Dictionary Definition
arrant adj : without qualification; used
informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers; "an arrant fool"; "a
complete coward"; "a consummate fool"; "a double-dyed villain";
"gross negligence"; "a perfect idiot"; "pure folly"; "what a
sodding mess"; "stark staring mad"; "a thoroughgoing villain";
"utter nonsense" [syn: arrant(a),
complete(a),
consummate(a),
double-dyed(a),
everlasting(a),
gross(a),
perfect(a),
pure(a),
sodding(a),
stark(a),
staring(a),
thoroughgoing(a),
utter(a)]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
- a UK /ˈæɹənt/, /"
Extensive Definition
A knight-errant (plural
knights-errant) is a figure of medieval
chivalric
romance literature. "Errant," meaning wandering or roving,
indicates how the knight-errant would typically wander the land in
search of adventures to prove himself as a knight, such as in a
pas
d'Armes.
The first known appearance of
the term "knight-errant" was in the 14th century poem
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, where Sir Gawain arrives at
the castle of Sir Bercilak de Haudesert after long journeys, and
Sir Bercilak goes to welcome the "knygt erraunt."
Description
Many knights-errant fit the
ideal of the "knight in shining armor". A knight-errant performed
all his deeds in the name of a lady, and invoked her name before
performing an exploit. Such a knight might well be outside the
structure of feudalism, wandering solely to
perform noble exploits (and perhaps to find a lord to give his
service to), but might also be in service to a king or lord,
traveling either in pursuit of a specific duty that his overlord
charged him with (as Sir Gareth rescuing the
Lady Lyonesse), or to put down evildoers in general. This quest sends a knight on adventures
much like the ones of a knight in search of them, as he happens on
the same marvels; in The Faerie
Queen, St. George is sent to rescue Una's parents' kingdom from
a dragon, and Guyon has no such quest, but both knights encounter
perils and adventures.
In the romances,
his adventures frequently included greater foes than other knights,
including giants,
enchantresses, or
dragons. They may also
gain help that is out of ordinary; Sir Ywain assisted a lion
against a serpent, and was thereafter accompanied by it, becoming
the
Knight of the Lion. Other knights-errant have been assisted by
wild
men of the woods, as in Valentine
and Orson, or, like Guillaume
de Palerme, by wolves that were, in fact, enchanted
princes.
Famous knights-errant
- Sir Galahad
- Sir Gawain
- Sir Lancelot
- Amadis de Gaula
- Don Quixote
In other cultures
Youxia, or "Chinese
knights-errant", traveled solely protecting common folk from
oppressive regimes enacted by courtly officials. Unlike their
European counterpart, they did not come from any social caste and
were anything from soldiers to poets. A popular literary tradition
arose during the Tang Dynasty
which centered on Negrito-slaves who
used supernatural physical abilities to save kidnapped
damsels-in-distress and to swim to the bottom of raging rivers
to retrieve treasures for their Feudal Lords.
The cowboy of the American Western genre can
in many ways be considered a modern successor to the Knight-errant.
Like the Knight-errant of Medieval romance (and not necessarily
like the actual cowboy of 19th Century American society), the
cowboy of Western novels and films wanders from place to place on
his horse, bound only by his innate code of honour, and often
performs noble deeds or saves a damsel
in distress (though unlike the Knight-errant, he usually does
not call such deeds by these names).
References
arrant in Czech: Rytířský
román
arrant in German: Höfischer
Roman
arrant in Modern Greek
(1453-): Μυθιστορία
arrant in Spanish: Libros de
caballerías
arrant in French: Roman de
chevalerie
arrant in Icelandic:
Riddarasögur
arrant in Japanese:
騎士道物語
arrant in Norwegian:
Ridderroman
arrant in Polish: Romans
(gatunek literacki)
arrant in Swedish:
Riddarroman
arrant in Ukrainian:
Романс
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
abject, abominable, absolute, atrocious, awful, bad, barefaced, base, beastly, beggarly, beneath contempt,
black, blamable, blameworthy, blatant, bold, brassy, brazen, brazenfaced, brutal, cheesy, classical, complete, conspicuous, consummate, contemptible, crass, criminal, crummy, damnable, dark, debased, decided, definitive, degraded, deplorable, depraved, despicable, detestable, dire, dirty, disgraceful, disgusting, downright, dreadful, egregious, enormous, evil, execrable, fetid, filthy, flagitious, flagrant, flat-out, foul, fulsome, glaring, grave, grievous, gross, hanging out, hateful, heinous, horrible, horrid, improper, impudent, in relief, in the
foreground, infamous,
infernal, iniquitous, intolerable, knavish, lamentable, little, loathsome, lousy, low, low-down, lumpen, mangy, mean, measly, miserable, monstrous, nasty, naughty, nefarious, noisome, notable, noticeable, notorious, obnoxious, obtrusive, odious, offensive, ostensible, out-and-out,
outrageous, outright, outstanding, overbold, paltry, peccant, perfect, petty, pitiable, pitiful, plain, poky, poor, positive, precious, profound, prominent, pronounced, proper, pure, rank, regrettable, regular, reprehensible, reprobate, reptilian, repulsive, rotten, sad, salient, scabby, scandalous, schlock, scrubby, scruffy, scummy, scurvy, shabby, shameful, shattering, sheer, shocking, shoddy, sinful, small, sordid, squalid, staring, stark, stark-staring, sticking
out, striking, superlative, surpassing, terrible, the veriest, thorough, thoroughgoing, too bad,
total, unabashed, unbearable, unblushing, unclean, unconscionable, undeniable, unequivocal, unforgivable, unmentionable, unmitigated, unpardonable, unqualified, unrelieved, unspeakable, unspoiled, unworthy, utter, vicious, vile, villainous, wicked, woeful, worst, worthless, wretched, wrong