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This page includes notes on Sir Gawain... as well as notes on the Arthurian romance.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Notes · Arthurian romances came about in the years surrounding the 6th century ·
Arthurian
romances combine the elements of myth, chivalry, legend, romance, adventure,
enchantment, and tragedy ·
The
hero is in search of something valuable ·
Though
love may be a part of the storyline, the real focus is on the hero ·
The
code of knighthood puts a bind on the hero which leads him to focus on a person in need ·
The
romantic hero has a sense of religious duty and seeks to conquer evil ·
The
epic hero fights battles to survive, the romantic hero has adventures from which he seeks meaning ·
The
romantic hero is often ignorant of his enemy ·
His
challenge has an element of mystery while the epic hero has a specific enemy ·
The
romantic hero does not strive for perfection and can be at a loss for solutions ·
The
romantic hero is modest yet courteous and will use quickness and cunning ·
The
romantic hero survives the challenge, shame and loneliness, and makes it back to the community ·
The
term romance actually refers to making the world a happier place ·
They
create an ideal society, but also reflect social elements of the time ·
Sir
Gawain and the Green Knight is a 14th century English romance by an anonymous poet written in alliterative verse ·
The
Arthurian romance was created by a French poet ·
Chivalry
is the ideal qualities of a knight including: courtesy, generosity, valor, and dexterity in arms ·
King
Arthur was a legendary British leader against the Saxons ·
Arthur
is considered to be the epitome of good versus evil ·
Whether
he is legend, history, or folklore, is up to the individual person to decide ·
The
Knight’s of the Round Table protected the dames and damsels of the country ·
Background
Information: o The history of Britain’s
creation o Heroes leave after the
fall of Troy o The legendary Arthur is
introduced o This is the story of a
great Arthurian adventure o New Year’s Eve feast o Arthur refuses to eat until
he has heard a great story o A mysterious man known
only as the “green knight” shows up §
Gigantic,
beautiful face, all clothes are green with gold embossing, large horse is green, green hair and beard are tied back with gold
thread o He challenges the leader
to a game o The knight does not want
to fight puny, little knights o The person who accepts
the challenge gets to strike the knight with his green and gold ax with one stipulation – that one year and a day, the
green knight gets to do the same o King Arthur hesitates,
the knight makes fun of Arthur, Arthur decides to take the challenge, but Sir Gawain (Arthur’s nephew) steps up to the
plate and takes the challenge o Sir Gawain takes the ax
and chops off the knight’s exposed head with a single blow o The green knight picks
up his head, reminds Gawain of the terms of the challenge, and rides off on his horse (the head talks) o He tells Gawain to meet
him at the Green Chapel o The rest of the people
go back to the feast, but Gawain is not feeling good about the situation o A somewhat somber Gawain
gathers his best armor and prepares to look for the Green Chapel o Great description goes
into Gawain’s armor even the skirt on his horse o Gawain’s shield contains
a gold five pointed star on the outside and the picture of Mary on the inside §
The
five points represents his five virtues, five fingers, five senses, five wounds of Christ, and the five knightly virtues ·
Generosity,
courtesy, chastity, chivalry, and piety (fulfillment of religious obligations) o Sparks fly from his horse
as he takes off o On his way to the coast,
he encounters many enemies, but always defeats them o He has frequent nightmares o He nearly freezes to death o On Christmas eve, he prayed
for a place to spend Mass o When he finishes his prayer,
a magical white castle appears out of nowhere o Gawain thanks God for providing
him with a place to spend the evening o A guardsman lets Gawain
in and he is welcomed politely by a doorman o The residents of the castle
are pleased to be in the presence of Gawain who they feel can show them the proper behaviors of a knight o The lord of the castle
is middle-aged, with a thick grey beard, and a solid frame o The man looks fierce, but
when he speaks, he seems kind and gentle o The lord provides Gawain
with a feast and introduces him to two women o The wife of the host is
young and beautiful and dressed nicely, showing some skin o The other woman is completely
the opposite and is completely covered with clothing – only her nose, eyes, and lips are showing o The group parties into
the night and the same thing happens for the next two days o Finally, the weight of
the task begins to weigh on Gawain o The host offers to let
Gawain stay longer, but Gawain says that he must be on his way. The host happily
tells Gawain that he can lead him to the Green Chapel so Gawain decides to stay o The host proposes a game
to Gawain o The host will go hunting o Gawain will stay at the
castle with the ladies o At the end of each day,
the men will exchange whatever they have won o Gawain accepts, they kiss
(a custom) and go to bed o After Mass and breakfast
the next day, the men go hunting o On day one the hunts are
very successful o While Gawain is still in
bed, he hears the door open o The host’s wife sits
on the bed next to Gawain and he pretends to wake up, he crosses himself, she remarks that she has captured him, she says
that she heard many stories about him and she wants to spend time alone with him. She
offers to be his servant. After several hours of debating back and forth, she
says that he is not the real Gawain. She says that the real Gawain would not
let her leave without being kissed. He gives her one kiss, and after she leaves,
he quickly gets dressed o The host returns and gives
Gawain the meat, Gawain thanks him and gives him the kiss from the lady, the host is a bit surprised by Gawain’s winnings
and Gawain explains what happened o On the second day, the
host gets and boar, and Gawain gives him two kisses that he won after the woman continued to question his reputation o On the third day, the host hunts a fox o The lady awakens Gawain
from horrible nightmares, she gives him three kisses, she wants a token of his love, but he claims that he has nothing to
give, the lady offers a ring (that he refuses) then she offers him a green girdle that she claims has magical powers, already
fearing for his life, he accepts the girdle o Gawain goes to confession
that afternoon o That evening he only gives
the host the three kisses o Also that night the host
throws a farewell party o Gawain’s armor shines
brightly as he prepares to leave and he wears the green girdle around his waist o Before leaving, Gawain
blesses the castle o Gawain’s guide from
the castle offers a suggestion – he promises not to tell if Gawain simply rides away, the guide says that his quest
is a suicide because no one survives the Green Knight o Gawain says that he is
not a coward, the guide wishes him well and leaves o The area where Gawain rides
is rough and rocky o He rides upon a barrow
(grave mound), a small green hill all alone. On the hill is a small flowing creek
where the water appears to be boiling o Gawain walks all around
the crag o He feels this is the spot
and calls out for the devil to come meet him. o A voice calls out and promises
to show himself soon. The voice can be heard while a blade is being sharpened o Gawain thinks that the
knight is sharpening a blade for him o The man came out from the
crag carrying a new huge ax o When the knight could be
seen, he was dressed all in green just as before, only this time, he was on foot o The knight used the great
ax handle as a walking stick and a vaulting pole to cross the creek o Gawain bows, but carefully
– making sure not to look down too far o The knight praises Gawain
for being on time and reminds him of the terms of the contract and mentions how they are all alone o The knight asks Gawain
to remove his helmet o The knight tells Gawain
to do so without complaining o Gawain promises to stand
still and not complain o He removes his helmet,
bows, and bares his neck o Even though his heart would
pound in fear, he would show no fear o The knight picks up the
ax with great force and swings it down on Gawain, when Gawain flinches, he stops and mocks Gawain and questions his reputation o Gawain promises not to
flinch again, Gawain does not flinch, but the blade of the ax stops anyway, the knight commends Gawain on his courage o This time the knight threatens
that the blade will strike him this time o Upon the third drop of
the ax, the blade barely draws blood o Gawain is angry and tells
the knight to hurry up, Gawain challenges him saying that he has withstood the blow o The knight
agree that he had withstood the blows of the axe but refuses to fight o He states
that the first two stops were due to the gifts that Gawain gave him. o The nick
on the back of the neck was his punishment for not being honest on the third day o It turns
out that the Green Knight was the host at the castle o The knight
congratulates Gawain on his bravery and forgives him for his sins o Gawain
takes off the girdle and curses it and asks for the knight’s trust again o The knight
extends an invitation for Gawain to go back to the castle, but Gawain refuses o Gawain
sends well wishes to the women before cursing women in general saying how they have held to the downfall of many great men
such as Adam, Sampson, David and Solomon o Gawain
keeps the girdle and asks the true name of the knight - Bertilak de Hautdesert, servant of Morgan le Faye, who is the old
woman in the castle. Le Faye is Gawain’s aunt and Arthur’s half sister, Bertilak reveals that Le Faye sent him
in disguise as the Green Knight to Camelot in order to scare Queen Guinevere to death. o Gawain
is asked one last time to join them at the castle, but he refuses and rides off o On the
way home Gawain’s wound heals o Upon his
return he is greeted with a reception and he tells his story o He plans
to wear the girdle as a reminder of his sin and failure o The court
comforts Gawain and offers to wear green belts in support and as a sign of unity and respect o Last lines
of the poem And one and all fell prey · Themes include chivalry,
faith in God, the letter of the law, nature versus human society, Celtic Pagan Sources versus Christian beliefs o
Twelve months and a day o
Beheading game o
Temptation game o
Pentangle · Motifs include the
weather and games |