Why in Medieval fiction is the Black Knight always considered evil?
In actual medieval stories the “Black Knight” is one who has painted over the heraldry on his shield or covered it with a dark cloth in order not to be recognized in tournament or battle. It has nothing to do with the “color” of one’s armor. Most armor was of steel that was susceptible to rust and had to be kept oiled and polished. Armor cannot be “dyed” – but it can be painted. Painting armor is ridiculous in the extreme for a knight on campaign – imagine trying to carry around buckets of paint and then keeping every scratch and dent looking like new. It is much easier to wear a tabard or surcoat with one’s heraldry and colors on it. In the movie “A Knight’s Tale” we see this concept of a “black knight” in Edward, the Prince of Wales jousting in disguise. Historically Edward was known as the “Black Prince” because of this habit – he competed incognito in order to face true competition and not opponents who would forfeit rather than possibly harm a member of the royalty – a justified f
