HISTORICAL AND LITERARY KNIGHTS

 Historical and literary knights

Knighthood emerged in medieval Europe around the 9th and 10th centuries as a response to the need for heavily armed cavalry to defend territories, particularly against Viking, Magyar, and Saracen invasions. Knights became central to the feudal system, swearing fealty to lords in exchange for land (fiefs) and protection. Training began in boyhood, with noble-born children serving as pages before becoming squires in their teenage years. By around 21, if deemed worthy, they were knighted in a formal ceremony, often with religious blessings.

THE ARTHURIAN LEGEND IN DANTE: PAOLO AND FRANCESCA

Dante’s use of the Arthurian legend

By the late 13^th century the Arthurian legend and its stories were so well-known throughout Europe that Dante could use them for one of the most famous episodes of his Divina Commedia: that of the tragic love and death of Paolo and Francesca (Inferno, Canto V). Dante placed the two lovers from Rimini in the ring (girone) of the lustful (lussuriosi). Virgil, who is Dante’s guide through Hell and Purgatory, first points out to Dante some of the famous figures in the ground of the lustful: some of them come from classical history and literature  - Helen of Troy, Dido, Cleopatra; others – such as Tristan – come straight from the Arthurian legend.

Tristan, one of the bravest knights of the Round Table, is there because of his adulterous love for Isolde, wife to King Mark of Cornwall – who was Tristan’s uncle and who finally killed him.