Triay - Last Crusade

In The Last Crusade, Indiana Jones goes through the three stages of the traditional Medieval Knight's Quest. They are as follows.


The Mercenary Knight: A greedy, self-obsessed quest that cares little for the well being of the people and places they encounter. They simply want monetary gain. The first act of the film, the Young Indiana flashback, is reminiscent of the Mercenary Knight. Indiana is tirelessly searching for the Cross of Coronado. He abandons his scout troop and endangers the life of his friend, all for the "fortune and glory," or in this case the approval of his father. He risks his life being chased by the robbers, eventually having the cross taken back from him at his father's home, without his father's approval.

The Indentured Knight: The indentured knight serves a single person other than himself. They are indentured, or indebted, to seeking the target they are presented for the betterment of their surrounding society. Walter Donovan tips Indiana Jones about the location of the Holy Grail and quite possibly the location of Indiana's father, Henry. Indiana Jones accepts this quest, knowing that he may finally achieve his father's approval, but also aiding Walter Donovan's museum.

The Aristocratic Knight: The Aristocratic Knight already has all the treasure he needs. For Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indiana assumes this identity as his relationship with his father continues to mend. They see within each other all the pain that has been brought out over the years, and Indiana realizes that he does not truly desire the Holy Grail. They let the Grail remain in the temple where they find it, and ride off into the sunset together bearing the real treasure, the paternal love.

Hutchinson - Last Crusade

The Last Crusade is the final stage in the Indiana Jones trilogy (disregarding the catastrophe that came 20 years later.) In this film, Indy must finally make peace and overcome his daddy issues. It is also in this film that Indy goes through the three stages of knighthood: mercenary knight, indentured knight, and aristocratic knight.

Indy as mercenary: The mercenary knight is described as poor with very little armor and no real commitment to values or community concerns. He is only in it for “fortune and glory.” In the opening scene, we see Indy on a trip with his scout troop. This could be seen as Indy’s mercenary years. He is wearing a scout uniform, lost somewhere in the mountains (though he claims his entire group is lost and he’s right where he needs to be) with really nothing to aid him but his wits. It is at this time that he stumbles upon some men finding a valuable and old cross. Indy steals it and goes through this fast-paced, obstacle-filled chase scene just to bring it home to his father. When the cross is taken from him, he claims that he took it because it belonged in a museum. However, it seems that Indy really took it because, knowing his father’s love of history and historical artifacts, he wanted to win praise and acknowledgement (or fortune and glory) from his father.

Indy as indentured: The indentured knight has a full set of armor. He is bound to one lord and does his bidding. Donovan would seem to be the lord in question. As Indy leaves his office to escape the crowd of screaming students, he is picked up and brought to Donovan. Donovan then shows him a tablet that reads the exact location of the Holy Grail, even if a little vague. Indy is now an older, more experienced archaeologist and has already made a name for himself. He is no longer the little scout from the mountains. He has his full armor in his whip, hat, and extensive knowledge of history. Donovan gets Indy to agree to lead this already in progress quest by mentioning that his father, Dr. Jones Sr., has gone missing. It is Donovan’s history as a major contributor to the museum, and ultimately a desire to help his father that drives Indy to take this quest. He is doing all of this at the request of Donovan, and on his dime. His is fully at his command.

Indy as aristocratic: The aristocratic knight has already formed himself as well-established and important. He has the money and the fame, but now has to think of those he is responsible for. Indy has taken on this quest at the request of Donovan, but he comes to find out that Donovan has not only betrayed him, but also his father. It is time for Indy to step up and save the day. His oath to Donovan now forfeit, he can concentrate on his relationship with his father and finding the Grail together before Donovan can get his hands on it. When Indy finally gets to the secret Holy Grail hiding spot, the knight set to guard it recognizes him as the bravest, worthiest knight to take his place. This comes to fruition as Indy not only "chooses wisely" in picking the grail cup but chooses to save his father. He also knows that he is beyond "fortune and glory" and that the grail must remain. His father tells him to "let it go" and he concedes to his will. He is a full-blown knight.

Massiha Last Crusade

Everyone basically knows that the Indiana Jones trilogy shows the stages of knighthood. Temple of Doom shows the stages of the mercenary knight, Raiders of the Lost Ark shows the indentured knight, and the Last Crusade finally showed the Grail knight. Alas, all three types of knights are present in the Last Crusade. Flash to the scene

where Indy steals Coronado’s cross from the goons. He keeps saying, “it belongs in a museum,” but he’s still stealing it. He may be doing it to be the one who discovers it, therefore, getting the fortune and glory. This is Indy as the mercenary knight. He even still is the mercenary knight when he steals the cross again on the Portuguese coast. Fast forward to being approached by Donovan to find the grail. This is Indy as the indentured knight. Granted some motivation is to find his father, but he is in service to finding the grail for Donovan and using his resources including money to find it. Finally, he graduates to becoming the Grail Knight when he has to accomplish the three tasks in order to save his dad. He does it selflessly for a man he feared never loved him as much as he lo

ved everything about the quest for the grail. Above all it restores his faith in a higher being, God. He could have never saved his dad unless he truly believed all that he needed to in order to get the grail. One had to be pure and believe. Another scene that could be his transformation is when he listens to his father and stops reaching for the grail. It shows he doesn’t really need the fortune and glory. He just needed a different kind, the love and recognition of his father.

Kuebler-The Last Crusade

As my classmates before me mentioned, the trilogy of Indiana Jones serves as a three part reflection on the trials of the knight. Yet each movie seems to hold in it a set of its own tasks. In the Last Crusade we first see Indy as a very young boy fighting for what he believes is right. He lost, but that doesn't mean that he has to like it. Years later we see him still pursuing the same artifact that he feels "belongs in a museum." As the mercenary knight he fights for what he believes and seems to always get away by the hair on his chin.

We transition past the rogue, thief, and mercenary knight and move on to the indentured knight where we find Indy needing to look for his father. Yet it is not just for this reason, he is working for a man who he cannot trust and seems to be a knight on a quest. But it is not until he is with his father that his decision must come. He can either save his friend and the maps and leave the book or continue along on the grail quest to serve a higher purpose. Indy’s father does a good job of convincing him even though Indy is still a non-believer in the grail’s power. Finally as they enter the temple, Indy becomes a knight of the grail and while still technically unworthy of the grail he is able to take up the challenge. He is not seeking the grail for the glory of himself but of sacrifice and care for his father. Indy is able to retrieve the grail and is proven worthy by not being taken by the temptress who killed the last man.

It is not until he listens to his father and releases the grail that he is a fully realized knight. It is because of these stages that we see the transformation of one man into legend. If he was anyone else these events would have never taken place, but that’s not much fun. Indiana Jones, through these quests, is made into more than human. He is a knight of Arthurian Legend and is fit to live on for eternity.

Bloo - Last Crusade

In the Indiana Jones Trilogy, we see Indiana Jones in different stages of the knight’s journey. In Temple of Doom, we see Indiana’s transformation from a mercenary knight into an indentured knight, and in Raiders of the Lost Ark we see him again as an indentured knight. However, his journey is not yet completed. He has to go on a Grail quest in order to become a Grail quest knight. This final stage is shown

in the Last Crusade, but not only do we get to see him as a Grail quest knight, we also see the other stages of his journey as

well. All these stages come back in the film to show Indiana’s development and it helps the audience to understand where Indiana is coming from.

In the first scene, Indiana Jones is presented as a mercenary knight. He steels the Cross of Coronado, which he had stolen

before when he was a child. Even though he acknowledges the value of the Cross by saying ‘’it belongs in a museum’’, in the end he also steels it for his own good.

Throughout the film, Indy transforms into the indentured knight. Serving for a lord is one characteristic of the indentured

knight. In the beginning of the film, Walter Donovan is his ‘’lord’’, because he assigns Indiana to find the grail. He gets another task, when he learns that the Nazis are also looking for the grail and have bad intentions with it plus they have abducted his father. Indiana must find the grail first to save the world.



One of the elements that belongs to the Grail quest knight is that the knight must atone with his father and submit to his ‘’spiritual authority’’. Henry Jones senior represents the spiritual authority, he understands that it is not about the chalice but about ‘’illumination’’. Indiana, on the contrary, does not understand this. After eluding the Nazi soldiers on the motorcycles, Indy and his father come to a fork in the road with a sign indicating left to Berlin where the diary is or right to Venice, to save Marcus. Because Indiana is still in the stage of the indentured knight, he wants to go to Venice, because he feels an obligation to Marcus to save him. However, his father understands the spirituality that comes with finding the Grail and tries to convince Indiana to go to Berlin. Eventually, Indiana submits to his father’s will and they go to Berlin. This shows that Indiana partially understands that it is not about finding the Grail itself but about spiritual enlightenment.