“The horse that he rides [is] entirely of that colour, in truth. A green horse huge and strong, a proud steed to restrain, spirited under bridle, but obedient to the man.” Sir Gawain and the Green Night is an excellent example of Medieval Romance. It portrays many of the characteristics throughout the poem, including, idealization of women, noble heroes, and Chivalry. To begin, women are highly respected in Medieval Romance, as they are in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Morgan Le Faye was Arthur’s half sister. She was an enchantress. It is proven that she was a highly respected women when Bertilak takes her idea and formulates it into an action. It was her plan to have Bertilak show up as the Green Knight in the ball room proposing a preposterous deal. As well as Morgan Le Faye, Bertilak’s wife was also highly honored. As the poem states, “she was the liveliest on earth in complexion and features, in figure, in colouring and behavior all above others, and more beautiful than Guinevere.” The people hold her above others. Her the respect held for her is also shown when Bertilak leaves her alone to trick Sir Gawain, and she succeeds. …show more content…
King Arthur is originally the first person to take the Green Knight’s offer. As soon as he steps up to bat, Sir Gawain jumps in and says he will take the offer. All the people from the kingdom gave him their upmost respect because he was the only knight from the round table willing to jump in and save King Arthur’s life while risking his own. Sir Gawain was a hero in this moment. Later on in the story, Sir Gawain still adheres to the deal and goes to find the Green Knight to be struck by him. They honor Sir Gawain because he follows his word and he is not afraid to admit when he has taken apart in a wrong
All throughout the poem titled Sir Gawain and the Green Knight it simply seems as if it is full of male power and masculinity. Sir Gawain, a knight from King Arthur’s court who steps up and agrees to take the blow from the Green Knight’s axe when he interrupts the holiday feast. The obvious male power of King Arthur, the power and masculinity of the Green Knight to come in and demand that one knight must receive a blow from his axe, and masculinity of Sir Gawain to step up and not only agree to take the blow but to cut off the Green Knight’s head first. The male power and masculinity shining through all three of these male characters mentioned is very prominent. We later meet Lord Bertilak who also shows male power and masculinity through his
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a fourteenth-century tale written by an anonymous poet, chronicles how Sir Gawain of King Arthur’s Round Table finds his virtue compromised. A noble and truthful knight, Gawain accepts the Green Knight’s challenge at Arthur’s New Years feast. On his way to the Green Chapel, Gawain takes shelter from the cold winter at Lord Bercilak’s castle. The lord makes an agreement with Gawain to exchange what they have one at the end of the day. During the three days that the lord is out hunting, his wife attempts to seduce Gawain. At the end of the story, it is revealed that Morgan le Faye has orchestrated the entire situation to disgrace the Knights of the Round Table by revealing that one of their best, Sir Gawain, is not perfect.
In his struggles to uphold his chivalric duties, Sir Gawain faithfully demonstrates the qualities of chivalry and fidelity until his honor is called into question by an unknown green knight that rides into the castle. Sir Gawain is King Arthur’s nephew and one of his most faithful knights. Although Gawain modestly refutes it, he has a reputation of being an honorable knight and courtly man. He prides himself on his adherence of the five parts of chivalry and is a pinnacle display of humility, piety, integrity, loyalty, and honesty that all other knights strive for. Though Gawain sits at the high table during the New Year’s celebration at Arthur’s court, he defines himself as the least of King Arthur’s knights in terms of both physical ability and mental aptitude.
The Green Knight asks Gawain to go over the terms of the game and asks to know his name. Gawain replies: "In good faith, Gawain am I whose buffet befalls you, what'er betide after, and at this time twelvemonth take from you another with what weapon you will, and with no man else alive." ( Norton p. 210 ) In this statement Gawain not only asserts himself but also makes sure that if he kills the Green Knight with his blow, no one shall take his place.
In the Fourteenth Century, Feudalism and its offspring, chivalry, were in decline due to drastic social and economic changes. In this light, _Sir Gawain and the Green Knight_ presents both a nostalgic support of the feudal hierarchies and an implicit criticism of changes, which, if left unchecked will lead to its ultimate destruction. I would suggest that the women in the story are the Gawain poet's primary instruments in this critique and reinforcement of Feudalism. By positioning The Virgin Mary (as the singular female archetype representing spiritual love, obedience, chastity, and life) against Morgan and Bertilak's wife (who represent the traditional female archetypes of courtly love, disobedience, lust and death) the Gawain poet points out the conflict between courtly love and spiritual love which he, and other critics of the time, felt had drastically weakened the religious values behind chivalry. As such, the poem is a warning to its Aristocratic readers that the traditional religious values underlying the feudal system must be upheld in order to avert destruction of their way of life.
Women were always viewed as weak, dependent, and powerless in the Middle Ages. Not only is it a common view during that time period, but this also is often stereotyped labeled to women today as well. In the romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the hatred of women is portrayed throughout. However, while women are certainly looked down upon, they also are influential to the knights. This romance also portrays how a woman having different characteristics, could change the way she was viewed as well. Although women in the Middle Ages appeared to lack power, the women in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight have a hidden influence over the men and actually drive the action of the medieval romance.
To establish the knight as worthy, the author first shows Gawain’s loyalty to his king. The Green Knight challenges anyone in the hall to the beheading game and no one takes him up on it. Arthur, angered by the Green Knight’s taunting, is about to accept the challenge himself when Gawain steps in saying "would you grant me this grace" (Sir Gawain, l. 343), and takes the ax from Arthur. This is a very convenient way for the author to introduce Gawain and also to show Gawain’s loyalty to Arthur, but it seems almost too convenient. There i...
...Gawain’s time in the wilderness, living nature, and his acceptance of the lady’s offering of the green girdle teach him that though he may be the most chivalrous knight in the land, he is nevertheless human and capable of error.
When the Green Knight makes his first appearance, requesting anyone to strike him, hiding the fact he is immortal and will remain unharmed. Gawain volunteers and serves the Green Knight’s head. The knight is unfazed and picks up his head saying “[s]ee, Gawain, that you carry out your promise exactly.make your way to the Green Chapel.to be readily returned on New Year’s Day” (l. 448, 451, 453). This is an example of one of the obstacles that Sir Gawain went through.
All three of the main women’s roles are marginalized and reduced in importance, the entire plot of the poem rests on Morgan le Fay, who is introduced at the end of the play with a handful of lines, Lady Bertilak, who is reduced to how the men around her feel about her, and Guenevere, who is another extremely important character mentioned only in a few lines. Morgan le Fay is the single most important character in SGGK. Even though she is an absolutely vital character, she is named exactly once. It is at the end of the poem that the Green Knight (Lord Bertilak) reveals to Sir Gawain that everything in the poem, from the main challenge to the smaller tests, was Morgan’s idea and should be credited to her ingenuity and magic (SGGK, l. 2445-2470). Part of
Sir Gawain's inner values and character are tested to the fullest and are clearly defined in the text of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The unknown author describes Gawain and the other knights as "Many good knights" (Norton 159), and he is referred to as one of the "most noble knights" (Norton 159) in King Arthur's land. This claim by the author is solidified by a challenge presented by the evil Green Knight, who enters the court of King Arthur and asks him to partake in a Christmas game. Sir Gawain, after hearing this challenge, asks the king if he may take his place. This represents that Gawain is very loyal to his king. Sir Gawain is also an honest knight in the text because in a year's time he ventures out in search of the Green Knight to endure a blow with the ax as the rules of the game were stated. He very easily could have not have carried out his end of the bargain by not traveling to the Green Chapel to meet the evil being, but Gawain is an honest knight who is true to his word.
The author is using them as a metaphor for other anti-social forces and dangers outside the control of feudalism and chivalry, drawing upon biblical and classical examples in his audience's minds of where femininity is linked with subversiveness. Lady Bertilak is clearly seen in the Biblical role of the temptress, the Eve who led Adam astray--in Gawain, she represents the traditional female archetypes of courtly love, disobedience, lust and death.
The honor of Sir Gawain is his best value, though he suffered a set-back. His honor is the catalyst for what happens through the rest of the poem.
In conclusion, we can learn many lessons from Sir Gawain and the tests and trails that he endured leading up to his meeting with the Green Knight. Who only have to look for them and ponder how they can apply to us today. For instance, being true to ourselves and what we believe in. Keeping our word, and upholding our faiths even in the face of impending danger, even though the cost may be very great to pay.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight fit in with the concept of a romance; it has all the elements that would make one consider the text as so. The tale holds adventure, magic, a quest and an unexpected reality check that even those who are considered “perfect” are also just humans. The author used this story as a way of revealing faults in some of the aspects of knighthood through the use of intertwining chivalric duty with natural human acts; thus showing to be perfectly chivalrous would be inhuman.