The Three Musketeers

One of the most popular kinds of medieval literature was romance. These chivalric or courtly love stories usually featured complex relationships between characters of noble birth. Their plots were convoluted and full of adventure; often, knights were charged with repeatedly rescuing the objects of their affection from a variety of dangers.

The novel’s 17th-century setting plays with several tropes from this genre. The valiant, loyal, and highly physically competent Musketeers are emblematic of chivalric ideals of heroism and fighting prowess. The men support one another in dangerous situations, never back down from a conflict, and are deeply committed to protecting the French monarch whom they serve—all values that would have been completely familiar to a reader of medieval romances.

The lighthearted sexual exploits of the young d’Artagnan, who is very fickle in his desire, echo behaviors familiar from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (1392) and the comedies of Shakespeare. D’Artagnan is very attracted to Constance, but when Constance is gone, his desire shifts to the mysterious Milady and her maid Kitty. D’Artagnan’s bed-hopping is meant to be humorous; the fact that none of the women he is with take him very seriously adds to the sense that his actions have few repercussions.