Knights Errant

It is the most pleasant of fantasies:  The invincible / incorruptible / virtuous hero who roams the land, thinking naught of themselves, only how they might be of service to those in dire need or peril. 

Sir Lancelot (which, alas, proved not so incorruptible nor virtuous) is the most iconic of these heroes, but he’s far from the only one. 

Sir Percival, Roland, Wilfred of Ivanhoe, and Lohengrin are all well known examples from the so-called age of chivalry, but more modern examples include the free roaming cowboy, the private eye, the secret agent, and the self-appointed avenger. 

It’s a mark of the impact of capitalism that the most common current example of the knight errant — be they Travis McGee or Philip Marlowe — all expect to get paid for their services, but once on the job are indefatigable. 

A more traditional casting of the knight errant is Jack Reacher.  Supported solely by a military pension he earned after years of heroic service, Reacher now wanders the land seeking wrongs to right.  

I read one of the Reacher books and for reasons explained below just couldn’t connect with the material.  But I absolutely understand the character’s appeal and why millions of people love the books / movies / TV shows.  I deny no one their pleasure.  

There is a visceral thrill when Reacher administers two-fisted justice to some carjacker threatening a mother and child, but those scenarios always turn out the way the writer wants them to turn out. 

Years ago in the midst of the Vietnam war a writer (Gordon Dickson, IIRC) for Analog penned a story where human military handily defeated alien guerrillas.  A reader suggested the writer be put in charge of US strategy in Vietnam.  

Editor John W. Campbell reminded the reader that the writer got to play both sides in his conflict.  

The knight errant is an early version of the superhero, a being with near god-like powers who defends the weak and never imposes their will on the populace at large (unless it’s Fletcher Hanks’ space wizard Stardust in which case all bets are off).  While many classic knights errant fought dragons and wizards, they did so primarily through human means, the occasional severed Medusa head not withstanding. 

In the real world, this sort of thing rarely happens and when it does, it’s typically at a high price to said knight.  

Someone did a body count for the old TV Western The Rifleman and calculated Lucas McCain killed 500 people in the course of the series. 

Nobody — no matter how justified or noble — kills 500 people and walks away emotionally unscathed.  The best warriors learn to deal with this and may present a civil, controlled persona to the world, but it preys on them nonetheless. 

It is a fantasy to assume they do. 

By all means, feel free to indulge in that fantasy; I’m not giving up my Raymond Chandler novels anytime soon.   

But recognize they are a fantasy, a wish fulfillment.  

There’s only been one realistic knight errant story:  Don Quixote. 

© Buzz Dixon