Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
• Author: Unknown
• The Pearl Poet
• Or The Gawain Poet
• Written in the late 14th Century
A Brief Summary
• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Middle English: Sir Gawayn and þe Grene Knyȝt) is a late 14th-century Middle English chivalric romance.
• It is one of the best-known Arthurian stories, with its plot combining two types of folk motifs, the beheading game and the exchange of winnings.
• Written in stanzas of alliterative verse, each of which ends in a rhyming bob and wheel, (ABABA – five rhymed lines following a section of unrhymed lines)
• The tale draws on Welsh, Irish and English stories, as well as the French chivalric tradition.
• It is an important example of a chivalric romance, which typically involves a hero who goes on a quest which tests his prowess.
• It remains popular in modern English renderings from J. R. R. Tolkien, and others, as well as through film and stage adaptations.
A Brief Summary Continued
• The tale describes how Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur’s Round Table, accepts a challenge from a mysterious “Green Knight” who dares any knight to strike him with his axe if he will take a return blow in a year and a day.
• Gawain accepts and beheads him with his blow, at which the Green Knight stands up, picks up his head and reminds Gawain of the appointed time.
• In his struggles to keep his bargain, Gawain demonstrates chivalry and loyalty until his honor is called into question by a test involving Lady Bertilak, the lady of the Green Knight’s castle.
• The poem survives in one manuscript, which also includes three religious narrative poems: Pearl, Purity and Patience.
• All are thought to have been written by the same author, dubbed the “Pearl Poet” or “Gawain Poet”, since all four are written in a North West Midland dialect of Middle English
Genre: Romance
Elements of Romantic Literature:
• First, be cautioned—the word “romance” does not mean a love story
• Adventure involving a knight on a quest
• Some fantasy and magic are present
• Both Christian and pagan elements
• Could be dragons and/or monsters
• Mysterious places
• Begins at a noble court
Romantic Hero
The Romantic Hero typically follows these criteria:
• Strict code of knightly conduct
• Absolute loyalty to his king
• Extremely generous
• Never breaks an oath
• Defends the helpless
Sub-Genre: The Testing Plot
A Testing Plot usually has…
• A strong main character
• Pushed to compromising high ideals
• Character wavers on making a decision because there is not an easy choice to be made • The decision usually looks like choosing between the “wrong thing” to do or
loosing money or social position
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in Middle English • Wel gay watz þis gome gered in grene,And þe here of his hed of his hors swete.
Fayre fannand fax vmbefoldes his schulderes; A much berd as a busk ouer his brest henges, Þat wyth his hi3lich here þat of his hed reches Watz euesed al vmbetorne abof his elbowes, Þat half his armes þer-vnder were halched in þe wyse Of a kyngez capados þat closes his swyre; Þe mane of þat mayn hors much to hit lyke, Wel cresped and cemmed, wyth knottes ful mony Folden in wyth fildore aboute þe fayre grene, Ay a herle of þe here, an oþer of golde; Þe tayl and his toppyng twynnen of a sute, And bounden boþe wyth a bande of a bry3t grene, Dubbed wyth ful dere stonez, as þe dok lasted, Syþen þrawen wyth a þwong a þwarle knot alofte, Þer mony bellez ful bry3t of brende golde rungen. Such a fole vpon folde, ne freke þat hym rydes, Watz neuer sene in þat sale wyth sy3t er þat tyme, with y3e. He loked as layt so ly3t, So sayd al þat hym sy3e; Hit semed as no mon my3t Vnder his dynttez dry3e.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in Middle English
Click on the link to listen to the opening lines of Sir Gawain spoken in Middle English
Arthurian Romance/Courtly Love
• There is no solid evidence for/against the reign of a historic “King Arthur.”
• Some historians suggest Arthur was a Roman military leader who held power anywhere from 3rd to 7th century A.D. (Artorius = “plowman”)
• Arthur is more important for the legends that developed around him and his “Knights of the Round Table”
• Statue of King Arthur from around 1400AD
Arthurian Romance/Courtly Love Continued
• Arthur traditionally credited with uniting all England (i.e. uniting the pagan tribes) and therefore creating the potential for the development of a unique British character after the Norman invasion of England.
• Arthurian legends reach height in/around 12th century A.D.
Chivalric Tradition
• Even more importantly, it is around the legendary King Arthur that the chivalric tradition of the middle ages developed.
• Chivalry – from the French word cheval or “horse” – refers to the code of behavior that was expected of knights (all noblemen).
• This tradition was also called courtesie (also French), meaning “the behavior of the court.”
Chivalry
• “Chivalry” comes from the French cheval, or horse (n.b. Norman influence in language).
• Only the wealthiest people in medieval society could keep horses and afford to use them in combat.
• “Chivalry” became associated, therefore, with the qualities of “horsemen”, or knights.
• related words: cavalier (Fr., L.), cavalry (from L. caval), caballero (Sp.)
Arthurian Tradition
• In Arthurian tradition, the “Knights of the Round Table”
• Lancelot,
• Galahad,
• Gawain
• Embodied – both individually and en masse, the characteristics of courtesie or “courtly love.”
Characteristics of Courtly Behavior
• Respect the king. Do nothing to bring him dishonor.
• Respect women. Do nothing to bring dishonor to any woman.
• Protect the poor and the weak.
• Honor God as a faithful Christian.
Examples of the Code of Chivalry
• Thou shalt defend the Church.
• Thou shalt respect all weaknesses, and shalt constitute thyself the defender of them.
• Live to serve King and Country.
• Live to defend Crown and Country and all it holds dear.
• Live one’s life so that it is worthy of respect and honor.
• Live for freedom, justice and all that is good.
• Never attack an unarmed foe.
Medieval Alliterative Verse
• Like all other examples of literature we’ve read thus far, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight almost certainly began as an oral history carried from village-to-village by a bard – or singing storyteller.
• Like the Iliad and Beowulf, therefore, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is marked by meter, rhyme, and (as with Beowulf) alliteration.
• All these poetic devices were intended to help in the oral retelling of the story.
Why is it called Alliterative Verse?
• VERSE FORM: the “Gawain stanza”–a varying number of alliterative long lines terminated by a “bob & wheel,” five short rhyming lines (ababa).
Alliterative Verse • He was a fine fellow fitted in green —
And the hair on his head and his horse’s matched. It fanned out freely enfolding his shoulders, and his beard hung below as big as a bush, all mixed with the marvelous mane on his head, which was cut off in curls cascading to his elbows, wrapping round the rest of him like a king’s cape clasped to his neck. And the mane of his mount was much the same, but curled up and combed in crisp knots, in braids of bright gold thread and brilliant green criss-crossed hair by hair. And the tossing tail was twin to the mane, for both were bound with bright green ribbons, strung to the end with long strands of precious stones, and turned back tight in a twisted knot bright with tinkling bells of burnished gold. No such horse on hoof had been seen in that hall, nor horseman half so strange as their eyes now held in sight. A
He looked a lightning flash,B they say: he seemed so bright;A and who would dare to clash B in melee with such might?A
As Epic Poetry
Review: Characteristics of the Epic Hero
1. He is a model of faith, loyalty, or bravery…
2. who makes a long, difficult journey…
3. to do battle on behalf of another…
4. perhaps using his own superhuman talents…
5. against an enemy who may himself have or be guarded by supernatural powers.
As Epic Poetry Continued
Review: Characteristics of the Epic Poem
1. An epic poem is a long, highly-stylized narrative poem…
2. that recounts the exploits of its main character – the epic hero.
3. Because most epic poetry originated as sung or spoken verse, it is rigidly metered and rhymed
Journey or Quest
• In medieval poetry, the epic hero’s journey to battle (like Achilles’ voyage to Troy or Beowulf’s to Dane-land) becomes a quest.
• A quest is “an adventurous expedition in search of something spiritually fulfilling or self-enhancing.”
Conventions of Medieval Romance
Medieval Romances: • Often have unprovoked and violent fighting!
• Are set in a mystical place and time (the Dark Ages)
• Present supernatural elements, and magical powers from the pagan world
• Have a hero who is on a noble adventure or quest
• Have a loose, episode-like structure
• Include elements of courtly love
• Embody ideals of chivalry
• Time frame of a year and a day
The Idea of Courtly Love
• This relationship was modeled on the feudal relationship between a knight and his liege lord.
• The knight serves his courtly lady with the same obedience and loyalty which he owes to his liege lord.
• She is in complete control; he owes her obedience and submission.
• The knight’s love for the lady inspires him to do great deeds, in order to be worthy of her love or to win her favor.
The Idea of Courtly Love Continued
• “Courtly love” was not between husband and wife because it was an idealized sort of relationship that could not exist within the context of “real life” medieval marriages.
• In the middle ages, marriages amongst the nobility were typically based on practical and dynastic concerns rather than on love.
• “Courtly love” provided a model of behavior for a class of unmarried young men who might otherwise have threatened social stability.
• Knights were typically younger brothers without land of their own (hence unable to support a wife).
• They became members of the household of the feudal lords whom they served.
More on the Idea of Courtly Love
The lady is typically older, married, and of higher social status than the knight because she was modeled on the wife of the feudal lord, who might naturally become the focus of the young, unmarried knights’ desire.
The literary model of courtly love may have been invented to provide young men with a model for appropriate behavior.
It taught bored young knights to control their baser desires and to channel their energy into socially useful behavior (love service rather than wandering around the countryside, stealing or raping women).
Still More on the Idea of Courtly Love
The “symptoms” of love were described as if it were a sickness.
The “lovesick” knight’s typical symptoms: sighing, turning pale, turning red, fever, inability to sleep, eat, or drink.
What’s Next?
Review the instructional materials for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: The Literature
