Knight's Tale, A Easter Egg - The Historical Herald

A "Herald" was a person who announced a knight. He boasted of the knights lineage and honors. Heralds were usually well respected and held in honor. One of the requirements of a good herald was the ability to be glib and eloquent.

In "A Knight's Tale" the herald of Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein of Gelderland was Geoffrey Chaucer.

In real life Geoffrey Chaucer was an author who lived 1340-1400. One of his most famous works was "A Knight's Tale," part of the Canterbury Tales. The Knight's Tale in the Canterbury Tales has very little to do with the movie "A Kinght's Tale," there is another connection in the rest of the movie.

In the movie, after Chaucer loses all his clothing during the tournament, he is being held by a Summoner and a Pardoner. After William rescues him, Chaucer tells them something to the effect of "I will get back at you someday!" The Summoner and the Pardoner ask how he could possibly do that, and he replies, "Through literature."

A Summoner and a Pardoner appear in the Canterbury Tales. The Summoner is a blackmailer who scares small children with his ugly, pimply face, and the Pardoner is a gay hypocrite who cheats people. Both are drunkards, the lowest scum of all the characters in the story.

I would say that Chaucer got his revenge, wouldn't you?