The Canterbury Tales: The Knight's Tale Rules and Order Quotes Page 5
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| Quote #13 Everich of you shal brynge an hundred knyghtes |
Here Theseus lays down the rules of the game that's going to have Emily as its prize. He proposes a huge joust between two hundred knights, the winner of which gets Emily. The winner is the one who either slays the other or manages to remove him from the "lystes," or group of jousting knights, by taking him prisoner.
| Quote #14 No man therfore, up peyne of los of lyf, |
Theseus lays down some additional rules for the joust just before it begins. Since he has decided it would be a shame for any of the knights to lose their lives, he forbids the knights from bringing any weapons into the stadium except for dull spears. The only exception is if a knight is unhorsed. Then he can use other kinds of weapons to defend himself, although it's not clear here exactly what these are.
| Quote #15 And he that is at meschief shal be take, |
Theseus's other rule to prevent loss of life is that defeated knights shall be taken prisoner at the stake, rather than killed. Since Theseus's real aim in proposing the joust is just to decide who gets Emily, and not to somehow punish the weaker knight, it makes sense that he would revise the rules to prevent loss of life.
