and courage in the face of her challenge when he allows himself to be defeated in the tournament. He is a worthy knight.
When Jocelyn discovers William’s secret, she asks him outright for the truth in this moment... she says that Christiana, her lady-in-waiting, tells her that his true name is William, and not Ulrich. She asks him to tell her if this is true, and he does tell her the truth at this moment... that William is his real name. This proves his integrity to her... that he would tell her the truth, even though he has taken on this new secret identity and created this new, noble character for himself and revealing the truth of this deception... especially to her, since she is a noble... could potentially lead to his death. He trusts her with his secret, and in doing so, he endears himself to her and she gives him her heart.
There is a theme woven throughout the story of a boy changing his stars… setting himself on a new path toward a better future than the one he is currently on. This is the philosophy that is imprinted on William’s character, given to him by his father as a parting gift, and the catalyst which allows William to not only find his star… but also find his way back home to his father, as well.
When William’s father brings his young son to London to become an apprentice to Sir Ector, I believe his reason for doing so was because as a father, he wished to give his beloved son a much better life than that of a humble thatcher, living in the poorest district of London, and eating next to nothing (Sir Ector describing him being a half-starved little scarecrow) even if that meant sending his son away and not being there to see this moment. As a father, he loves William enough to make this sacrifice and help his son fulfill his dream of being a knight one day. When they are saying goodbye, John Thatcher tells his son to change his stars and live a better life than his father had… and if he ever wanted to find his way home, just follow his feet… which is what William later does when he finds his way into Cheapside, London, to his father’s humble home and reunites with him. I do love that subtle moment between William’s father, and his new master, Sir Ector, after John says goodbye to his son. There was a look that passed between the two men that said, “Thank you for giving my son this chance to live” and “I’ll take good care of him” without a single word being spoken. Just a silent vow and nod of acknowledgement between two good men. I know why John Thatcher sits at his high window, even though his eyes can no longer see the sun. He is not looking for sunlight, or fresh air, or even a pretty view of London. He is waiting and watching for his son to find his stars and follow his feet back home to his father's door, so that they can be together again. That is his heart's wish, even if he never says so... to be with his son again. I love that the very first thing his father gets to hear William say, after all those years of waiting, is that his son has become a knight... play-acting as a knight but still, a knight. And then, you can see the joy shining in his father's eyes as he realizes this knight brings words about his son. You can see the pride in his eyes as he hears of his son's history and hears that his son is alive and doing very well. And you can feel the overwhelming wave of joy that envelopes them both as they embrace and find their way back to each other. And we can see the joy in William's expression...that his father not only remembers him but loves him and William sees his father and they are together again.
William's final test as a knight comes when his secret is revealed. He is moments away from finally facing Adhemar, who, when they last fought, deemed William unworthy as an opponent and defeated him soundly. William was not ready then, to claim the honor of being a knight. He was a knight in name only… not truly in his heart. But love has been the cornerstone of William's transformation. His friends made him a knight because they loved him. They defend William at the stocks and help him with his charade because they love him. Jocelyn loves William, as well. Every test she has given William, to prove his worthiness as being the knight of her heart, has been passed with excellence. William is the epitome of what a knight ought to be... handsome, brave, gallant, courageous, chivalrous, strong, loyal, loving to both his people and his lady love. But when faced with the choice of running away or accepting his fate for his fantasy being found a fraud, even when Jocelyn says that love is the only thing they cannot take from him and she will run away with him in the name of love, rather than see him killed… he still holds fast to his integrity. He is not willing to run away from who he is. He is a knight. This is his star.
I love that in the moment when William is nearly defeated… wounded by the lance and mocked cruelly by Adhemar… it is in this moment that his hope is restored and his strength rejuvenated, when he sees his father and his beautiful princess together in the stands, watching this moment. It is in this moment that William truly becomes a knight… when he defeats his enemy and proves him false in his claim that William would never be a worthy knight. And it is in this moment that Chaucer gives William one last gift… time and a true introduction. He saw that William was in trouble and that they were about to start the tournament and William would be caught, not only extremely vulnerable, with no armor and a lance lashed to his arm, but unprepared to react, as well. He gave William the honor of a proper introduction, telling the people the true story of this worthy knight and introducing him as Sir William Thatcher. His father heard this introduction… it was the greatest gift he could have been given… not only knowing that his son was alive and had good friends and a wonderful lady to share his heart with, but that he had found his way home to his father and John got to witness his son changing his stars, at last. And in this moment, William finally found his stars at long last.
© 2025 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.
Director: Brian Helgeland
Cast: Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Mark Addy, Alan Tudyk, Laura Fraser, Rufus Sewell, Paul Bettany, Berenice Bejo, James Purefoy, Leagh Conwell, Christopher Cazenove, Nick Brimble
Inspired by "The Canterbury Tales," as well as the early life of William Marshall (later First Earl of Pembroke), this is the story of William Thatcher, a young squire with a gift for jousting and a dream of someday becoming a knight. On the journey, William and his companions stumble across an unknown writer, Geoffrey Chaucer (Paul Bettany). William, lacking a proper noble pedigree, convinces Chaucer to forge patents of nobility documents that will pass William off as a knight. With his newly minted genealogy in hand, William sets out to prove himself to be a worthy knight at the country's jousting competition and finds romance along the way with the beautiful Princess Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon.)
There are moments throughout the story which illustrate how William is a true knight, even before Prince Edward knights him officially. He has all the traits that make a worthy knight… courage, chivalry, honor, loyalty, love… and as William transforms from humble squire into noble knight, each of his friends play a part in making William the knight he was born to be and helping him change his stars.
William’s friends, Watt and Roland, teach him the dangerous art of jousting and swordplay, and they also serve as his squires, helping William to create a stronger case for his secret identity. Chaucer validates William’s identity as a knight by creating patents of nobility to prove his noble birth, and then, he creates William’s identity as Sir Ulrich and endears him to the people with stories of his grand and noble deeds, to impress them during the tournaments. And Kate, the blacksmith, creates William's special armor, which protects him during the dangerous jousts, and she also teaches William the subtle and delicate art of how to be a gentleman and impress a lady, and how to dance, so he doesn’t make a fool of himself at the celebration after he wins the tournament. Of course, Princess Jocelyn is his beautiful princess who wins his heart and teaches William the true nature of love. I found one last piece to the character puzzle. At the end of the movie when they discover the truth about William, his friends are all defending him from the crowd, and Prince Edward comes back and he remembers how William honored him on the field and let him keep his dignity, and so, to repay this debt, Prince Edward completes William’s transformation into a noble knight by making him a true knight and giving him the name Sir William.
Love is also a powerful theme in this film and nowhere does the power of love shine more brightly than in the character of William and how his love is expressed to both Princess Jocelyn and his friends.
William proves his love to the beautiful Princess Jocelyn by losing the joust and writing her the beautiful love letter and learning to dance for her. I DO love how Jocelyn tempers William's masculine arrogance and pride by challenging him to lose the tournament on purpose, to prove his love for her is sincere. I love how Count Adhemar keeps trying to discredit Sir William and make him look ridiculous in front of Jocelyn and she keeps thwarting him by showing her favor to William instead. She gives William her token, rather than Adhemar, who pledged to win the tournament in her honor, and she wears Williams colors at the banquet feast and teaches William to dance and helps him save face at the banquet when Adhemar tries to publicly humiliate William.
Can we just appreciate that Princess Jocelyn challenged William to prove his love to her by going against his masculine nature and losing the tournament for her, rather than winning, so she could see the full weight of his love...He refuses to do this, at first, but then, rather than just withdrawing from the tournament and losing that way to give his lady what she wants, William sits there gallantly on his horse and takes, by my count, at the very least, between 13 and 15 strikes to the chest, with the opponent's lance, without even trying to protect himself with his shield or blocking the lance or ducking out of the way. He takes the full weight of this punishment, hit after hit, and even causes grave damage to his arm to prove his love for the princess. We know from Kate that the new armor she created for William when she joined his company and helped transform him into a knight is strong enough to protect Will from the blows of the lance and he is not feeling any of the blows… but the emotional toll it takes on Will, proving his love for the princess, is what makes this a worthy and very romantic moment. This is why she finally gives him her name and tells him to win the tournament for her. He proved his mercy to Jocelyn by showing mercy to Prince Edward and allowing the prince to withdraw with his dignity from the tournament, rather than crushing him in defeat, as Adhemar would have done. Now, he proves his love for Jocelyn by showing gallantry and courage in the face of her challenge when he allows himself to be defeated in the tournament. He is a worthy knight.
When Jocelyn discovers William’s secret, she asks him outright for the truth in this moment... she says that Christiana, her lady-in-waiting, tells her that his true name is William, and not Ulrich. She asks him to tell her if this is true, and he does tell her the truth at this moment... that William is his real name. This proves his integrity to her... that he would tell her the truth, even though he has taken on this new secret identity and created this new, noble character for himself and revealing the truth of this deception... especially to her, since she is a noble... could potentially lead to his death. He trusts her with his secret, and in doing so, he endears himself to her and she gives him her heart.
There is a theme woven throughout the story of a boy changing his stars… setting himself on a new path toward a better future than the one he is currently on. This is the philosophy that is imprinted on William’s character, given to him by his father as a parting gift, and the catalyst which allows William to not only find his star… but also find his way back home to his father, as well.
When William’s father brings his young son to London to become an apprentice to Sir Ector, I believe his reason for doing so was because as a father, he wished to give his beloved son a much better life than that of a humble thatcher, living in the poorest district of London, and eating next to nothing (Sir Ector describing him being a half-starved little scarecrow) even if that meant sending his son away and not being there to see this moment. As a father, he loves William enough to make this sacrifice and help his son fulfill his dream of being a knight one day. When they are saying goodbye, John Thatcher tells his son to change his stars and live a better life than his father had… and if he ever wanted to find his way home, just follow his feet… which is what William later does when he finds his way into Cheapside, London, to his father’s humble home and reunites with him. I do love that subtle moment between William’s father, and his new master, Sir Ector, after John says goodbye to his son. There was a look that passed between the two men that said, “Thank you for giving my son this chance to live” and “I’ll take good care of him” without a single word being spoken. Just a silent vow and nod of acknowledgement between two good men. I know why John Thatcher sits at his high window, even though his eyes can no longer see the sun. He is not looking for sunlight, or fresh air, or even a pretty view of London. He is waiting and watching for his son to find his stars and follow his feet back home to his father's door, so that they can be together again. That is his heart's wish, even if he never says so... to be with his son again. I love that the very first thing his father gets to hear William say, after all those years of waiting, is that his son has become a knight... play-acting as a knight but still, a knight. And then, you can see the joy shining in his father's eyes as he realizes this knight brings words about his son. You can see the pride in his eyes as he hears of his son's history and hears that his son is alive and doing very well. And you can feel the overwhelming wave of joy that envelopes them both as they embrace and find their way back to each other. And we can see the joy in William's expression...that his father not only remembers him but loves him and William sees his father and they are together again.
William's final test as a knight comes when his secret is revealed. He is moments away from finally facing Adhemar, who, when they last fought, deemed William unworthy as an opponent and defeated him soundly. William was not ready then, to claim the honor of being a knight. He was a knight in name only… not truly in his heart. But love has been the cornerstone of William's transformation. His friends made him a knight because they loved him. They defend William at the stocks and help him with his charade because they love him. Jocelyn loves William, as well. Every test she has given William, to prove his worthiness as being the knight of her heart, has been passed with excellence. William is the epitome of what a knight ought to be... handsome, brave, gallant, courageous, chivalrous, strong, loyal, loving to both his people and his lady love. But when faced with the choice of running away or accepting his fate for his fantasy being found a fraud, even when Jocelyn says that love is the only thing they cannot take from him and she will run away with him in the name of love, rather than see him killed… he still holds fast to his integrity. He is not willing to run away from who he is. He is a knight. This is his star.
I love that in the moment when William is nearly defeated… wounded by the lance and mocked cruelly by Adhemar… it is in this moment that his hope is restored and his strength rejuvenated, when he sees his father and his beautiful princess together in the stands, watching this moment. It is in this moment that William truly becomes a knight… when he defeats his enemy and proves him false in his claim that William would never be a worthy knight. And it is in this moment that Chaucer gives William one last gift… time and a true introduction. He saw that William was in trouble and that they were about to start the tournament and William would be caught, not only extremely vulnerable, with no armor and a lance lashed to his arm, but unprepared to react, as well. He gave William the honor of a proper introduction, telling the people the true story of this worthy knight and introducing him as Sir William Thatcher. His father heard this introduction… it was the greatest gift he could have been given… not only knowing that his son was alive and had good friends and a wonderful lady to share his heart with, but that he had found his way home to his father and John got to witness his son changing his stars, at last. And in this moment, William finally found his stars at long last.
© 2025 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.