# Palamon — The Canterbury Tales character guide

> Palamon in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** this Palamon, cousin Palamon, Palamon Licurgus, the gentle Palamon

**First appearance:** 0001-the-knight-s-tale

## Snapshot

A royal Theban prisoner who glimpses Emily from a tower window and is instantly wounded by love, setting his loyalty to Arcite on a collision course with desire.

## Who they are

Palamon is a Theban knight condemned to perpetual imprisonment in Theseus's tower, sharing his cell with his sworn cousin Arcite. When he sees Emily gathering flowers in the garden below, he cries out as though struck through the heart, and his cousin's attempt to comfort him only sharpens the wound. His devotion—absolute, immediate, and politically helpless—drives the Knight's Tale toward its central question of whether love or kinship should rule a noble heart.

## Relationships

### [Damian](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/damian)

_rivalry_

Damian is a squire who becomes a rival to Palamon by pursuing Emily, the object of Palamon's love.

### [Griseldis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/griseldis)

_social_

Griseldis appears in the same narrative framework as Palamon, linked by the Clerk's tale and the storytelling context.

### [Dame Constance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/dame_constance)

_social_

Dame Constance and Palamon are characters from different tales, connected only by the broader Canterbury storytelling framework.

### [Friar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/friar)

_rivalry_

The Friar is a rival storyteller and antagonist to Palamon's tale, often clashing in narrative tone and moral stance.

### [Alla](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/alla)

_social_

Alla and Palamon are characters from separate tales, linked only by the pilgrimage storytelling context.

### [Emily](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/emily)

_romantic_

Emily is the beautiful maiden whom Palamon loves and for whom he competes with Arcite.

### [Nicholas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/nicholas)

_social_

Nicholas and Palamon are characters from different tales, connected only by the pilgrimage framework.

### [Hippolyta](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/hippolyta)

_social_

Hippolyta is the queen of the Amazons and Theseus's wife in the Knight's Tale, connected to Palamon as part of the same story.

### [Arcite](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/arcite)

_rivalry_

Arcite is Palamon's cousin and closest friend who becomes his bitter rival for the love of Emily.

### [Cecile](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/cecile)

_social_

Cecile and Palamon are characters from different tales, connected only by the pilgrimage storytelling context.

### [Damian](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/damian)

_rivalry_

Damian is a squire who becomes a rival to Palamon by pursuing Emily, the object of Palamon's love.

### [Emily](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/emily)

_romantic_

Emily is the beautiful maiden whom Palamon loves and for whom he competes with Arcite.

## In the story

### [The Knight's Tale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/chapters/the-knight-s-tale)

Argues he loved Emily first and laments his imprisonment while Arcite is free.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/palamon
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters