Chivalric Code In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

When you think of a knight what do you picture? Do you picture a fragile, cowardly, dishonorable man? Of course not, you picture a strong man who is willing to give up his life for the kingdom. In “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” retold by Susan Thompson, a legend is told of, Sir Gawain on his quest to protect his king and fellow knights’ honor. After the Green Knight had challenged them and embarrassed King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Sir Gawain took up the challenge in an act of true chivalry. In this legend about a battle of knighthood between Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain is the better knight. He is a true romantic hero and follows the Knight’s Code of Chivalry, by serving the liege lord, King Arthur, in valor

The people of Medieval Literature, followed the Chivalric Code. The Chivalric Code was a list of “rules” that were to be followed day to day. Of those who followed it , Knights and Royalty were the ones who were looked to obey it the most. Hair Play, Nobility, and Honor play a key role in the code. The film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, mocks medieval literature’s true chivalric code.

​In the beginning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain is introduced as a courtly knight with a sense of perfection. The author does this to compare it to his failures, which are later displayed through Gawain’s acts at Morgan le Fay’s castle. Gawain is portrayed to be a chivalrous knight with honor and courage. Gawain is presented with a challenge: accept the game to cut off the Green Knight’s head, and in a test of courage and honor, set out to allow the Green Knight to return the favor to him in a year and a day. This initially shows the knightly characteristics of Gawain which presents him as noble and honorable, which allows the author to shock the audience when Gawain falls under pressure to actions that contradict the chivalrous code. The first of these actions taken by Gawain in opposition to his morals is the temptation

The code of chivalry is an expectation that knights will protect their lords, have courage in battle and respect women (Beck 365). The aftermath of the affair between Sir Launcelot and Queen Gwynevere ended in the loss of two great knights and a war that sparked more conflict. That was all brought on because Queen Gwynevere wasn't faithful to her husband, King Arthur. Sir Lancelot's love for Queen Gwynevere is the reason he broke the code of chivalry. The lady of the manor repeatedly tempted Sir Gawain with riches, and he passed, except when she offered a sash that would save his life. When he took the sash, that was the moment that he failed the test of the Green Knight and the dishonored the code of chivalry. The women in these two stories may not have been one hundred percent responsible for the knights breaking the code of chivalry, but in the long run caused much worse events than the breaking of the code of

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a classic example of the behaviors of a medieval knight and how the code of chivalry works within the courts and towards women. When Sir Gawain visits Bertiak’s castle, he respectfully treats the elderly woman and Bertiak’s beautiful young wife with the same level of dignity. “To the elder in homage he humbly bows; the lovelier he salutes with a light embrace. They welcome him warmly, and straightaway he asks to be received as their servant, if they so desire” (lines 973-976). The treatment of women is an essential part of the code of chivalry. If Sir Gawain had only given attention to the pretty young woman, then he would not have been abiding by the knight’s code of honor. He also keeps the code of chivalry intact when he says “Lover have I none, nor will have, yet awhile” (line 1790). Sir Gawain says this to Bertiak’s attractive wife, when she tries seducing him in the bedroom, which proved Sir Gawain’s loyalty to Bertiak, upholding his chivalric code. Honorable Sir Gawain demonstrates the knightly code of chivalry throughout the poem.

    Gawain’s loyalty to King Arthur is unquestionable. To begin this story, there is a Green knight who proposes a game to a room full of Arthur’s knights. When no man volunteers to play with the Green Knight, Gawain steps in to save his king’s life and reputation. Before accepting the Green Knight's challenge, Gawain asks Arthur to “...command me to step from the dias and stand with you there, / That I might without bad manners make down from my place…” (From Sir Gawain…, ln. 121-122). By doing so, not only does Gawain step up to the green knight for his king, but he also goes about it in a very chivalrous, respectful way to his king above all of us. By respecting his king and being the only man to step up to the challenge and risk his life for his king, Gawain shows loyalty, which in turn follows chivalry, putting his honor above his life.

Sir Gawain shows a lot of honor by staying true to his word and following through with his deal with the Green Knight. He mentally prepares himself for the year leading up to his journey to seek out the Green Knight, braves through the forest, is met with the temptations of the lady of the castle, and holds true to his deal with the

More proof of Sir Gawain’s chivalrous and courageous character is evident when he arrives at Bercilak’s court. The people are honored that their guest is Sir Gawain, the most honored of all the knights on earth, even though Gawain describes himself as young and untested. They whisper to each other that Gawain, whose “courage is ever-constant” and “custom-pure,” will demonstrate and teach them his “command of manners” and “love’s language”(SGGK l. 912, 924, 927). The conversation of the household serves to provide proof of his Gawain's fine character.

As one can observe in Part One of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain demonstrates traits of the Code of Chivalry. In a moment of confusion, Sir Gawain rises up to show he is a loyal, pious, and self deprecating Knight of the Round Table. To began, the reader is introduced to Sir Gawain and recognizes his loyalty when he says, “Would you grant me the grace… to begone from this bench and stand by you there” (Borroff l. 118). Furthermore, Sir Gawain takes King Arthur’s life out of harm’s way by replacing him in the deadly dare that is presented in front of Camelot because he values King Arthur’s life over his own. Furthermore, not only is Sir Gawain loyal to King Arthur, but he is also loyal to God. In the same fashion, Sir Gawain reveals he is pious before he pursues the dare. Immediately

Sir Gawain is reluctant to accept the Green Knight’s challenge. He fears for his life. In the end he only accepts the challenge to protect King Arthur’s life and honor. He knows it is his duty to protect King Arthur, but only volunteers to do so at the last second. Sir Gawain also breaks his oath to the Lord of the castle he is staying in. He broke their vow to trade whatever they had earned during the day when he keeps a sash the Lady of the castle gives him because he believes it will protect him during his battle with the Green Knight.

The code of chivalry is an important plot element in Sir Gawain and The Green Knight that constructs ideal characteristics for the court of Camelot under King Arthur’s rule. This code also represents perfection, to which Camelot was described as being close to perfect. Even though never expressly stated within the work, other kinsmen related to Arthur outside Camelot share varying ethics within the code. Clearly The Knight’s code was more than a goal for perfection but also a blueprint for ideal morality.

The code of chivalry is a complex moral code followed by men and women in the medieval period. The first major element in the code is loyalty to your God and king. Loyalty to God plays a monumental role in the medieval period. The first knights were known as crusaders who fought in religious wars to protect the christian kingdom. Your king is the person closest to God and you must show him loyalty to prove yourself within his kingdom. Gawain did not fail this aspect but also did not exemplify it. Gawain was loyal to King Arthur. In Fit 1, he says “This fight to me. May it be mine” (Stone 33). Gawain offers himself up to battle the Green Knight instead of King Arthur. He offers himself as a sign of loyalty to Arthurs. Sir Gawain knows that he has nothing to lose since he is only a meesly knight but if King Arthur took the challenage and died, Camelot would be without and king and left in chaos.

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, King Arthur’s court is the epitome of chivalry within its own secluded walls. The code of chivalry to which the knights adhere to included many virtues like mercy, courage, valour, fairness, protection for the weak, a loyalty to their lord, willingness to give up their life for another and the widely known courtly love. In the outside world when faced with opposing ideals and trials this code of chivalry is quickly forgotten or rather ignored. Looking at Sir Gawain in his travels shows how the behavior that was so prized and common in the court, is not used or shown on his journey to find the Green Knight. Even though he had the pentangle on his shield as a reminder of the behavior he should exhibit

The challenge of maintaining virtues becomes a psychological game as Gawain is separated from his peers. He battles foul enemies including “dragons/ ...wolves, and satyrs, / And forest trolls, / And bulls, and bears, and ivory-tusked boars, / And giant ogres” (lines 719-723), but his physical monsters are glossed over in comparison to the mental turmoil that Gawain faces during this segment of his journey. In his “friendless” (line 714) time “nowhere near home” (line 714), Gawain lacks the support system of his compassionate friends of the court. The only backbone he has is in his faith, leading to his prayers to Mary “To end his grief, / To guide his weary / Steps to relief” (lines 737-739) in an act of piety, another knightly virtue that Gawain embodies. Coincidentally, the pious act that grants him the salvation of discovering the castle and brings the joys of having human companionship again also leads him to his greatest challenge: the seduction of the Lady Bercilak.