In The Second Branch of the Mabinogi, tragic events start to unfold when Efnysien, the 'warped'1 half-brother of Bendigeidfran takes offence at being excluded from Branwen's marriage arrangements to Matholwch. Efnysien ensures that Matholwch and more directly his horses feel the the pain of the offended man. Bendigeidfran's determined efforts to appease the insulted Irish king succeed and Matholwch, seemingly satisfied, returns to Ireland with a queen, new horses and a magic cauldron. A couple of years later, however, the Irish still remember the humiliation they were subjected to in Wales and Branwen is unjustly punished for this. From her confinement in the kitchen she manages to send a message to Wales and Bendigeidfran arrives in Ireland to resque her sister. The passage in question seems to pave a way to a peaceful outcome between the Welsh and the Irish. Matholwch is eager to make peace with Bendigeidfran who is advised …show more content…
It is not clear whether the purpose of the 'cunning plan'3 of the Irish that involved the hidden warriors in the flour sacks was to launch an immediate attack on the Welsh or their responsibility was to react in case of an unexpected upheaval. In any case, the Irish had a reason to be sceptical of Bendigeidfran's apparently warm approval of the peace offering as Matholwch's men were acutely aware of the grave injustice they had committed towards Branwen and they were very likely anticipating (and fearing for) a surprise revenge attack from the Welsh. Equally, Efnysien's careful inspection of the hall is a sure indication of his scepticism towards the Irish. The mistreatment of Branwen for more than three years and its skilful cover-up obviously made Efnysien cautious. However, trust in the other could have possibly avoided the fighting that brakes out later (this of course requires seeing Efnysien's following actions as resultant from his discovery in the
Deception is one of mankind’s most versatile and powerful tools and is used nearly every day for both evil and good. Whether it be deceiving an army in battle or using exaggerations and myths to teach a child right from wrong, deceit allows one to advance his selfish or selfless intentions by providing them a source of influence on others. Such deception is evident throughout Sir Gawain and the Green Knight—the host’s wife’s dishonesty in particular—as it helps to spur the plot of the poem. Lady Bertilak’s purposeful deception of Gawain has questionable motives that highlight the theme of human imperfection and susceptibility to temptation.
The hostile and boisterous nature of Celtic warriors is depicted in tales of the Ulster Cycle, and hence explains common practices between characters and Celtic warriors. The Celt’s temper is illustrated in the tales of the Ulster Cycle: “the love of feasting and drinking, the boastful and quarrelsome nature of Celtic warriors and their love of spectacle and feats are daring and amply illustrated in these hero tales . . . these customs closely mirror the tales of the Ulster Cycle . . . in which the champion’s portion are central themes” (403-404). Cu Chulainn exemplifies the Celtic warrios’ loud and rambunctious behavior. The Tain is the most notorious mythology in the Ulster Cycle and illustrates through Cu Chulainn the ideal warrior and the champion’s portion that is so valued in the ancient Celtic warrior society. Simon Young in “Celtic Myths: Celtic History” argues that “recent research on early Celtic culture suggests that legends might be able to offer us a privi...
In the Anglo-Saxon times, honor, bravery and loyalty were very important morals. Beowulf and Wiglaf showed loyalty in this poem by sticking to their word. Beowulf killed all the monsters and also risked his life. Wiglaf sticks by Beowulf side when he knew that his king were struggling to kill the dragon. The battles between the monsters and the clear descriptions give the poem a more vivid approach and gives the audience bold imagery.
The poem’s intricately balanced structure challenges the reader to seek out a resolution coherent with his or her own ethics. An admirable knight of King Arthur's renowned court, Sir Gawain is directed by a complex set of ethos, a collaboration of principles symbolized by the mystical pentangle. A five-pointed star composed of five interlocking lines; the figure represents a multitude of guiding tenets, representing both religious and knightly ideals. One can recognize that “the pentangle cognizance is explicated by the poet to signal Gawain’s complete Christian perfection, and for the reader to be aware of contemporary concerns about magical protective practices, hinting at human frailty” (Hardman 251).
31, “The Marriage of Sir Gawain.” At first sight, it seems to tell the story of the putative hero King Arthur and therefore, apparently provides the reader with a usual heroic tale; this, however, turns out to be a fallacy. In fact, the linchpin of the story is the enchanted maid. This plot line technically begins before the ballad actually starts, for the basis for the poem is established by the motif of transformation by a witch; when looking at the entire ballad, it becomes clear that both the maid and her brother's fate met their terrible fates on account of a witch: “[m]y father […] marryed a younge lady / That brought me to this woe. / Shee witched me, being a faire young lady / To the greene forrest to dwell, / And there I must walke in womans liknesse, / Most like a feend of hell. / She witched by brother” (“Sir Gawain” ll. 181-189). The core element of the ballad is obviously the common motif of the wicked stepmother who strives to punish or even get rid of her husband's children due to greed, negative feelings and jealousy towards them (cf. Francus 129). In this case, she does so by enchanting them: she transforms her stepdaughter into an ugly woman and casts a spell on her stepson which forces him to challenge men who cross his way to a duel or to solve his riddle (cf. Child 289): “'[a]nd bring me word what thing it is / That a woman [will] most desire; / This shalbe thy ransome, Arthur,' he sayes, / 'For Ile haue noe other hier.'” (“Sir Gawain” ll. 13-16). The appearance of an evil stepmother possibly represents the threat of being at the mercy of the father's new wife who the children must be subordinate to. This matches the concepts in traditional fairy tales, in which we can find several cases of witches or evil stepmothers: in Cinderella, the stepmother punishes her stepdaughter by treating her as a servant and giving her tasks to perform instead of going to the royal ball
And only one of them Remained, stood there, miserable, remembering, As a good man must, what kinship should mean. His name was Wiglaf, he was Wexstan’s son And a good soldier; his family had been Swedish, Once. Watching Beowulf, he could see How his king was suffering, burning. Remembering Everything his lord and cousin had given him, Armor and gold and the great estates Wexstan’s family enjoyed, Wiglaf ’s Mind was made up; he raised his yellow Shield and drew his sword. . . . (691-705)
‘Instantly, in the emptiness of the landscape, a cry arose whose shrillness pierced the still air like a sharp arrow flying strait to the very heart of the land; and, as if by enchantment, streams of naked human beings – with spears in their hands, with bows, with shields, with wild glances and savage movements, were poured into the clearing by the dark – faced and pensive forest.... ... middle of paper ... ... This demonstrates the lack of communication skills between each other, with dire consequences.
castle. So by the end of the story, Beowulf died and was honest and Gawain was alive, but had to
The Arthurian legends of Iwein and Gawain and the Green Knight are two examples of the medieval initiation story: a tale in which a character, usually in puberty or young adulthood, leaves home to seek adventures and, in the process, maturity. Through the course of their adventures, including a meeting with the man of the wilderness, temptations at the hands of women, and a permanent physical or mental wounding, the character grows from adolescent awkwardness and foolishness to the full potential knightly honor. While both Arthurian legends fit this format, the depth of character development, specifically in terms of relationships, is vastly different. Whereas Gawain and the Green Knight does little more with relationships than demonstrate the evils of female temptations, Iwein effectively explores the formation, destruction, and resurrection of numerous male and female relationships.
Sir Gawain is, undoubtably, the most varied of the Arthurian characters: from his first minor appearance as Gwalchmei in the Welsh tales to his usually side-line participation in the modern retelling of the tales, no other character has gone from such exalted heights (being regarded as a paragon of virtue) to such dismal depths (being reduced to a borderline rapist, murderer, and uncouth bore), as he. This degree of metamorphosis in character, however, has allowed for a staggering number of different approaches and studies in Gawain.
The passage (130-202) of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight describes the appearance of a strange knight in King Arthur's court. The anonymous author of the epic describes the rider in great detail, emphasizing the importance of this character. The passage is intended to arouse readers' curiosity, and at the same time, to introduce the mighty danger that the main character, Sir Gawain, will have to face. Furthermore, the strange knight is shown to be a test or trial for King Arthur and his knights. Finally, the passage presents the actual dynamics of Arthur's court as incompatible with the poet's initial praising of nobility, justice and chivalric ideals.
If they are not welcomed by the court; with the repeated use of the verb “laughter” suggesting they have not been; even after Gawain’s realization of their importance, then the court will likely suffer as Gawain did at the Green Knight’s hand. The poet would have been aware that his audience would know the story of Camelot, and thus his inclusion of the following lines would have been extremely foreboding to his contemporary readership – “No one can hide, without disaster, a harmful deed. What’s done is done and cannot be undone.” By having Gawain speak these words, the poet manages to show not only that Gawain has come to terms with the fact that he will have to live with the shame that came with his failure, but that the court, if they do not change their ways and values, will suffer “disaster” in the future – as the mythical story of Camelot tells us. Furthermore, when it is considered that the events of this poem were set up by Arthur’s half-sister Morgan le Fay, the failure of Camelot to stand up to it’s reputation as the greatest in all the land becomes even more foreboding, as the reader realizes that eventually the court, seemingly unaware of it’ failings, will fall from greatness and suffer shame, pain and
Kinship is one of the many recurring themes in Beowulf. It is known that kinship establishes an important part of society because this theme is seen throughout the long poem. Kinship is defined as blood relatives. According to Lorraine Lancaster, in the Anglo-Saxon society, one is considered to be kin with someone even if they are fifth cousins. However, after they become sixth cousins, they are no longer kin. In Lancaster’s “Kinship in Anglo-Saxon Society –I,” readers become aware that one is very loyal to their kin. In this article, it is said that it is one’s duty to be loyal to their kin. Because of this loyalty, feuds commence. If a person is killed, it is only fair that the slaughterer is killed by a kin of the person who was killed, and so on. This sounds familiar because it is the main idea ...
"So,” begins poem. “The Spear-Danes in days gone by/ and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness./ We have heard of those princes’ heroic campaigns” (1-3). What follows is a brief history lesson, the story of “Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes,/ a ...
...wenhwyfar recover from a brutal rape. These deep and infinitely complex motives prevent the reader from making simple decisions of right and wrong. Actions which would normally be assumed inherently evil, such as when Balan strikes Viviane with an axe in King Arthur’s court at Pentecost, have twists. Viviane assisted his mother with suicide. The layers of motive that entwine this tale must be unravelled slowly by the reader, making this a philosophical piece, just as it is entertaining.