The Knight's Tale Summary: Part 1

The story begins with a Duke named Theseus who was a lord and governor. He is returning to his home in Athens when he comes upon a group of widows mourning for their murdered husbands in the road. They tell him that they were all once queens but were outcasted from their home in Thebes by the tyrant Creon. Having just conquered the land of Femeny and the realm of the Amazons, Theseus took it upon himself to conquer one more city. Theseus rode straight to Thebes,  sending his wife, Queen Hippolyta, and her younger sister Emily, to Athens. Theseus easily captured Thebes and took two knights as prisoners. He said that no ransom could free the two men, who were cousins of the former King. So both men were condemned to the prisoner tower in Athens for the rest of their lives. One day Palamon, one of the two knights, looked out the window of his tower, into the gardens where Emily was picking flowers. He instantly fell in love with her and bid that his cousin, Arcita, come look upon her beauty. Arcita fell in love with her too, and thus created a quarrel between the two men. Palamon said that Arcita's love was a betrayal and that they would be enemies because of it. Arcita acknowledged the fact that they would never meet her and should be content with just catching glimpses of her. Shortly after their fight, a friend of Theseus, named Perotheus, paid a visit to Athens. Perotheus was also a friend of Arcita and asked for his release, which was then granted. However, terms for Arcita's release were created, one of which was that Arcita was exiled from Athens forever. This devastated Arcita, because even though he was free, he could never see Emily again. He thought that Palamon had the better of the two situations because even though he was in prison, he could see Emily.