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1* AluminumChristmasTrees:
2** Widows of blacksmiths and other tradesmen really did take up the job -- not just the PoliticallyCorrectHistory you may have thought ([[AnachronismStew not that it would have been out of place]]). Blacksmiths paid their taxes to the local feudal lord in arrowheads instead of gold, so [[TruthInTelevision nearly all blacksmiths' wives were trained in basic smithing]] so they could make arrowheads and free up their husband to do the earning jobs. The blacksmiths' guild had a rule that if a blacksmith died his widow would be allowed to continue working in the trade to support herself and any children (which is why Kate is established as being a widow).
3** The real Ulrich Von Lichtenstein -- yes there was a real one! -- was a 13th c. knight who, on one occasion in his career of errantry, rode the tournament circuit in the guise of 'Queen Venus' complete with silk gown over his armor and long braids of false hair dangled beneath his helmet. He was a huge hit and the tour a massive success with a final score of three hundred broken lances without a single fall. Somebody really did [[ShownTheirWork their research]] to unearth Ulrich. That or they read the ''Literature/HorribleHistories'' book on knights.
4* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
5** The songs the rest of the FiveManBand sing in a tavern about William (to the tune of [[http://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/quartermasters.html The Quartermaster's Song]] ).
6---> He's blonde/he's pissed/he'll see you in the lists/Lichtenstein/Lichtenstein!\
7He's blonde/he's tanned/he comes from Gelderland/He comes from Gel-der-land!
8** Chaucer has a solo act later, when collecting the group's money from the Frenchmen betting against William.
9---> '''Chaucer''': He's quick/he's funny/he makes me lots of money/Lichtenstein/Lichtenstein...
10** The soundtrack in general. The opening set to Music/{{Queen}}'s "We Will Rock You," concluding with the ''epic'' Brian May guitar solo (apparently, in-universe, [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments played on a trumpet]]). Music/DavidBowie's "Golden Years" highlighting the romantic dance between William and Jocelyn, and "[[Music/ThinLizzy The Boys Are Back In Town]]" as the knights ride in to London for the World Championships.
11** The credits also has ''[[{{Music/ACDC}} You Shook Me All Night Long]]'' briefly playing.
12* BaseBreakingCharacter: Jocelyn gets a lot of hate from people who dislike William's constant showering of her with praise, as well as a role as TheObstructiveLoveInterest - or from people who just prefer Kate. But there are others who think her relationship with William is still very sweet, and she does get some of the best lines in the film. A lot of Jocelyn hate tends to come from DieForOurShip.
13* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Just before [[spoiler: his eventual defeat]] Adhemar imagines Wat, Roland, Kate, Chaucer and William delivering an IronicEcho of the speech he gave William. It's would've made more sense as a FlashForward, but the director confirmed it was an ImagineSpot.
14* ClicheStorm: Some would argue that there isn't very much that's original in this film beyond the [[AnachronismStew main gimmick]]. {{Troperiffic}} clearly comes into play however.
15* EnsembleDarkhorse:
16** Prince Edward, big time, all due to him not only being a heroic MagnificentBastard, but also being similar to William, and finally giving him an [[AwesomeMomentOfCrowning Awesome Moment Of Knighting]], [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe all to repay his kindness]].
17** Jocelyn's lady-in-waiting Christiana is quite popular among fans, despite being a side character who has only minimal lines. A lot of fans state that they found her to be prettier than Jocelyn, and use her in ships.
18* FoeRomanceSubtext: Quite possibly deliberate, according to the {{DVD Commentary}}.
19* FridgeBrilliance: The classic rock soundtrack. On the commentary, the director admits it's a kind of audible TranslationConvention, to show that people in the middle ages thought their music was just as fun as we think ours is today. But at the time the film was released, the songs used were twenty years out of date. It's still an awesome selection of hits, but also puts you in the mindset of "the past," fitting oddly well with a period film that's fun and lighthearted.
20* GeniusBonus:
21** There is no record of what happened to Geoffrey Chaucer for a year in his life, and this film is implied to take place in this year. At the end of the film, he says IShouldWriteABookAboutThis, and indeed 'The Knight's Tale' is the first chapter in ''The Canterbury Tales''.
22** Geoff also tells two men that he will get revenge on them by humiliating them in fiction. These two men are Peter the Pardoner and Simon the Summoner, who both appear in ''The Canterbury Tales'' too.
23** Jocelyn's challenge for Will to lose the tournament and prove his love for her is a direct ShoutOut to the 12th century poem ''Literature/LancelotTheKnightOfTheCart''.
24* HilariousInHindsight:
25** One of Chaucer's {{Red Baron}}s for William is "the seeker of serenity". Wat is played by Alan Tudyk, star of ''{{Series/Firefly}}'' and its film adaptation ''{{Film/Serenity}}''.
26** During the training montage Roland helps Wat to keep a shield steady; that shield has a sigil of a stag on it (Sir Ector's coat of arms). Roland is played by Mark Addy, who would later star in ''Series/GameOfThrones'' as Robert Baratheon, whose House uses the sigil of a stag.
27** For another Game of Thrones reference, William being a knight with long blond hair has led to screencaps of him being with Roland being jokingly used that it's a picture of a young Robert Baratheon and still-alive Rhaegar Targaryen.
28** For a third ''Game of Thrones'' reference, a major plot point of this film is Prince Edward jousting under an assumed name, and those who find out (except Will) withdrawing rather than endanger a member of the royal family. In ''Game of Thrones'', Robert Baratheon wants to compete in his own tournament (though in the melee, not the joust), and Ned Stark has to spell out that everyone would let him win rather than strike their king.
29* HoYay:
30** Chaucer and Wat. They are also a major ship in the fandom.
31** Ok check out about 2:34 of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kSDrdpSgNY this]]. [[UnusualEuphemism Kick]], my foot.
32* LauncherOfAThousandShips: There's fanfiction of Kate/Will, Kate/Wat, Kate/Chaucer, Kate/Roland, and Kate/''Adhemar''.
33* MemeticMutation: Chaucer's calling William "The seeker of serenity" has been fodder for mashups with ''{{Series/Firefly}}'' , usually with Wat or William asking each other "did he mean me or you"?
34* {{Narm}}:
35** During the final joust, there's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkp8TnCaNCg&t=0m43s WIIILIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!]] It doesn't help that the line is said by William himself.
36** Only for Dutch audiences, but Gelderland is a real province in the Netherlands. So its status as a made up homeland for William caused many unplanned laughs.
37* NarmCharm: The romantic dialogue is quite silly in places but still works since William's supposed to be struggling with expressing his feelings. Especially hilarious is when he's fumbling over words and manages to spurt out "Your breasts! They are ... below your throat."
38* RetroactiveRecognition:
39** Creator/PaulBettany as Chaucer. He later achieved greater fame playing The Vision in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse.
40** Creator/BereniceBejo, who plays the handmaiden Christiana, also starred in the surprise Best Picture winner ''Film/TheArtist'' in 2011.
41** Creator/AlanTudyk (Wat) is better remembered for ''{{Series/Firefly}}'' and his voice acting roles.
42** Ten years after this film, Creator/MarkAddy went from playing the peasant Roland to King Robert Baratheon in ''Series/GameOfThrones''. The priest who thinks Jocelyn is SoBeautifulItsACurse is played by Creator/RogerAshtonGriffiths, who played Mace Tyrell later in the series.
43** Creator/LauraFraser (Kate) is now best known for playing Lydia Rodarte-Quayle in ''Series/BreakingBad'' and ''Series/BetterCallSaul''.
44* SpecialEffectsFailure: It's painfully obvious when the stuntmen take their lance off-target, just because the script says they lose that round.
45* WhatTheHellCostumingDepartment: One of Jocelyn's outfits looks like she's wearing a lampshade on her head.

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