YOU
DO NOT WANT THIS SET OF WHEELS, YA NO-HONOR-HAVIN'-ASS
By:
Rory Conklin
The
Knight of the Cart was definitely an interesting read for me personally, mainly
because I could not for the life of me follow what was going on!! It seems like
my opinion was shared greatly by my fellow classmates that the continuing
mentions of nameless characters, just left us all wondering whom was talking
and when! left me totally confused and quite frankly frustrated in what truly
was going on. Personally I like to visualize in my wonderful imagination what
really goes down in this story, but I found myself simply only imagining the vivid
scenery described but without the faces of who exactly was talking, or who was
the center of attention. Just a bunch of knights and their armor that covers
them.
The
most interesting part to me in this story was the significance a cart played in
the society to the knights and the dwarfs themselves. "Like out pillories,
carts served for murderers and robbers, for those found guilty in trials by
combat, for thieves who had stole the property of others or seized it by
force on the roads" (174). The
dishonor that goes along with having this cart made me think about how possibly
the cart represented the public's judgment on these people that were convicted
of such crimes, and that the cart showed their inability to achieve anything on
their own, such as walking and why they need a mobile cart. This is what showed
their dishonor and that they were not independent enough to make it on their
own in the world, but rather take from others. Take a cart to make it easier on
themselves rather than walk and earn their stripes.
How
people thought of one another really had a major impact on the lifestyle back
then, much like in Erec and Enide, where you were critically judged and forced
to reflect on your own actions, and make the self realization that you must do
whatever it takes to prove a point.
That's a great idea about the cart, and I hadn't even considered it. In medieval times, criminals could be bound and put on a cart to be carried through the city so citizens could mock them on the way to be executed, which appears to be what Chrétien is referencing. Still, I'm a huge fan of symbolism, so I like the idea that a cart might be an indicator of dishonor, laziness, and freeloading, three things that medieval people dreaded. Sometimes a cart just represents a cart, but I'm willing to consider it!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you say the lack of names made you picture only faceless people in armor. Maybe that's a good thing, something that Chrétien would be happy to hear. When the knight is in armor, he's become a weapon, something not quite human; however, when he's out of his armor, he's gentle, kind, and loving. Perhaps Chrétien wanted to show that even the most brutal of men should still return to their humanity and express the best qualities toward others?
This was a confusing read... and I agree, about the only thing I could follow in this story was the significance of the cart. I also like how you added a symbolism aspect of a cart. It actually reminded me of the Dothraki in Game of Thrones. Instead of knights, the warriors were on horseback or walked. Only the lowest of society was dragged in carts. There has GOT to be some reason why the story had a lack of names. I also found myself just reading a bunch of imagery. I agree with Sam that Chretien may be trying to show a differentiation between the knight's job and the personal life. In all the other stories we have read for this class, I feel like we instantly get a personal look into the knight's life.
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