The Heroic Code In his work, Greenblatt discusses the idea of the heroic code, which Anglo-Saxons adopted from the Germanics. According to Greenblatt, ‘Germanic heroic poetry continued to be performed orally in alliterative verse and was at times used to describe current events’ (Greenblatt 6). The heroic code defines how a noble should behave, which is to be courageous, strong, honourable and loyal. These traits are essential and prevalent within poems such as Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as the nobles want to heighten their reputations. Though both Beowulf and Gawain strive for perfection, they are anything but perfect. They are flawed as they make mistakes like many people do. This therefore demonstrates humanity and relativity to the readers. For example, Gawain fails to give the girdle to Bertilak. By doing so he breaks his promise, loses his honour and virtue as a knight and becomes cowardly and afraid. As a result, Gawain no longer possesses the heroic code. The heroic code is not a Germanic creation as it gained influence from and ‘shares many characteristics’ with classical Greek literature, where it was known as the Homeric code (Greenblatt 6). The name derives from Homer’s poems. The heroic code adopts the same values expected of the noble or knight as …show more content…
The oral tradition is no exception. In Greek antiquity, the oral tradition was highly dominant tradition. The most significant example of works that were transmitted orally was Homer’s poetry. In the Greek world, Homer’s works were taught in schools. However, the poems were taught orally by the teacher. As there were no written down copies, the students learned the teacher’s version, which would have been a varied narrative. However, oral tradition is positive as it encourages the passing and sharing of