A Knight's Tale is a 2001 action/adventure/romantic comedy directed, produced, and written by Brian Helgeland. The film stars Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Mark Addy, Alan Tudyk, and Paul Bettany as Geoffrey Chaucer. The film follows the story of William Thatcher, a peasant turned knight, along with his companions in the world of Medieval jousting. William poses as a knight and competes in tournaments, winning accolades and acquiring friendships with such historical figures as Edward the Black Prince of Wales and Geoffrey Chaucer. The film is very loosely based on Chaucer's 'The Knight's Tale' in his Canterbury Tales. The film was a box office success, garnering $117,487,473 with a budget of just over $41,000,000.

Plot summary

Set in late Medieval Europe in the 1370s, the story begins with the protagonists and squires, William (Heath Ledger), Roland (Mark Addy) and Wat (Alan Tudyk), discovering their master, Sir Ector (Nick Brimble), dead of his wounds in the middle of a jousting tournament. He was ahead "three lances to none" and merely had to finish the final round to win the tournament. William Thatcher (Heath Ledger) takes the armour, importantly the helm, of Sir Ector, and poses as the noble to finish the match. William's inexperience is evident, as he receives a lance blow to the face mask, but regardless wins the tournament due to Ector's previous lead. This gives William the idea that, with proper training, he, and his companions, could make a living in jousting.