小伙子威廉（希思•莱吉尔Heath Ledger 饰）虽然出身于法国的平民家庭，但从小就梦想当一名骑士，从儿时起就苦练剑术和马术。然而当时的社会只有贵族才有资格当骑士，于是威廉只当了一名贵族骑士的侍从。 在一次马上长枪比武中，威廉的主人在场间休息时突然意外死去。威廉灵机一个，穿上了主人的铠甲，骑上他的坐骑，冒名顶替并赢得了这场比赛。捧着胜利的奖杯，威廉决定继续冒充自己的主人参加在伦敦举行的世界骑士锦标赛，通过赢得比赛使自己成为一名真正的骑士。威廉启程了！Inspired by "The Canterbury Tales," as well as the early life of William Marshall (later First Earl of Pembroke), this is the story of William, a young squire with a gift for jousting. After his master dies suddenly, the squire hits the road with his cohorts Roland and Wat. On the journey, they stumble across an unknown writer, Chaucer. William, lacking a proper pedigree, convinces Chaucer to forge genealogy documents that will pass him off as a knight. With his newly-minted history in hand, the young man sets out to prove himself a worthy knight at the country's jousting competition, and finds romance along the way.