The Knight, a courtly medieval fighting man who has served king and religion all over the known world. Modest in dress and speech, though the highest in rank of the pilgrims to Canterbury, he rides with only his son and a yeoman in attendance. He tells a metrical romance, the first of the stories in the series related by the various pilgrims. His is a tale of courtly love, the story of the love two young Theban noblemen, Palamon and Arcite, have for Emily, the beautiful sister-in-law of Duke Theseus of Athens. The young men compete in a tourney for the girl’s hand. Palamon wins but is killed in an accident, so that Arcite eventually has his love rewarded.