John Thatcher is the father of the main character in A Knight's Tale, William Thatcher (later known as Ulrich von Liechtenstein and then Sir William Thatcher). John appears in a few scenes in flashback to William's childhood and late in the movie. John appears to be a single father--no mention is made of his wife or William's mother--who is impoverished. The best he can offer his son is to find him an apprenticeship to a champion knight on the jousting circuit. The knight accepts his son, but comments on the family's apparent impoverishment. John then sees his son off for his apprenticeship, telling him to change his stars and eventually follow his feet back home again.Little is known of John's life in the intervening years before William does indeed follow his feet home. It is 12 years later, and William is now a young man and himself successful on the jousting circuit, albeit via the risky strategy of jousting under an assumed name. John has, however, gone blind in those years but still works as a weaver. John and his son reunite, but William's presence in the neighborhood arouses suspicions about his identity. Shortly thereafter William's true identity is outed, and he is arrested for the apparent fraud. After it is discovered that William truly does have noble blood, he is knighted, released, and allowed to compete under his real name, Sir William Thatcher. John is then in attendance as his son wins the tournament he has returned home to compete in. Show less «