History Main / KnightKnaveAndSquire

* Team Sonic from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' fits this, but how it fits [[DependingOnTheWriter depends on who you ask]]. Either the thrill-seeking, optimistic Sonic is the Knight ([[VideoGame/SonicAndTheBlackKnight of the Wind]]) and the angry, relatively-cynical Knuckles is the Knave, or the straight-laced, duty-bound Knuckles is the Knight and the snarky {{Ubermensch}} Sonic is the Knave ([[VideoGame/SonicAndTheBlackKnight Knave the Hedgehog]], if you will). Tails, meanwhile, is an InnocentProdigy, fitting pretty firmly into the Squire role.

* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' has one of these [[spoiler:in the timelines Homura went through before determining to stop Madoka from becoming a magical girl]]: Madoka as the Knight, Mami as the Knave, and [[spoiler:Homura]] as the Squire. Especially true once [[spoiler:Mami learns the awful truth about Magical Girls and decides the best option is to kill the others and then herself so they won't turn into witches, which results in Madoka having to kill Mami to save Homura's life]].

* At the beginning of the first ''VideoGame/GoldenSun1'', Isaac is the Knight ([[SilentProtagonist based on his characterization in the subsequent games]]), Garret is the Knave (not underhanded, but he's quite impulsive and aggressive) and Ivan is the Squire (being younger than the other two and not as worldly). This dynamic lasts until [[TheChick Mia]] turns up.

* ''Series/KamenRiderAmazons'' has this by Season 2. Haruka/Amazon Omega is the Knight, being the most heroic character in the show (though somewhat less idealistic compared to Season 1), Jin/Amazon Alpha is the Knave, brutal and unfettered, and Chihiro/Neo is the Squire, being a childish, reluctant fighter.

** ''Series/KamenRiderAmazons'' has this by Season 2. Haruka/Amazon Omega is the Knight, being the most heroic character in the show, Jin/Amazon Alpha is the Knave, brutal and unfettered, and Chihiro/Neo is the Squire, being a childish, reluctant fighter.

* Team Sonic from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog''. [[TheHero Sonic]] is the Knight, [[TheLancer Knuckles]] is the Knave, and [[KidSidekick Tails]] is the Squire.

* The three lords in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Fire Emblem 7]]''. Lyn is the Knight, just, honorable, and skilled. Hector is the Knave, brusque, and quick to resort to violence. Eliwood is the Squire, young and not very powerful.
* At the beginning of the first ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'', Isaac is the Knight ([[SilentProtagonist based on his characterization in the subsequent games]]), Garret is the Knave (not underhanded, but he's quite impulsive and aggressive) and Ivan is the Squire (being younger than the other two and not as worldly). This dynamic lasts until [[TheChick Mia]] turns up.

* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'': Starting from ''Undefined Fantastic Object'', Reimu is Knight, Marisa is Knave, and the newcomer Sanae is Squire. [[SlowlySlippingIntoEvil Sanae is a good girl.]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* The [[KoreanWebtoons webtoon]] ''WebComic/TowerOfGod'' has [[BloodKnight Rak Wraithraiser]] as a shrewdly idealistic Knight, [[MagnificentBastard Khun Aguero Agnes]] as the Knave and [[FishOutOfWater Twenty-Fifth]] [[NaiveNewcomer Bam]] as the Squire.

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'':
** The Robins have this dynamic, with [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick]] as the Knight, [[ComicBook/RedHood Jason]] as the Knave, and early [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Tim]] (and briefly Stephanie) as the Squire. Damian doesn't quite fit, overlapping the Knave and Squire positions and by the time he joined the group had ballooned far beyond the three-member limit.
** For the three batkids who most often work as a trio; after some disillusionment Tim, ComicBook/{{Robin|Series}} III[=/=]ComicBook/RedRobin, plays the restrained Knave to Cass, ComicBook/{{Batgirl|2000}} II[=/=]Blackbat, who is in turn the skilled Knight with Stephanie, Spoiler/Robin IV[=/=]ComicBook/{{Batgirl|2009}} III, as the Squire. Tim and Cass are both more experienced and more thoroughly trained fighters than Steph with each taking a role in her own training, and Tim started to become pragmatic in ways that concerned his allies long before being forced to doff the Robin name.
* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': Thor is an idealistic warrior; he's a messiah after all. Captain America is a pragmatic fighter and, as long as the cause is justified, does not fear getting his hands dirty. Iron Man is an inventor who relies in his powered armor and his genius, lacking the battle prowess of his peers.

* ''Film/{{Easy Rider}}'' has Wyatt as the collected, stoic knight; Billy as the hot-tempered knave; and George as the naive, yet occasionally insightful squire. Given that this film drew a substantial amount of inspiration from classic Westerns (where variations of this trope frequently cropped up), this is not terribly surprising.
* ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' is surprisingly straight in this regard. The Knight, Chief of Police Brody, is bent on ridding Amity Island of a killer shark that ate the son of one of the town goers that blames him for killing him and letting the beaches open for more attacks. He is an experienced police officer. The Knave, Quint, was a former Sailor in the navy who witnessed the deaths of his comrades at the hands of sharks during WWII. He is very much a loner and cynic. Finally, Hooper is a book worm oceanographer called in for his expertise on the animal but also proves to have hidden depths of his own.
* For a farcical absurdist comedy, ''Film/TheBigLebowski'' also plays this trope surprisingly straight. Of the three main characters, Walter Sobchak is the Knight, Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski is the Knave, and Donny Kerabatsos is the Squire. Walter is a fiercely-patriotic gun-toting Vietnam veteran who ''always'' tackles every problem head-on; The Dude is a laid-back aging hippie who is more inclined to talk his way out of every tough situation; Donny is just an average guy who gets dragged along for the ride and spends most of the movie completely out of his depth. [[note]] In an amusing coincidence, Adam Bertocci's fan tribute ''Two Gentlemen of Lebowski'' (which rewrites the movie as a Shakespearean comedy) makes them fit the trope literally: The Dude is reimagined as a ne'er-do-well named "The Knave", Walter is the hot-tempered knight "Sir Walter of Poland", and Donny is his more timid companion "Sir Donald of Greece". [[/note]]
* The film version of ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}'' uses this trope, with Deadpool as the Knave, Colossus as the Knight, and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (in her X-man trainee costume) as the Squire.

* '''The Knight''' is the trained officer or soldier with a more optimistic outlook towards battle. He'll relish the opportunity to defend his lord, country or values in honorable combat. The Knight is frequently an OfficerAndAGentleman. The main defining point behind The Knight is that he fights for something else, whether it's his country or his values. Depending on where the story falls on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism, the Knight can get called out on his idealistic view of combat. Frequently is TheEgo or TheSuperego.
* '''The Knave''' is the more pragmatic and cynical warrior. If he has military training, his relationship with The Knight will frequently be CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough. More frequently, he will have self-taught combat abilities as a mercenary, smuggler, bounty hunter or other warrior. He's pretty much always an AntiHero. If he is TheHero, the pragmatism will likely be toned down to make him more likeable. The main defining point behind the Knave is that he fights for himself, at least initially. A badly done Knave can be prone to TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong. He may be TheId or TheSuperego.

* ''Manga/Eyeshield21'' has a football example in the beginning. Kurita is gentle and understanding teacher while Hiruma is a sadistic DrillSergeantNasty, Sena is their pupil (to an extent).

* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' has one of these [[spoiler:in the timelines Homura went though before determining to stop Madoka from becoming a magical girl]]: Madoka as the Knight, Mami as the Knave, and [[spoiler:Homura]] as the Squire. Especially true once [[spoiler:Mami learns the awful truth about Magical Girls and decides the best option is to kill the others and then herself so they won't turn into witches, which results in Madoka having to kill Mami to save Homura's life]].
* The three protagonists of ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'' fit the bill. Jin is The Knight, a Ronin Samurai who was taught swordsmanship in a dojo, he is chivalrous and only battles worthy opponents considering everyone else beneath his notice. Mugen is The Knave, and is completely self taught, with a battle style that is all over the place, he's a CombatPragmatist and has a bad attitude, he'll pretty much fight with anyone. Fuu is The Squire, she has pretty much no fighting abilities and often ends up being a DamselInDistress.
* The main trio of ''Manga/InnocentsShounenJuujigun''. Nicolas is a would-be knight with an optimistic outlook on combat, strict morals, and a desire to prove himself through battle. Guy is a former thief with a pragmatic approach, few morals, and loyalty only to himself (at first). Etienne has no combat ability outside of his miracles, and has no desire to fight.

* ''ComicBook/LesLegendaires'' gives us [[TheRival the Faboulous]], a team of heroes consisting in this. The Knight position is assumed by [[TheLeader Michi-Gan]], a [[HeroesPreferSwords swordman]] with a serious, responsible attitude and clearly concerned with the sake of his home planet, Alysia. [[TheStoic Shaki]], a brooding warrior from an [[LastOfHisKind extincted]] [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy tribe]] and primarly motivated by revenge, can be considered as the Knave. Finally, [[ChildProdigy Toopie]], a kid GeniusGirl who possesses no fighting skills and relies on her inventions to fight, serves as the Squire.

** The Robins have this dynamic, with [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick]] as the Knight, [[ComicBook/RedHood Jason]] as the Knave, and early [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Tim]] (and briefly Stephanie) as the Squire. Damian doesn't quite fit, overlapping the Knave and Squire positions and by the time he joined the group had ballooned far beyond the three member limit.

* ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' is surprisingly straight in this regard. The Knight, Chief of Police Brody, is bent on ridding Amity Island from a killer shark that ate the son of one of the town goers that blames him for killing him and letting the beaches open for more attacks. He is an experienced police officer. The Knave, Quint, was a former Sailor in the navy who witnessed the deaths of his comrades at the hands of sharks during WWII. He is very much a loner and cynic. Finally Hooper is a book worm oceanographer called in for his expertise on the animal but also proves to have hidden depths of his own.
* For a farcical absurdist comedy, ''Film/TheBigLebowski'' also plays this trope surprisingly straight. Of the three main characters, Walter Sobchak is the Knight, Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski is the Knave, and Donny Kerabatsos is the Squire. Walter is a fiercely-patriotic gun-toting Vietnam veteran who ''always'' tackles every problem head-on; The Dude is a laid-back aging hippie who is more inclined to talk his way out of every tough situation; Donny is just an average guy who gets dragged along for the ride, and spends most of the movie completely out of his depth. [[note]] In an amusing coincidence, Adam Bertocci's fan tribute ''Two Gentlemen of Lebowski'' (which rewrites the movie as a Shakespearean comedy) makes them fit the trope literally: The Dude is reimagined as a ne'er-do-well named "The Knave", Walter is the hot-tempered knight "Sir Walter of Poland", and Donny is his more timid companion "Sir Donald of Greece". [[/note]]

** In the show - especially the Blackwater episode - you have the classically trained Sandor Clegane (Knight), an experienced warrior who fights for his King. Then you have Bronn (Knave), a more cynical sellsword who isn't afraid of fighting a little bit dirty and just wants to save himself from being slaughtered. Finally there's Tyrion (Squire), who was thrust into the role of General when Joffrey ran away, and hasn't been in many battles.
** The irony in most of these is that the Knight character role is almost never filled by an actual knight: Brienne can't be knighted due to most of Westeros's sexist traditions, while Sandor is ''eligible'' but [[KnightInSourArmor would rather eat live spiders than actually accept it]] because his actually-knighted older brother is a monster. Meanwhile, both Jaime and Hyle Hunt ''are'' knights, but fill the Knave role. Plus, Cleos Frey, who is the Squire in the above set with Brienne and Jaime, is also a knight (albeit not a very effective one).

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' has this type of relationship among Janeway, Paris and Kim, with Kim as the wet-behind-the-ears EnsignNewbie, Paris as the pragmatist who's trying to influence Kim and Janeway as the [[TeamMom moral beacon]] for Kim and the rest of the crew.

* In ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'', Laharl is the Knight, by Underworld standards at least, Etna the Knave and Flonne is the Squire.

* The three lords in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Fire Emblem 7]]''. Lyn is the Knight, just, honorable, and skilled. Hector is the Knave, brusque and quick to resort to violence. Eliwood is the Squire, young and not very powerful.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon'' has Lavitz, Dart and Shana as a toned-down version with Lavitz as the Knight, being a commander of a Basil Knighthood, Dart being the Knave, having wandered the Earth on a quest for revenge, and Shana as the Squire, having done nothing besides learn how to use a bow. The relationship gets kicked in the pants when Rose joins as she takes over the Knave position and Dart switches roles to the Squire, having the least experience of the three. This dynamic is especially noticeable when [[spoiler:Shana is poisoned, leaving the others without her]].

* The main characters of ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' fall into this dynamic. Ky Kiske, the refined, gentlemanly and idealistic WarriorPrince, is a good fit for the Knight. Sol Badguy, the older, more gruff and cynical BountyHunter, is the Knave. The young, kind-hearted and [[ApologeticAttacker mostly non-aggressive]] Dizzy would be the Squire.

** Squire: Noel. By far the youngest and least experienced of the trios (and the sole individual common to both groups); she mostly let Bolverk do the fighting until combat with Terumi caused their limiter to malfunction, and she's had to adjust to combat in a natural state since.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' has [[KnightInShiningArmor Steiner]] (Knight), [[LoveableRogue Zidane]] (Knave), and [[ChildMage Vivi]] (Squire).
* Cid (Knight), Adelle (Knave), and Luso (Squire) in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2''. Cid's a paragon of might and fortitude, Adelle is a duplicitous thief, and Luso is unskilled and new to Ivalice.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has Basch (Knight), Balthier (Knave), and Vaan (Squire).
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' has [[KnightInSourArmor Lightning]] (Knight), [[BloodKnight Fang]] (Knave), and [[ChildMage Hope]] (Squire).

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon'' has Lavitz, Dart and Shana as a toned down version with Lavitz as the Knight, being a commander of a Basil Knighthood, Dart being the Knave, having wandered the Earth on a quest for revenge, and Shana as the Squire, having done nothing besides learn how to use a bow. The relationship gets kicked in the pants when Rose joins as she takes over the Knave position and Dart switches roles to the Squire, having the least experience of the three. This dynamic is especially noticeable when [[spoiler:Shana is poisoned, leaving the others without her]].

* In ''Manga/AxisPowersHetalia'', the Axis Powers are this - [[HonorBeforeReason Japan]] as the Knight, [[DrillSergeantNasty Germany]] as the Knave, and [[TheDitz Italy]] as the Squire.
* ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'' has a football example in the beginning. Kurita is gentle and understanding teacher while Hiruma is a sadistic DrillSergeantNasty, Sena is their pupil (to an extent).

* ''{{VideoGame/Touhou}}'': Starting from ''Undefined Fantastic Object'', Reimu is Knight, Marisa is Knave, and the newcomer Sanae is Squire. [[SlowlySlippingIntoEvil Sanae is a good girl.]]