Carnival Pagan And Christian Symbolism In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th-century Middle English alliterative romance about the adventure of Sir Gawain, King Arthur's Knight of the Round Table. This great verse is praised not only for its complex plot and rich language, but also for its sophisticated use of symbolism. Symbolism is a technique used in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to give a significance to the plot. The Green Knight, the Green Sash, and Sir Gawain's Shield are three of the most prominent symbols given to us in this verse.

Near the end of the battle, when Roland realizes his uncle Ganelon has betrayed them and is helping the enemy, he begins to get more and more injured. Even while continuing to fight like a true warrior, Roland understands that they will lose and finally sounds his olifant to alert Charlemagne. In this moment, “his pain is great, and from his mouth the bright blood comes leaping out, and the temple bursts in his forehead” (Roland 258). In the aftermath of the battle, the sheer force of this blow is enough to kill him. As a near representation of this powerful horn, I used shell-shaped noodles, which resemble the horn. While an olifant looks more like an elephant tusk than the conch shape of the noodles, the similarity to a horn is still clear. The Kalamata olives, which add a necessary salty bite to the dish, also sound similar to olifant and Oliver, who also dies a warrior’s death in the battle. While this dish is simple and light on symbolism, it was one of my favorites to eat.

 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of the most intriguing Middle English chivalric romances known today. The poem is a delicately written balancing act between two cultures, clashing in a time of unease between the religion of tradition, (paganism) and the new religion, (Christianity). The poem is also one of the best known Arthurian tales, with its plot combining two types of folklore patterns, the beheading game and the exchange of winnings. The Green Knight is interpreted by many as a representation of the Green Man of folklore and by others as an allusion to Christ. The story is told in stanzas of alliterative verse, ending in a bob and wheel. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an important poem in the Middle English romance genre, because it involves all the typical plot progression of a hero who goes on a quest to prove himself. Yet what sets Sir Gawain apart from heroes of lore is his inability to finish his quest. The aspect which makes Sir Gawain and the Green Knight different is Sir Gawain’s failure. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a perfect example of the struggle between enduring Paganism and newfound Christianity.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a religious allegory full of Christian symbolism with the central message of sin, forgiveness, and redemption. The poem is a great story of virtues, trust and honor. It's an Arthurian romance in which Sir Gawain carries a shield on his chest in his quest for Green Knight. Gawain's shield has two images, a picture of Virgin Mary on the inside and "Painted upon his shield is a five-pointed star (pentangle). He is a perfect knight who realizes that it is important to be a good Christian The image of Mary inside this shield conveys that Gawain never loses heart and the detailed description of the pentangle is a key for proper understanding of the poem's message.

In addition to his unnatural size and presence, his magical nature is further hinted at as he appears “completely emerald green” (Sir Gawain l50) and later affirmed when he picks up his severed head and reminds Gawain of the rules of the agreement they made. This imagery of a seemingly omnipotent figure that a mortal man enters into an agreement is an allusion to the spiritual promise that individuals of the Christian faith enter with God. Ironically, the idea of the Green Knight acting as a metaphor for a supernatural power is part of a larger paganistic culture that stretches across the world and includes such figures as the Aztec “Corn King”, a “vegetation spirit representing fertility and involved in a sacrificial beheading (Benson 67). The supernatural is being appropriated to connect to the growing Christian culture of medieval Britain and make the narrative resonate with the general populace. Sir Gawain’s journey to fulfill his covenant with the Green Knight is fraught with supernatural perils, disorientation, and temptations but it eventually leads him to a chapel to fulfill his promise to the Green Knight: “See, Gawain, that you carry out your promise exactly,/ And search for me truly, sir, until I am found,/ As you have sworn in this hall in

Your greatest enemy and hindrance is yourself. Lessons like this are difficult to grasp and overcome, but this is just what is taught in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Numerous morals, including this one, are illustrated in SGGK through the use of Christian allusions and traditions. Gawain’s personal struggles on his turbulent journey teach him to both respect and fear women, to resist temptation, and to always practice honesty. He learns these important life lessons through his many failures that nearly cost him his eternal life and reputation. Values of Christianity and Chivalry collide in conflict when Sir Gawain is learning his first lesson about women.

to mind, for his severed head, like St. Melor’s, lives on after it has been

    In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, one can discover a variety of reasons why the Green Knight is indeed green.  Some can be found in open text while others one has to search for.  There is possibly another aspect involved in the holly leaf he carries in his first appearance.  The deeper aspect of the Green Knight is how he ties into the beliefs and culture of the Celts.

“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is an excellent work to reference when examining different relationships within Arthurian legends. The author of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is unknown, but he is sometimes referred to as the “Gawain Poet” or “Pearl Poet” because of his additional works: “Pearl,” “Purity,” and “Patience.” All four poems were part of the Alliterative Revival of the Middle Ages of Northern England, containing mostly religious content. This may be the origin of Gawain’s exaggeratedly religious portrayal in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is organized in a stanza arrangement. Each stanza ends with one short line and four longer lines, called the bob and wheel, which “knits” the story together. It may important to note that the work was most likely written in the fourteenth century. The work is set in sixth-seventh centuries, but includes modern advances in armory, dress, and décor from the time the poem was written. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” exhibits many different types of love and relationships in which they are demonstrated. Familial love, spiritual love, erotic love, and courtly love are demonstrated within families, friendships, marriages, and Godly relationships.

Sir Gawain deals a savage blow to the Green Knight’s neck severing his head, only

In this paper I will discuss the ideas, cultures, characteristics of the Middle Ages are referenced and how their presence interlocks in the work. Sir Gawain’s quest covers his obligation to have success on the test of becoming a Green Knight. This would help have return blow for the following Christmas. Because the Green Knight proposed a challenge, Gawain was required to follow the terms of the agreement. The journey to find the Green Knight is a sequence of temptations. He lodges at the Castle Bertilak, and completed bargains with his host. Gawain will exchange anything he gambles on with the Bertilak catches on the hunt.

Though often extensive detail may be condemned as mere flowery language, in understanding Sir Gawain and the Green Knight one must make special emphasis on it. In color and imagery itself, the unknown author paints the very fibers of this work, allowing Sir Gawain to discern the nuances of ritualistic chivalry and truth. His quest after the Green Knight is as simple as ones quest toward himself. Through acute awareness of the physical world he encounters Gawain comes to an understanding of the world beyond chivalry, a connection to G-d, the source of truth. He learns, chivalry, like a machine, will always function properly, but in order to derive meaning from its product he must allow nature to affect him.

Upon first Reading Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, I noticed that it comes off as a romantic normative poem about chivalric ideals and traditions of the ruling class with covertly Christian Images. The protagonist character Sir Gawain stands out as the role model of the chivalric ideals of the 14th century while displaying Christian images on his armor. The combination of Gawain’s armor and actions throughout the poem exemplify his characteristics of Christian perfection and chivalric ideals. The very first scene with Bertilak of Hautdesert known as the Green Knight begins to mold your perception of how chivalrous Sir Gawain is by portraying him as valiant, humble, and virtuous knight to Arthur. I felt that the interruption of Arthur

An abundance of the literary world’s best and most engaging poems or stories took place during the very fictional reign of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, who most famously, resided in Camelot. The poem, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, written during the medieval period, is without a doubt one of the best fictional stories to ever come from this era. I found it especially interesting that both Christianity and Paganism intertwine during this heroic story. This encourages whoever is reading it to have a contrasting mindset because the story has not only Christian elements, but many pagan themes as well; it makes you wonder what type of story this really is. Many people speculate, however, whether the Gawain author could

In the opening lines of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the Gawain-poet predicates the numerous dualities—which lead the reader through questions of moral seriousness—that exist in the poem. The opening historical recounting, according to Richard Hamilton Green, reminds the reader that “the greatness of the past is marred by reminders of failure” (179). The paradox of triumph and greatness arising out of failure foreshadows Sir Gawain following the same pattern of fate as his predecessors. While the completion of Gawain’s quest reaffirms the historical paradox of greatness, his journey to renown is fraught with situations and symbols that develop the poem’s main concern of moral seriousness. The Gawain-poet skillfully reveals his