...concept of morality. When Sir Gawain sets off on his journey his morality is tested at the castle. He agrees to give the lord whatever he wins but his morality fails him and he does not live up to his word. He was tempted by the lord’s beautiful young wife and succumbed to her. However, it wasn’t just that he was kissing the lord’s wife but he also kept the green girdle from the lord, going against their agreement. “When the lord returns from the hunt, Gawain gives him the kisses but keeps the sash a secret.” Although Gawain was un-chivalrous in kissing his wife he still maintained some morality by not sleeping with her. Sir Gawain now posses the magical green sash and also a guilty conscience, though he is able to redeem his earlier actions by confessing to the Green Knight, who was lord of the castle. Sir Gawain shows this time that he is truly chivalrous by admitting his wrongdoings; he has regained his sense of morality, and asks for the knight’s forgiveness. “I can’t deny my guilt; / My works shine none too fair! / Give me your good will / And henceforth I’ll beware” (256-259). From this Gawain learns that he is just a physical being who is concerned above all else with his own life. Chivalry provides a valuable set of common ideals towards which one strives to achieve, however, a person must still remain conscious of his or her own morality and weakness. When Gawain flinches from the knight’s axe and accepts the green girdle it shows that even though he may be the most chivalrous...
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...The Truth Behind the Knight: The Presence of Archetypes in Sir Gawain & the Green Knight In the medieval story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, we are introduced to a young man, who, like many of young men, is trying to discover himself and travel through his rite of passage. He is trying to figure out who he is in life, and while in his journey, passes through many phases that mold him into one of the great Knights of the Round Table that old King Arthur wanted to serve with him. These phases affect everyone at some point in their lives. Whether it causes someone to take an iconoclastic stand against a certain more or folkway or if it enables a person to give serious thought to what life could mean, archetypes enable any protagonist in any story to take a journey to find the treasure of their true self. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain was willing to take on the heroic quest and say yes to himself and, in doing so, became more fully alive and more effective to the knightly community and, inadvertently, the literary world. The purpose of the heroic quest is to find the gift retrieved from the journey and give the gift to help transform the kingdom, and in the process, the hero himself. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, three archetypes are present that displays the qualities of a heroic quest that leads Gawain to become a true knight in shining armor. The Innocent Hero Archetype, the Seeker Archetype, and the Lover Archetype forms the mold that Sir Gawain conforms...
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...brought together in Gawain’s symbolic shield. Gawain’s chivalry is constantly tested throughout the entire poem, and overall he does a pretty good job of staying loyal to the code. Although he does fail at one point in the poem, it only reveals his imperfect human nature. When reading “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, one should keep in mind the various moral aspects of chivalry in order to acquire a better understanding of the text. Loyalty, courage, honesty, honor, and courtesy are all some of the traits that a knight of chivalry embraces. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” tells the story of Gawain’s test of his chivalric attributes. The test administrator in the poem is the Green Knight. He wants to test the courage and integrity of Arthur and his court. When Gawain, the only knight who steps up to the Green Knight, accepts the challenge, he displays great courage and loyalty to his king. After Gawain strikes his blow unto the Green Knight, this is when the true test begins. To maintain his honor, Gawain will have to journey to the Green Chapel and fulfill his end of the agreement. In order to not be deemed a failure, he will have to endure a blow from the Green Knight in a year and a day’s time. As Gawain prepares to leave he assembles all his armor including his symbolic shield. On the outside of the shield is a gold five-pointed star, or pentacle, which represents a set of Gawain’s virtues: his flawless five senses, five...
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... Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, shows how one of Camelot’s most revered knights, Sir Gawain, will fight for his life, honor, and dignity. Camelot, King Arthur, and The Knights of The Round Table are all names synonymous with all that is good. During the fourteenth century, the knights are expected to have honor and respect for all citizens and Sir Gawain is the epitome of honor. Gawain does not think highly of himself but sustains a high status with knights being a blood relative of King Arthur. By story’s end, Gawain will question if he maintains his honor, respect, and dignity in a fight for his life. The poem opens with Arthur, the knights, and some members of the community celebrating the new year when an unknown knight arrives in the kingdom. The narrator describes him as, “giant” in stature: he, his horse, and his ax are all green, but with a green armor outlined in gold. He calls out his challenge, “give me a well-aimed stroke, and agree / To accept another in repayment when my turn / Arrives” (1. 294-296). Eager to prove his bravery to his uncle, the king, Gawain accepts the challenge. He understands that he will face the same fate one year later and takes the Green Knight’s ax, swings with all his might, and beheads him. At the moment, the hubris of Gawain is at the highest level. Gawain thinks it may be the end of his challenge, but the Green Knight retrieves his head from the floor and tells Gawain to meet him a year to the date at the Green Chapel. The “game” will...
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...willing to sacrifice himself for others, someone who will know what is right from wrong, and make the right choice. Not everyone can be a hero; it takes dedication and effort to do what’s right time and time again. In Sir Gawain the Green Knight, Sir Gawain was a heroic soldier. In The Hobbit, Bilbo, a hobbit from the Shire, is recruited as a burglar to go on an adventure to help reclaim the land of the dwarves. Bilbo and the thirteen dwarves encounter many different creatures along the way, some who want to help them and other who want to kill them. Through the journey Bilbo must grow into a true hero to save the dwarves and himself. Bilbo grew into a brave, selfless, and important member of the team who came to recognize good and evil. Bilbo through his many troubles during the adventure had to learn what it means to be a true hero. Bilbo was a coward in the beginning; he never wanted to leave his home. Whenever Bilbo was in the slightest danger, he turned into a coward complaining “Why did I ever leave my hobbit-hole” (p. 62, Tolkien). Bilbo...
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... oppressed. Within the same general area of chivalry was courtly love. The men fought to attain their ladys affections and love by waging war in their name, or by romancing them. Knights were to devote themselves entirely to one woman.This love was was between a knight and a married woman. However, in each of these pieces are also characters who stray from this ideal code of conduct, Seen in Monty python and the holy grail. Sir Gawain in the Green Knight is a story about chivalrous values and trickery. This story involves the Green knight’s arrival at King Arthur’s feast one evening. The green knight challenges the king to his game and just as King Arthur accepts Sir Gawain insists on accepting the challenge instead. The Green knight is beheaded, but picks his head up and tells Sir Gawain that he must meet him in one year so that he can return the challenge. Sir Gawain sets off on his journey one year later and arrives at a castle. He is graciously let inside where he stays a few days. The lord / the green knight creates a game of his own involving the Lord hunting and Sir Gawain remaining at the castle with the game to test his chivalry and his faith. In monty python and the holy grail starts out with Arthur, King of the Britons, looking for knights to sit with him at Camelot. Throughout his search, they meet interesting people and knights along the way. Most of the characters die, some through a killer rabbit which they defeat with the holy hand ...
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...expressed integrity by being the only knight to come forward and take on the challenge the Green Knight requested at the Round Table. Gawain was willing to put his life on the line for King Arthur, although there were many obstacles along the way; However, Gawain did demonstrate traits of a knight. Trying to live up to others expectations, Gawain challenges started when the Green Knight arrived at the Round Table, when he came across the castle while heading to the Green Chapel, and when he finally arrived at the chapel. The Green Knight arrived at the Round Table where King Arthur and his knights were celebrating Christmas and New Year. Unfortunately, the Green Knight came unarmed because he was not there to fight anyone. King Arthur invited him to stay and feast with them, but the Green Knight declined his invitation and told him that he was there because he heard that Arthur’s castle was the best around with the most virtuous men of all men. Furthermore, the Green Knight challenged Arthur and his knights to strike him then, a year later receive a strike in return. Not one stepped forward to accept the challenge so the...
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...Chivalry is more than just a few rules; it is a way of life followed by knights (Grendler 154). Deriving from the French word "chevaliar," which means knight, chivalry was the social structure of Medieval Europe (154). During medieval England, values of honor, valor, courtesy, purity, and loyalty to his lord was expected (154). In Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, the code of chivalry and influence is demonstrated through the Green Knights test of Gawain's honor and valor and Bertilak's test of Gawain's courtesy and purity. In Medieval England, knights were the foundation of the chivalric system (155). They were soldiers with respected training. armor, and weapons (155). Knights were also known for their main focus on virtue, honor, and courtesy (155). According to the Song of Roland, there are seventeen entries in the Knights Code of Chivalry, one of which being to live by honor and for glory (156). When the Green Knight barged into the court wanting to play a game, everyone was shocked and scared (Gawain 235). The Green Knight's reason for coming was to test King Author's reputation: courtesy, valor, and honor (Gawain 257-265). However, it is Sir Gawain that stands up to take on the game, showing a great sign of courteousness to King Author (Gawain 345). The chivalric system...
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...the Green Knight was composed another thirteen hundred years thereafter. In the case of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight we see many of the earlier cultural overtones of the noble warrior and the divine nature of nobility now mixing with the encroaching ideals of Christianity. One of the most important of those ideals is the afterlife and that is going to be a focal point, because of its direct negation of the fifth thesis. It does not, however; negate the thesis in its entirety, because we still see elements that are off limits under the influence of Christianity. Whereas death is now less of an issue because he was with “and [had] been on God's side .. [Otherwise] He had met with many mishaps and mortal harms” (Harrison). One could imagine any sort of wild and otherwise adverse explorative missions as being benign or even heroic with the promise of salvation or the furtherance of the “kingdom of god.” I cannot presume to know what was implied by his sacrifice or the sacrifice of others in his position, but it is not hard to imagine that where Odysseus faced a rather perilous outcome in some scenarios – even the worst of outcomes were tempered by the underlying promise of salvation for Sir Gawain. This meant that an otherwise insane journey to have your...
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...Ernesto Aleman English Dr. Curran Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a romance poem from the middle Ages (14th Century) and was written by an anonymous poet. Sir Gawain, the protagonist of the poem, has to overcome two different challenges throughout the poem: to behead the Green Knight and to let the green knight behead him a year later; and resist the temptation to commit adultery with the wife of Lord Bercilak, who we later learn is the Green Knight. This story is symbolic of life, because it illustrates the life challenges humans must overcome, and how the consequences of failure or success affect the individual. In this poem, the character of Sir Gawain is highly symbolic for innocence. He was not afraid to accept the Green Knight’s challenge because it meant saving the whole kingdom by saving the king. Sir Gawain’s acceptance of the challenge represents an unquestionable characteristic of a knight, fearlessness. Even though Sir Gawain assumed a brave attitude towards the challenge, his innocence led him to...
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...King Arthur's court. Then a green knight enters asking all of the knights in the court if they would like to play a game. The game is he will allow which ever knight that chooses to challenge him one swing with a battle ax to try and chop off his head, but in order to play the game, the accepting knight must meet the green knight one year later at the green chapel. The brave knight Sir Gawain accepts to the challenge of the green knight. Sir Gawain takes one swing and chops off the head of the green knight. Right after the green knight's head is chopped off he gets up immediately, picks up his head and leaves. Once a year passes, Gawain sets off on a journey to find the Green Chapel. He arrives at a castle in which a lord welcomes him to stay for several days (Gawain only needs to stay there for three). The next morning the lord makes an agreement to share everything he gets during these three days with Gawain, but Gawain must agree to do the same. During days one and two the lord's wife tries hitting on Gawain, but he only allows her to give him a few kisses. At these days Gawain shares what he got to the lord for what he has hunted those days. On the third day, Gawain finally accepts to take a magic girdle from the lord's wife, but he didn't share it with the lord. This magic girdle helped Gawain survive the three fatal swing's of the green giant's ax, only leaving him with a little nick. After Gawain survives these 3 swings at his neck, the green knight then reveals his identity...
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...Since Shrek loves being alone he really does not care about someone to love and to hold. In the end he has a different perspective of looking at love. Shrek makes a deal with Lord Farquaad to bring back Princess Fiona and return he gains his swamp back safe and sound. On this adventure he was not looking for love and he really did not want to go on this journey. Most heroes are known for their quest and doing it with no negotiations for his people or his love. But Shrek is doing this for is own satisfaction and peace until he actually meets Princess Fiona. Princess Fiona is a strong minded woman and Shrek starts developing feelings for her. He becomes a little insecure because he is not the average hero. Shrek is not handsome and he thinks Princess Fiona agrees. What he does not know is, Fiona is not the normal princess either. She is under a spell in which she becomes an ugly ogre at night. Eventually love finds a way in medieval romances and the two, Shrek and Princess Fiona realize they belong...
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... Wiglaf is the only warrior who shows true Comitatus. Wiglaf becomes the perfect companion and a shining example of "Comitatus". All of the other troops lack Comitatus and run away out of fear for their lives. They show no respect for their king. Wiglaf becomes an outlier among his brethren, by choosing to stay with Beowulf even when faced with almost certain death. After learning that the "man who smote him from his horse was Gallahad," Sir Percivle "never again… feels envy towards Sir Gallahad," because he knows that "If you seek to be revenged you run into great sin," (Green 289). The Knights of Arthurian times are held together by mutual Christian ideals instead of by blood. Sir Percivle forgives Sir Gallahad because it is the Christian action in this situation. Christianity strengthens the importance of shared values between companions in Europe and lowers the importance of shared lineage. The Knight's bond with each other is clearly much stronger because of their shared values. The Bible sets the ideas of the Kinsman Redeemer in stone. The ideals of the Kinsman Redeemer, introduced by Christianity, significantly strengthen the bonds between companions. All the quests embarked on by Beowulf revolve around the idea of Wergeld or "the blood feud". After "She (Grendel's mother) takes one of the retainers," and kills him, Beowulf "does not grieve," but he immediately sets out on a quest because "It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning" (1298,1383)...
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...Sir Gawain and the Green Knight contains many themes. Some of these themes are more obvious than others. Love, lust, loyalty, deceit, trust, courage, virtue, and righteousness are most of the themes within the poem. There are some more that are hidden within the concepts of the ideas that the poem presents. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, translated by John Gardner, many different themes are addressed throughout the story. The translation by John Gardner portrays these themes by using specific characters, medieval symbolism, and various settings within the story. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a great work of medieval literature. The story is considered to be verse romance. There are not many solid facts on the story. The story was composed in the second half of the fourteenth century. It is likely that Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written around 1375. The author of the piece remains unknown, but we do know of the northwestern dialect of Middle English with which he wrote the poem. The unknown author also consciously wrote in an old-fashioned style. The author is usually referred to as the Gawain poet or the Pearl poet. Three poems were included with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. "Pearl", "Patience", and "Purity" were all with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in the same manuscript. This is the reason the author is named as the Pearl poet, in addition to the Gawain poet. All four poems were uniquely named Cotton Nero A.X. This is due to the manuscript's...
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...monster. At night, when the party ended, Grendel ate 30 guests and left blood everywhere. In the morning, the people of Herot and Hrothgar mourned the deaths of Grendel’s victims. However, Grendel came again and ate all of Hrothgar’s soldiers, leaving Herot bare. Hrothgar was incredibly saddened by this. However, God protected him and no help came from the pagan sacrifices. The only protection came from God. * The Coming of Beowulf In the land of the Geats, ruled by Higlac, Beowulf was the greatest and strongest of all the men. He decided to go to see Hrothgar, because he has heard of the horrors Grendel brought. The Geats egged on his adventure, so Beowulf took a crew of the mightiest men he could find and set forth on his journey. They arrived at the Danish shore and were questioned by the guard, who thought they might be raiders or pirates. Beowulf explained they were Geats; his father was Edgetho, a famous soldier and explained why they were there. The guard lets them pass. They enter Herot and are called to see the King. Beowulf is greeted by Hrothgar and explains why he is there. He says he will fight and kill Grendel without fear, and if he looses to mail his armor back to Higlac and return his inheritance. Hrothgar accepts his idea. * The Battle with Grendel Grendel comes to Herot with a thirst to kill. He kills one Geat, but sees Beowulf who becomes terrified and wants to run away. He remembers his promise and attacks Grendel until he ripped...
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