Notes sir gawain and the green knight

Sir Gawain and the

Green Knight

Yeah…he’s a big green dude.

Main Characters

Sir Gawain:

Arthur’s nephew and one of the most loyal, brave knights

Follows the chivalrous code (humility, piety, integrity, loyalty, honesty)

Courtly lover

One flaw: loves his life so much that he will lie to protect it (obviously breaking the code)

Main Characters

The Green Knight:

Yes…he is a green man.

Huge guy with big muscles/carries a huge axe

Says he comes in friendship but proposes that someone step forward to play the “beheading game.”

Expects the knights to be courageous and step forward to play.

Other Characters…

Lord and Lady of the

castle where Gawain stays

for Christmas (The lady

tries to seduce Gawain

every day he is there.)

Queen Guinevere: Arthur’s

wife and queen

Gold spurs?

Immediately upon reading/hearing

these lines about the Green Knight

who has burst into Arthur’s

Christmas festivities, the

audience would know that he was

a guy not to be messed with:

He was got up in green from head to heel:

a tunic worn tight, tucked to his ribs;

and a rich cloak cast over it, covered inside

with a fine fur lining, fitted and sewn

with ermine trim that stood out in contrast

from his hair where his hood lay folded flat;

and handsome hose of the same green hue

which clung to his calves, with clustered

spurs

of bright gold; (ll. 151-55)

What’s so hardcore – so OD –

about gold spurs?

Why the Green Knight?

In medieval England, the “Green Man” was a pagan representation of nature.

The “Green Man” was notSatanic, but did symbolize the nature worship that characterized pre-Christian tribal paganism (Anglo-Saxonism).

Why the Green Knight?

The “Green Man” is not evil, but is also not Christian

Therefore a battle between any of Arthur’s knights and any creature reminiscent of Britain’s pagan past is, by extension, a battle between “good” and “evil”

or between the Christian piety of Arthur’s knights (Anglo-Normanism) and their tribal, non-Christian predecessors (Anglo-Saxonism).

Significance of five?

It is a symbol that Solomon designed long

ago

As an emblem of fidelity, and justly so;

[...]

Therefore it suits this knight and his

shining arms,

For always faithful in five ways, and five

times in each case,

Gawain was reputed as virtuous,

(625-626; 631-633)

Gawain’s Shield

In the poem, Gawain’s shield is very clearly described as a golden pentangle on a field of red.

The pentangle is also called the “endless knot.”

In medieval symbology, redsignifies humility as the blood of Christ, Gold signifies perfection.

from: http://faculty.uca.edu/~jona/second/ggknotes.htm#id008

Gawain’s Five Virtues

1. dexterity of his five

fingers,

2. the perfection of his five

senses,

3. his devotion to the five

wounds of Christ,

4. his reflection on the five

joys of Mary in Christ and,

5. Virtues in the five social

graces

The Jerusalem

Cross

The Five Wounds of Christ

1.The wounds in the

hands.

2.The wounds in the

feet.

3.The wound in the

side of Christ




fingers,


senses,


wounds of Christ,


joys of Mary in Christ


graces

1. the Annunciation

2. the Nativity

3. the Resurrection

4. the Ascension

5. the Assumption

The five joys of Mary are

also known as The Five

Joyful Mysteries of the

Rosary. They are:




fingers,


senses,


wounds of Christ,


joys of Mary in Christ


graces

The five social graces which

Gawain exemplifies above all

others are:1. free-giving (generosity)

2. brotherly love (fellowship)

3. chastity

4. pure manners (courtesie/courtesy)

5. Piety (Charity)


Gawain faced 5

challenges


1. to voluntarily confront the Green

Knight

2. to strike his blow properly

3. to keep his vow to meet the Green

Knight in a year and a day.

4. to survive journey to the green chapel

5. to resist the lady’s temptations

The FIFTH TEST is the temptations and

the three gifts; it tests especially the fifth

point of the pentangle, the social virtues.

Gawain falls: his acceptance of the girdle

is not a fault; his hiding of it is a potential

fault; his actual withholding of it from

Bertilak is his fall. Had he given it back to

the lady, he would have erased his

potential fault. The real fault, from

Gawain's point of view, is that the reality

of his own mortality induces him to break

the endless knot. Thus two effects of

original sin are reasserted: cowardice

(bodily mortality) and covetousness (willful

cupidity). His nature as a man is asserting

itself against his nature as a knight.

More on

Gawain’

s fifth

challen

ge


The Garter

Honi soit qui mal y

pense

“Shame be upon

him who thinks

evil of this.”

As the poem opens, King

Arthur and his knights are

celebrating Christmas at

Camelot.

Suddenly, an enormous

green stranger armed with

a huge axe rides into the

hall where the knights are

dining.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Summary

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

He challenges any

knight to strike him with

his own axe, on the

condition that the

challenger find him in

exactly one year to

receive a blow in

return.

Gawain, the best of the

knights, accepts the

terms and beheads the

challenger.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Summary

The Green Knight calmly picks

up his own head, repeats the

challenge, and gallops off with

his head in his hand.

A year later on his quest to the

green castle, Gawain comes

upon a mysterious castle,

where for three days he is

tempted by the absent Lord’s

wife.

Sir Gawain and the Green KnightSir Gawain and the Green Knight Summary

On the last day, he accepts

more than just her kisses

and takes a magical green

sash that she claims will

protect him from harm.

Gawain leaves with the

green sash wrapped around

his armor, intent on finding

the Green Chapel and the

dreaded Green Knigt


Three times the Green Knight

feints to behead Gawain. The

third time, he nicks his neck.

The Green Knight reveals his

true identity.

Gawain failed his test of

bravery and chivalry, but the

Green Knight forgives him.


Gawain vows to wear

the sash forever as a

symbol of his failure

The other knights

decided to wear it as a

symbol of honor.


Major theme

Chivalry

The code of chivalry, in

particular, shapes the

values and actions of Sir

Gawain and other

characters in the poem.

The ideals of chivalry come

from the Christian concept

of morality.

Lessons Learned

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight gently criticizes the fact that chivalry values appearance and symbols over truth.

Arthur is introduced to us as the “most courteous of all,” indicating that people are ranked in this court according to their mastery of a certain code of behavior and good manners.

When the Green Knight challenges the court, he mocks them for being so afraid of mere words, suggesting that words and appearances hold too much power over the company.

The members of the court never reveal their true feelings, instead choosing to seem beautiful, courteous, and fair-spoken.

Lesson Learned

The lesson Gawain learns as a result of the Green Knight's challenge is that, at a basic level, he is just a physical being who is concerned above all else with his own life.

Chivalry provides a valuable set of ideals toward which to strive, but a person must above all remain conscious of his or her own mortality and weakness.

Gawain's faults throughout this story teach him that though he may be the most chivalrous knight in the land, he is nevertheless human and capable of error.

Assignment

In an essay, compare the attitudes toward

knighthood and chivalry in the romances Sir

Gawain and the Green Knight and Malory’s Le

Morte d’Arthur (see “The Day of Destiny”).

How does each romance address the knightly

values of courage, loyalty, and courtesy

(courtly love).

Notes sir gawain and the green knight

Education

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