It’s Tournament Day in the Kingdom, and a famous knight has a few words for us: Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein, the real 13th-century knight whose name was borrowed in A Knight’s Tale.
SIR ULRICH: (bowing) Good morrow, Master William! Tournament Day, and my name is on every herald’s lips. Though I hear some peasant thatcher stole it for a play.
HERALD: My lord, the people say you are a legend.
SIR ULRICH: I wrote the legend. In 1255 I rode from Venice to Bohemia dressed as Venus herself, and I broke lances against every knight who dared meet me. Then I put the whole journey into verse, Frauendienst, “The Service of Ladies.” A man should chronicle his own glory. Nobody else gets it right.
HERALD: And today’s challenge?
SIR ULRICH: Answer well and your lance grows long. Answer poorly and your rival’s does. When the trumpets sound, the longer lance sends a knight to the dirt. (to the students) Study, squires. The lady in the stands is watching.
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