Unit Essay: The Romance Hero of the Medieval Period
Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur reveals that the ideal medieval hero was not perfect; however, the hero often made many mistakes. These flaws caused the heroes to break the chivalric code, displaying their imperfections. Sir Gawain from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Bors, and Sir Lyonel from Le Morte D’Arthur, were all idealized as medieval heroes. All three of these heroes failed to live up to The Knights Code of Chivalry described in the Song of Roland in some different manner. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain is dishonest to the castle owner for stealing the belt, and he is a coward for flinching when the Green Knight was taking his stroke. In Le Morte D’Arthur, Sir Lyonel attempts to kill his brother, and Sir Bors while saving a noblewoman, condemns his brother to death.
The Song of Roland describes a chivalric code based on knightly respect, and religion. The chivalric code is the guidelines that the knight has to live by. This includes, to obey those in authority, at all times to speak the truth, and ...
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.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight – A Test of Chivalry Essay with Outline: Loyalty, courage, honor, purity, and courtesy are all attributes of a knight that displays chivalry. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is truly a story of the test of these attributes. In order to have a true test of these attributes, there must first be a knight worthy of being tested, meaning that the knight must possess chivalric attributes to begin with. Sir Gawain is admittedly not the best knight around. He says "I am the weakest, well I know, and of wit feeblest; / and the loss of my life [will] be the least of any" (Sir Gawain, l. 354-355).
Sir Gawain is presented as a noble knight who is the epitome of chivalry; he is loyal, honest and above all, courteous. He is the perfect knight; he is so recognised by the various characters in the story and, for all his modesty, implicitly in his view of himself. To the others his greatest qualities are his knightly courtesy and his success in battle. To Gawain these are important, but he seems to set an even higher value on his courage and integrity, the two central pillars of his manhood.
During the Middle Ages, both “Beowulf” and “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” were epic stories that were chanted aloud to the public. Each story told about epic heroes who went on a long journey to face or conqueror someone or something. “Beowulf” is a poem about a young man, Beowulf, who slays a monster and his mother with his bare hands to protect the people he loves. As the years go by Beowulf becomes king and a dragon begins to stir. In response to this, Beowulf fights the dragon with a sword and one loyal companion. Beowulf’s life comes to end, but so does the dragons. From this epic poem you can see that good does triumph over evil, but sometimes it comes at a cost. Along with “Beowulf”, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” was another popular poem. This poem was about a squire, Sir Gawain, who chooses to take on a game proposed by the Green Knight instead of his uncle, King Arthur. He took on the game because he believed King Arthur’s life was more valuable than his own and that King Arthur should not risk his own life. As a result, Sir Gawain became a knight because of his loyalty and bravery. Both Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’s and Beowulf’s characters share the same quality of courage, the desire to protect people and the involvement of supernatural beings.
Many forms of chivalrous code can be found today, from The Cowboy’s Code to the Rules of Courtly Love. These codes are stated with the hope that people will try and follow them to some degree; yet only the perfect could adhere to them all. Considering the fact that such perfection is impossible, the authors merely set out a guideline for honorable behavior. In the context of medieval times, a knight was expected to have faith in his beliefs; for faith was considered to give hope against the despair that human failings create.
Sir Gawain who does embody heroic characteristics, like, bravery and intelligence, still falls short in establishing recognition like Beowulf did. To Sir Gawain, it wasn’t about his identity or his kingdom. Sir Gawain had the ultimate desire to become part of a higher position. He was mostly concerned about protecting his reputation. Because Sir Gawain was so concerned about his reputation, he tells a lie by leaving out the green girdle when talking to the host. Not only did Sir Gawain tell a lie by leaving out the green girdle, he also fails to mention his sexual passion, the passion that gets him into trouble. However, Sir Gawain did show acts of heroism as he set forth the Green Knight. Even when the knight made a promise to not tell a soul, Sir Gawain did not back down. Regardless of Sir Gawain’s courage and bravery, he values his own life more than loyalty, honesty, and respect, the aspects that define an ideal
One way the author persuaded people into joining the crusades was through Roland’s character. Roland was King Charlemagne’s nephew, an epic hero and the model of knighthood. Roland is seen as a great knight because he is great on a horse and equally great with weapons. During the battle Archbishop Turpin speaks to Roland about what a good knight should possess, “Who bears arms and sits astride a good horse. In battle he should be strong and fierce, or else he is not worth four pence.” (89) This idea of good battlefield and horseman skills is repeated many times throughout the poem. Roland is also seen as a Christ symbol during the narrative. During the first part of the poem, Roland is a sacrificial Christ, who dies freely. Roland does not call for the help of King Charlemagne until he knows that he will die, sacrificing willingly his life for the Christian cause. It is fitting that a member of the clergy, Turpin the archbishop, signals when to sound the horn. When Roland’s demise nears, the religious symbolism ...
In the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Poet Pearl, Sir Gawain, knight of the Round Table, acts chivalrously, yet his intents are insincere and selfish. It is the advent season in Middle Age Camelot, ruled by King Arthur when Poet Pearl begins the story. In this era citizens valued morals and expected them to be demonstrated, especially by the highly respected Knights of the Round Table. As one of Arthur’s knights, Sir Gawain commits to behaving perfectly chivalrous; however, Gawain falls short of this promise. Yes, he acts properly, but he is not genuine. The way one behaves is not enough to categorize him as moral; one must also be sincere in thought. Gawain desires to be valued as
Sir Gawain from Sir Gawain & the Green Knight was regarded as one of the best knights to grace the table and he was considered to be modest because he always denied everyone’s boastful words about him. Gawain is a prime example of humility, devotion, integrity, loyalty, and honesty, also known as the five points of chivalry. He prides himself on his observance of the five points of chivalry in every aspect of his life. His only flaw turns out to be that he loves his own life so much that he’ll abandon his hard earned reputation of honesty to save
The tales of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Lanval offer their readers insight into a common knightly quandary. Gawain and Lanval are both faced with challenges that threaten their ability to protect, uphold, and affirm their very knightliness. The two knights repeatedly see several knightly traits--- each invaluable to the essence of a knight--- brought into conflict. While the knights are glorified in their respective texts, they are faced with impossible dilemmas; in each story, both reader and knight are confronted with the reality that knightly perfection is unattainable: concessions must be made--- bits and pieces of their honor must be sacrificed.
The story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight revolves around the knights and their chivalry as well as their romance through courtly love. The era in which this story takes place is male-dominated, where the men are supposed to be brave and honorable. On the other hand, the knight is also to court a lady and to follow her commands. Sir Gawain comes to conflict when he finds himself needing to balance the two by being honorable to chivalry as well as respectful to courtly love.
Gawain’s acceptance of Lady Bertilak’s girdle causes him to progressively lose himself internally in order to save his physical life. Gawain appears to be the perfect image of a knight, who exhibits himself as worthy and noble when he accepts the Green Knight’s challenge. Known to be “honored all over the world,” his remarkable valor and devout behavior define his character. He loses his honorable reputation, though, when he disrespects the honor of King Bertilak. Disgracing his knightly code, Gawain fails to exchange all of his gifts with the king and lies, without hesitation, to the king when he claims that “what [he] owed [King Bertilak] [he has] paid [King Bertilak]” (1941). Gawain directly lies to him without hesitation, proving that his conscience does not seem to be effecting his actions. Lying is a common action, but generally, it causes us to feel remorseful and guilty over our wrongs. Gawain breaks the code of chivalry that requires a knight to be loyal and honest, but he is not regretful due to his apparent selfish nature (“Code of Chivalry, 2 and 15”). He makes a deal with the king to “[trade] profit for profit,” yet he dishonestly “[hides] [Lady Bertilak’s] love gift” rather than honoring the king’s wishes (1677, 1874). Gawain makes a promise that he fails to fulfill. The girdle drives him to destruction because it pulls him away from what he knows to be good and
The Canterbury Tales, written by Chaucer, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written by an anonymous author, are both sophisticated fourteenth-century examples of medieval romance. Medieval romances captured the heart of their audiences as narratives and stories that featured a protagonist, often a knight, and dealt with religious allegories, chivalry, courtly love, and heroic epics. The concept of the knight emerged from the remnants of the Anglo-saxon literature and ideals and influence of the Christian religion and church. There is a distinct difference between the famous pagan heroic like Beowulf and the romantic medieval tales like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight of the Canterbury Tale. The Anglo-Saxon hero Beowulf exemplified qualities expected of warriors who could attain kingship by their heroism and battle deeds. They possessed the qualities of valor, military prowess, generosity, and honor. The hero fights for the survival of their tribe and nation, and it is in battle that the mettle of the epic hero is ultimately tested. The romantic conventions , influenced by Christianity and French ideals, created a new chivalric knight who sets out on a trial or adventure. They possessed similar qualities to their epic hero counterparts – valor, loyalty, honor, and skill in battle – but differed in knowing temperance, courtesy towards women, and courtly skills. The hero is no longer fighting for his people but for his ideals. By the 14th century, The Tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Canterbury Tales have began to criticize the notion of chivalry which had become old and obsolete in their society; the idealization of chivalry practiced by knights could longer withstand the complexities and indeterminateness of situa...
The Song of Roland inherently is an epic about the values of knights. The courage, selflessness, respect, honor, and devotion are key characteristics of Roland, Oliver, and Thierry. Lord and vassal relationship occupied a significant place in the chivalric code: and Roland, Oliver and Thierry serve as examples of faithful vassals, who primarily things about his promise to serve the king. Indeed the honor of the knight lies in allegiance to his word and valor. Thus, Roland, Oliver, and Thierry put all of their lives on the altar of serving their