I am 300% behind this EXCEPT it’s actually not the only historically accurate detail! A Knight’s Tale is, in addition to being anachronistically soundtracked and costumed, a really fabulous example of the medieval tradition of Courtly Love. The exact language isn’t all the same obviously (the nobles would have been speaking French, probably, and our boys would definitely have been speaking in Middle English most of the time) but the dynamic between Jocelyn and William is spot on. Courtly Love is the root of where we get most of our modern ideas of romance, and is a tradition nebulously started in France, that spread as French culture spread. It’s intimately tied to the notion of Chivalry, which applied more specifically to knights, and became pervasive more or less concurrently. By the 1400s it was well entrenched in all aspects of English noble society, and dictated the way nobles related to each other, to commoners, to knights, and to royals. In particular, all courting rituals were dictated pretty strictly by the rules of Courtly Love. The Lover would fall in love with a Lady (usually) of higher rank, often married or otherwise unavailable. He would then employ wit, charm, and creativity to gain her attention. He would be expected to think of nothing else, prioritize her above all else, waste away for want of her gaze, obey her every whim… He would write poetry, songs, elaborate letters. He would yearn for a token of her affection. He would be transfixed by her gaze, so that if she looked at him he could not physically look away (seriously, look up some of the stories about Lancelot fighting three knights behind his back because he was caught by Guinevere’s eyes, and to look away from her would be fatal).
William falls for Jocelyn before he ever speaks with her. They then engage in witty banter, wherein she refuses to give him her name, and proves herself both smarter and more genteel than he is. This is par for the course with Courtly Love. She doesn’t give him her name until he’s proved himself a bit. She then makes him prove himself further, “I want you to lose,” and he does it, even though it means both personal embarrassment and physical pain. In the meantime, they engage in more love-talk, both in person and via letters. I actually can’t think of a better film example of Courtly Love. It’s well-interpreted for a modern audience, but it sticks to the form like glue. It’s amazing and every time I watch it I fall more and more in love with that movie.
Also, the jousting is pretty accurate. They use real jousting rules, and the portrayal of it as a huge spectator sport is obviously played up, but more or less true.
TL;DR: A Knight’s Tale is a fabulous example of a very well-researched movie adapted for a modern audience. It preserves all the important bits of Courtly Love, Chivalry, and Jousting, as well as details like women being blacksmiths, and nobody wanting to joust royalty.
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