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Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Chivalry

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In this world now, people think of chivalry as men behaving courteously towards women; for example, holding the door for them or offering them their jackets when they are cold. However, the story of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight portrays a different aspect of chivalry: that of the medieval times. The chivalry of the medieval times suggests that it is more than just being courteous to women. In the story,Sir Gawain gets challenged by the Green Knight. Sir Gawain then goes to find the Green Knight. On the way to the Green Knight, he finds a castle and makes a deal with the host. Then the host’s wife tests Gawain. From here, the dispute begins. As the host’s wife tested Sir Gawain, there were certain actions that possibly have broken some of …show more content…

Now, we need to go back to the first night of the game, then it would explain why that question is unreasonable. It was not originally planned that the game would go for three days, but it was decided on the spot that they would play the game again the day after. Therefore, he could not have guessed that she would come back again, since it was not planned in advance. Everything was unpredictable what is going to happen the next day, so it would be unreasonable to expect him to know that she is coming back to do the same …show more content…

When she kissed him, we do not even know if it was on lips or on cheeks. “She bends down over him And gives the knight a kiss;” (Winny 85). Even through the contact such as kissing, Sir Gawain manages to pull himself together and refrain himself from doing the wrong things and go against the church’s teachings, which is the first code on the code of chivalry. Also, while they were talking, he was not rude to her in any form, nor was he allowing her to do many other things to him that would go against the teachings of the church. At the last day, the host’s wife even lies next to Sir Gawain and basically asks him if he wants her. “I come here alone, and sit To learn your special play: Show me your expertise While my husband is away.” (Winny 87). A person never knows what exactly she meant, but when they are talking about love and alone, the statement can be mistaken into so many immoral ways. However, he answers that he does not want anyone right then. Any other knight in the period would take advantage of that situation, but Sir Gawain does not. Additionally, he goes and confesses his sins in the chapel that day, which tells us that he is a responsible

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The main theme of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the journey to maturity of Gawain, the hero. During the passage, Gawain goes through three tests on his development. First, Gawain shows courage and resourcefulness when he volunteers to take the Green Knight’s challenge instead of Arthur doing so. Second, Gawain shows authority, self-restraint, and integrity when he denies the sexual endeavours of the lady of the house. Lastly, Gawain shows bravery when he faces death by keeping his meeting with the Green

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Deceitful people can be taken as harmful and evil or wise and necessary. Sometimes it takes a little tragedy or harmful situation to make a person realize a change is needed. Deceitful people have reasoning behind their ways, and it is usually so the other person learns something about him or herself they would have never seen without being hurt. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, we see a heavy example of deceit for a reason. Lord Bertilak’s reasons for deceiving Sir Gawain exhibit fruitful ideals distributed throughout the text.

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The Green Knight decides to test Sir Gawain because he wanted to see if he really had respect, honor, valor, and loyalty to his lord and/or king. The lord of the castle tested the chivalrous values of Sir Gawain throughout the story, using a game that he created. The game involved the Lord hunting and Sir Gawain remaining at the castle for three days, each night the two had exchange their winnings of the day without having to say where or how they got the prize. The Green knight presents Sir Gawain with the game with the circumstance of his wife, acting as the host, which supplied Gawain’s winnings. The game in the story acts as a concept for the overall theme of

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Sir Gawain and The Green Knight as a Model of Chivalric Culture The Chivalric Code was undoubtedly of the most prevalent motifs in Middle Age English literature. This code of conduct, established as the model of the behavior of knights in medieval, was based on the ideals of honor, courage, and service. Originally, the term chivalry came from the Old French word chevalerie which meant “horsemanship” (Online Etymology Dictionary). Over the years, however, it evolved to denote a general sense of “courtesy” (Britannica).

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Sir Gawain shows loyalty and humility when he makes the decision of honoring the promise he made with the Green Knight. This humility drives him to set off to pursue the Green Knight to honor the pact they agreed on. On his arrival at the Green chapel, he calls the Green Knight who emerges to greet him and to fulfill the terms of the contract (Cathell). Sir Gawain presents his neck voluntarily to the Green Knight who feigns two blows (Cooke 4). This is a commitment and a sign of piety that Gawain manifests.

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Gawain, who had struck a deal with the lord to surrender all things he received during his stay in the lord’s dwelling, fails to do so in the name of self-preservation. The lord’s wife gifts Sir Gawain a green sash rumored to protect its possessor from physical harm. Gawain, recalling his inevitable meeting with the Green Knight, decides to contradict his agreement with the lord and “hid[es] it away from all hands and eyes” (Line 1875). His decision blatantly violated the chivalrous code, “failing a moral test in agreeing to hide the girdle from the husband, with whom he has the prior arrangement to exchange winnings” (West 9).

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Which led to the Green Knight explaining to Gawain that he is actually the same lord of the castle where Gawain spent his holidays. The first two blows, he claims, were in return for the way Gawain returned the kisses of his wife, following the rules of their game as an honest man should. The third blow, he says, was for Gawain’s failure to return the green girdle to him on the last day. But because Gawain’s failing was only because he wanted to save his life, and not because he's just dishonorable, the Green Knight forgives him. He leaves Gawain with only a scar and a girdle as a reminder of his very human sin.

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As an Expert states, “Critics consider the puzzle of the theme a major asset of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and they continue to debate whether the real test was what happened at Castle Hautdesert rather than the exchange of blows, as well as whether, finally, Gawain passed or failed the tests” (Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism). The reason the critics say this is because they see that the real or possibly the real test was when Sir Gawain was in the castle getting tested by the king which turns out to be the king rather than getting swung at with an axe. Although Sir Gawain was not aware that the king was testing him under these circumstances he did want he had to do even if it meant he was a bit disloyal when taking the green sash. As Sir Gawain states, ‘“There, there’s my fault! The foul fiend vex it” (line 389)!

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However, Gawain failed the final test when Lady Bertilak offered him the green girdle, claiming it would protect him. The Green Knight forgives Sir Gawain because he made the decision out of love for his own life and cleanses him of his

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Gawain is courteous to no end, even asking for permission to “abandon [his] bench and stand by [Arthur]” (Pearl Poet l. 344) so he may risk his own life instead of his kings to abide by the Green Knights game. He even humbly states that he “[is] the weakest” (l. 354) and that it would be the least lost of he was to parish which is untrue. Gawain is also extremely courteous when he is denying the wife’s attempts to seduce him saying he is “a knight unworthy” (l.1245). He plays a game of wits as he must not offend her advances but at the same time must not let the wife win the “game” because then he would have to lay with her and that would be uncourteous to his host, Lord Bertilak. The only time Gawain faults in his courteousness is when he refuses to acknowledge the agreement he made with Lord Bertilak which was “whatever [Lord Bertilak] win[s] in the wood shall at once be [Gawain’s] and whatever gain [Gawain] may get [he] shall give in exchange” (ll. 1107-08).

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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a medieval romance written in the late fourteenth century by an unknown author. It is part of the Arthurian legend and takes place in England during the winter. The knights of the Round Table have virtues tested when a mysterious Green Knight appears with a suspicious challenge, that leads Sir Gawain on an epic journey of self-discovery. Even though Sir Gawain is considered to be the perfect knight, his character is put to the test through a series of unbeknownst challenges that ultimately prove his true colors.

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The ideas of Chivalry was expressed through out all sorts of different literary works, such as songs, poems, and more. The Two stories of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Morte D’Arthur express some of the ideas of Chivalry. The first Chivalry idea that is seen in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the loyalty of Sir Gawain. Gawain on his way to fight the green knight, stays the night with a lord and his lady.

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When he returns back to the castle, he had to exchange his winnings for anything Gawain received at the castle. On the third day, Gawain did not exchange all of his winnings, which made him a liar. He did prove that he was a worthy knight but also he can not be trusted. Being a leader or a hero, you have to be an integrity person. So people can trust you and tell you to do things that others can

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