The chivalry code is present through part 1 and 2 of Sir Gawain and the Green knight, which is the code that Gawain strives to live up to as it is a sign of loyalty and faithfulness towards God, King Arthur, and his lady, Guinevere. This type of conduct was very widely seen and expected of the knights in the middle ages leading up to “traditional warrior values” as well as ideals which were expected of a noble [f]. Whether it was a king, a middle class individual or a peasant, the knights demonstrated courtesy to all. Since the beginning of the poem, Sir Gawain had shown faithfulness towards King Arthur when he accepted the beheading challenge from the Green Knight which was directed towards Arthur. Gawain was the only knight from many to …show more content…
Whilst accepting the challenge, Sir Gawain portrayes another aspect of the chivalric code being, modesty. Sir Gawain blatantly stated “I am the weakest… and the loss of my life would be least of any; that I have you for my uncle is my only praise” (354-356). Through this, Sir Gawain follows the chivalry code as he places his friends, fraternity, and the court before himself and his ego. Sir Gawain further follows the code of chivalry when he demonstrates loyalty towards his lady, Guinevere. This is shown when Sir Gawain asked Arthur “if I without discourtesy might quit this board, and if my liege lady misliked it not” (345-346). Nevertheless, there were some portions of the poem which portrayed Sir Gawain as a knight whom did not follow the chivalry code, meaning that he was not being a ‘rightful’ knight. For instance, Sir Gawain was close to not finding the Green chapel even after he was given 12 months to complete the task. “Summer comes ere long” and Sir Gawain is making no effort towards finding the Green Knight or the location of the Green chapel. He fails to locate the green knight until the last minute where he is prepared with armour and shield as if he was going to a battle “when he had on his arms, his armour was rich, the